PUBLIC SECTOR PAY
The Northern Ireland Department for Health and the Executive’s decision to reject clear recommendations from the independent pay review body about the pay regime for nurses, midwives and other health service professionals has become increasingly exploitative of these workers’ strong sense of vocation.
The move by the Royal College of Nurses to take industrial action for the first time in their over 100-year history is a clear indication that nurses have been taken for granted for too long and action is needed to address the immense pressure on our public servants.
Unlike the DUP, who voted against a pay increase for public sector workers in an amendment to a Queen’s Speech tabled by the Labour Party, SDLP MPs will use our influence and votes to deliver a consolidated pay increase for public sector workers.
We will always vote to deliver a fair deal for nurses, firefighters and other emergency service staff.
JOBS & SKILLS
The SDLP has always been committed to delivering better jobs,
better wages
and a fairer economy.
SDLP MPs will support this by ensuring Northern Ireland is properly funded to support our manufacturing industry,
to increase the number of SMEs,
and to increase our levels of exports, which pale in comparison to Republic.
That means supporting the growth of indigenous manufacturing and attracting manufacturers from abroad to Northern Ireland.
It also means harnessing the spending power of local and national government to support local enterprises.
We will ensure that Invest NI work closely with Enterprise Ireland to learn from their success in growing the Irish economy through exports.
In addition, all current training and skills opportunities must match the demands of the modern economy and must be accessible to all
Connecting Communities through Infrastructure
OUR VISION
A modern network of physical and digital infrastructure meeting the needs of people in towns, villages and cities across Northern Ireland.
SETTING THE BUILDING BLOCKS
State-of-the art infrastructure is a key building block of prosperity for any society.
Northern Ireland requires a comprehensive programme of investment across a range of infrastructure including telecommunications, railways, roads, energy and green infrastructure.
Working at Westminster, SDLP MPs will ensure the continued delivery of City Deals in Northern Ireland
and will ensure that the block grant reflects the needs of Northern Ireland.
ROADS AND ROAD SAFETY
Northern Ireland does not have a modern roads network.
While continued work sees some improvements on the A5 and A6, the travel time between our two largest cities is far too long.
Delays in planning have added to the frustration of many of those living outside Belfast subjected to a substandard roads network.
The SDLP will seek fast-tracked funding for the update of our roads network, including cross-border projects like Narrow Water Bridge.
We will work to secure a more efficient planning process which will ensure proper consultation on changes without taking years.
The SDLP’s commitment to road safety remains steadfast – too many people are being killed and injured on our roads.
This includes ensuring our new and existing roads infrastructure are properly designed and maintained to world standards.
We will deliver ongoing increases in road safety campaigning budgets to bring the message of how important road safety is.
OUR PLEDGE
Ensure that infrastructure protects and enhances the environment,
supports economic growth
and delivers more connected communities.
RAIL
The closure of vast swathes of our railway network was a huge mistake.
The climate emergency means putting more and more cars on the road is no longer a viable solution to our transport needs.
The SDLP is committed to the retention of our current rail network and its expansion to other locations across the North.
We are committed to the creation of stations at Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport – these airports are all very close to existing railway lines, yet incredibly none have a dedicated railway station.
This simple investment would not only bring us up to modern standards,
it would reduce car journeys by tens of thousands, thereby reducing air pollution.
The SDLP is committed to transformative improvements on the Belfast-Dublin train line.
Brexit has brought into sharp focus the rapid improvement required on this line, which has seen no improvement in the journey time of two hours in over 20 years
At an era when journeys of a similar distance on European networks take one hour, we should be aiming to deliver that speed of service here.
The SDLP welcomes the various feasibility studies underway at present to explore how this vital railway line can be improved.
RURAL  BROADBAND
Our rural towns, villages and countryside have been left behind in the broadband revolution.
Too many homes and businesses in rural areas – especially West of the Bann – are still unable to access broadband services with adequate download speeds.
While extra investment in broadband infrastructure is to be welcomed, the ongoing delays are unacceptable.
SDLP MPs will make the fast-tracking of this process a top priority – rural areas should no longer be discriminated against when it comes to broadband provision.
WATERWAYS
Our loughs, rivers and canals are an unexplored jewel in our environmental crown.
Not only do improve- ments in our waterways infrastructure protect and improve the environment,
they open up hundreds of locations to tourism  right across Northern Ireland
and benefit ru-ral areas.
Ensuring that this network grows and flourishes is a key commitment of the SDLP.
ENERGY
Restrictions in our energy infrastructure continue to stifle investment, especially in manufacturing, in various parts of Northern Ireland.
In addition, consumers are subject to continued price increases.
SDLP MPs will use our influence in Westminster to increase funding for energy infrastructure.
In addition, we remain committed to the further advancement of the all-Ireland energy market and are committed to overall renewables targets and the reduction of domestic prices which increased competition can bring.
CYCLING
We still have not made a meaningful commitment to building world-class cycling infrastructure despite decades of platitudes and the climate emergency we now face, which means taking cars off the road is a challenge that all of us must meet.
We remain committed to delivering cycling improvements through more greenways in rural communities,
and prioritising the development of cycle lanes and other cycle infrastructure in towns and cities.
WATER  AND WASTEWATER
The SDLP has and will remain resolutely opposed to domestic water charges.
Despite the previous capital investment programme, and the new Water and Sewerage Act, there continues to be significant short- falls in water and wastewater infrastructure, especially in Belfast and in some rural areas.
REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMISSION
The UK National Infrastructure Commission provides a strategic assessment of long-term infrastructure needs at the beginning of each parliamentary mandate alongside recommendations for project delivery.
It also produces expert-led research into the most pressing infrastructure challenges while monitoring progress on delivering new projects.
SDLP MPs will make the case for a regional infrastructure commission to break the silo mentality that exists across Executive departments and give fair consideration to the interactions between infrastructure projects on connected communities.
An Ireland for All
OUR VISION
A fairer, socially just society where difference is respected, not just tolerated.
A BILL OF RIGHTS
Human rights provide vital protections for everyone in Northern Ireland.
The SDLP believes it is the responsibility of all of us to respect the rights of others and we will continue to campaign for the adoption of a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights to protect, strengthen and uphold the social, cultural and economic rights we currently enjoy.
LGBT+ RIGHTS
The SDLP is a strong and proud supporter of LGBT+ rights.
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood brought forward the first Assembly motion on equal marriage that achieved a majority.
Prior to the collapse of the Assembly, the SDLP was working on a cross party basis to table a marriage equality bill.
The SDLP recognises that there is much progress still to make to ensure we achieve full and meaningful equality for our LGBT+ community.
The SDLP will support legislation to implement LGBT+ affirming relationship and education curriculum for schools.
The SDLP will fight for the expansion of PrEP funding to make it accessible to all who require it.
SDLP MPs will use our votes to promote LGBT+ rights at home and around the world.
OUR PLEDGE
Our MPs will be in Westminster where it counts, continuing to champion human rights both here at home and internationally
and ensuring that the rights of workers are safeguarded.
RACISM
The SDLP strongly opposes racism and xenophobia in all forms.
We are concerned by reports of increased hate crime following the vote to leave the European Union.
We believe that Northern Ireland is greatly enriched by those who have come here to makea new home and this will help progress towards a truly shared future.
SDLP MPs will fight to protect EU nationals who have made their home here.
They must not be used as a bargaining chip in any Brexit negotiations.
Immigration has enriched the North.
Given that immigration remains a reserved matter controlled by the British Government, it is crucial that SDLP MPs are in Westminster to make the case that people of the North have the legal entitlement to be Irish.
Any change to this position would be a dilution of the principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
AN GHAEILGE – IRISH LANGUAGE
The SDLP is committed to the establishment of a rights based Irish Language Act, to protect and enhance the language across the North.
We support an Act that ensures legal recognition for the Irish language, and better integration within our public services; including local government and political institutions.
SDLP MPs will go to Westminster and, working with various language stakeholders, will press the case for protection for the Irish language.
This includes proposing an Irish Language Act in Westminster to ensure the powers retained by Westminster, such as broadcasting, are covered by the Act.
DIGNITY FOR OUR OLDER PEOPLE
Older people in our society deserve dignity and to have a good quality of life.
The SDLP commit to no further erosion of older people’s entitlements and will work to increase awareness of the financial entitlements available to older people, to ensure they get what they are entitled to.
The SDLP will fight and vote against any attempt to remove the free TV license from over 75s.
We will oppose the increase in state pension age
and stand by the women born in the 1950s affected by the unfair hike in state pension age in their campaign for justice
.
DISABILITY RIGHTS
The SDLP understands that society and its structures ultimately disable people.
We believe in the Social Model of disability.
It is this model which guides our understanding and work in respect of disability.
As a party we are fully committed to supporting all disabled people to realise their rights as defined in the UNCRPD.
We believe in the inherent dignity and worth of every disabled person and their valuable contribution to our society past, present and future.
INTERNATIONAL  HUMAN RIGHTS
The SDLP will continue to champion and defend human rights.
The international issues that people across the North care about are primarily dealt with at Westminster.
The votes of SDLP and our allies have defeated the British Government’s reckless approach to foreign affairs and intervention in the Middle East.
In the SDLP, we are proud nationalists and internationalists.
The global challenges of tax justice, climate change and eliminating poverty can only be solved through co-operation with our sister parties across the world.
From tackling tax evasion to speaking up for a humanitarian approach to refugees to opposing unnecessary conflicts, SDLP MPs will be there to speak up for people in the North and say “not in our name”.
