Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday launched the Conservative manifesto in Telford, setting out how he will ‘get Brexit done’ and unleash Britain’s potential.
He unveiled new manifesto commitments, including 50,000 more nurses in the NHS, a long-term budget for the NHS guaranteed in law and more than £4 billion investment in local transport such as trains, trams and buses.
On the inside cover of the manifesto, the Prime Minister sets out his personal guarantee to the British people. If there is a Conservative majority government, he guarantees:
- Getting our new Brexit deal through Parliament.
- Extra funding for the NHS, with 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments a year.
- An Australian-style points-based system to control immigration.
- Millions more invested every week in science, schools, apprenticeships and infrastructure while controlling debt.
- Reaching Net Zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.
- We will not raise the rate of income tax, VAT or National Insurance.
With 635 candidates pledging to back the deal, only a majority Conservative government can get Brexit done so we can move on and focus on people’s priorities.
The Prime Minister has said that bringing back the Brexit bill is an ‘early Christmas present to the nation’ and that the Conservatives are ‘offering hope and optimism where the Labour party only offer deadlock and division.’ 2020 can be a year of hope and opportunity, and the Conservative manifesto details the way we will harness our strong market economy to protect and improve the public services we rely on – our NHS, police, and schools.
It’s worth recording Boris Johnson’s launch address in full. Excuse the punctation – it’s an approximation
Speaking in Telford, he said: “We are now as you know less than three weeks away from the most critical election of modern memory when the stakes for this country have seldom been higher and the choice has never been starker because in just the last few days we have heard from every other party haven’t we?
As they have launched their manifestos and we have heard how they would keep us stuck in the same rut how they would consign this country to yet more delay and yet more frustration and parliamentary paralysis and how they would refuse yet again to honour the will of the people how they would refuse, every other party, to get Brexit done
“The Lib Dems want to revoke Brexit, the Scots Nationalists want to cancel Brexit and have another referendum on Scotland as well. As for Labour – as for Labour, they will plainly give in to Nicola Sturgeon and waste the whole of next year in two more referendums, one on Scotland and one on the EU – except that Jeremy Corbyn won’t tell us whether he would even be willing to advise people to vote in favour of his own deal.
“He used to be indecisive – now he’s not so sure! Do we want that kind of leadership my friends? Do we want more delay? Do we want more dither and drift and deadlock and division?
“Do we want 2020 to be a year of defeatism and despair? No we don’t. We want to move forward because this country has an incredible future and here – there it is – I believe is at least the partial blueprint for that future.
“Here is the route map to take us forward because unlike any other party standing at this election – we’re going to get Brexit done with a deal that is pre-cooked, ready to go, oven-ready as I keep saying, approved not just by our friends in the EU but by every single one of the 635 Conservative candidates standing at this election.
“A deal that will allow us to deliver absolutely all the opportunities of Brexit from freeports to free trade to cutting VAT on sanitary products and improving the welfare of animals
Get Brexit done – and we restore confidence and certainty to business and families.
Get Brexit done – and we will see a pent-up tidal wave of investment into this country.
“Get Brexit done – and we can focus our hearts and minds on the priorities of the British people, because it is this one nation Tory party that is already embarked on the biggest cash boost for the NHS for a generation and today in this manifesto we pledge 50,000 more nurses and their bursaries and 50 million more GP surgery appointments and today we make this guarantee to the British people that we will tackle crime with 20,000 more police officers and tougher sentencing that we will sort out our immigration system with a points-based Australian style system that we will invest millions more every week in science, in schools, in apprenticeships and in infrastructure and control our debt at the same time and that we will reach net Zero by 2050 with clean energy solutions and that we can do all these things: here’s the kicker, we can do all these things without raising our income tax, VAT or National Insurance Contributions. That’s our guarantee.
“And in this manifesto there is a vision for the future of this country in which we unite and level up with infrastructure, education and technology and it is appropriate of course that we are here in Telford because here more than 200 years ago the phlegethontian fires of Coalbrookdale created the first industrial revolution and this whole region was a giant crucible in which colossal quantities of hydrocarbons were burned to smelt iron and steel and turn water into steam and power.
