Rishi Sunak makes a speech outside 10 Downing Street (Gareth Fuller/PA).
(Picture: PA Wire)Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister, will return the Conservative Party to the policies of its 2019 election manifesto, former justice minister Victoria Atkins has said.
She acknowledged it had been a “brutal six weeks in politics” following Liz Truss’s turbulent tenure as prime minister and subsequent resignation.
The Tories’ manifesto amounted to 59 pages, with the slogan “Get Brexit Done, Unleash Britain’s Potential”.
But what were the promises that the party hoped would grab the public’s attention?
The promises
No income tax, VAT or National Insurance rises
The chancellor at the time, Sajid Javid, and former prime minister, Boris Johnson, wanted to keep a tight ship and avoid increasing tax.
The government announced in 2021 a manifesto-busting £12 billion-a-year package of tax increases for this year, including a controversial 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance. This was aimed at tackling NHS Covid backlogs and overhauling social care. However, most of these plans have either been kept on hold or scrapped.
A new budget is due to be unveiled on Monday, October 31, with ChancellorJeremy Hunt hinting at a possible £20 billion of tax rises.
Leave the EU
Mr Johnson pledged he would get Brexit “done” in January 2020 if he won the 2019 General Election.
The UK withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020, the only sovereign country to have left the bloc.
Deliver 50,000 more nurses by 2024
By reinstituting maintenance payments for students of between £5,000 and £8,000 per year, the Tories sought to help to train more nurses. There was controversy about the elimination of these grants in 2017 and a subsequent decline in applicants.
However, a progress report published earlier this year showed that more than 27,000 more nurses are working in the health service than in September 2019, bringing the total number to 327,907.
Pensions to rise by at least 2.5 per cent a year
The manifesto promised that the state pension would be increased by the CPI measure of inflation, wage growth or 2.5 per cent each year - whichever is the highest.
The “triple lock” was paused last year and last week Downing Street indicated former prime minister Liz Truss could ditch her commitment to this.
She confirmed during last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that she would “commit” to pension spending.
Improve the energy efficiency of social housing
This manifesto promised to spend £2,860 per household on improving the energy efficiency of social housing and save £750 a year on energy bills.
Earlier this year, funding was received to see 20,000 social housing properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or lower receive upgrades to improve their energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
This entails installing solar panels, heat pumps, energy-efficient doors and windows, and insulation for the external walls and roof.
Upgrades are expected to be completed by the end of March 2023, supporting thousands of lower-income and more vulnerable households.
Reach net zero by 2050
The government set a world-leading goal of cutting emissions to virtually zero by 2050.
Launch a democracy commission
The Tories promised to appoint a ‘Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission’ to review various aspects of the constitution and produce proposals “to restore trust in our institutions and in how our democracy operates”.
This approach to drafting constitutional reform did not materialise, however. Instead, the government appointed a series of narrower issue-specific reviews, organised as elite commissions - such as the Independent Review of Administrative Law and Independent Human Rights Act Review.
Freeze tuition fees at £9,250
This suggested the current freeze of tuition fees in England at their level of £9,250 would continue.
The Tories have kept this promise as tuition fees still remain at the previous cost.
Continue Universal Credit
The Conservatives confirmed they would continue the roll-out of Universal Credit.
Introduce a points-based immigration system
A new points-based system was adopted in the UK shortly after it left the EU.
To secure a skilled worker visa, people have to qualify for 70 points.
Having a job offer from an approved employer for a skilled job and being able to speak English will give 50 points. People can also gain extra points for having better qualifications or an offer of a job in which the UK has a shortage, even if it doesn’t pay as much money.
