Conservatives
The Conservative Manifesto is ‘An Invitation to Join the Government of Britain’ and includes a range of aspirations for how local people can have more say in decision making at a national and local level. An overarching theme is the concept of the ’Big society’ with higher levels of personal, professional, civic and corporate responsibility. The main content focuses on how the economy can be shepherded to recovery and the UK economy can be the most competitive in the world; but also a range of aspiration for fixing Broken Britain with social reforms.
The Manifesto at a glance...
Economy and Tax
- There will be an emergency budget within 50 days of an election victory to ‘set out a credible plan for eliminating the bulk of the structural current budget deficit over a Parliament.’
- no increase in National Insurance Contributions on 1st April 2011
- raise the primary threshold for National Insurance by £24 a week and the Upper earnings limit to £29 a week.
- Raise the secondary threshold at which employers atrt paying National Insurance by £21 a week
- Any new business will pay no Employers NI on the first 10 employees it hires in the first year
- Cut corporation tax to 25p and small business rate to 20p (funded by reducing complex reliefs and allowances.)
- Ambition to create the most competitive tax system for business in the G20 within 5 years
- SMEs will receive a £2000 bonus for every apprentice they hire
Business rates
- make small business rate relief automatic
- allow Councils to keep above average increases in business rate revenue, (so communities reap the benefits of growth)
- give councils power to introduce further business rate discounts in the community.
- there is a commitment to freeze Council tax for two years, but not an equivalent commitment on business rates.
Red Tape
- New ‘regulatory budgets’ for all Government bodies – any body wanting to introduce a new regulation has to reduce regulation elsewhere by a greater amount
- Reduce the number of forms needed to start up a new business (move to a ‘one click’ registration model)
Crime
- Overhaul the Licensing Act to give Local Authorities and Police much stronger powers to remove licences from, or refuse to grant licences to, any premises that are causing problems.
- Allow police to shut down permanently any shop or bar found persistently selling alcohol to children
- Raise takes on drinks linked to anti social drinking (but abolish the cider tax)
- Ban off licences and supermarkets selling alcohol below cost
- Permit councils to charge more for late nighyt licences to pay for additional policing.
Anyone acting reasonably to stop a crime should not be arrested, and stronger protections of those defending themselves and their homes.
Scrap the National ID Card
Consumers
- Create a Consumer Protection Agency to take over from the Financial Services authority to protect consumers in lending and finance – also include a new 7 day cooling off period for new store cards
- Restore the National Lottery to its original purpose and cut down on administration costs to make sure more money goes to good causes
Employment
- Initiate a review to look at bringing forward the starting age for state pension (but no sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women)
- Extend right to request flexible working to all parents with children under 18
- Aspire to extend right to request flexible working to all
- New flexible parental leave (which lets parents share maternity leave between them)
Children
- Reverse the commercialization of childhood
- Ban any company found in breach of marketing rules to chidren from government advertising contracts
- Ban companies from peer to peer marketing techniques targeted at children
Planning
- Greater local control over planning
- Remove the Regional Spatial strategies
- Use open source planning system to engage local people in plan making
- New approach to levies on new developments
Community
Ambition that every adult in the country will be part of an active neighborhood group – including funding the training of ‘independent community organizers’ to help people to establish and run neighborhood groups