Policing and Justice
OUR VISION
A safe, shared society that protects people from crime,
meets the needs of victims
and works to rehabilitate those who fall into a cycle of criminal behaviour.
HEALING THROUGH JUSTICE
There is a continuing and urgent need to comprehensively and ethically address the legacy of the Past and the needs of victims and survivors.
This would be one of the single greatest contributions to reconciliation and healing.
TRUTH AND JUSTICE
Successive British Governments have been clear they will seek to protect their wider state interests in relation to addressing the past and in multiple ways, they will resist accountability.
In this critical period on addressing the past, it is vital that there are votes in Westminster to challenge the British Government.
SDLP MPs have done that robustly and will continue to do so.
ANIMAL CRUELTY
SDLP MPs were previously active in Westminster in defending animal welfare.
SDLP MPs at Westminster will support the establishment of an all-Islands animal cruelty register to ensure that animals aren’t inadvertently rehomed to banned persons, increasing the risk of serial offending.
OUR PLEDGE
Our MPs will approach legacy, the past and policing issues with the needs of victims in mind and ensure any process is human rights compliant.
STANDING UP FOR VICTIMS
Throughout the various negotiations that have taken place since the Good Friday Agreement, the SDLP has pressed for the Agreement’s promise to victims to be honoured and addressed.
The range of the Eames-Bradley proposals have regrettably been downgraded.
We supported the Haass-O’Sullivan proposals and regret these have been diluted in the subsequent Stormont House and Fresh Start negotiations.
The SDLP supports the introduction of a Victims Payment Scheme and will continue to fight for a fair and just mechanism of delivery.
The SDLP will work with WAVE Trauma Centre and other stakeholders to ensure that any payments would not affect existing social security benefits.
SDLP MPs will press to ensure this scheme is properly funded and that support should be on the basis of need.
POLICING
The SDLP supports substantive reforms to the criminal justice system to deliver faster, fairer justice with increased accountability.
This is best achieved by introducing clear timelines for bringing a case to court and increasing communication between victims, the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service.
The SDLP will fight against cuts to legal aid and the closure of courthouses, to ensure that everyone has affordable and accessible justice.
The SDLP believes the single most effective way to fight crime and make our communities safer is to have a visible police presence.
We recognise the impact that a decade of Tory austerity has had on community policing and we support increasing resource to the PSNI to ensure that they can operate effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of victims of crime.
DOMESTIC ABUSE
SDLP MPs supported the successful Istanbul Convention Bill on preventing and combating domestic violence against women and girls.
We will support a cross departmental Domestic Violence Strategy to tackle the unacceptable level of domestic abuse and gender violence in the North,
as well as comprehensive legislation, to include coercive behaviour.
The SDLP is concerned that the British Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill does not apply to the North, leaving victims of domestic violence here behind in relation to legislative protections.
SDLP MPs will fight hard for victims and survivors of domestic violence and press for urgent legislative action.
Restoring and reforming Stormont
OUR VISION
Inclusive, sustainable powersharing government that delivers a prosperous economy and first class public services for all communities.
BRIDGING THE GAPS
Northern Ireland has been without a government for over 1000 days, leaving vital public services in crisis with no Ministers to take strategic resource decisions.
The evidence for the crisis can be found in longer waiting lists, supply shortages in our schools and the welfare cliff edge facing tens of thousands of families.
The SDLP has made bold proposals to bridge the gaps between parties and secure the restoration of reformed institutions.
REPAIRING  RELATIONSHIPS
There are several fault lines that risk the stability and sustainability of a future Executive.
Key among these are the relationships between leaders and parties which have become frayed over a period of years.
A priority must be resetting the relationships between parties to work together in our substantial common interests.
There must also be a new way of identifying and managing emerging risks and critical incidents which may test the relationships between parties.
The SDLP has also made proposals in this area.
OUR PLEDGE
The SDLP will make radical proposals for the reform and restoration of an Executive that delivers health services and economic investment that people need.
THE PETITION OF CONCERN
The SDLP supports substantial reform of the Petition of Concern to restore the mechanism to its original purpose – a way of protecting minority communities from abuse by others.
We have made significant proposals to constrain the opportunities for the deployment of the veto to issues relating to human rights and equality,
with further proposals for a robust system of accountability.
We recognise, however, that agreement around a specific package for reform may prove difficult.
We have therefore indicated our willingness to compromise around suspending the mechanism for the lifetime of this Assembly mandate.
Reforming the Assembly veto will allow any challenging issues, and any future issues which threaten the sustainability of the institutions, to be dealt with by way of a simple vote on the floor of the Assembly.
A NEW ERA OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
We must recognise the serious anxiety and exasperation that has been expressed in civic society about the failure of politics over the last three years.
The return of devolution should be marked by a new commitment to engage and involve those outside of government with the work and ambitions of a new administration.
This should be aimed at generating a new confidence in devolution.
This should include: A Civic Forum.
A Citizen’s Assembly.
A Youth Parliament.
External recruitment of people with specialist expertise to upgrade the capacity of Ministers and Departments.
A Bill Of Rights and all-island Charter of Rights
Opposition - resourcing the role of opposition to normalise politics in the Assembly.
Reset the institutions to the Good Friday Agreement with genuine power sharing, including the joint election of First and deputy First Ministers.
Social security
OUR VISION
A healthy and prosperous society where poverty is tackled and not normalised, and where we provide a safety net for those who fall on hard times.
TACKLING POVERTY
In Northern Ireland in 2019 we have 292,000 adults and 85,000 children living in poverty.
As a society we cannot allow survival by food banks, increasing levels of poverty, homelessness, debt and despair to be normalised or denied.
It is shameful we do not have a government and Assembly in the north to help protect people.
Tackling poverty and empowering citizens will be a key priority for the SDLP in Westminster
and it remains a key priority for us in any Talks process to restore devolution.
There has been a deliberate attempt to demonise those on social security and to dismiss them as ‘scroungers’.
A healthy and prosperous society requires a safety net for those who fall on hard times and language has a powerful role to play.
We should reject and refuse to use terms like ‘welfare and claimants’ and instead use ‘entitlements and people’.
MITIGATING THE CRISIS
SDLP MPs in Westminster, in the absence of an Assembly, will vote to strengthen & extend mitigations for another four years
with a commitment to redistribute any underspend towards tackling poverty.
The reality however is that mitigations are a sticking plaster.
The social security system should not be used to let employers away with paying poor wages, or tackle the gig economy, zero hours contract , and increase regulation of the private rented sector, issues that are important in combating poverty.
SDLP MPs will support efforts to deliver the living wage for workers
and support businesses to deliver fairer work conditions.
OUR PLEDGE
SDLP MPs will vote to scrap Universal Credit
the Bedroom Tax
and vote to scrap the two child limit policy
and end the benefits freeze.
SDLP MPs in Westminster, in the absence of an Assembly, will press for an adequate mitigations package with a commitment to redistribute any underspend towards tackling poverty.
ENDING AUSTERITY
The UN Special rapporteur on extreme poverty Philip Alston rightly described Welfare Reform as ‘a digital and sanitised version of the 19th-century workhouse, made infamous by Charles Dickens’.
He also correctly said austerity wasn’t a necessity.
It is a political choice.
This UN report confirmed, as does the mountain of evidence, that women, children, the disabled and low income working families, are among the hardest hit groups by Welfare Reform.
In Northern Ireland given our unique circumstances; the legacy of the conflict, the shortage and segregated nature of our social housing, higher disability rates and larger family sizes, means the impact of Welfare Reform is particularly hard hitting.
These unique circumstances require a unique social security response.
HOMELESSNESS
SDLP MPs will support positive housing decisions and prioritise spending on social housing and new build programmes, including budgetary lines which in turn factor into the Barnett formula allocation for Northern Ireland.
Access to a good quality, secure and affordable home is a fundamental right.
It is critical if individuals, families and communities are to flourish.
The SDLP believes that at least 3,000 new social homes are needed each year to meet demand.
These new homes must be targeted at the areas with greatest need.
If we are to successfully tackle homelessness, an initial step must be to place a duty of co-operation on Government departments.
The SDLP tabled proposals to introduce this duty and will progress this through legislation, as a first step in reducing homelessness.
A FAIRER DEAL
Too many people in communities across the North have been let down by this government.
Nowhere is that more true than for the WASPI women who have had their pensions raided after making significant plans for their financial stability in retirement.
It is a disgrace that they now face years longer in work and have had their confidence in government shattered by the callous actions of this administration.
SDLP MPs will vote for pension justice for this generation of women.
During the Welfare Reform debates in the Assembly, the SDLP made a strong case for a system that met the specific needs of people here.
That included funding the Advice Sector to provide independent, professional support to those struggling to cope with changes.
Our proposals were voted down one after another.
SDLP MPs will seek to secure additional resource for these agencies doing critical work with the most vulnerable in our communities.
SDLP MPs will also seek to dismantle Tory welfare cuts by: Ending the benefit freeze
and seeking to restore the value of social security in part or in full.
•Increasing flexibility and access to financial support for those struggling to make ends meet via Discretionary Support and the Contingency Fund.
•Bring PIP and ESA assessments in house to end the injustice inflicted on vulnerable people by private companies.
•Scrap the six months to live definition of terminal illness and move to a clinical definition to allow all those with a terminal illness to access the fast track application route.
•Review and improve the appeals process – people are having poor experiences, there are significant delays and there is a lack of continuity across the process.
This must change.
Introduction
The Liberal Democrats are the only party contesting this election with a clear plan for how we will build a brighter future.
The first step of our plan for a brighter future is simple: stop Brexit
and use the Remain Bonus to invest in public services.