And it is an incredible thing that here once again in the West Midlands a new industrial revolution is taking place not by burning coal not by emitting CO2 but thanks to British ingenuity we can make electrons swoosh so efficiently from anode to the cathode, or possibly vice versa, but that’s the right idea that after decades of trying we can make electric cars and we can make electric buses and it won’t be long before we will be making electric or part electric planes and we in this one nation Conservative government do not want to wait to begin this future because we believe that after three and a half years of being held back by a broken parliament it is time to unleash the potential of the whole country and to forge a new Britain
“And yes I am proud that we have in our national capital the greatest city on earth but I know and every survey confirms that genius, talent, ability, flair – all are distributed evenly throughout the UK.
“Opportunity is not distributed evenly and I passionately believe that with education, infrastructure, technology we can tackle that unfairness: we can unleash that potential and we can make those investments precisely we one nation Conservatives because we also support a dynamic market economy and that is why we are cutting taxes for small businesses and why when people get up at the crack of dawn to prepare their family business and when people take out a mortgage to fund a new venture or when they risk everything on a new product or try to find a new market , we don’t sneer at them – we cheer for them.
“And that is the choice at this election: that is the choice between out and out retrograde socialism and sensible one nation conservatism. You can come with us, and have a government that backs our armed forces as a power for good around the world – or you can have Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party who has said he wants to scrap them.
“We support our police, putting more and more on the street, support them in fighting knife crime – they say stop and search is inappropriate and oppressive.
“We want higher wages, and are raising the living wage by the biggest ever increase. Corbynomics, McDonnellnomics, means higher taxes for everyone
“We stand up for the people of this country when other nations threaten us with harm and it was quite incredible that when Russia ordered the Salisbury poisonings. Corbyn seemed actually to take the side of Moscow.
“Above all, and here’s the most important difference we face in the next few days we will get Brexit done, we will end the acrimony and the chaos they want to rip up our deal – and negotiate a new one but we don’t yet know of a single Labour MP or indeed any other MP who would support it.
“In fact we don’t know if anyone believes in Mr Corbyn’s new deal apart from Mr Corbyn – and not even he believes in it! Can you imagine the negotiations that would take place if a Corbyn-Sturgeon were to come in? What on earth are they supposed to think in Brussels?
“Bonjour monsieur Corbyn comment allez vous? Tell us about this that deal you want … what do you mean you don’t really want it? What do you mean you don’t really believe in it or want to advocate it? Who does believe in it? Not Monsieur McDonnell? not Monsieur Starmer? Not Madame Abbott? Then who does believe in it??
“It would be farcical, it would be comical, if the consequences of that approach were not so disastrous for this country and for our prospects next year.
“Let’s give that madness a miss. I want you to imagine what the country could be like in just 10 years if we can get a working majority on the 12th of December.
“I want you to look forward to a Britain where the streets are safer, where the air is cleaner, where we have built 40 new hospitals as a direct result of the decisions taken in the last 3 months.
“A Britain where the ten year olds are not only doing better at reading and writing and maths but doing better across the whole country and where in ten years time scientists are starting to reap the huge rewards from our plans to double spending on for research from AI to the gigafactory for batteries that we will inaugurate to the new space ports in Cornwall and Scotland that will send British made satellites in to the heavens and drive one of our most exciting industries.
“A Britain where we are uniting and levelling up where great new infrastructure is helping to rebalance the economy, delivering Northern Powerhouse rail AND a metro style system for the whole of the west midlands.
“A Britain where left behind towns have recovered their vibrancy and commercial life and optimism, with shops and businesses made possible by better transport and fantastic broadband and then in turn where better infrastructure is allowing us to build thousands of superb new homes, hundreds of thousands, on brownfield sites – giving young people the prospect of home ownership that they currently don’t have that every survey shows is what people in this country wants
“A Britain where the landscape is made more beautiful by the planting of millions of trees that also help us to deal with climate change and in ten years time I confidently prophesy that we people will be passionately proud of their Scottish identity, and their Welsh and Northern Irish, and yes their English identity. And that will be a great thing.
