AT-A-GLANCE: All the policies as Boris Johnson unveils Tory election manifesto
4 min read
The Prime Minister has unveiled the Tory manifesto for next month’s general election - 'Get Brexit Done. Unleash Britain's Potential. Alain Tolhurst has a look at the main policies.
TAXES
The Tories will introduce a “triple lock” guaranteeing no increase in income tax, National Insurance or VAT for the duration of the next Parliament.
They will also increase the salary threshold at which workers begin paying NI, from £8,628 a year, to £9,500, with an "ultimate ambition" of raising it to £12,500.
Boris Johnson has also ditched previous plans by his party to cut corporation tax, which will net the Treasury an extra £3billion next year, climbing to £6.3billion by the end of the next Parliament.
NHS
A pledge to recruit 50,000 more nurses, as well as training 500 more GPs each year from 2021-22 to help create 50 million more appointments in GP surgeries every year.
The NHS budget will also increase to £33.9 billion by 2023-24, alongside pledges to upgrade 20 hospitals and rebuild 40 over the next decade.
The manifesto also promises free hospital parking in England for people with disabilities, frequent patients, the gravely ill, families of long-stay patients, carers and NHS staff working night shifts.
BREXIT
The Prime Minister has pledged to bring back his "oven ready" Brexit deal to Parliament before Christmas, so that the Withdrawal Agreement Bill can be ratified in time for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January next year.
He is also pledging not extend the post-Brexit transition period beyond 31 December 2020, meaning the Government will have just 11 months to sign a long-term trade deal with Brussels.
ENVIRONMENT
The Conservatives pledge that the UK will be carbon neutral by 2050.
In order to work towards that, £6.3billion has been earmarked to improve energy efficiency in 2.2 million homes - reducing bills by up to £750 a year.
The party also pledges to ban the export of plastic waste to countries outside the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
EDUCATION
There will be a new National Skills Fund of £600million a year to pay for five years for adult retraining.
State school spending will be increased in England by £7.1billion by 2022/23, along with per pupil funding for secondary schools set at a minimum of £5,000 next year, while each primary school pupil will get £4,000 by 2021-22.
And there will be an extra £250million a year, for at least three years, plus a £250million capital spending boost for "wraparound" childcare, meaning after school or during holidays.
CRIME
The Tories have pledged to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers to replace those lost in cuts by Conservative-led governments since 2010.
They will also extend stop and search powers, make life mean life for child murderers, and spend £2.5billion on improving prisons.
They will also introduce a tough new approach to knife crime, provide more support for victims of rape and extra protections for those suffering from domestic abuse.
SOCIAL CARE
Mr Johnson said no-one will have to sell their home to pay for the cost of their care in later life, but unsurprisingly after Theresa May’s 2017 “dementia tax” debacle, the manifesto is light on detail.
It includes an additional £1billion in additional short-term funding, and a commitment to build a cross-party consensus on a long-term fix.
And there is a doubling in funding for dementia research, with an extra £83million a year, as well as speeding up trials of new drugs.
PENSIONERS
There was plenty on offer for older voters, including a commitment to keeping the pensions triple lock so state pension increases each year by whichever is highest out of CPI inflation, wage growth or 2.5%.
The Tories will also keep free TV licences for over-75s, although funded by the BBC, as well the older person’s bus pass and winter fuel payments.
OTHER
Foreign buyers will have to pay an additional 3% in stamp duty on property in the UK.
An extra £500million a year for four years to fund filling potholes.
The backing for a bid to host the men’s football World Cup in 2030.
And a Conservative government would repeal the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which was introduced by David Cameron's coalition government.
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