Maitland Political Insight Conservative Party Conference 2014 Conservative Conference 2014
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Maitland Political Insight Conservative Party Conference 2014 Conservative Conference 2014 Maitland Political Insight – Edition VI - Conservative Conference - September 2014 Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….3 Economy ……………………………………………………………………………………….....4 Business……….…………………………………………………………………………………..4 Welfare…..........................................................................................................................5 Health……………………….…………………...………………………………………………...5 Foreign Affairs & Defence………………………………………………………………………..6 2 Conservative Conference 2014 Introduction As Party Conference season continues, last week it was the turn of the Conservative Party in Birmingham. It‟s safe to say that #CPC14 (as it was known on twitter) didn‟t get off to the start the Leadership would have wanted with the news of Mark Reckless, MP for Rochester and Strood, defecting to UKIP breaking on the eve of the conference. Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps MP was firm in describing the move as “completely illogical”, but there was a definite purple cloud hanging over Birmingham at the start of the conference. That said, all was forgotten when Leader of the House, William Hague MP took to the stage on Sunday afternoon. In what many labelled as his last hoorah, Hague‟s speech was an emotional goodbye to the party he once led and labelled as a “party for everyone” as evidenced by him. This speech was to kick of a series of substantive contributions from the party leadership as they set the course for the 2015 General Election. Monday saw some of the Cabinet heavyweights take to the stage. Chancellor George Osborne MP announced £23,000 benefit cap and the Conservatives‟ plan to cut the deficit. Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude MP spoke about the continuing Government efficiency reform programme that would take place in the next Parliament. The afternoon was capped off by Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith MP, who had the hall on their feet when he broke free from the autocue to address party unity. Home Secretary Theresa May stole the show on Tuesday with a composed performance which focused on tackling extremism and reform of „stop and search‟. It was a tough act to follow, but Boris Johnson threw everything into it, including a brick. There is no doubt the London Mayor won the line of the conference award, declaring that the new Conservative fisheries policy was "to chuck Salmond overboard, then eat Kippers for breakfast!" Then it was the turn of Prime Minister David Cameron MP who took to the stage to close the conference on Wednesday. Looking back on the year past, Cameron paid homage to those who fought on D-Day. He was not bashful when making a joke at Ed Miliband‟s expense, referencing the Labour leader „forgetting the deficit‟. Key policy announcements included the raising of the personal allowance and raising the 40p tax rate from £41,900 to £50,000 by 2020, which was criticised by Labour as an unfunded tax cut. The Prime Minister also committed English votes on English issues in Parliament by the next election. Whilst this was a traditional Conservative speech in many respects, some announcements did indicate a tack back to the centre ground ahead of next May‟s general election. This is the third edition of the Maitland Political Conference Insight, providing you with detailed analysis of the major announcements from the Conservative Party Conference 2014. 3 Conservative Conference 2014 Economy As was expected the economy formed the centrepiece of the conference, with a raft of tax and spend measures being announced. The Conservatives are hoping the economy becomes the crucial battleground at the next election, due to their long-held poll lead over Labour on the issue. The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his speech from the podium on Monday. He opened on an optimistic note saying “I believe it is perfectly possible for Britain to be the most prosperous major country on earth.” He then moved on to trumpet the Government‟s economic record, referring to Britain as “the fastest growing, most job creating, most deficit reducing nation on earth”. The Chancellor then took aim at the Labour Party opposition, enjoying a cheeky jibe at Labour leader saying “Ed Miliband made a pitch for office that was so forgettable that he forgot it himself”. He then announced the speech‟s headline message, saying deficit reduction requires a further £25bn of public spending cuts in the first 2 years of the next parliament. The announcement was meant to ease the electorate into the idea of further public spending cuts should the Tories win in May next year. If George Osborne MP‟s public spending cuts announcement portrayed him as the „bad cop‟, then David Cameron MP intended to be the „good cop‟ with tax cuts at the heart of his conference address. He began by saying in plain terms that “If you work hard, we will cut your taxes…but only if we keep on cutting the deficit, so we can afford to do that”. He moved on to pledge the lowest corporate taxes in the G20, a nod to the pro-business instincts of many Tory activists. The Prime Minister‟s speech then got into full swing with a commitment to raising the tax-free personal allowance from £10,500 to £12,500, a policy which has been touted by the Lib Dems for some time now. He went on to say how this would take a person earning minimum wage and working 30 hours a week out of income tax altogether. “So with us if you work 30 hours a week on minimum wage, you will pay no income tax at all. Nothing. Zero. Zilch”. The Prime Minister moved on to perhaps his most surprising announcement, that the Conservatives would raise the threshold at which people pay the 40p tax rate to £50,000 by the end of the next parliament. He said “The 40p tax rate was only supposed to be paid by the most well-off people in our country but in the past could of decades, far too many have been dragged into it”. The total cost of these tax cuts amounts to £7bn, with the Conservatives yet to outline how they are to be funded. Both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have set out their economic stall ahead of next May‟s election, believing it will be enough to sway the electorate their way. 4 Conservative Conference 2014 Business The Conservatives have often been characterised as the most business-friendly party and at its Conference in Birmingham the party sought to show how it intended to honour that accolade. As Chancellor George Osborne said during his speech: “the future for Britain is to be a pro-business country.” The most eye-catching announcement was made by Prime Minister David Cameron MP in his speech on Wednesday, saying a Conservative government “will always have the most competitive corporate taxes in the G20.” At the same time, Cameron referenced Chancellor George Osborne MP‟s speech given on Monday, and warned companies that the UK does expect companies to pay the tax they are due to pay. Osborne had singled out major technology companies in particular as an example of aggressive tax avoidance. He said his “message to those companies is clear: we will put a stop to it. Low taxes, but low taxes that are paid.” He gave some details of this clamp-down, which has been dubbed the “Google tax”, but more details will be announced in the Autumn Statement on 3 December. The new measure will specifically target the “Double Irish” - a transfer pricing scheme. This involves transferring profits internally, first to Ireland, and then to another low-tax jurisdiction, to limit a firm‟s tax liability. Companies using this strategy will be made to pay tax on profits as if they were incurred in the UK. The party also set out plans to invest in apprenticeships, aiming to increase the total number between 2015-2020 to 3 million. This increase will be funded by lowering the household benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000. The plan also sees access to Jobseeker‟s Allowance for 18-21 year olds abolished and replaced with a Youth Allowance, time-limited to six months, after which young people will have to take an apprenticeship, a traineeship, or do daily community work for their benefits. On infrastructure, Cameron has sought to re-assert the Conservatives as the party of the homeowners, announcing that up to 100,000 new homes would be offered to first-time-buyers under the age of 40 at a discount of 20%, by exempting them from certain taxes and regulations, if the Tories win the next election. The houses would be built on brownfield land that has already been earmarked for development but which is not needed for commercial use. In more broad-brush strokes, Osborne summarised the Conservative plan that is partly underway already under the Coalition Government: “we will tap the shale gas, commission nuclear power and renewables, and guarantee our energy for the future. We will build the high speed rail, decide where to put a runway and support the next generation with starter homes in a permanent Help to Buy.” He also said in response to concerns over the dominance of London that “the answer is to build up the rest of our country”, in particular creating a Northern Powerhouse of cities, connecting up the South West and putting the Midlands at the centre of a manufacturing revival. 5 Conservative Conference 2014 Welfare Welfare formed a significant part of the Conference agenda, with both Chancellor George Osborne MP and Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith MP, making a series of announcements. With welfare reform also prominently on the agenda at Labour‟s conference last week, it is set to be an important battlefround in next year‟s general election.