The Conservatives followed the Liberal Democrats this week announcing their manifesto yesterday. Here are some of the main pledges including one which may impact many prospective university students
Regular flights to Rwanda
The manifesto underlines the plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, saying there will be a “regular rhythm of flights every month, starting this July”. It’s possible the Rwanda scheme could make it through the courts and take off but it is very difficult to see how a regular rhythm will be achieved so soon.
Ministers have already delayed the date for the first theoretical flight to no earlier than 24 July. Judges in London are grappling with around a dozen potentially major challenges, all of which could go to the Supreme Court.
And on top of that the UK’s deal with Rwanda only seems to cover, for now, sending 300 migrants. That’s less than half the number who have arrived across the English Channel this month alone. Official figures show that sending 300 people will mean the UK would pay Rwanda £541m over five years - or £1.8m per transferred individual. We don’t know how much more the government has set aside if it wants monthly flights to become a reality.
Increased defence spending
A big theme of the Conservative campaign is the promise of security. At the heart of that is a commitment to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence spending. The current NATO target is 2%.
The manifesto talks variously about meeting the new target “by” or “in” 2030. Privately, Conservative sources made clear they planned to raise defence spending cumulatively year on year.
Their aim is to contrast themselves with Labour which is promising to meet the 2.5% target, but only when economic circumstances allow. The Tories are trying to suggest to voters that backing Labour would be a risk. Mr Sunak claimed only the Tories could keep Britain safe, in contrast to what he called “an uncertain Keir Starmer”.
An end to ‘low-quality’ degrees
The Conservatives’ promise to close university courses in England with high drop-out rates - or which leave graduates no better off - builds on existing powers. The Office for Students, which regulates universities, already acts if courses fall below quality thresholds. It estimates this applies to no more than 3% of current students. If potential graduate earnings are taken into account, more courses might fall into this category.
The party wants to fund 100,000 extra apprenticeships a year by the end of the next Parliament instead. This can only happen if employers want to create them.
In schools, there’s a firm focus on parents’ concerns, including requiring schools to ban the use of mobile phones during the school day. The Conservatives are also pointing to their record on improving maths and reading compared with other countries. Schools, meanwhile, are preoccupied with their stagnating budgets to maintain standards. Per-pupil funding in England is just above 2010 levels, so the promise of keeping up with inflation in the next Parliament will be welcomed.
A cap on social care costs
The Conservatives say they will go ahead with their proposal for an £86,000 cap on social care costs for people who are older or disabled in England if they win the election. It means no one would pay more than that for personal care over their lifetime.
The current plan is for it to be introduced in October 2025, but it’s not clear how it will be funded.
A one penny increase to National Insurance, which it was estimated would raise £12bn, was introduced to pay for it, [=then scrapped soon after.
Pilot schemes to test out how the care cap would work were also stopped. The early lesson from the councils involved was that there wasn’t enough money.
Net zero without new green charges
The Conservatives continue to attempt to walk a thin line on climate. They say they’ll meet their goal of reaching net zero by 2050 but without what Rishi Sunak calls “unaffordable eco-zealotry”.
The challenge is the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent watchdog on climate, has already warned that the UK isn’t on track to meet its ambitious promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 68% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2030.
They’re adamant there will be no new green levies or charges and promise any big new decisions on climate will be put to a vote in Parliament. Local communities will be able to vote on new onshore wind projects and low traffic neighbourhoods.
These are just a few of their policies analysed by the BBC, check out their full manifesto here: Conservative Manifesto 2024 (conservatives.com)