AT LAST, A PM NOT AFRAID TO BE HONEST WITH YOU
THERESA MAY yesterday put the needs of ordinary working families at the heart of a pragmatic plan to deliver a better deal for ‘mainstream Britain’.
In a dramatic break with the past, the Prime Minister set out practical pledges rather than the eye-catching but unrealistic promises that have littered other manifestos.
With remarkable honesty three weeks before Britain goes to the polls, she levelled with voters that the country faces ‘tough choices’ and ‘great challenges’ as she navigates Brexit. And in
a swipe at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s financially incontinent manifesto, the Prime Minister said the public ‘aren’t fooled by politicians who promise the earth and claim no tough choices are required’.
Unveiling the manifesto in Labour-held Halifax, Mrs May cast aside the gimmicks of the David Cameron era, focusing instead on concrete policies to help those for whom ‘life is simply much harder than many seem to think or realise’.
Mrs May’s 84-page manifesto, which was moral in tone, said true Conservatism rejected the ‘ cult of selfish individualism’ and eschewed ‘untrammelled free markets’. Instead, she promised to build a Britain that ‘works for everyone, not just a privileged few’ with a series of pledges that represented an audacious Tory raid on Labour’s heartlands.
The manifesto, headlined Forward Together, included:
A pledge to raise health spending by £8 billion a year by the end of the next parliament, matching Labour’s commitment on the totemic issue;
Retaining the pledge to cut net immigration to the tens of thousands;
Ending the ban on selective state schools to allow the creation of a new generation of grammars;
Capping ‘ rip- off ’ energy bills;
Introducing a new GP contract to accelerate moves towards a seven-day NHS;
Taking Britain out of the EU’s single market and ending meddling in Britain’s affairs by European judges;
Scrapping the ‘triple lock’ on pensions, but retaining free bus passes and TV licences for older people;
A crackdown on pension rules to prevent a repeat of the BHS scandal;
Pushing back the date when Britain’s books will be balanced until 2025.
In stark contrast to Labour, Mrs May was candid with voters about what lies ahead.
She said the next five years would be ‘ among the most challenging in our lifetime’ as Britain prepares to strike out and forge a new future outside the EU.
The PM said most voters were sick of ideology and wanted a government that would deliver Brexit and then focus on their needs.
She added: ‘They make those choices every day in their own lives and understand that politicians who aspire to lead must do the same. They do not ask for much. They just want to get on with their lives, to do their best for their children, and to be given a fair chance. And they look to their government for help and support.’
The Tory manifesto explicitly rejected the free market ideology of the past, saying the Conservatives ‘do not believe in untrammelled free markets’. It went on: ‘True Conservatism means a commitment to country and community, a belief not just in society but in the good that government can do.’
Asked whether she considered herself a Thatcherite, Mrs May said: ‘ Margaret Thatcher was a Conservative, I am a Conservative, this is a Conservative manifesto.’ She added: ‘There is no “Mayism”. There is good solid Conservatism that puts the interests of the country and the interests of ordinary working people at the heart of everything we do in government.’
The shift in tone alarmed free marketeers, with the Institute for Economic Affairs saying it was ‘concerning’ to see the advent of a Tory Party ‘which fails to understand that economic and social problems are more likely to be eased by free market solutions than by increased state intervention’.
But Paul Johnson, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, welcomed the decision to dump George Osborne’s gimmicky ‘tax lock’ on VAT, income tax and National Insurance and move towards a more grown-up style of politics.