The Choice at this ElectionThe choice before voters is very clear.
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Defending our FreedomsObviously the world is more dangerous and we've got to keep up our guard. |
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| Britain plays a unique role in the world. We are the only nation that is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, a net contributor to the European Union, a member of the G8, at the centre of the Commonwealth family of nations and a leading member of NATO. We are a global trading nation with interests in every continent. As the world’s fourth largest economy, we have the potential to be a powerful force for good. | |
| These durable strengths allow Britain to defend our interests and promote our values across the globe. | |
| As a country, we have been in the vanguard of freedom’s advance, a friend to the growth of democracy, an advocate of the rule of law, a defender of the oppressed and a robust protector of our people’s security. | |
| But, under this Government, Britain’s ability to defend its interests and secure valuable freedoms has been undermined. Our Armed Forces, the vital muscle which allows us to punch above our weight, have been allowed to weaken. And our relations with the European Union have been mismanaged in a way which threatens not just British interests, but the capacity of the continent to adapt flexibly to the | |
| A Conservative Government will strengthen our Armed Forces within NATO by spending £2.7 billion more than Labour on the front line by 2007-08. | |
| Those serving in our Armed Forces are vitally important to us, so we must take care of the people most important to them. A Conservative Government will support service families. They deserve decent homes, good schools for their children, and the chance to spend as much time as possible with their families. | |
| We will make the Army stronger. A Conservative Government will preserve the regiments Labour would abolish and improve the supply and procurement of weaponry. | |
We should support our Armed Forces and our foreign policy should serve the British national interest |
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| We will save warships Mr Blair would scrap. A Conservative Government will support European co-operation on defence but we strongly believe that such co-operation should take place within the framework of NATO. | |
| If a Conservative Government ever has to take the country to war, we will tell the British people why. Mr Blair misrepresented intelligence to make the case for war in Iraq, and failed to plan for the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s downfall. It is nevertheless the case that a democratic Iraq would be a powerful beacon of hope in a troubled part of the world. So we believe that Britain must remain committed to rebuilding Iraq and allowing democracy to take hold. And a Conservative Government will work to achieve peace in the Middle East based on the principle of Israel secure within its borders and a viable Palestinian state. | |
| Conservatives support the cause of reform in Europe and we will co-operate with all those who wish to see the EU evolve in a more flexible, liberal and decentralised direction. We oppose the EU Constitution and would give the British people the chance to reject its provisions in a referendum within six months of the General Election. We also oppose giving up the valuable freedom which control of our own currency gives us. We will not join the Euro. | |
| In a reformed Europe, the restrictive employment laws of the Social Chapter will have to give way to more flexible working. We will ensure that Britain once again leads the fight for a deregulated Europe by negotiating the restoration of our opt-out from the Social Chapter. | |
| The common policies on agriculture and fisheries are unsustainable, damaging to free trade and conservation, and waste huge sums of money. The CAP needs further and deeper reform. And, because fisheries would be better administered at the national level, we will negotiate to restore national and local control over British fishing grounds. We are determined to ensure national control in this area. | |
| We will also build on the success of enlargement, making Europe more diverse by working to bring in more nations, including Turkey. | |
| We value Britain’s membership of the European Union, but our horizons extend much further. A key element of British foreign policy under a Conservative Government will be fighting world poverty. We will support further action on debt relief and will work to meet the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid by 2013. We believe that British aid programmes are among the best in the world, so we will negotiate to increase British national control over our international aid spending. | |
| Above all, we recognise that there is a vital thread that links open markets, free trade, property rights, the rule of law, democracy, economic development and social progress. We will use our global influence to champion these principles in the interests of the developing world. | |
Britain and the World
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AccountabilityWhy can't politicians be more accountable? |
