Conservatives must show they are not driven by a desire to 'punish' people on benefits, Iain Duncan Smith warned tonight. The Work and Pensions Secretary used a speech in Washington to warn that for too long his party has addressed the poor with 'fingers wagging' instead of offering them 'hope'. He insisted the Tory pitch to voters has to be about more than tax, immigration and crime to show they are driven by 'fairness, opportunity, and compassion'. Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith insists the Tory pitch to voters has to be about more than tax, immigration and crime to show they are driven by 'fairness, opportunity, and compassion' Mr Duncan Smith's remarks echo the warning in 2002 from Theresa May that the Tories had become seen as the 'nasty party'. The comments came as he reflects on the way the Conservatives have been perceived over many years in its approach to the poor. But it will be seen in the context of the forthcoming election and comes after it emerged David Cameron was privately uneasy with the tone of the current Tory election campaign. He told the American Enterprise Institute that for too long the Conservatives 'abandoned the subject of poverty to the poverty lobby and the liberal left'. It left the Tories more and more defined instead by a narrow list of policy areas including taxation, immigration, and law and order. He added: 'Historically, perhaps our main contribution to the subject was that whenever Conservative politicians did speak about poverty, they did so with fingers wagging and harsh punitive language. 'In the UK, my party, the party of Wilberforce and Shaftesbury, seemed to have forgotten that we had always had a historic mission to help people improve the quality of their lives - not just taking the easy option of sustaining people in dependency whilst looking the other way.' David Cameron is under pressure to pressure to create a more upbeat, positive tone to the Tory campaign. Theresa May, now Home Secretary, used a speech in 2002 to warn the Tories were seen as the 'nasty party' Skills minister Nick Boles criticised sanctions . A Tory minister has sparked a row after claiming the government's benefits sanctions showed 'inhuman inflexibility'. He reportedly told a meeting organised by a charity in his Grantham constituency that some of the sanctions cases he heard about were a 'worry' and 'need to be looked at'. The skills minister was forced to rush out a clarification of his views, insisting he strongly supported the use of sanctions 'in principle and in practice'. The Grantham Journal reported that Mr Boles expressed his concerns during a visit to see the work of a charity involved in helping the poor and homeless. Speaking to volunteers from Grantham Passage and its umbrella organisation, Grantham Poverty Concern, Mr Boles said: 'With some of these cases it seems to me that there is an inhuman inflexibility that is imposed on them.' He added: 'The sanctions are a worry and do need to be looked at.' Downing Street insisted David Cameron had 'full confidence' in the minister. For years Labour and the left argued that they had a 'sympathetic approach' which was to prop people up 'on slightly better incomes'. But he insisted: 'Whilst a welfare cheque might protect against hardship, it can never substitute for a loving parent, an inspirational teacher or a hard-earned pay cheque. 'Thus as Conservatives, our purpose must be to show far from wanting to punish people, our vision is one of transforming people's lives - defined not by what we oppose, but what we stand for: putting hope back where it has gone and allying aspiration with hard work, spurred on by strong moral values of fairness, opportunity, and compassion.' Reports emerged at the weekend that Mr Cameron fears the current Tory pitch to voters was boring, focussed narrowly on a long-term economic plan, welfare and jobs. The Prime Minister is said to have agreed to drop his cherished Big Society themes and National Citizen Service after advice from party strategists. Mr Duncan Smith claimed that a move to Universal Credit, combining six benefits into one, will ensure work always pays. The project has been dogged by IT problems, expensive write-offs and delays. But he insists it will 'bring an end to the something for nothing culture that trapped people for too long'. He argues welfare should be 'a journey that people are on, not a destination where they stay'. Mr Duncan Smith was invited to address the U.S. audience to share the success of reform of the British welfare system and the need to make a positive case for getting people into work. The coalition has capped benefits at average earnings, so that families on benefits 'face the same choices about where they live and what they can afford as everyone else,' Mr Duncan Smith said. Disability benefits are being reformed not just to save money but to help disabled people to 'meet the extra living costs they face, but making sure they won't lose that money if they do take up a job'. Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said: 'After five years it's clear David Cameron's plan to reform welfare has failed. 'Bungling Tory ministers have overspent on social security by £25billion since 2010. 'The housing benefit bill for working people is set to double by 2019, costing taxpayers billions, because the government had failed to tackle to root causes of rising spending: low pay and rising rents. And hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to rely on food banks. 'Labour will deliver a 'something for something' social security system that gives people the support they need to get back to work.'
Work and Pensions Secretary urges Tories to have upbeat pitch to voters . Warns Conservatives have addressed the poor with 'fingers wagging'
Election message must be about more than tax, immigration and crime . Tories must show purpose is not to punish but transform lives, he says . Skills minister Nick Boles warns of 'inhuman inflexibility' of sanctions .