Tony Thomas attended the recent UK Conservative Party conference on behalf of the ICF. He has now issued his report and we thought our readers might find it of interest:
Lord Feldman, Chairman of the Conservative
Party opened the Conference, saying, with reference to the Labour Party, that
we need to defend ourselves. Heads as well as hearts. The Party needed to
maintain a world-class campaign team. The average age of the Party is rising,
and he was concerned about the lack of contact with youth. It was a Party of
opportunity for all, and was debt-free.
He was followed by Philip Hammond, the
Foreign Secretary, who said that Britain was meeting her defence budget. Labour
was a threat to our security. He said we will defeat ISIS, and pledged support
for Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said
there were 4000 servicemen and women operational in 21 centres. His reference
to the Armed Services drew a standing ovation. WE were meeting our target of 2%
of GDP spending on NATO. Now was no time
for Britain to retreat from the world. WE will build 4 ballistic submarines.
The
Secretary of State for International Development said we were committed to
spending 0.7 of GDP on overseas aid. A
video recording from Bill Gates and the President of the World Bank gave tribute to Britain’s commitment to this
target. She said the solving of the Ebola crisis was an example of Britain at
its best.
The
Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke on
Monday morning. He said if we take the
right decisions people trust you. We must not let us rest on our laurels. “We
are the builders”. There was a record number of people in work. He referred to
this autumn when the Spending Review had to be made. There were tough
decisions. He wanted to “fix the roof when
the sun is shining”. He wanted a low welfare and high wage economy. There would
be lower taxes for the lowest paid, and a National Living Wage. He was going to
build a home-owning democracy, and get Pension Funds to invest in infrastructure.
He announced an independent National
Infrastructure Commission, chaired by Lord Adonis, the former Labour
Minister to advise on rebuilding. WE
would never be part of the Single currency (the Eurozone). Being an MP in the
North had changed him. He was committed to development of the Northern
Powerhouse. We must live within our means. He would give Councils the right to
keep their own rates (these exceed Government grants) and abolish the uniform business rate.
Tony
went to a Housing “fringe” meeting where it was said that 15% of publicly-owned
land (NHS, railways etc) would be released for building. Most tenants wish to
be home-owners. 60% of London’s Police live outside London. 40% of housing in
London is built by Housing Associations and the Government is to give them
powers to sell to tenants. 99% of land owned by City Hall London is now being
developed. By 2020 London’s population is expected to be 10 millions. Tony
asked a question re council housing, especially as councils would have income
from their rates. It was felt there would be a case for that, but that many
councils had disbanded their departments and there was a serious shortage of
skilled craftsmen. Many homes in London
were built for the investment market. Overall there was concern for the
housebuilding programme. The Leader of Harrow Council said 240,000 homes are
required.
In
the afternoon the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs, said a strong environment and a strong economy go hand in hand. There
was a growing demand for British food. Kew was a global asset. The role of science and data was invaluable
in charting the way ahead.
Michael
Gove, the Justice Secretary of State, spoke on Tuesday, saying that there were
now 80,000 prisoners. He has plans for training
them in skills, so they can be usefully employed on release, following an
investigation he made in Texas. At present far too many re-offend after
release. He said every life is precious. Three-quarters of offenders have an
absent father. Many are victims of domestic violence. He arranged for a representative from Timpsons, the shoe
repairers to recount how his firm are now the biggest employers of ex-offenders
in the country. Nine of their shops are now being managed by ex-offenders.
(they do not train them to cut keys!)
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, spoke next. She said
the UK was the biggest donor after the USA to give aid to the Lebanon, Turkey
and Jordan for their refugees. The numbers coming from Europe must be
controlled. Net migration is still too high. We don’t need a European Common
Asylum policy. We need to cut the need to enter Britain. There is a difference
between economic migrants and refugees. Our present infrastructure cannot
sustain a high level of migrants.
The
candidate for the Mayor of London spoke in the afternoon. Next year is the
election. Rents are already twice the national average and there is a need to
build more homes.There is no shortage of land. He was followed by Boris
Johnson, who gave a witty speech, as he usually does.
Ian
Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary said that there were now 2
million more employed. He would ensure that work pays better than welfare.Work
our way out of poverty. He would ensure that policy makes families stronger. He
welcomed the Chancellor’s introduction of the National Living Wage. There were
no people more fair-minded than in the UK.
The
Head Teacher of an Academy School in Stourbridge introduced four pupils from
the school who spoke confidently of their educational opportunities. He was followed by a worker
with vulnerable youth in Rugby. His organisation selected 10/15 young people and
trained them for 2 years. He said 63% of prisoners miss mainstream education.
His organisation receives support from the private sector. He was succeeded by
the Secretary of State, Nicky Morgan, who said that teaching was the noblest of
professions.
Speakers
from the regions were given a good hearing, some a standing ovation (Wales and
Scotland).
The
Prime Minister gave the closing address. A third of the Cabinet are women. A
one nation Party. He would defend the Union with his all. He would not fight
another election as Leader. WE need to tackle some deep social problems –
poverty, blocked opportunity, the shadow of extremism. Britain does n’t just need
a stronger economy – it needs a stronger society. “My first duty as Prime
Minister is to keep people safe”. He took action to eliminate British subjects in Syria planning terrorist
attacks on UK soil. “If we opened the door to every refugee, our country would
be overwhelmed. The best thing we can do is help neighbouring countries, the
Syrian people and the refugees in the camps...and when we do take refugees, to
take them from the region.” We will spend 2% of GDP on defence. (the audience
gave a standing ovation to the Armed Services). On Europe he said Britain is
not interested in “ever closer union”. He wanted renegotiation of terms. On the
economy he said there was more inward investment than any other country except America and
China. “but, if anyone thinks the battle on the economy is won, they need to
think again. The battle has only just begun.....we can’t just be thinking about
today, we should be thinking about the rainy days that could come – just like a
family does.” He spoke of housing needs – the Help to Buy scheme and the Right
to Buy, and also building affordable homes to buy. With reference to social
reform, he said, “It is people that fire me up”.The best route out of poverty
is work. “We must also stop children needing to be in care at all.” “If we
tackle the causes of poverty, we can make our country greater.” He was
passionate about academies and free schools. He was upset that in Britain
today, even if they have the same
qualifications, people with white-sounding names are nearly twice as likely to
get call backs for jobs than people with ethnic=sounding names. He wanted his
Party that did n’t care where people come from, but only where they were going.
He said we must take on extremism in all its forms, and we need to tackle
segregation . He called for an end to passive tolerance – enforce the laws.
Free speech – and the best literature in the world. “The fight against
extremism is the fight for our existence.” He believed that this era, the 2010’s, could become a defining
decade for the country. A Greater Britain.
Tony Thomas 12.10.2015
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