“But we will also all be proud strong and whole United Kingdom, more united than ever, flying that red white and blue Union flag that represents the best of our values, from democracy and the rule of law from free trade to free speech to the freedom to love whomsoever you choose from championing 12 years of quality education for every girl in the world to protecting the planet’s wildlife from the tragedy of habitat loss and extinction and a Britain that is able to lead the world – as we do – in tackling climate change and to reduce our CO2 to net zero by 2050 not because we hate capitalism, and want to destroy it, and want pointlessly to make an enemy of enterprise but because the private sector makes the brilliant technical breakthroughs that enable us to cut CO2 AND pay for great public services and create great high skilled jobs.
“And that is the vision we are offering – to make this country the greatest place to live, to breathe, to be, to raise kids, to start a business – the greatest place on earth and I propose that we get on with it now.
“I don’t want to waste 2020 in two more referendums. I want it to be an exciting and productive year, a year of prosperity and growth.
“Do you want to wake up on Friday 13th December and find a nightmare on Downing Street, a Corbyn-Sturgeon coalition of chaos? I say let’s go carbon neutral by 2050 and Corbyn neutral by Christmas!
“Let’s go for sensible moderate but tax cutting, one nation Conservative government, and take this country forward.”
So that was Johnson’s launch – short on detail but brimful of bravado and bluster. There was a measured response from the bosses organisation, the Confederation of British Industy (CBI).
Josh Hardie, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: “The Conservatives’ manifesto pledges welcome action on the major issues that can improve living standards and opportunities across the country. Businesses will be heartened by a pro-enterprise vision, while looking for even more ambition on areas such as access to skills, infrastructure and reaching net zero.
“But the inconvenient truth remains: sustainable economic growth will be risked if there is a needless rush for a bare bones Brexit deal that would slow down our domestic progress for a generation.
“The National Skills Fund could make an important contribution to the significant upskilling efforts needed in the coming years. It needs to be delivered in partnership with business and come hand-in-hand with a detailed new immigration system that gives access to the full range of skills and labour the economy needs.
“Significant investment in local infrastructure will drive growth and reduce regional inequalities. To get the UK moving, the next Government must match it with unequivocal backing for key projects like HS2 and Heathrow.
“The manifesto includes a range of practical actions to put the UK on the path to net zero, from electric vehicle charging networks to energy efficiency in homes. It could go further by backing onshore wind and a new financing model for nuclear power.
“On Brexit, firms need the certainty of a closely aligned, frictionless relationship with the EU. The stability provided by transition is a vital first step, but it cannot be a Trojan horse for a bad deal. Supporting growth and funding public spending requires a comprehensive trade agreement for goods and services, and an end to damaging, politically driven cliff edges that have blighted our economy. Whoever is in Government must take the time needed to get this right.”
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, responding to the launch of the Conservative Manifesto, said: “Boris Johnson has launched a manifesto for billionaires. They bought it and you’ll pay for it.
“After a decade of the Conservatives cutting our NHS, police and schools, all Boris Johnson is offering is more of the same: more cuts, more failure, and years more of Brexit uncertainty.
“Boris Johnson can’t be trusted. Older people face a triple whammy as he has failed to protect free TV licences for over 75s, refused to grant justice to women unfairly affected by the increase in the state pension age, and not offered a plan or extra money to fix the social care crisis.
“In contrast, Labour’s manifesto is full of popular policies that the political establishment has blocked for a generation. Labour will deliver the real change Britain needs, so that no one is held back and no community left behind.”
The Trade Union Congress says the Conservative manifesto doesn’t deliver for working families. TUC’s Kate Bell explains why:
Public services are crumbling. Wages have stood still but the cost of living keeps rising. And too often the only jobs available are insecure or temp jobs on low pay.
Working-class families have had enough. At this election we want better – a country where our kids can get on.
