The Conservatives, also often called the Tories, are one of the three main national contenders in the 2019 UK General Election. They released a Manifesto on 24th November, which was interestingly on Sunday, with some speculation this may have been an attempt to keep it under the radar and not have much of an effect on their poll ratings. The manifesto was also quite dumbed down compared to others, with it being shorter than Labour’s and the Liberal Democrats as well as the Green Party’s.
Currently in the polls as of typing this the Conservatives have maintained quite an extensive lead in 1st place, placing anywhere from 37-45% with it averaging out at about 42%. Much of the boost they had got is explained from the Brexit Party pulling out of all their 2017 seats, enabling them to much easily hold on to them against Labour and the Lib Dems. But the BP may still present a threat to them gaining seats from Labour, although BP can also present a threat to Labour holding some of their seats as well and so it is a double-edged sword. Polls as of late have showed Labour increasing in support and slowly closing the gap.
This post will highlight the party’s main pledges and promises and so will not include every little detail which can be found in their manifesto.
BREXIT
The Conservatives say they have a BREXIT deal ready to go and that it just needs to pass parliament for it to be ratified and that would happen by January 31st 2020 if they were to have a majority after the December 12th general election. They have even promised that if they get a majority in the election, they will pass the BREXIT Deal before Christmas.
The party says its BREXIT deal will keep the UK out of any form of Customs Union and also out of the Single Market and would also end the role of the European Court of Justice. They say it would allow the country to control its own laws, money, trade policy, introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system, raise standards in workers’ rights, animal welfare, the environment and agriculture and give the country full control of its fishing waters by leaving the Common Fisheries Policy.
The party also says the implementation period of the deal will not be extended past December 2020.
The party also says it will give them more freedom to make free trade deals without being limited by EU rules and that within the next 3-years the Conservatives plan to have 80% of UK trade covered by free trade deals, and the party says it will start with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
The Conservatives will also create 10 freeports across the UK.
Environmental
The Conservatives main goal on the environment and climate is the have net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The party says it will support the creation of new kinds of homes that have low energy bills and will support the environmental targets and they say they will expect all new streets to be lined with trees.
In R&D there will be a £1bn Ayrton Fund to develop affordable and accessible clean energy to help lead the world in the fight against climate change.
The party says it will introduce an Environment Bill, including setting up a new independent Office for Environmental Protection and the party will introduce their own legal targets including for air quality.
The party says it will invest in nature with a £640m new Nature for Climate fund including building on support for creating a Great Northumberland Forest and have committed to reaching an additional 75,000 acres of trees per year by the end of the next parliament, as well as restoring peatland.
The Conservatives have also said they will introduce a new levy to increase the proportion of recyclable plastics in packaging. The party will also consult on a date to ban the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries. They will also introduce a deposit return scheme to incentivize people to recycle plastic and glass.
The party says it will make no changes to the Hunting Act.
Pledged to bring in new laws on animal sentience, bring the ivory ban into force and also ban imports from trophy hunting of endangered animals and ban keeping primates as pets. Cat microchipping will be brought forward the party has said.
A £500m Blue Planet Fund has been pledged to tackle ocean plastic pollution, warming sea temperatures, overfishing and will also extend the Blue Belt programme to preserve the maritime environment.
The party says its world-leading offshore wind industry will reach 40GW by 2030 and they will also enable new floating wind farms.
The Conservatives say they will invest £800m to build the first fully deployed carbon capture storage cluster by the mid-2020s. They also say £500m will be invested in helping energy-intensive industries move to low-carbon techniques.
The party will support gas for hydrogen production and support nuclear energy as well as continued commitment to renewables. The party says it will place a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect and will not support fracking unless science shows categorically that it can be done safely.
The Conservatives say £9.2bn will be invested in energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals to lower energy bills.
Business, Employment, Benefits and Economy
Conservatives have promised not to raise rates on income tax, national insurance or VAT. They also say they would keep small business costs down and would not hike their taxes up. The Conservatives have said they also want to cut taxes for working people, including raising the National Insurance threshold to £9,500 next year, which they say would benefit 31 million workers. The party says its ultimate goal is to have the first £12,500 first earned to be totally tax-free, which they say would almost be an extra £500 in people’s pockets per year.