We are unashamedly fighting to stay in the European Union,
and we are the strongest party of Remain.
We believe that our best future as a country is as a member of the European Union.
Any form of Brexit will damage our economy, put jobs at risk, hurt our NHS and put our family of nations under enormous strain.
There is no Brexit deal that will ever be as good as the deal we currently have as a member of the European Union.
Our determination to stop Brexit isn’t just about retaining membership of this or that EU institution.
It’s about who we are as a country and the values that drive our choices.
It’s about choosing to work with others in taking on the big challenges that we face, whether it’s the climate crisis or cybercrime.
It’s about recognising that the zero-sum games of the past no longer apply to a world where our future prosperity is so interlinked with that of our closest allies.
Staying in the European Union will secure a £50 billion Remain Bonus, with the economy two per cent larger by 2024-25.
We can invest that bonus in our schools,
and on tackling in-work poverty and inequality.
A Liberal Democrat government will take urgent action to save our planet.
We are the last generation that can stop irreversible climate change.
We’ve already seen how floods and wildfires are becoming an ever more regular occurrence in our country.
And, though we should be proud to be the first country to declare a climate emergency,
we cannot ignore the fact that the government has done little else since then.
In the meantime, it’s been young people who have consistently put the climate crisis back on the agenda with their inspirational climate strikes.
The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a radical, credible and detailed plan to tackle the climate emergency as soon as possible.
We will deliver a ten-year emergency programme to cut greenhouse gas emissions substantially straightaway
and phase out emissions from the remaining hard-to-treat sectors by 2045 at the latest.
By 2030 we will generate 80 per cent of our electricity from renewables
and cut energy bills and emissions by insulating homes,
prioritising bringing 3.5 million households out of fuel poverty by 2025.
In government, we will give every child the best start in life, no matter their ability or background, and we will empower them to make the most of the challenges ahead.
But currently too many of our schools are falling behind, teaching assistants are being laid off
and cash-strapped councils are struggling to support children with complex needs.
Liberal Democrats will invest in schools to build a brighter future for our children.
We will reverse school cuts with an emergency cash injection so that pupils have the resources they need to learn.
We will increase teacher numbers by 20,000 and let them get on with their jobs, instead of worrying about budgeting for the basics.
We will create a fairer economy, where every person can live a secure, happy and fulfilling life.
To do that, we will provide free childcare for all children with parents in work from nine months
and for all children from two years, up to the time they start school.
This will plug the gap in provision, ensuring that parents have an easier choice when it comes to returning to work after parental leave.
The great advancements in technology and the ever-changing nature of the world of work mean that more of us will change careers throughout our lives.
And it simply isn’t good enough to say that education stops after school or university.
A Liberal Democrat government will set up a new Skills Wallet for every adult, giving people £10,000 to spend on approved education and training courses to gain the right skills for the jobs of the future.
Creating a fairer economy is about reinventing the relationship between business and the communities in which they operate, so that they are part of the solution to our biggest challenges, not the problem.
Finally, we will transform our mental health service by treating it with the same urgency as physical health.
About one in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year, and while the NHS may be the envy of the world, our mental health service falls far short of what patients deserve.
Nearly two-thirds of children and young people with diagnosable mental health conditions are not receiving treatment,
and waiting times for psychological therapy can range from just over two weeks to six months, depending on where you are in the country.
Over the next Parliament, a Liberal Democrat government will invest £11 billion in mental health to expand access to therapies
and increase the number of psychiatrists and specialist mental health practitioners.
We will make mental health services 24- hour, including placing mental health liaison teams in all hospitals so that those facing a mental health crisis are not put in police cells.
This is the Liberal Democrat plan for a brighter future.
Stop Brexit
Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to stop Brexit and stay in the European Union.
For over three years Liberal Democrats have led the fight to stop Brexit.
We campaigned to stay in the EU in 2016 and we unequivocally believe that the UK is stronger as part of the EU.
The election of a Liberal Democrat majority government on a clear stop Brexit platform will provide a democratic mandate to stop this mess, revoke Article 50 and stay in the EU.
In other circumstances, we will continue to fight for a people’s vote with the option to stay in the EU,
and in that vote we would passionately campaign to keep the UK in the EU.
Electing a Liberal Democrat government is the only way to get the Brexit process over.
Although the Conservatives claim that a vote for them will ‘get Brexit done’, it won’t:
it will simply usher in more years of difficult negotiations over the UK’s trade deal with the EU, with a very high chance of Britain crashing out and trying to survive on so-called ‘WTO terms’ – a deal so bad that almost no other country anywhere in the world trades on that basis.
Labour want to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement all over again and negotiate a new deal – but they will not say whether they want Britain to remain in the EU or leave.
The fact is that whether Labour Red or Tory Blue, Brexit is bad for the UK.
The importance of the UK’s membership of the EU has never been clearer.
Working together through the EU, the countries of Europe have achieved peace and prosperity on a continent historically wracked by war and division.
That is a tremendous achievement; it should not be taken for granted, particularly as Europe faces new dangers from an increasingly aggressive Russia and as the US turns away from its old alliances.
Many of the great challenges of the 21st century are global: climate change, human trafficking, the arms trade, the power of multinationals, global poverty and inequality.
By separating itself from the EU, Britain diminishes its capacity to respond to these threats.
By working together with our European neighbours, we increase the UK’s ability to meet those challenges: for example, in international negotiations, in regulating the tech giants or in creating markets for climate-friendly products.
There is no doubt that full membership of the EU is good for the British economy.
Brexit would bring to an end businesses’ unfettered access to the European single market – the destination of almost half of Britain’s exports – and to the smooth flow of goods that complex industrial supply chains require.
The prospect of tariffs and border checks is already causing manufacturers to shift their operations to other EU states and UK manufacturers are already reporting that export orders have dried up.
There is no prospect of replacing lost EU markets with free trade agreements with other countries thousands of miles away.
If the UK gives in to President Trump’s demands to lower environmental and health standards for a trade deal with the US, we would lose the ability to export to the EU,
which would drive many British businesses, including most farmers, out of business.
Brexit is bad for jobs,
growth and prosperity.
Brexit will also mean an end to freedom of movement, which has brought the UK tremendous social, economic and cultural benefits.
It gives British people the opportunity to work, be together with their loved ones, study and retire anywhere in the EU.
There is no contradiction between our European and our British, national and regional identities: they enrich one another.
By stopping Brexit, Liberal Democrats will protect and maintain freedom of movement, safeguarding the rights of UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU and EU citizens in the UK.
Liberal Democrats will also support the right of the people of Gibraltar to remain in the European Union.
EU citizens are valued members of our communities and we believe that they should be afforded the right to full participation in civic life, including the ability to stand for office and vote in UK referendums, European elections and general elections as well as local elections.
Liberal Democrats will extend these rights to all EU citizens who have lived in the UK for five years or longer.
To ensure that EU citizens are not denied their vote in any election or referendum, we will also implement urgent electoral law reform, in line with the Electoral Commission’s 2014 recommendations,
including introducing a legal requirement for councils to inform citizens of the steps they must take to be successfully registered
and making the necessary changes to ensure that the UK has an automatic system of inclusion in elections.
The national humiliation of Brexit puts so much at risk – the NHS, public services, jobs across the country, scientific collaboration, peace in Northern Ireland, the unity of the UK, our ability to tackle global crises such as climate change and our global reputation as a country that is confident and outward-facing.
By keeping the UK in the EU, we can get on with tackling the real issues facing our country,
using the Remain Bonus of £50 billion to invest in public services
and tackle inequality.
A Liberal Democrat government will stop Brexit – and build a brighter future for the UK by keeping us at the heart of the European Union.
Our Plan for a Stronger Economy
People who work hard and contribute to society should have good, fulfilling and well- paid jobs.
Businesses and entrepreneurs who innovate and invest and behave responsibly to their employees and to the environment should be supported.
But this is not how the UK is today: too many people can’t get on, and live secure, happy and fulfilling lives.
The failure of governments to invest in infrastructure and skills has undermined productivity,
and now the Conservatives threaten to make the vast majority of people poorer
and punish business and enterprise through a hard Brexit.
Meanwhile, we are facing profound economic changes that demand new partnerships between government and business:,
the emergence of artificial intelligence requires new approaches to work
and the challenge of transitioning to a zero-carbon economy must be managed in a way that does not hurt the least well-off
and makes the UK more competitive.
The UK’s strengths in science, financial services, the creative industries and high-tech manufacturing mean that we should be well placed to build an economy that treats business as part of the solution
and spreads opportunity to everyone.
However, neither Labour nor the Conservatives are capable of guiding the economy through these challenges.
Both parties are reaching to the past for answers that are no longer relevant.
The Conservatives are pursuing a deregulated, low-tax Brexit that will set our economy back for generations;
Labour are facilitating Brexit while seeking to renationalise their way back to a form of 1970s socialism.
Liberal Democrats are now the natural home of business: we are the only party with a new plan for a brighter economic future.
A plan to invest in climate-friendly infrastructure and technology
and create new green businesses
and jobs;
a plan to build on our scientific, technological and creative strengths;
a plan to stop Brexit
and build a more prosperous, equal and inclusive economy.
Whichever part of the country people are from and whatever stage of their career they are at, our plan will mean greater opportunities
and good, well-paid jobs.
Our priorities in the next parliament will be: Investing £130 billion in infrastructure – upgrading our transport and energy systems,
building schools,
hospitals and homes,
empowering all regions and nations of the UK
and developing the climate-friendly infrastructure of the future.
Enabling an adaptable, future-focused workforce// –
empowering individuals through new Skills Wallets worth £10,000 for every individual.