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| In the real world, if you say you’re going to do something, you do it. And if you fail, you can lose your job. That is accountability. Accountability is at the heart of good government and a healthy democracy. We all know that when people think they can get away with it, they won’t do things as well as they should. | |
| That’s why we’ve published a Timetable for Action that sets out clearly what we will do, and when we will do it. And has made clear that ministers who fail to deliver will lose their jobs. | |
| Under Mr Blair, the way we are governed has become less accountable, more complex and, ultimately, less democratic. Ministers don’t take responsibility for their failures. Unprecedented powers have been given to new, unelected and remote bodies, including regional assemblies for which there is no popular support. The House of Commons has been steadily undermined, and proper reform of the House of Lords has been repeatedly promised but never delivered. |
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| Conservatives understand that people identify with their town, city or county, not with arbitrary “regions”. We will abolish Labour’s regional assemblies. Powers currently exercised at a regional level covering planning, housing, transport and the fire service will all be returned to local authorities. | |
| The House of Commons needs to be made more capable of standing up to the executive. We will strengthen select committees and make time for proper scrutiny of all legislation. As part of our drive for efficiency across Whitehall and Westminster, we will cut the number of MPs by 20 per cent. We will seek cross-party consensus for a substantially elected House of Lords. | |
| Conservatives believe that the Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland brings benefits to all parts of our United Kingdom. | |
| We remain strongly committed to making a success of devolution in Scotland, so that it delivers for the Scottish people. In Wales we will work with the Assembly and give the Welsh people a referendum on whether to keep the Assembly in its current form, increase its powers or abolish it. | |
We believe in giving more power to individuals, families and communities |
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But devolution has brought problems of accountability at Westminster. Now that exclusively Scottish matters are decided by the in Edinburgh, exclusively English matters should be decided in Westminster without the votes of MPs sitting for Scottish constituencies who are not accountable to English voters. We will act to ensure that English laws are decided by English votes. |
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| We are committed to supporting Northern Ireland’s position within the United Kingdom in accordance with the consent principle. We will continue to work for a comprehensive political settlement, based on the principles of the . We will not accept any party into the government of Northern Ireland linked to a paramilitary organisation that holds on to illegal weapons and is engaged in any criminal activity. In the absence of devolved government, we will make direct rule more accountable. | |
Communities, Transport and the EnvironmentBritain draws great strength from its diversity. We are a country of vibrant urban centres, historic towns and an evolving countryside. It is both inefficient and insensitive to local communities to impose uniform control from Whitehall. |
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| We believe in devolving power down to the lowest level so that local people are given greater control over their own lives. | |
| Local councils should be accountable to voters. But under Labour, people’s priorities have taken second place to centrally imposed targets and Whitehall inspection regimes. The cost to local taxpayers has increased rapidly, with council tax levels up 76 per cent since 1997. It has been a vicious circle – less representation and more taxation. | |
| The Conservatives will liberate local government. | |
| Local communities will have a greater say over planning decisions. We will also give new powers to help local councils to deal with those incidents, such as illegal traveller encampments, which breach planning laws. Together with clear guidance for police and our review of the , this will ensure fairness for all, rather than special rules for different groups. | |
| With greater power for local people will come less interference from central government. We will radically cut the burdens on local councils. | |
| A Conservative Government will support creativity and excellence in the arts. Instead of Labour’s centralised bureaucracy and political interference, including in the National Lottery, we will devolve funding and decision-making while ensuring that the lottery supports the arts, heritage, sport and charities. | |
| The most powerful form of devolution is to individuals and families. The Right to Buy for council tenants extended home ownership, transformed many of Britain’s housing estates and expanded our property-owning democracy. | |