Further on taxes the party says it will increase Employment Allowance for small businesses and will increase the tax credit rate to 13% and review the definition of R&D. They also say they will support start-ups and small businesses via government procurement and commit to paying them on time. Start-up loans will also be expanded the party says. Entrepreneur’s Relief will be reviewed and reformed.
So that major multinational companies pay their fair share of tax the party has said it will implement the Digital Services Tax.
The party also plans to set out a new anti-tax avoidance and evasion law that includes doubling the max prison term to 14-years for individuals convicted of the most serious tax fraud, create a single anti-tax evasion unit in the HMRC covering all duties and taxes, from individual errors to deliberate non-compliance. The new law will also consolidate existing anti-evasion and avoidance measures and powers and will introduce new anti-evasion measures such as ending tax abuse in the construction sector and further measures to avoid profit-shifting by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes.
The Conservatives also say being free from the EU will allow them to improve the UK’s tax regime further, such as by abolishing the tampon tax.
The party has also promised debt would lower by the end of parliament as public sector net investment would not average more than 3 percent of GDP and that if debt interest reaches 6 percent of revenue, then plans to keep debt under control would be reassessed.
The government says it is still committed to raising the National Living Wage to two-thirds of average earnings which they say is currently forecast at £10.50 an hour and that this will be for everyone over the age of 21. The party says this would be an average pay rise of £4,000 per year for 4m people by 2024.
For energy bills, the Conservatives have committed to keeping the existing energy cap in place and introducing new measures to lower bills. As well as that they have promised to give the Competitions and Market Authority more powers to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad business practices. For those in the South-West the Conservatives have said they will extend the water rebate.
The government says under them they will continue the roll-out of Universal Credit benefit and will stay committed to ending the benefit freeze and keeping free school meals system in place. For the disabled the party says it wants to reduce the number of reassessments a disabled person has to go through if their condition is unlikely to change. They will also create a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020, looking to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in housing, education, transport and jobs.
The party will also stay committed to increasing SEND funding as well as support for pupils, students and adults to get careers advice, internships and transition into work. They say they will reduce the disability employment gap. This will all also be included in the National Strategy for Disabled People.
For pensions the party has commit to keeping the pensioner benefits, such as the “triple lock”, winter fuel payment and older person’s bus pass in place. The party also says it believes the BBC should keep funding free TV licenses for over-75s.
The party has promised full-fibre and gigabit-capable broadband for every home and business in the UK by 2025. This includes legislative changes to speed up the process and a £5bn of new public funding to connect premises that are not commercially viable.
The Conservatives say its £3bn National Skills Fund alongside other investments in skills and training will enable businesses to find and hire the workers they need.
For the self-employed the party has said it will look how they can better support them such as improving their access to finance and credit, making the tax system easier to navigate and examine how better broadband can boost home-working.
In employment itself the party says it will create a single enforcement body to crackdown on employer abusing employment law including practices such as taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay. The party will also ensure the right for workers to request a more predictable contract.
The party says it will also encourage flexible working and making it the default unless the employer has a good reason for it to not be, and allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care. The Conservatives also say they will look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.
The Conservatives are also committed to R&D including the fastest ever increase on it from domestic spending to meet a target of 2.4% of GDP spent on it. The party says some of this new spending will go towards a new agency for high-risk, high-payoff research. The party has said it will focus efforts on areas where the UK can generate a commanding lead in the industries of the future, such as life sciences, clean energy, space, design, computing, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Education
The Conservative Party has promised to invest £14bn over 3-years to increase funding for every primary and every secondary school pupil in the country, which also includes £780m of new funding for those with Special Educational Needs which they say will come into effect next year.
The party also says it will raise starting teacher salaries to £30,000.
They will also expand alternative provision schools for those who have been excluded and also have more school places for those with complex Special Educational Needs. The party also says it will continue to build more free schools.
The Conservatives also say they will put more investment into arts, music and sport and support for creative skills, which includes offering an “arts premium” to secondary schools to fund enriching activities for all students. The party also commits to investing more in primary school PE teaching, promoting physical literacy and competitive sport.