Introducing a wellbeing budget and basing decisions for government spending on what will improve wellbeing as well as on economic and fiscal indicators.
Investment for the Future across the UK
Opportunity and access to education, employment and services are not fairly spread around the country.
This means that many people become stuck in insecure work in which they have no prospect of promotion.
The Conservatives pay lip service to the idea of regional growth
while pursuing a reckless Brexit that will deepen inequality
and place trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK;
Labour’s backwards-looking approach of Whitehall running renationalised industries denies people and communities autonomy and will hit investment and stifle innovation.
Liberal Democrats are the only party looking to the future with a plan to kickstart adevolution revolution that will give all parts of the UK a real say backed by meaningful financial muscle.
This is the only sustainable answer to the regional divide. We will:Give local authorities and regions the power to make decisions about their areas.
Introduce a capital £50 billion Regional Rebalancing Programme for infrastructure spend across the nations and regions of the UK,
with local and devolved authorities given a say in how it is used,
reinforced by a Just Transition Fund to support communities negatively affected by policies to tackle the climate emergency.
Continue to champion investment in the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine,
putting significant capital resources into infrastructure projects across these regions.
Set an ambitious National Industrial Strategy to transform the economy
and develop Local Industrial Strategies within it that incentivise clustering by businesses and universities with particular specialisations.
Work with the major banks to fund the creation of a local banking sector dedicated to meeting the needs of local small and medium-sized businesses.
Expand the British Business Bank to perform a more central role in the economy, to ensure that viable small and medium-sized businesses have access to capital, even when the rest of the commercial banking system can’t provide it.
Support the tourist industry which is vital for many local economies by:
Upgrading the status of tourism within government, by creating a Department of Digital, Culture, Media, Sport and Tourism, with a designated Minister of State for Tourism.
Enabling local authorities to bring in tourist levies to fund local tourism infrastructure.
Liberal Democrats want to take advantage of historically low interest rates to increase borrowing for investment to build the economy of the future.
We are committed to a responsible and realistic £130 billion package of additional infrastructure investment, which will prioritise:
Significant investment in public transport, including converting the rail network to ultra-low-emission technology (electric or hydrogen) by 2035,
and a continued commitment to HS2, Crossrail 2 and other major new strategic rail routes.
A programme of installing hyper-fast, fibre-optic broadband across the UK
– with a particular focus on connecting rural areas.
New direct spending on housebuilding to help build 300,000 homes a year by 2024,
including 100,000 social homes.
An emergency ten-year programme to reduce energy consumption from all the UK’s buildings, cutting emissions and fuel bills
and ending fuel poverty.
Capital investment in schools
and hospitals to support capacity increases and modernisation.
£5 billion of initial capital for a new Green Investment Bank,
using public money to attract private investment for zero-carbon priorities.
We will ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission takes fully into account the climate and environmental implications of all national infrastructure decisions.
UK2050: Our Vision for an Innovation-Led Economy
We want to lay the foundations for the UK to be the best place in the world for innovation-led businesses in the long-term – to be a place where people come from across the EU and the world to turn their ideas into reality.
But with R&D and innovation investment lagging behind other countries and being overly concentrated in South East England, it needs major change to make this vision a reality.
Only the Liberal Democrats can deliver this; the Conservatives are harking back to a romanticised imperial past,
while pursuing a Brexit that will hit research and innovation, which is so dependent on European and other international collaboration,
while Labour has no plan for the economy of the future.
Liberal Democrats have a transformative plan to make the UK a world leader in responsible innovation by taking advantage of the UK’s strengths and what we are good at as a nation:
our natural advantages in renewable energy;  our strong university sector  and our regional strengths such as bioscience in the Midlands, advanced materials in Yorkshire, zero-carbon technology in the North West and photonics in Scotland.
We will build a growing economy in which people will have well-paid and fulfilling jobs.
We will: Increase national spending on research and development to three per cent of GDP.
We will publish a roadmap to achieve this ambition by the earliest date possible, via an interim target of 2.4 per cent of GDP by no later than 2027.
Support innovation, with a goal of doubling innovation spending across the economy.
Increase the Strength in Places Fund, to boost research and development outside the ‘golden triangle’ of Oxford-Cambridge-London.
Build on the industrial strategy developed by Liberal Democrat ministers in government, working with sectors which are critical to the UK’s ability to trade internationally,
creating more ‘Catapult’ innovation and technology centres
and backing private investment in particular in zero-carbon and environmental innovation.
Develop the skilled workforce needed to support this growth by introducing a new two-year visa for students to work after graduation
and a major expansion of high-quality apprenticeships including Higher Apprenticeships, backed up by new sector-led National Colleges.
Develop a national skills strategy for key sectors, including zero-carbon technologies, to help match skills and people;
our new Skills Wallets will allow people to retrain and upskill when they need to. (also see Opportunities Throughout Life section, p.25)
Reform building standards to ensure that all new homes built from 2022 have full connectivity to ultra-fast broadband
and are designed to enable the use of smart technologies.
Continue to support investment in new UK digital start-ups by reforming the British Business Bank’s support for venture capital funds to enable it to help funds ‘crowd in’ new backers rather than acting as a funder of last resort.
Support growth in the creative industries, including video gaming, by continuing to support the Creative Industries Council
and tailored industry-specific tax support, promoting creative skills,
supporting modern and flexible patent, copyright and licensing rules,
and addressing the barriers to finance faced by small creative businesses.
Create creative enterprise zones to grow and regenerate the cultural output of areas across the UK.
Harnessing the Benefits of New Technology
Our ambition is for the UK to lead the world in ethical, inclusive new technology, including artificial intelligence.
We will invest in education to equip people with the skills they need – whether to use new technology or to create it
– while also attracting and welcoming the best talent from around the world.
We will enable innovators and entrepreneurs to experiment and take risks,
while taking on concentrations of power that stifle competition, limit choice for consumers and hamper progress.
And we will ensure that new technology is developed and deployed ethically, so that it respects people’s fundamental rights, including the rights to privacy and non-discrimination.
We will: Support the UK’s diverse, inclusive tech sector by teaching core skills such as logic, verbal reasoning and creativity in schools,
and by reforming immigration rules – including enabling industry bodies to sponsor work visas.
Support the growth of new jobs and businesses in the tech sector by allowing companies to claim R&D tax credits against the cost of purchasing datasets and cloud computing,
simplifying the regulatory landscape and speeding up regulatory change.
Ensure that new technologies are used in ethical and responsible ways by:Introducing a Lovelace Code of Ethics to ensure the use of personal data and artificial intelligence is unbiased, transparent and accurate, and respects privacy.
Giving the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation the power to ‘call in’ products that appear to breach this Code.
Requiring all courses relating to digital technologies to include teaching about ethics and the Code specifically.
Introducing a kitemark for companies that meet the highest ethical standards in their development and use of artificial intelligence and other new technologies.
Convening a citizens’ assembly to determine when it is appropriate for the government to use algorithms in decision-making.
Develop a mechanism to allow the public to share in the profits made by tech companies in the use of their data.
Empower consumers and ensure that everyone can enjoy the benefits of new technology, by setting a UK-wide target for digital literacy
and requiring all products to provide a short, clear version of their terms and conditions, setting out the key facts as they relate to individuals’ data and privacy.
Enable people whose jobs are affected by automation to gain new skills and retrain with our new Skills Wallets,
so that they can work in the good, well- paying jobs of the future.
A Better Deal for Entrepreneurs and Small Business
Dynamic, entrepreneurial businesses are a force for good: entrepreneurs, the self- employed and small businesses form the backbone of local economies and government should support them.
However, the Conservatives are pursuing policies that make it harder to start successful new businesses
and Labour do not understand or value start-ups and small businesses.
Liberal Democrats are the only party who understand the importance of these businesses and who will ensure that they have the access to funding and long-term capital that they need.
We will: Create a new ‘start-up allowance’ to help those starting a new business with their living costs in the crucial first weeks of their business.
Support fast-growing businesses seeking to scale up, through the provision of mentoring support.
Prioritise small and medium-sized businesses in the rollout of hyper-fast broadband.
Require all government agencies and contractors and companies with more than 250 employees to sign up to the prompt payment code, making it enforceable.
Ensure that the company at the top of a supply chain cannot abuse its position to shore up its own cashflow at the expense of smaller suppliers.
Expand the activities of the British Business Bank, enabling it to perform a more central role in the economy by tackling the shortage of equity capital for growing firms
and providing long-term capital for medium-sized businesses.
Provide a supportive framework to develop social enterprises – businesses with a social focus rather than a profit motive.
Expand the rights and benefits available to those in insecure forms of employment, such as offering parental leave and pay to the self-employed.
Finance the transformation of town centres by expanding the Future High Streets Fund.
Help protect our high streets and town centres by scrapping the rule which allows developers to convert offices and shops into residential properties without planning permission.
Better Business
Business can be a force for good in our economy: we need thriving businesses to create wealth  and a model of responsible capitalism generates good jobs,  shares prosperity and sees businesses promote rights and protect the environment.
But the system is not working as it should: unscrupulous employers are still able to exploit their workforce and even when businesses fail, those at the top often receive huge rewards while staff lose their jobs.
And we do not yet have a framework that sufficiently rewards businesses for environmentally sustainable behaviour
– or penalises them for environmentally damaging activities.
Labour do not recognise the good that business can do;
the Conservatives don’t care about the consequences of businesses that are run irresponsibly.
Only the Liberal Democrats will promote responsible capitalism that works for the future.