| A Conservative Government will extend this right to tenants of housing associations. Our plans to boost shared ownership schemes, and give social housing tenants the right to own a share of their home, will also benefit first-time buyers. | |
| Empowering individuals also means giving them the opportunity to get around Britain more quickly and safely. A modern economy depends on it. | |
| A Conservative Government will end Labour’s war on the motorist. We will modernise Britain’s road network and review all speed cameras to ensure they are there to save lives, not make money. | |
| We will bring stability to the rail network, avoiding further costly and inefficient re-organisation. Successful train operating companies will have their franchises extended to allow companies to invest in improved stations, car parks, facilities and rolling stock. | |
| A commitment to safeguarding our environment lies deep in Conservative thinking. We instinctively understand the importance of conservation, natural beauty and our duty of stewardship of the earth. | |
| A Conservative Government will call a halt to Labour’s plans to concrete over our green fields. We will promote development on brownfield sites and establish more Green Belts with tighter development rules. | |
| To ensure Britain plays its part in combating climate change, we will phase out the use of harmful HFCs and deliver greater incentives to make homes more energy-efficient. Through cuts in Vehicle Excise Duty and increased grants, we will significantly reduce the cost of cars with low carbon emissions. We believe that households and businesses should recycle an increasing amount of their waste. | |
| A Conservative Government will guarantee the security and sustainability of Britain’s energy supplies. We will do this by supporting the development of a broad range of renewable energy sources. We also recognise that energy efficiency must play an increasingly important role in our energy policy. | |
| Conservatives understand the pressures on the livelihoods of those who work in rural areas. We value the diverse nature of our nation and believe in defending traditional liberties. A Conservative Government will therefore introduce a Bill, and offer Parliament a free vote, to overturn the Government’s ban on hunting with dogs. | |
| Britain’s farmers operate to some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world and help to preserve the countryside for all of us to enjoy. We will introduce a Bill to ensure honest labelling of food and stem the flow of expensive new regulation. We will support initiatives, such as farmers’ markets and local food projects, that enable British customers to support Britain’s farmers. The Little Red Tractor mark denotes high British animal welfare and production standards. We will insist that all publicly procured food carries this mark. | |
| We will press for further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, to make it less burdensome for farmers and taxpayers alike. And we will promote legislation to strengthen and update animal welfare. | |
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Housing and Planning
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Transport
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Environment
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Accountability
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Secure Borders and Controlled ImmigrationIt's not racist to impose limits on immigration |
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| Britain has benefited from immigration. We all gain from the social diversity, economic vibrancy and cultural richness that immigration brings. | |
| But if those benefits are to continue to flow we need to ensure that immigration is effectively managed, in the interests of all Britons, old and new. | |
| This Government has lost effective control of our borders. More than 150,000 people (net) come to Britain every year, a population the size of Peterborough. Labour see “no obvious upper limit to legal immigration”. | |
| Our asylum system is in chaos. Instead of offering a safe haven to those most in need, the current system encourages illegality. Desperate individuals are forced into the hands of people smugglers and when they reach Britain they are open to continuing exploitation in the underground economy. Only two out of every ten asylum seekers are found to have a genuine claim. | |
| Britain has reached a turning-point. That is why a Conservative Government will bring immigration back under control. We have set out a series of practical and considered steps to restore control and fairness to our immigration system. | |
| First of all we will take proper control of our borders. We will ensure 24-hour surveillance at our ports, and restore full embarkation controls. Border security is currently divided between seven different bodies reporting to three different cabinet ministers. We believe that the time has now come to establish a British Border Control Police, whose sole job will be to secure Britain’s borders. | |
We will introduce a points-based system for work permits similar to
the one used in Australia. This will give priority to people with the
skills Britain needs.