The Conservative Party says it will invest almost £2bn to upgrade the entire further education college estate. They also say there will be 20 Institutes of Technology.
The party says it £3bn National Skills Fund will provide matching funding for individuals and SMEs for high-quality education and training, the party says the fund will help people get on the work ladder, specifically those who lack qualifications as well as those who are keen on returning to work or for those who want to switch careers.
Community, Housing, Transport & Infrastructure
£100bn of additional funding has been promised by the Conservatives for infrastructure to go towards things such as roads and rail among other investments.
A new Towns Fund has been announced, which will initially go towards 100 Towns to improve their local economy and allow them to make their own choices on what improvements their local area needs.
The Conservatives have also pledged to cut taxes for small retail business and for local music venues, pubs and cinemas. £500m will also go into new youth clubs and services.
There will also be a Safer Streets Fund that will go towards preventative measures such as CCTV and community wardens.
The party has also announced a cultural capital programme of £250m that will go towards local libraries and regional museums.
The Conservatives have also promised a £150m Community Ownership Fund which will encourage local takeovers of civic organizations or community assets that are under threat, such as local football clubs, pubs and post offices.
On transport the party has promised to build Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and then promised to focus on connecting Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle. They also say they will invest in the Midlands Rail Hub to strengthen rail links such as those between Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Derby, Hereford and Worcester. As well as that they said they will also invest in rail lines in the South West and East Anglia.
The Conservatives say they will give greater funding towards improving city regions bus, tram and train services to make them as good as London’s. This includes frequent, better-integrated services, more electrification, modern buses and trains and smart ticketing.
The party has pledged a £28.8bn investment in strategic and local roads. They also promised £1bn investment in completing a fast-charging network ensuring everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehicle charging station. The Conservatives say they will consult on the earliest date of phasing out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars that minimizes the impact on drivers and business.
They will also launch the largest ever pothole-filling campaign and ensure that new investment in roads means that new potholes are less likely to appear in the future.
The Conservatives say that there will be a requirement for minimum service to operate during transport strikes.
The party says it will invest in Superbus Networks with lower fares, flat fares in urban areas as well as increased frequency. They also want to bring back and protect rural routes and invest in electric buses and aim to make the UK’s first all-electric-bus town.
The Conservatives have said they will create a £350m Cycling Infrastructure Fund, supporting commuter cycling routes and creating new ones. Cycling proficiency training will be extended to every child and the party will work with the NHS to promote cycling for healthier living.
On housing the party has said it will encourage a new market in long-term fixed rate mortgages which slash the cost of deposits which they say will open up a secure path to home ownership for first-time buyers in all parts of the UK. The party also says it will stay committed to its Right to Buy for all council tenants as well as maintaining the voluntary Right to Buy scheme with housing associations.
The Conservatives say they will support community housing by helping people who want to build their own homes find plots of land and access to the Help to Buy scheme. They also say they will support communities living in council estates who want to take ownership of the land and buildings they live in.
The party also says it will continue its reforms to leasehold which includes implementing a ban on the sale of new leasehold homes, restricting ground rents to peppercorn and providing necessary mechanisms for redress of tenants.
For renters the party says it will abolish ‘no fault’ evictions and only require one life time deposit which would move with the tenant.
The party says it will remain committed to building more houses and will bring forward a Social Housing White Paper setting out further measures to empower tenants and support continued supply of social homes. The Conservatives say they will also commit to renewing the Affordable Homes Program to support the delivery of hundreds of thousands of affordable homes, the party says this will help to prevent people falling into homelessness, as well as fully enforcing the Homelessness Reduction Act.
The Conservatives have also said they will end rough sleeping by the end of the next parliament by expanding successful pilots and programmes including the Rough Sleeping Initiative and Housing First. The party says it will help pay for this by bringing in a stamp duty surcharge on non-UK resident buyers.
Further on infrastructure the party says it will amend rules so that roads, schools, GP surgeries, come before people move into new homes. Related to the Grenfell tragedy the party has said it has already committed to implementing and legislating for all the recommendations of the Hackitt Review and the first phase of the independent inquiry. The party will help high-rise residential residents with the removal of unsafe cladding and continue with the rigorous process of materials testing.
