Delhi HC appoints ex-SC judge as observer for JNUSU elections

The Delhi High Court has appointed former...

Tough test for Adhir Chowdhury as Mamata bowls a googly

Congress’ LoP in Lok Sabha is facing...

Court remands BRS leader to ED’s custody till Mar 23

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted...

‘May’s govt will lower taxes, improve national wages’

World‘May’s govt will lower taxes, improve national wages’

The Tory manifesto came out last of the party manifestos, but not every Conservative in the land is approving of the quantity of state intervention. It rejects the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right and instead embraces the good that government can do. Rather than pursue an agenda based on a supposed centre ground defined and established by elites in Westminster, May will govern in the interests of the mainstream of the British public—there will be no ideological crusades. The government’s agenda will not be allowed to drift to the right. Mays’ government does not believe in untrammelled free markets and rejects the cult of selfish individualism. It abhors social division, injustice, unfairness and inequality and sees rigid dogma and ideology as dangerous.

The emphasis is on low taxes, improving the national living wage and the “gig” economy; scrutiny about and action against pension mismanagement; a critical look at foreign ownership of telecoms, defence and energy companies; caring for the ageing population; homes and health care for all and government investment in research and development and technology.

Reforms to corporate governance will include the appointment of a director from the workforce. The creation of UK sovereign wealth funds created out of revenues from shale gas extraction, dormant assets, and the receipts of sale of some public assets and support for the oil and gas sector with the aim that the UK should have the lowest energy costs in Europe.

Preserving the political union of the United Kingdom including by moving some operational headquarters and administrative functions as well as arts and cultural organisations around Britain.

Confirmation that as UK leaves the European Union, UK will no longer be members of the single market or customs union and that the final Brexit agreement will be subject to a vote in both houses of parliament. The Great Repeal Bill means UK laws will be made in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, interpreted by judges across the UK, not in Luxembourg, meaning that the rights of workers and protections given to consumers and the environment by EU law will continue to be available in UK law when UK leaves the EU.

UK will not bring the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law and UK troops will in future not be subject to European Court of Human Rights.

It claims true Conservatism means a commitment to country and community; a belief not just in society but in the good that government can do. A large section is devoted to a Global Britain being the champion of free trade. UK will expand its global efforts to combat extremism and confront Islamist extremism, terror, and the perpetration of violence against people because of their faith, gender or sexuality with a focus on the education of women and girls. Britain will remain a place of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers and deliver the largest programme of investment in its armed forces for generations.

May’s government will take measures to close the gender pay gap, requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish more data on the pay gap between men and women, to work for parity in the number of public appointments going to women, pushing for an increase in the number of women sitting on boards of companies.

May will take up leadership in a new arena and make UK the global leader in the regulation of the use of personal data and the internet. A digital charter, a framework for data ethics with digital government and public services will be introduced with new rules for the digital economy, security online, with unprecedented investment in cyber security and stronger cyber standards for government and public services.

Steps will be taken to protect the reliability and objectivity of information that is essential to democracy and a free and independent press. May will repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2014, which, if enacted, would force media organisations to become members of a flawed regulatory system or risk having to pay the legal costs of both sides in libel and privacy cases, even if they win.

Observers’ immediate reactions have been that there are no figures or numbers that the government can be held to account for and that the manisfesto is more Merkel than Thatcher.

Jeremy Corbyn appointed Andrew Murray as campaign chief. Murray is a former member of the Communist Party of Britain and has a pro-Stalin, solidarity with North Korea and anti-imperialism reputation. Labour official manifesto “For the many not just the few” was criticised for being idealistic and their Shadow Chancellor could not quantify the UK deficit and how Corbyn would fund the nationalisations proposed. Analysis has shown the media coverage of the election has been imbalanced largely in favour of the Conservatives. Whereas coverage of Corbyn has been critical and derogatory, Theresa May has accounted for the lion’s share of newsworthiness. There is an extraordinary new trend to put Corbyn’s face on some Conservative and Liberal Democrat campaign posters, although Labour’s campaign posters do not depict Theresa May. The election seems to be a contest between leadership personalities and who has the persuasive leadership qualities to lead Britain post-Brexit.

This has resulted in Team Theresa gaining Labour voters in parts of Britain that previous Conservatives have failed to reach. There is speculation that if Labour lose by a landslide, their MPs may try to unseat Corbyn and divide/re-form the party. According to Britain Elects, the poll aggregator, voters trust Labour on the National Health Service (Labour’s trump card), schools and housing. On the other hand, they trust Tories on the economy, immigration (Tories weakest link), law, tax and unemployment. Stephan Shakespeare, the YouGov founder and polling scientist, claims his research shows that one in four Labour voters want a Conservative government.

George Osborne is challenging Theresa May’s every move via OpEd’sin Evgeny Lebedev’s Evening Standard. This week he particularly took on May on reducing net migration. He wrote: “The damage to the economy from seriously reducing work visas was judged too severe by an expert migration committee; the impact on community relations of further limiting family reunion visas was seen as unpalatable; and few thought we were taking in too many refugees.” This is with Osborne’s insight from his previous government post which some say gives him an unfair advantage. To counter Osborne, enter Katie Perrior from the opposite spectrum. May’s former director of communications, she will now be News UK’s election expert.

UK is the fifth largest economy is the world and the fastest growing economy in the G7. Unemployment has fallen dramatically and this week the FTSE closed at a record high, above 7,500 for the first time in history. With only three weeks to go, polling stands at Conservatives 49% (steady), Labour 34% (+8), Liberal Democrats 7% (-6), Green 3% (+2) and UKIP 2% (-2).

- Advertisement -

Check out our other content

Check out other tags:

Most Popular Articles