We’ve asked all politicians to put working families first at this election. But the Conservative manifesto launched today doesn’t meet our tests. Here’s why:
1. There’s no plan to get wages rising for everyone, not just the top earners
Conservative governments have presided over the longest wage squeeze for 200 years. Today, five million people earn less than a living wage. Yet the Conservatives don’t have a plan to get wages rising for everyone.
• The Conservatives have re-announced a plan to raise the minimum wage by 2025. But struggling households need help now, not promises of jam tomorrow.
• The manifesto promises to help working families by raising the national insurance threshold to £9,500. Our research shows that even taking this into account, the tax and benefit reforms introduced by coalition and Conservative governments will make the bottom fifth of households £517 poorer in 2021 than they were at the start of the decade. By contrast, the top fifth will be £147 a year better off than in 2010.
• Rather than boosting the right for workers to negotiate fair pay rises for everybody, the Tories want to suppress the democratic right to strike for rail workers.
• The manifestos says the Conservatives will ‘improve incentives to attack the problem of excessive executive pay’. It doesn’t say how or when it will do that. Perhaps that’s not surprising when we’ve recently seen top pay soaring under Conservative government.
• Shockingly, the manifesto doesn’t even mention the gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps that still leave working people missing out on fair pay – let alone set out a plan to tackle them.
2. The Conservatives won’t ban zero hours contracts, and don’t have a plan for better jobs
Too many people in the UK today can’t find the secure jobs they need to raise their family. 3.7 million people are in insecure work. 900,000 are on zero-hours contracts. But the Conservative manifesto doesn’t demonstrate any understanding of the scale of this problem.
• The manifesto promises a ‘right to request’ a stable contract, rather than a ban on zero hours contracts. But everyone who’s talked to someone in insecure work knows that a right to request leaves all the power in the hands of the boss – so it’s no right at all.
• The manifesto says the Conservatives will “encourage” flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to. But today, one in three flexible working requests being turned down and two thirds of people in working class occupations don’t have access to flexi-time. So this is an issue which needs more than encouragement. Flexible working should be a day one right available to everyone.
• The manifesto talks about the Conservative’s ‘Red tape challenge’ to ensure regulation is proportionate. In the past that’s been code for slashing workers’ rights around unfair dismissal and introducing fees for employment tribunals. On top of Boris Johnson’s commitment to a hard Brexit, it’s clear that workers’ rights are on the line.
3. Conservative plans will leave public services still facing years of austerity
Nearly a decade of Conservative imposed austerity has devastated our public services. 400 thousand fewer older people are receiving publicly funded care. Funding for Sure Start children’s centres has been cut by two thirds. Over one in ten children in our state primary and secondary schools are now taught in classes with over 30 pupils, the highest levels in over 15 years.
The Conservative plans aren’t enough to turn that around.
• We know that NHS spending must rise by four per cent a year just to maintain current service levels. And if we want to keep up with rising demand, it’s five per cent. But the Conservative commitments amount to just 3.4 per cent additional resources. That’s not the real investment our NHS needs.
• Conservative commitments on increasing nurse numbers are already being dismantled just a few hours after they’ve been announced. And we shouldn’t forget that it was the Conservative government that abolished nurse bursaries in the first place.
• Social care is in crisis, but the Conservatives don’t have a plan to fix it. Instead we’re promised an attempt to seek ‘cross party consensus’. In the last 20 years there have been 12 green and white papers and 5 independent commissions on social care. This is just another excuse to kick the can down the road.
• The pledges on education would leave 80 per cent of schools in England with less per pupil per year in real terms than they had even in 2015.
• There’s no new money for local government. That means no new money for our libraries and no new money for Sure Start. Pledges to ‘revive towns’ ring hollow in the face of evidence that shows that it’s poorer urban areas that have borne the brunt of the cuts so far.
This Conservative plan doesn’t deliver for working people. It’s designed to benefit bosses and billionaires, but won’t fix our public services, protect workers’ rights or get wages rising for everyone.
After a decade of Conservative-imposed austerity, our economy is weak and working families are paying the price. We need change – and this manifesto isn’t it.
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