£4bn in new flood defense infrastructure over the coming years has also been promised.
Health & Social Care
The Conservatives main promise on healthcare is to have 50,000 more NHS nurses and 6,000 more doctors as well as having 50 million more GP appointments per year. They have also pledged to upgrade 20 hospitals while building 40 new hospitals.
They say students would receive a £5k-£8k annual maintenance grant every year during their course and that they would not have to pay it back.
As well as 6,000 more doctors, the party has promised 6,000 more primary care professionals, including physiotherapists and pharmacists. The party says this would be on top of 7,500 extra nurse associates and 20,000 primary care professionals they had already pledged.
The 40 new hospitals would be built and funded over the next decade. They have also announced they will roll-out cancer diagnostic machines to 78 Hospital Trusts to boost early diagnosis.
The party says that by 2023, they would have raised funding for the NHS by 29 percent and they say by the end of parliament that would be more than £650 million extra a week.
The party have also announced a new NHS Visa which would be used to fast-track entry qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with a job offer from the NHS and would also cost less than a normal Visa as well as dedicated support to come to the UK with their families.
The party has also promised various other improvements such as developing new treatments for serious diseases, extending the Cancer Drugs Fund into an Innovative Medicines Fund, allowing doctors to use the most advanced life-saving treatments for conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases or for children with other rare diseases, legislating to equalize physical and mental health care and make it easier for people with learning disabilities and autism to be discharged from hospital.
There is also a commitment to extend healthy life expectancy by 5-years by 2035. Car parking charges would also be changed, making it free for those in greatest need including the disabled, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight as well as staff working night-shifts.
The party also says it will clamp down on health tourism by making those from overseas pay their fair share by increasing the NHS surcharge.
The party has also insisted the NHS will not be on the table of any trade deals in any form.
For Social Care the Conservatives have pledged £1bn of extra funding per year for more staff, better infrastructure, technology and facilities. The party has also pledged to guarantee anyone who needs care will not have to sell their home to pay for it. The Conservatives has also said it will make finding a cure for Dementia one of its biggest collective priorities, including doubling research funding into the disease and also speeding up trials for new treatments. The entitlement to leave for unpaid carer’s would also be extended to one week.
Over the next 3-years the party said it would invest £74m into additional capacity in community care settings for those with learning disabilities and autism.
In the long-term the party wants to have a cross-party consensus on legislative reform to social care.
For Childcare, the Conservatives say they will establish a £1bn fund to make it more high quality and affordable, covering before and after-school care and school holiday childcare.
Police, Law and Justice and the Armed Forces
The Conservatives have promised to hire 20,000 more police officers.
It also has plans to cut crime which include steps in tackling youth crime such as backing teachers to enforce discipline and investing £500m in youth services, as well as that expanding provision schools for those who endanger others and for offenders, the trialing of Secure Schools. There will be new laws which will require schools, police, councils and health authorities to work together through Violence Reduction Units to prevent serious crime.
They have also committed to tackling drug-related crime and also developing new treatments to prevent drug-deaths from those addicted and also break the cycle.
The government also wants to create a prisoner education service which would focus on work-based training and skills, including a job coach in each prison. The party has also said it will improve prison security to protect staff, reduce drug smuggling and reduce violence.
The Conservatives have also pledged to equip officers with tasers and body cameras and will put the Police Covenant into law to ensure they have the support they need.
To tackle knife crime the party has pledged to make stop and search of those convicted of knife crime easier and having anyone charged with knife possession appear in-front of a magistrates within days instead of weeks. The party believes those who use a knife as a weapon should be sent to prison.
The party will also introduce tougher sentencing for the worst offenders and end automatic half-way release for serious crimes. For child murderers there will be life imprisonment without parole. The party also says that after BREXIT there will be more freedom in preventing more foreign national offenders from entering the country and also cut the number of foreign nationals in prison as well as increasing penalties to prevent their return.
More protection have been promised for emergency services workers by pledging to pass the Police Protection Bill and consult on doubling the maximum sentences on those who assault workers in emergency services such as police officers, firefighters and paramedics.
The Conservatives say they will embrace new technologies and crack down on online crime. This includes creating a new national cybercrime force and empower the police to safely use new technologies such as biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework. A world-class National Crime Laboratory will also be created.