Our plan is for an economy that works for everyone,
fosters a diversity of types of business – mutuals, social enterprises and community interest companies–
and empowers employees.
We will:Encourage employers to promote employee ownership by giving staff in listed companies with more than 250 employees a right to request shares, to be held in trust for the benefit of employees.
Strengthen worker participation in decision-making, including staff representation on remuneration committees,
and require all UK-listed companies and all private companies with more than 250 employees to have at least one employee representative on their boards with the same legal duties and responsibilities as other directors.
Introduce a general duty of care for the environment
and human rights – requiring companies, financial institutions and public sector agencies to exercise due diligence in avoiding specified activities such as child labour or modern slavery,
or specified products such as commodities produced with deforestation, in their operations and supply chains, and to report on their actions.
Reform fiduciary duty and company purpose rules to ensure that all large companies have a formal statement of corporate purpose, including considerations such as employee welfare,
environmental standards,
community benefit and ethical practice, alongside benefit to shareholders,
and that they report formally on the wider impact of the business on society and the environment.
Encourage new forms of incorporation and a diversity of business types, such as for large firms contracting with the public sector or providing essential utilities
and for smaller firms wanting a dual purpose to be profit-making and have a positive impact on society, workers, communities and the environment.
Require binding and public votes of shareholders on executive pay policies.
Extend the scope of the existing ‘public interest’ test when considering approvals for takeovers of large or strategically significant companies by overseas-based owners to recognise the benefits to the UK economy, workers and consumers of protecting UK companies from speculative or short-term interests.
Fair Taxes
Government must ensure the tax system meets the needs of a modern economy and is ready for the transition to a digital and zero-carbon economy.
Businesses and individuals who benefit from being based in the UK should pay their fair share in tax – and responsible businesses are willing to do this.
They benefit from public goods such as an educated workforce, a stable economy and publicly-funded infrastructure, and it is right that they should contribute towards them.
But the taxation system is unbalanced and unfair: it is too easy for tech giants and large monopolies to avoid tax
and income from employment is taxed more harshly than income generated by wealth.
Labour and the Conservatives are looking to the past for answers that will not work today: Labour want to hike up income tax in a way that will not even ensure that more tax is paid;
the Conservatives have no interest in making the taxation system fairer.
Our plan for the future will see big businesses paying their fair share,
support small- and medium-sized enterprises
and ensure that income earned from wealth is not privileged when compared to income from employment – making sure the tax system is fair to all.
We will: Restore Corporation Tax to 20 per cent – reversing the Conservatives’ reduction of this tax to 17 per cent – and keep the rate stable with a predictable future path.
Taxing income from capital more fairly compared to income from work by abolishing the separate Capital Gains Tax-free allowance and instead taxing capital gains and salaries through a single allowance.
Simplify business taxation to lower administration costs  – supporting smaller companies
– and reduce opportunities for tax avoidance.
Replace Business Rates in England with a Commercial Landowner Levy based solely on the land value of commercial sites rather than their entire capital value, thereby stimulating investment, and shifting the burden of taxation from tenants to landowners.
Take tough action against corporate tax evasion and avoidance especially by international tech giants and large monopolies, including by: Introducing a General Anti-Avoidance Rule, setting a target for HM Revenue and Customs to reduce the tax gap and investing in more staff to enable them to meet it.
Reforming place of establishment rules to stop multinationals unfairly shifting profits out of the UK.
Improving the Digital Services Tax to ensure tech giants pay their fair share.
Support and build on the OECD’s proposals to require multinationals to pay a level of tax which is more closely related to their sales in every country in which they operate.
End retrospective tax changes like the loan charge brought in by the Conservatives, so that individuals and firms are treated fairly,
and review recent proposals to change the IR35 rules.
Scrap the Marriage Tax Allowance.
Future of Work
People should have secure jobs, with proper rights and fair pay.
However, changes in technology and the nature of employment have outgrown the existing system of employment rights and protections.
The Conservatives have not done enough to support workers as they are sucked into insecure, poorly paid jobs;
Labour’s dogmatic, backward-looking approach would destroy flexible jobs that people value and harm the economy.
Liberal Democrats are the only ones with a plan for 21st century work: a plan that will give employees protection and a voice at work
while enabling innovative business models to flourish in the modern economy.
We will make work pay and ensure that there are good and well-paid jobs available for people to do.
We will: Establish an independent review to consult on how to set a genuine Living Wage across all sectors.
We will pay this Living Wage in all central government departments and their agencies, and encourage other public sector employers to do likewise.
Establish a powerful new Worker Protection Enforcement Authority to protect those in precarious work.
Change the law so that flexible working is open to all from day one in the job, with employers required to advertise jobs accordingly, unless there are significant business reasons why that is not possible.
Modernise employment rights to make them fit for the age of the ‘gig economy’, including by: Establishing a new ‘dependent contractor’ employment status in between employment and self-employment, with entitlements to basic rights such as minimum earnings levels, sick pay and holiday entitlement.
Reviewing the tax and National Insurance status of employees, dependent contractors and freelancers to ensure fair and comparable treatment.
Setting a 20 per cent higher minimum wage for people on zero-hour contracts at times of normal demand to compensate them for the uncertainty of fluctuating hours of work.
Giving a right to request a fixed-hours contract after 12 months for ‘zero hours’ and agency workers, not to be unreasonably refused.
Reviewing rules concerning pensions so that those in the gig economy don’t lose out, and portability between roles is protected.
Shifting the burden of proof in employment tribunals regarding employment status from individual to employer.
Strengthen the ability of unions to represent workers effectively in the modern economy, including a right of access to workplaces.
Opportunities Throughout Life
With technology advancing and the world of work always and rapidly changing, skills learned at 18 or 21 will not last a lifetime and it has never been more important for people to continually develop new skills.
The system is not set up for this though – opportunities are limited and people do not get the chance to make the most of their talents.
We need to empower people to develop new skills so that they can thrive in the technologies and industries that are key to Britain’s economic future.
Both the Conservatives and Labour are stuck pursuing 20th century solutions to this new challenge.
Only the Liberal Democrats are embracing the future, championing flexible lifelong learning that gives people the power to follow the path that best suits their ability.
We will:  Introduce new Skills Wallets for every adult in England, giving them £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lives:
The government will put in £4,000 at age 25, £3,000 at age 40 and £3,000 at age 55.
Individuals, their employers and local government will be able to make additional payments into the wallets.
Individuals can choose how and when to spend this money on a range of approved education and training courses from providers who are regulated and monitored by the Office for Students.
Individuals will have access to free careers guidance to help them to decide how to spend the money in their Skills Wallets.
Government will work with industry to identify skills needs and to evaluate and certify courses.
Expand the apprenticeship levy into a wider ‘Skills and Training Levy’ to help prepare the UK’s workforce for the economic challenges ahead
with 25 per cent of the funds raised by the levy going into a ‘Social Mobility Fund’ targeted at areas with the greatest skill needs.
Develop National Colleges as national centres of expertise for key sectors, such as renewable energy,
to deliver the high-level vocational skills that businesses need.
Identify and seek to solve skills gaps such as the lack of advanced technicians by expanding higher vocational training like foundation degrees, Higher National Diplomas, Higher National Certificates and Higher Apprenticeships.
Responsible Finances
A good government should responsibly manage the nation’s finances:
taking advantage of opportunities to borrow to invest in key infrastructure
while making sure that day-to-day spending does not exceed the amount of money raised in taxes.
The Liberal Democrats are the only party who will manage the country’s finances properly.
The Conservatives are pursuing a Brexit that will wreck the economy for a generation,
making it impossible to sustainably invest in public services.
Labour will waste billions nationalising utilities – spending money that could be used to improve them just to bring them under state control.
Our plan for the future is built on responsible management of the country’s finances:
stopping Brexit
and using the increased revenue from a bigger economy to invest in services
and using the money that Labour would waste to tackle the climate emergency
and invest in transport and energy infrastructure.
We will: Use the £50 billion Remain Bonus to invest in services and tackle inequality,
giving a major boost to schools
and combatting in-work poverty.
Ensure that key services are properly funded and responsibly manage their budgets so that they rise year-on-year.
End the continual erosion of local government funding
and commit to a real increase in local government funding throughout the Parliament.
Ensure overall national debt continues to decline as a share of national income.
Protect the independence of the Bank of England
and keep the inflation target of two per cent.
Promoting Wellbeing
There is no more fundamental purpose for government than supporting people to expand their quality of life.
A successful economy is important, because it supports jobs, income and well-funded public services – all of which matter for individuals’ wellbeing.
But the conventional focus on GDP as the objective not only of government but society as a whole is clearly insufficient.
People in the UK deserve to have their wellbeing considered and invested in, and a Liberal Democrat government will do just that.
Liberal Democrats understand that wellbeing requires both a strong economy and a government that considers many other aspects of life, including support for people’s mental health and good working conditions.
Only a Liberal Democrat government will put the wellbeing of people
And the planet first.
We will: Introduce a wellbeing budget, following the example of New Zealand – basing decisions on what will improve wellbeing as well as on economic and fiscal indicators.
Appoint a Minister for Wellbeing, who will make an annual statement to Parliament on the main measures of wellbeing and the effects of government policies on them.
Introduce wellbeing impact assessments for all government policies.
Prioritise government spending on the things that matter most to people’s wellbeing – both now and in the future – including:
Access to high-quality mental health and other health services.
Schools that build emotional resilience and properly prepare our children for both work and relationships.
Jobs for the future, through further education and Skills Wallets.
Community services that tackle loneliness and prevent isolation.
Targeted support for those most at risk of poor wellbeing: vulnerable children,
people who are homeless,
victims of trafficking and exploitation.