We welcome people who want to work hard and make a positive contribution |
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| On asylum, a Conservative Government will not allow outdated and inflexible rules to prevent us shaping a system which is more humane, more likely to improve community relations and better managed. So we will take back powers from Brussels to ensure national control of asylum policy, withdraw from the 1951 Geneva Convention, and work for modernised international agreements on migration. | |
| Our objective is a system where we take a fixed number of refugees from the UNHCR rather than simply accepting those who are smuggled to our shores. Asylum seekers’ applications will be processed outside Britain. | |
| We will set an overall annual limit on the numbers coming to Britain, including a fixed quota for the number of asylum seekers we accept. Parliament will set, and review, that number every year. | |
| We are committed to making a continued success of Britain’s diversity. There should be popular consent for further demographic change. And the best way to secure continuing support for future migration is by showing that government has control of our borders. Refusing to set a limit on new migrants is irresponsible politics. Only the Conservatives take this issue seriously enough to insist on a limit, and will introduce the policies necessary to police it. |
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Controlled Immigration
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Safer Communities and More PolicePut more police on the streets and they'll catch more criminals. it's not rocket science, is it? |
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| Ensuring order is the first priority of government. Crime blights lives and ruins communities: it should not be excused, but condemned and punished. That means drawing a clear distinction between right and wrong, and restoring respect, discipline and decent values. | |
| Crime today is out of control. There is a gun crime every hour. A million violent crimes are committed each year. Fewer than one in four crimes are now cleared up. | |
| Criminals have a better chance of getting away with breaking the law today than at any time in the last 25 years. | |
| Anti-social behaviour – vandalism, graffiti, binge-drinking, threatening behaviour – is a growing concern in all our communities. | |
| Too many of Mr Blair’s responses have been gimmicks, some of which, like marching yobs to cash machines, were never even introduced. | |
| It doesn’t have to be that way. Crime can be cut. Anti-social behaviour can be confronted. Communities can and should be made safe for the law-abiding. It requires active community policing and a relentless focus on catching, convicting and punishing criminals. | |
| Labour’s centralised control of the police has sapped officers’ morale, increased bureaucracy and undermined public confidence. | |
| It is time to change direction. We will recruit 5,000 new police officers each year, radically cut paperwork and introduce genuine local accountability, through elected police commissioners. | |
| Giving local people a say over police priorities will lead to genuine neighbourhood policing with officers based in the locality clearly focused on zero tolerance. | |
Our society needs more respect, discipline and decent values. Crime is wrong and should be punished, not excused |
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| When criminals are caught they should be punished properly. If appropriate they should be sent to prison, and in any event encouraged to reform their ways. None of these things happens properly today. So, we will end Labour’s early release from prison scheme and provide 20,000 extra prison places. | |
| We will introduce honesty in sentencing so that criminals serve the full sentence handed down by the court. They will be told, in open court, the minimum time that they will serve behind bars. | |
| There is much that can be done to improve the justice system – the police, courts and the prison and probation services. But they only pick up the pieces of problems whose roots often lie elsewhere. | |
| Our goal is to reverse the drift towards communities that are blighted by crime, where people live in fear. We will deliver safer neighbourhoods where the streets belong to the law-abiding. | |
| We will start at school by ensuring proper discipline. | |
| We will break the link between drugs and crime by massively expanding treatment programmes, including 25,000 residential rehab places (compared with fewer than 2,500 places today), and by giving all young users of hard drugs a straight choice – effective treatment or appearing in court. We will stop sending mixed messages on drugs by reversing Labour’s reclassification of cannabis as a less serious drug, changing it from class ‘C’ back to class ‘B’. | |
| We will support the social institutions – families, schools, voluntary bodies and youth clubs – that can prevent crime and drug dependency before it starts. | |
| A Conservative Government will place the highest possible priority on combating the threat from terrorism. This requires a coordinated response right across government, including funding for the intelligence services, training for the emergency services, robust anti-terror laws, controlled immigration and rigorous arrangements for the extradition and deportation of terrorist suspects. That’s why we will appoint a Homeland Security Minister to co-ordinate our national response. | |
More Police
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Better Healthcare and Cleaner HospitalsI mean, how hard is it to keep a hospital clean? |
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| We believe that everyone has the right to high quality healthcare, free at the point of use, delivered when and where they need it. | |
| Record amounts of taxpayers’ money have been spent on the NHS. Yet over a million people are still waiting for treatment, and average waiting times have gone up. More people die each year from infections they pick up in hospitals than on Britain’s roads. | |
| Taxpayers have not received value for money because the NHS has not been reformed. It is too impersonal, too inflexible, too centralised and too bureaucratic to respond to the needs of patients. | |
| Staff in the health service – from doctors and nurses to porters and cleaners – work hard to deliver world class healthcare. But the system lets them down. | |
| We have a clear plan of action to cut waiting times and clean up hospitals. We will increase funding, reduce bureaucracy, empower local professionals to operate local services and give greater choice to patients. |
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