The party says they will make 10,000 more prison places from the £2.75bn that is already committed to refurbishing and creating modern prisons.
The Conservatives have committed to tackling unauthorized traveler camps, including giving police new powers to arrest and seize the property and vehicles of trespassers who set up unauthorized encampments. The party said it would also make intentional trespassing a criminal offense.
The party says it will pass the Domestic Abuse Bill and will increase support for refuges and community support for victims of rape and sexual abuse. Integrated domestic abuse courts will also be piloted. They also say they will protect people from physical and other harassment hate crimes of all types and expand funding to protect places of worship. Public bodies will also be banned from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries.
On to service personnel and the armed forces, the Conservatives say they will reduce national insurance contributions for employers if they employ ex-service personnel. Wraparound childcare will be offered to Forces families and will introduce a Veterans’ Railcard. And for any public sector role the party has promised veterans a guaranteed job interview.
The party has committed to keep on spending 2% of GDP on defense to meet the NATO obligation, they also say they will increase the budget by at least 0.5% above inflation every year of the new parliament. The party has said it will set up the UK’s first ever Space Command.
The Conservatives have also committed to building new Type 31 frigates in British shipyards and a new generation of armoured vehicles, made in Britain.
Immigration
The party wants to implement an Australian-styled points immigration system. The new system will prioritize those who have a good grasp on English, who have been law-abiding citizens in their own country and who have good education and qualifications. Most will also need a job offer. Immigrants who commit crime and abuse hospitality in the country will be removed as quick as possible.
The party says they will keep track of who is coming in and out of the country.
An EU Settlement Scheme will be introduced to allow EU citizens already living in the UK to stay and guarantee their existing rights.
Under the new immigration system after BREXIT, people coming in from the EU will have to wait 5-years before claiming benefits such as unemployment, housing and child benefit. People will no longer be able to claim child benefit for children living overseas.
There are several Visas that the Conservatives also want to introduce to fast-track certain people, such as the NHS Visa already said above. They will also introduce a Student Visa to help universities attract young talent and allow those students to stay on and apply for work after they graduate. There will also be a start-up Visa to attract entrepreneurs of the future who want to start business in the UK.
English language teaching will be boosted to empower existing migrants and help promote integration into society.
The government also says it will continue to grant asylum to refugees fleeing persecution with an aim of helping them to return home if it is safe to do so.
Electoral System, Rights & Local Government
The Conservatives have said they remain committed to devolving more power to people and places across England, such as building upon successful devolution of powers to city region mayors and police and crime commissioners among others. The party says it will explain its plans for devolution further by releasing an English Devolution White Paper next year.
The party has also said it will get rid of the Fixed-Terms Parliament Act 2011 as the party says it led to paralysis when the country needed decisive action. The party will also update and equalize parliamentary boundaries and make sure that every vote counts. The party says it will stay committed to the First-Past-the-Post System as they say it more easily allows voters to kick-out politicians who don’t deliver.
The Conservatives say they will introduce voter ID at polling stations and will stop postal vote harvesting as well as taking measure to prevent foreign interference in elections. The party will also make it easier for British expats to vote in Parliamentary elections and get rid of the 15-year limit on their voting rights. The party will maintain the voting age at 18+.
In support of free speech, the Conservatives have said they will repeal section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2014 that the party says seeks to coerce the press. They will also not proceed with the second stage of the Leverson inquiry.
The Conservatives are opposed to holding a 2nd Scottish Independence Referendum and says the original outcome should be respected.
The party says it will set up a Constitution, Democracy & Rights Commision to examine issues such as the relationship between government, parliament and the courts as well as the functioning of the Royal Prerogative, the role of the House of Lords and access to justice for ordinary people.
Foreign Policy
The party says it will maintain its support for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
The Conservatives will further develop the Magnitsky-style sanctions regime to tackle human rights abusers. Will stand up for the right of woman globally to have 12-years of education. Will continue to promote freedom of media and continue to eradicate human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Will keep its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on development and will do more to help countries receiving aid to become more self-sufficient.
Advocating for fighting climate change is also included such as continuing to lead diplomatic efforts to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.
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