Providing welfare support to those who need it.
Reducing Adverse Childhood Experiences by investing further in services during pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life.
Ensure that the environment is protected for future generations with clean air to breathe
and urgent action to tackle the climate emergency.
Our Plan for Better Education and Skills
Education is about achieving the best, about exploring possibilities and seeking new challenges, about fulfilling people’s promise for the good of themselves and the whole of society.
The next generation will face a complex, technologically advanced and ,ever-changing world.
England’s education system – from nurseries and schools, to universities and colleges – should be world-class, helping every child to make the ,most of the opportunities ahead, no matter their ability or background.
It must nurture not only academic excellence but also creativity, adaptability, and teamwork.
Instead, nurseries are struggling, and the attainment gap between rich and poor is widening.
Teaching assistants are being laid off.
Cash-strapped councils are struggling to support children with complex needs.
Too many schools are unable to keep their doors open for a full five-day week.
The Conservatives are failing our children.
They have cut school and college budgets to the bone.
They focus too heavily on test results at the expense of giving children a good all-round education.
The closest they have to a big idea is the backward-looking and divisive plan to create more grammar schools, despite the evidence that shows that they harm social mobility.
Labour want to waste time and money on a massive top-down reorganisation which will do nothing to improve standards.
The high-stakes culture of Ofsted inspections and testing – especially in primary schools – has led to pupils and teachers being anxious and stressed about going to school.
Creative subjects are being squeezed out of the classroom.
Liberal Democrats will build a brighter future for every one of our children.
We have a plan to boost quality at every stage of education.
We will start with a bold offer of free childcare from the of age nine months (the end of paid parental leave), transforming the opportunities for early years education
and helping parents who want to combine caring and working.
We will reverse school cuts with an immediate emergency cash injection so that pupils have the resources they need to learn, and let teachers get on with the job of raising standards rather than having to worry about budgeting for the basics.
Parents should get the full picture of how their school is doing.
Primary schools cannot be properly measured by just one week of tests.
There must be robust inspections that measure social and emotional development alongside attainment.
They should support schools to succeed, instead of punishing them for failure.
Parents should not have to be kept waiting for their child’s needs to be identified and supported.
Liberal Democrats will put wellbeing at the heart of every school,
and better fund special needs education.
Further Education colleges have a vital role in giving opportunities to young people who want to pursue vocational study, and Liberal Democrats will end the neglect they have suffered for too long.
The UK has some outstanding universities and research institutions and we need to build on their success.
In the brighter Liberal Democrat future, children will come home from school happier, healthier and with all the skills they need to succeed in life.
Free childcare will allow parents to choose the balance of work and childcare that suits them,
and help close attainment gaps in education
and gender gaps in pay.
Revitalised vocational and Higher Education will equip individuals and the economy to thrive.
Our top priorities in the next parliament will be: Providing free, high-quality childcare for children of working parents from nine months.
Reversing cuts to school funding,
employing an extra 20,000 schoolteachers,
and clearing the backlog of repairs to school and college buildings.
Ending teaching to the test by scrapping mandatory SATs, //.
and replacing existing government performance tables (‘league tables’) of schools with a broader set of indicators
The Best Start in Life
Nurseries are struggling.
With no government support for most families between the end of parental leave and age three, and the average price for 25 hours a week of nursery childcare for a child under two now at £6,600 a year, too many new parents are forced to choose between caring for their child and their careers.
At the same time, the achievement gap between richer and poorer, which can best be tackled in the early years, is rising.
The Conservatives have promised to help, but their childcare policy only covers three- and four-year-olds in working families, only amounts to 30 hours a week – less time than children spend in school – and doesn’t cover school holidays.
Even the hours they do offer are underfunded and this means that many providers struggle to deliver a quality Early Years education.
Many parents who want to work, especially mothers, can spend several years out of the workplace because they can’t afford childcare.
This affects their career trajectory, their confidence, and their long-term earning potential.
Liberal Democrats have a plan to deliver the best start in life for children: free high- quality childcare from nine months for all working parents, properly funded.
Parents wanting to go back to work will get the help they need, knowing that their child will be happy, healthy and ready to start school.
And by tripling the Early Years Pupil Premium and expanding Children’s Centres, we can give further help to the most disadvantaged children, narrowing the achievement gap.
We will: Offer free, high-quality childcare for every child aged two to four and children aged between nine and 24 months where their parents or guardians are in work: 35 hours a week, 48 weeks a year.
Increase the funding for these free hours to cover the actual cost of nursery provision.
Invest £1 billion a year in Children’s Centres to support families and tackle inequalities in children’s health, development and life chances.
Triple the Early Years Pupil Premium (to £1,000) to give extra help to disadvantaged children who are at risk of falling behind from the very beginning of their education.
Require all Early Years settings to have a training programme for staff, with the majority of staff working with children to have a relevant Early Years qualification or be working towards one.
In the long run, each Early Years setting should have at least one person qualified to graduate level.
Introduce ‘baby boxes’ in England, as advocated by the Royal College of Midwives, to provide babies and parents with essential items to help with health and development.
Schools that Prepare Children for Life
An education system which focuses only on a narrow range of academic subjects and measures pupils’ abilities in a handful of high-pressure exams, does not give young people the skills they need to get on in life.
It also lets down those children who do not work well in exam conditions.
Liberal Democrats will ensure England’s education system delivers high academic standards
while also helping children grow into happy, healthy and confident adults;
and nurtures and values all styles of learning.
We will: Reverse cuts to school funding, allowing schools to employ an extra 20,000 teachers
and reduce class sizes, restoring them to 2015 levels per pupil with an emergency cash injection.
Invest to clear the backlog of repairs to school and college buildings so we have schools that are safe places to learn in.
End the crisis in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities funding by allocating additional cash to local authorities to halve the amount that schools pay towards the cost of a child’s Education Health and Care Plan.
Introduce a ‘curriculum for life’, in all state-funded schools.
This will include Personal, Social and Health Education, financial literacy, environmental awareness, first aid and emergency lifesaving skills, mental health education, citizenship and age-appropriate Relationships and Sex Education (RSE).
Teaching about sexual consent, LGBT+ relationships, and issues surrounding explicit images and content will be included in RSE.
Establish an independent body of education experts who will use the most up- to-date educational evidence to oversee any future curriculum changes.
It would take these decisions out of the hands of politicians and put an end to unnecessary and often politically motivated changes, which disrupt children’s learning and place an extra burden on teachers.
Reduce unnecessary stress on pupils and teachers and end ‘teaching to the test’, by scrapping existing mandatory SATs and replacing them with a formal, moderated teacher assessment at the end of each phase and some lighter- touch testing.
Give parents school performance measures they can trust, by replacing existing government performance tables (‘league tables’) with a broader set of indicators including information about pupils’ and teachers’ wellbeing, as well as academic attainment.
Replace Ofsted with a new HM Inspector of Schools. Inspections should take place every three years and should consider a broader range of factors including the social and emotional development of children, and the wellbeing of staff and pupils.
Independent schools should be subject to the same inspection regime.
Improve the quality of vocational education, including skills for entrepreneurship and self-employment,
and improve careers advice and links with employers in schools and colleges.
Protect the availability of arts and creative subjects in the curriculum
and act to remove barriers to pupils studying these subjects, including by abolishing the English Baccalaureate as a performance measure.
Teach the core skills required for children to flourish in the modern world, including critical thinking, verbal reasoning and creativity.
Accountable Local Schools
The fragmentation of the education system, with more than half of secondary schools and one quarter of primary schools in Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), had led to a lack of accountability to local communities.
There is competition rather than cooperation between schools, with some operating unfair admissions systems and off-rolling pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability or those unlikely to succeed in examinations.
With academies standing outside the oversight of Local Authorities, and many MAT schools not even having a local governing body, parents are finding it increasingly difficult to raise issues with schools, and there is little evidence that the children’s voice is heard.
There is an increasing trend to exclude children (or use internal exclusion units), which is damaging and dangerous to the young people involved.
The Conservatives’ ideological obsession with more grammar schools will only add further division to the system.
Liberal Democrats want to restore accountability and give every child the chance of attending an excellent local school.
We will: Give local authorities with responsibility for education the powers and resources to act as Strategic Education Authorities for their area, including responsibility for places planning, exclusions, administering admissions including in-year admissions, and SEND functions.
Create a level playing field by requiring MATs to undergo external inspection and allowing local authorities to open new Community Schools where needed.
Oppose any future expansion of grammar schools
and devolve all capital funding for new school spaces to local authorities.
A Better Deal for Teachers
There is a crisis in teacher retention and recruitment in our schools, driven by years of real-terms pay cuts, and an increasingly unmanageable workload created by unnecessary bureaucracy.
Teachers feel demoralised and undervalued, as the funding crisis in our schools coupled with the culture of excessive high-stakes testing prevent them from giving every child the high-quality education they deserve.
Liberal Democrats will ensure teachers are paid a fair wage for the vital work they do,
and that they are empowered to focus on delivering a high-quality education to their pupils, rather than being put under unnecessary pressure from testing and inspections which offer little-to-no educational benefit.
Teachers are the biggest and most important asset in our education system.
They need world-class levels of training and support to help them deliver the great teaching we want in our schools.
We will: Raise the starting salary for teachers to £30,000
and increase all teachers’ pay by at least three per cent per year throughout the parliament.
Introduce a clear and properly funded entitlement to genuinely high-quality professional development for all teachers – rising to the level of 50 hours per year by 2025.
We will also give extra training to teachers who are required to teach subjects at secondary level where they themselves do not have a post A- level qualification.
