Tory campaign policy positions tracked – POLITICO

May 29

100,000 additional internships per year by the end of the five-year parliament, costing £885 million a year until 2029/30. The party says this would be covered by an independent regulator closing the “lowest performing” university courses – which Tory estimates would affect those studying 13 per cent of students – thus sparing the state the cost of student loans never being repaid. Sunak later refused to name specific courses that would be closed. Source: CCHQ press release.

May 28

Triple lock Plus. The Conservatives would create a tax-free allowance in the income tax system that would remain above the state pension rate. This would mean two different personal benefits: one for working-age people and a second, higher one for retirees. Pensions will continue to increase, by a maximum of 2.5 percent, inflation or earnings. The party says the £2.4 billion annual cost will be funded by “reducing tax avoidance and evasion”. Source: CCHQ press release.

26th of May

National service. Mandatory military service for every 18-year-old until the end of the parliamentary term. They could choose between a 12-month full-time internship in the armed forces or cyber defence, or 25 days a year of unpaid work in flood defence, the NHS, the fire service, charities, search and rescue or other roles. decided by the Royal Commission. The Tories say it will cost £2.5 billion a year by 2029/30, of which £1.5 billion will be covered by scrapping the Shared Prosperity Fund and the rest by “fighting tax avoidance and evasion”. “. Source: CCHQ press release.

Before the campaign

Rishi Sunak has been in Downing Street for a year and a half, so he already has a laundry list of policies in his pantry. While the Tory manifesto has not yet been revealed, some are sure to be there – and have re-engaged in this campaign.

These include raising defense spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, further increasing the number of free childcare hours for working parents, and reviewing other past policies such as the NHS Jobs Plan and a ‘full spend’ tax system for businesses.

The party pledged on its website to “implement the plan for Rwanda.” This is a promise made in 2022 to deport people arriving in Rwanda in small boats, preventing them from seeking asylum in the UK. No one has been deported yet, and the Conservative government – which promised the first flight in the first half of 2020 in July – confirmed to the High Court that it would not start before election day.

Sunak also scaled back some net zero commitments by banning petrol and diesel cars from 2035… promised a raft of social care reforms that were halfway through… and pledged (like Labor) to introduce a new ban in Zealand style prohibiting people currently under 18 years of age from purchasing tobacco products. However, his prohibition legislation ran out of time due to the election.