18 January 2010
After 12 years in opposition, three elections lost, and no
fewer than four different leaders, the Conservatives appear to be
leading the race to win the next election. Liane Hartley looks at
what we might be able to expect from a Conservative
government...
Economy
Labour may have tried to steal Conservative thunder by
announcing a pay freeze for the public sector, but the
Conservatives are pushing for very stringent cuts in Whitehall - a
third over five years, with most of the hit being taken by quangos
(Regional Development Agencies are a particular focus of Tory
ire).
The message here seems to be that any quango is a quango too
far. Other measures include no tax credits for families with
incomes over £50,000, no abolition of the 50p rate and proposals to
raise the retirement age. Anyone looking forward to seeing
inheritance tax cuts featuring in the first budget will also be
disappointed.
Health
The Department of Health would be abolished in its current form.
Hospitals and GPs’ surgeries would be run locally, and a new much
smaller Department of Public Health will be set up in
Whitehall
concentrating on changing lifestyles – the health police will
continue unabated.
Education
Conservatives have unveiled plans for a new technical school to
be built in each of the 12 biggest cities in England, encouraging
students to take vocational qualifications. The technical schools
would teach 14-19 year-olds who want to gain employment rather than
go to university.
Development & Regeneration
London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has given the clearest indication
yet that the Conservatives would support Crossrail, emphasising the
importance of London as the UK’s economic powerhouse. This is an
indication of a move away from Labour’s policy of balancing
regional disparities and return to overheating south-eastern
economies.
Housing
The Conservative Party would create a ‘Nation of Homebuilders’
with villages granted powers to expand by up to 10% over ten years.
Local Housing Trusts would enable rural areas to use local
democracy to build the homes they need for local families and to
support local services. Changes to the planning system (again)
beckon.
Public Sector Reform
The Shadow Business Secretary has called for a ‘sunset clause’
to be applied to all regulatory quangos, forcing them to either
justify their existence or face being abolished. The public will be
able to nominate unpopular regulations which will then be placed
under review for potential abolition. This would not apparently
lower standards but instead reduce mountains of forms - a sure-fire
vote winner.
One of the strongest messages across the board from the Tories
is one of ‘Localism’. On a cynical note the localism agenda -
‘Local decisions at the local level’ - could in fact be more about
placing the burden of responsibility of identifying and making
spending cuts on the shoulders of local government - a tactic
used by the Tories in the 1980s.
Others are more positive, suggesting that Cameron does have a
genuinely radical programme for government based on handing power
from Whitehall to ordinary people. To compensate for dwindling
resources and executive capacity, Local Authorities will be given
greater powers to influence local issues and enter into greater
partnership working with the private sector. This could see a new
breed of Public Private Partnerships – food for thought for Capita
Symonds.
Liane Hartley (liane.hartley@capita.co.uk)
is a Principal Socio-Economist at Capita Symonds.
www.capitasymonds.co.uk/socioeconomics
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