The key policies to be aware of in the Conservatives’ General Election manifesto

The Conservative manifesto was launched in an event at Silverstone racing circuit ahead of the General Election on July 4.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spent the past few weeks attempting to woo the public with a series of late-night policy announcements.

They have included the reintroduction of National Service for 18-year-olds, extra tax savings for pensioners, and £20 million in levelling up cash for 30 towns around the UK.

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However, his efforts have been overshadowed by a series of gaffes – such as his decision to leave early from a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day last week.

The manifesto puts all the party’s pledges and proposals in one place for the first time, forming a full picture of what the Tories would like to get up to in another term.

Unlike Labour, the incumbent party has the tricky task of demonstrating to voters that the country is on the right path – yet also show it has plenty of fresh ideas.

At the famous racetrack, Sunak said: ‘Our country needs a secure future. This country wants a clear plan and bold action and it is this Conservative manifesto that will deliver it.’

Here are some of the main points from the manifesto.

Tax

Tax and tax cuts are the focus of the manifesto, and a few were teased before the launch event.

The first point on the first page of policies says the Tories would ‘cut tax for workers’ by slicing another 2p off National Insurance, meaning it will have been halved since the start of this year.

For self-employed people, the main rate of National Insurance would be abolished entirely by the end of the next parliament.

Stamp Duty would also be abolished for homes up to £425,000 for first time buyers, up from £300,000 at the moment.

Landlords who sell to their existing tenants would get two years of temporary Capital Gains Tax relief too.

There’s a pledge not to raise the rate of income tax or VAT – something Labour has also promised.

Immigration

The main point on immigration, which came up several times at the manifesto launch, is the beginning of the Rwanda scheme.

So far, the only migrants who have gone to the central African country have left voluntarily, but the document promises illegal migrants would be removed on a ‘regular rhythm of flights every month, staring this July, until the boats are stopped’.

A cap on work and family visas, which ‘cannot be breached’, would be set up to stem the number of people coming to the UK legally too.

Young people and education

Schools would be required to ban children from using their mobile phones during the school day under Tory plans – though it’s unclear if that will apply to all ages from five to 18.

As previously announced, 100,000 apprenticeships would be funded by ‘curbing the number of poor-quality university degrees’.

The manifesto also moots the introduction of the ‘Advanced British Standard’ in schools, which would ‘end the artificial and damaging divide between academic and technical education’.

Then, of course, there’s the new model of National Service that’s been suggested, which ‘will be compulsory, so it becomes a rite of passage for every 18-year-old’, the manifesto says.

NHS

Spending on the NHS would increase above inflation every year, the Conservatives pledge, with 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors recruited.

The manifesto includes a reference to the 40 new hospitals promised in the 2019 document, saying the party would continue to deliver them – the slow progress of construction has been an attack line from the Liberal Democrats recently.

A Dental Recovery Plan would ‘unlock 2.5 million more NHS dental appointments’, according to the Tories.

Meanwhile, the number of managers in the health service would be reduced by 5,500 in an effort to ‘cut waste and bureaucracy’.

Environment

Most references to the environment at the manifesto launch seemed to come from the PM emphasising how pragmatic the Conservatives’ approach to net zero would be.

This might be in response to considerable scepticism over the merit of net zero among some members of his party.

Nevertheless, the manifesto contains a pledge to treble offshore wind capacity, build the first two carbon capture and storage clusters, and invest £1.1 billion into the government’s Green Industries Growth Accelerator.

The creation of any new ‘green levies’ is ruled out, and the Climate Change Committee would be reformed to give it an ‘explicit mandate’ to consider cost to households when giving advice to the government.

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