Children and Families Ready to Learn
Education doesn’t begin and end at the school gates.
A love of learning can be nurtured from early childhood, and continue throughout life.
However, our young people are some of the most anxious and unhappy in the world.
Schools are on the front line in dealing with children and young adults with mental health issues.
We also know that children cannot learn properly if they are undernourished.
Parents are under huge pressure and receive little support even though home is the biggest influence on children’s learning.
Liberal Democrats believe that parents need to be properly empowered and supported with the tools they need to raise the next generation.
To ensure children and adults are able to make the most of the educational opportunities which are open to them the government must also do more to support health and wellbeing.
We will:Extend free school meals to all children in primary education
and to all secondary school children whose families receive Universal Credit,
as well as promoting school breakfast clubs.
Ensure that all teaching staff have the training to identify mental health issues and that schools provide immediate access for pupil support and counselling.
Ensure there is a specific individual responsible for mental health in schools, who would provide a link to expertise and support for children experiencing problems.
They would also take a lead on developing whole-school approaches to mental well-being.
Give schools a statutory duty to promote the wellbeing of their pupils as part of the inspection framework.
Tackle bullying in schools, including bullying on the basis of gender, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression, by promoting pastoral leadership in schools
and delivering high-quality sex and relationships education.
Require inclusive school uniform policies that are gender-neutral and flexible enough to suit different budgets,
and provide training for school staff on how to review and improve their uniform policies.
Challenge gender stereotyping and early sexualisation, working with schools to promote positive body image
and break down outdated perceptions of gender appropriateness of particular academic subjects.
Include teaching about how to use social media responsibly in our ’curriculum for life‘
and provide advice and support for parents on how to help their children protect themselves online.
Learning Throughout Life
British universities are examples of excellence throughout the world.
Their ability to maintain top-quality research activity, to attract funding and to deliver the best teaching depends on being open and outward looking
– which this Government’s disastrous approach to Brexit is already damaging.
Liberal Democrats will protect our world-leading higher education sector by stopping Brexit,
enabling it to continue to rely on international collaboration and being able to attract leading academics from around the world.
Further Education is vital route to learning and we will invest to support it.
We will: Reverse the damage to universities posed by Brexit and related uncertainty by stopping Brexit and keeping the UK at the heart of the EU.
Invest an extra £1 billion in Further Education funding, including by refunding colleges for the VAT they pay.
Help children from poorer families to remain in education and training beyond the age of 16 by introducing a ‘Young People’s Premium’.
This would be based on the same eligibility criteria as the Pupil Premium, but a portion of it would be paid directly to the young person aged 16-18.
Raise standards in universities by strengthening the Office for Students, to make sure all students receive a high-quality education.
Require universities to make mental health services accessible to their students //,
and introduce a Student Mental Health Charter through legislation.
Reinstate maintenance grants for the poorest students, ensuring that living costs are not a barrier to disadvantaged young people studying at university.
Establish a review of higher education finance in the next parliament to consider any necessary reforms in the light of the latest evidence of the impact of the existing financing system on access, participation and quality,
and make sure there are no more retrospective raising of rates or selling-off of loans to private companies.
Ensure that all universities work to widen participation by disadvantaged and underrepresented groups across the sector, prioritising their work with students in schools and colleges,
and require every university to be transparent about selection criteria.
Access to Culture and Sport
Arts, media and sports are essential for personal fulfilment and quality of life – they enlarge people’s experience and are part of what turns a group of people into a community.
Funding for these organisations is put at risk with Brexit.
Liberal Democrats will ensure that we continue to invest in our cultural capital.
We will: Maintain free access to national museums and galleries.
Move towards introducing ‘safe standing’ at football clubs, requiring the Sports Grounds Safety Authority to prepare guidance for implementing this change.
Support anti-racism and anti-homophobia campaigns in sport.
Protect the independence of the BBC and set up a BBC Licence Fee Commission,
maintain Channel 4 in public ownership
and protect the funding and editorial independence of Welsh language broadcasters.
Protect sports and arts funding via the National Lottery.
Examine the available funding and planning rules for live music venues and the grassroots music sector,
protecting venues from further closures.
Our Plan for a Green Society and a Green Economy
The UK should be leading the world in tackling the climate emergency.
We are the first generation to know we are destroying the environment, and the last generation with a chance to do something about it before it is too late.
There is no Planet B.
If we fail to act, millions of people – at home and abroad – will suffer the impacts of floods, storms and heatwaves, rising food prices and the spread of diseases; the global financial system will be destabilised, poor countries could collapse and the number of refugees will soar.
The Conservatives have shown themselves unfit to lead in response to this historic challenge.
They have repeatedly flouted EU limits on air pollution and scrapped energy efficiency schemes that would reduce energy bills and end the scourge of fuel poverty.
They have cut support for renewable energy while trying to force fracking on communities that don’t want it
They are not on track to meet the UK’s climate targets
and are dragging their feet on reducing the use of plastics.
They promised to restore the natural environment, but have presided over declines in many species of wildlife,
and repeatedly failed to meet air and water quality goals.
Meanwhile, Labour’s policies are a distraction from meaningful action on the environment.
They want to spend billions to renationalise the companies running the electricity grid, the water industry and the railways.
But this would not only be enormously disruptive and ruinously costly; it would be pointless, as in reality, ambitious environmental and consumer aims can be achieved through tougher regulation.
A socialist planned economy is no way to tackle the environmental crisis.
The failures of Conservatives and Labour are not only morally indefensible but economically illiterate.
Climate change and the collapse of natural systems are huge crises but they also represent a massive opportunity to create a different future, where people breathe clean air, drink clean water and use clean energy, where communities and industries live in harmony with nature, not at its expense.
We need a new government with the vision and the will to seize that opportunity.
Liberal Democrats offer a new plan to innovate our way out of crisis.
To mobilise every community in the country, and the resources of both the public and private sector to achieve it.
To turn the birthplace of the industrial revolution into the home of the new Green Revolution.
The Liberal Democrats have the thought-through, deliverable plan for that new Green Future – in place of the Dutch auction of fantasy dates for Britain to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions offered by the other parties.
We will deliver a ten-year emergency programme to cut emissions substantially straight away,
and phase out emissions from the remaining hard-to-treat sectors by 2045 at the latest.
Our first priorities in the next parliament will be: An emergency programme to insulate all Britain’s homes by 2030, cutting emissions
and fuel bills and ending fuel poverty.
Investing in renewable power so that at least 80 per cent of UK electricity is generated from renewables by 2030
– and banning fracking for good.
Protecting nature and the countryside, tackling biodiversity loss
and planting 60 million trees a year to absorb carbon, protect wildlife and improve health.
Investing in public  transport,
electrifying Britain’s railways
and ensuring that all new cars are electric by 2030.
Climate Action Now
The climate emergency can only be tackled effectively by ensuring that every relevant decision taken by national government, local councils, businesses, investors, communities and households makes progress towards the net zero objective.
We will set a new legally binding target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045 at the latest,
and implement a comprehensive climate action plan, cutting emissions across all sectors.
To realise these goals, we will: Require all companies registered in the UK and listed on UK stock exchanges to set targets consistent with the Paris Agreement on climate change and to report on their implementation;
and establish a general corporate duty of care for the environment
and human rights (also see Better Business section p.21).
Regulate financial services to encourage green investments, including requiring pension funds and managers to show that their portfolio investments are consistent with the Paris Agreement,
and creating new powers for regulators to act if banks and other investors are not managing climate risks properly.
Establish a Department for Climate Change and Natural Resources,
appoint a cabinet-level Chief Secretary for Sustainability in the Treasury to coordinate government-wide action to make the economy sustainable resource-efficient and zero-carbon,
and require every government agency to account for its contribution towards meeting climate targets.
Establish UK and local Citizens’ Climate Assemblies to engage the public in tackling the climate emergency.
Create a statutory duty on all local authorities to produce a Zero Carbon Strategy, including plans for local energy, transport and land use,
and devolve powers and funding to enable every council to implement it.
Guarantee an Office of Environmental Protection that is fully independent of government, and possesses powers and resources to enforce compliance with climate and environmental targets.
Increase government expenditure on climate and environmental objectives, reaching at least five per cent of the total within five years.
Support investment and innovation in zero-carbon and resource-efficient infrastructure and technologies by creating a new Green Investment Bank
and increasing funding for Innovate UK and new Catapult innovation and technology centres on farming and land use
and on carbon dioxide removal.
Implement the UK’s G7 pledge to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2025,
and provide Just Transition funding for areas and communities negatively affected by the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable Energy
Thanks to Liberal Democrat policies in government, the UK has made major strides in cutting emissions from power generation; wind power is now the cheapest form of electricity generation.
Now we can go further: we aim to decarbonise the power sector completely,
supporting renewables and household and community energy to create jobs
and cut fossil fuel imports.
We will:Accelerate the deployment of renewable power, providing more funding, removing the Conservatives’ restrictions on solar and wind and building more interconnectors to guarantee security of supply;
we aim to reach at least 80 per cent renewable electricity in the UK by 2030.
Expand community and decentralised energy,
support councils to develop local electricity generation
and require all new homes to be fitted with solar panels.
Ban fracking because of its negative impacts on climate change, the energy mix and the local environment.
Support investment and innovation in cutting-edge energy technologies, including tidal and wave power,  energy storage, demand response, smart grids and hydrogen.
Provide an additional £12 billion over five years to support these commitments,
and ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission, National Grid, the energy regulator Ofgem, and the Crown Estate work together to deliver our net zero climate objective.
Warm Homes and Lower Energy Bills
Everyone should be able to afford to heat their home so that it is warm enough for them to live in.
However, an estimated 2.5 million households in England live in fuel poverty, where they cannot afford to heat their homes to a decent standard partly due to poor insulation and heat loss –
contributing to climate change
and causing ill-health and early deaths.
We will implement an emergency ten-year programme to reduce energy consumption from all buildings, cutting emissions
and energy bills and ending fuel poverty
– and generating employment –
supported by investing over £6 billion a year on home insulation and zero-carbon heating by the fifth year of the Parliament.
We will: Cut energy bills, end fuel poverty by 2025
and reduce emissions from buildings, including by providing free retrofits for low-income homes, piloting a new subsidised Energy-Saving Homes scheme,
graduating Stamp Duty Land Tax by the energy rating of the property
and reducing VAT on home insulation.
Empower councils to develop community energy-saving projects, including delivering housing energy efficiency improvements street by street, which cuts costs.
Require all new homes and non-domestic buildings to be built to a zero-carbon standard (where as much energy is generated on-site, through renewable sources, as is used), by 2021,
rising to a more ambitious (‘Passivhaus’) standard by 2025.
Increase minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented properties
and remove the cost cap on improvements.
Adopt a Zero-Carbon Heat Strategy, including reforming the Renewable Heat Incentive, requiring the phased installation of heat pumps in homes and businesses off the gas grid,
and piloting projects to determine the best future mix of zero-carbon heating solutions.
Green Industry, Green Jobs and Green Products
Given the right support, British businesses have the chance to be world leaders in green technology.
UK low-carbon businesses already have a combined turnover of £80 billion and directly employ 400,000 people, and under our proposals these will grow.
We will provide support for innovation to cut energy and fossil fuel use in industrial processes – reducing emissions, cutting dependence on fossil fuel imports and generating jobs and prosperity.
We will:Reduce emissions from industrial processes by supporting carbon capture and storage and new low-carbon processes for cement and steel production.
Provide more advice to companies on cutting emissions,
support the development of regional industrial clusters for zero-carbon innovation
and increase the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
Expand the market for green products and services with steadily higher green criteria in public procurement policy.
End support from UK Export Finance for fossil fuel-related activities,
and press for higher environmental standards for export credit agencies throughout the OECD.
The successful economies of the future will be those which adopt ‘circular economy’ techniques, cutting resource use, waste and pollution by maximising recovery, reuse, recycling and remanufacturing.
This will cut costs for consumers and businesses, protect the environment and create new jobs and enterprises.
We will introduce a Zero-Waste and Resource Efficiency Act to ensure that the UK moves towards a circular economy, including:
Banning non-recyclable single-use plastics and replace them with affordable alternatives, aiming for their complete elimination within three years, as a first step towards ending the ‘throwaway society’ culture and an ambition to end plastic waste exports by 2030.
Benefitting consumers through better product design for repairability, reuse and recycling, including extending the forthcoming EU ‘right to repair’ legislation for consumer goods,
so helping small repair businesses and community groups combat ‘planned obsolescence’.
Introducing legally binding targets for reducing the consumption of key natural resources and other incentives for businesses to improve resource efficiency.
Extending deposit return schemes for all food and drink bottles and containers, working with the devolved administrations to ensure consistency across the UK.
Establishing a statutory waste recycling target of 70 per cent in England,
extend separate food waste collections to at least 90 per cent of homes by 2024,
and strengthen incentives to reduce packaging and reduce waste sent to landfill and incineration.
Saving Nature and the Countryside
A healthy natural environment, where people breathe clean air, drink clean water and enjoy the beauty of the natural world, lies at the heart of the society and the economy Liberal Democrats want to create.
Yet nature is under threat: unsustainable farming practices are depleting the soil and, together with air and water pollution, contributing to a rapid decline in the numbers of insects, birds and other animals.
One in seven UK species are at risk of extinction.
We will protect the natural environment and reverse biodiversity loss at the same time as combating climate change.
We will support farmers to protect and restore the natural environment alongside their critical roles in producing food, providing employment and promoting tourism, leisure and health and wellbeing.
We will:Introduce a Nature Act to restore the natural environment through setting legally binding near-term and long-term targets for improving water, air, soil and biodiversity,
and supported by funding streams of at least £18 billion over five years.
Combat climate change, and benefit nature and people by coordinating the planting of 60 million trees a year
and introducing requirements for the greater use of sustainably harvested wood in construction.
Invest in large scale restoration of peatlands, heathland, native woodlands, saltmarshes, wetlands and coastal waters, helping to absorb carbon,
protect against floods,
improve water quality
and protect habitats, including through piloting ‘rewilding’ approaches.
Reduce basic agricultural support payments to the larger recipients and redeploy the savings to support the public goods that come from effective land management, including restoring nature and protecting the countryside,
preventing flooding
and combating climate change through measures to increase soil carbon
and expand native woodland.
Introduce a National Food Strategy, including the use of public procurement policy, to promote the production and consumption of healthy, sustainable and affordable food
and cut down on food waste.
Support producers by broadening the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator and supporting them with access to markets.
Significantly increase the amount of accessible green space, including protecting up to a million acres, completing the coastal path, exploring a ‘right to roam’ for waterways and creating a new designation of National Nature Parks.
Give the Local Green Space designation the force of law.
Protect and restore England’s lakes, rivers and wetlands, including through reform of water management and higher water efficiency standards,
and establish a ‘blue belt’ of marine protected areas covering at least 50 per cent of UK waters by 2030, in partnership with UK overseas territories.
Create a new ‘British Overseas Ecosystems Fund’ for large-scale environmental restoration projects in the UK Overseas Territories and sovereign bases, home to 94 per cent of our unique wildlife.
Establish a £5 billion fund for flood prevention and climate adaptation over the course of the parliament to improve flood defences,
and introduce high standards for flood resilience for buildings and infrastructure in flood risk areas.
Ensure that sustainability lies at the heart of fisheries policy, rebuilding depleted fish stocks to achieve their former abundance.
Fishers, scientists and conservationists should all be at the centre of a decentralised and regionalised fisheries management system.
Immigration policy should also be flexible enough to ensure that both the catching and processing sectors have access to the labour they need.
Increase the budget for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, ensuring that agencies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency are properly funded.
Improving Transport
Britain’s transport systems are broken.
Commuting by rail is expensive, unreliable and unpleasant, and away from the major commuter routes, buses, trams and trains are so infrequent and expensive that cars are essentially made a necessity.
This in turn has made air pollution – mostly caused by cars – one of the biggest causes of preventable illness in the UK, causing at least 40,000 premature deaths a year and costing the NHS £15 billion.
And surface transport is now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, with almost no progress in reducing them since 1990.
The UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions has risen by almost 80 per cent since 1990.
Liberal Democrats will meet this challenge by:Investing in public transport, buses, trams and railways to enable people to travel more easily
while reducing their impact on the environment.
Placing a far higher priority on encouraging walking and cycling – the healthiest forms of transport.
Accelerating the transition to ultra-low-emission transport – cars, buses and trains – through taxation, subsidy and regulation.
Together these steps will tackle the clean air crisis,
meet the challenge of climate change,
improve people’s health,
stimulate local and regional prosperity
and develop British zero-carbon industries,
with benefits for jobs,
growth and exports.
Clean and Green
To achieve our net-zero climate target by 2045, we aim to reduce emissions from surface transport to near zero;
at the same time the transition to electric vehicles and from private to public transport will drastically cut air pollution.
Emissions from the UK’s share of international aviation are much more difficult to tackle; we need to accelerate the development of new technologies
and cut demand for flying, particularly from the 15 per cent of individuals who take 70 per cent of flights.
We will: Accelerate the rapid take-up of electric vehicles by reforming vehicle taxation,
cutting VAT on EVs to 5 per cent and increasing the rate of installation of charging points, including residential on-street points and ultra-fast chargers at service stations.
We will ensure that, by 2030, every new car and small van sold is electric.
Pass a Clean Air Act, based on World Health Organisation guidelines, enforced by a new Air Quality Agency.
The Act will enshrine the legal right to unpolluted air wherever you live.
Extend Ultra-Low Emission Zones to ten more towns and cities in England
and ensure that all private hire vehicles and new buses licensed to operate in urban areas are ultra-low-emission or zero-emission vehicles by 2025; we will provide £2 billion to support this transformation.
Shift more freight from road to rail, including electrifying lines leading from major ports as an urgent priority,
and amend the current HGV road user levy to take account of carbon emissions.
Support innovation in zero-emission technologies, including batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, supplementing government funding with a new Clean Air Fund from industry.
Reduce the climate impact of flying by reforming the taxation of international flights to focus on those who fly the most, while reducing costs for those who take one or two international return flights per year,
placing a moratorium on the development of new runways (net) in the UK, opposing any expansion of Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted //and any new airport in the Thames Estuary,
and introducing a zero-carbon fuels blending requirement for domestic flights.
Reducing the Need for Car Travel
Liberal Democrats will invest in public transport, improving its reliability and affordability,
reform the planning systems to reduce the need to travel and promote cycling and walking.
We will:Give new powers to local authorities and communities to improve transport in their areas, including the ability to introduce network-wide ticketing, like in London.
Implement, in cooperation with local authorities, light rail schemes for trams and tram-trains where these are appropriate solutions to public transport requirements.
Restore bus routes and add new routes where there is local need; we will provide £4.5 billion over five years for this programme.
Introduce a nationwide strategy to promote walking and cycling, including the creation of dedicated safe cycling lanes, increasing spending per head five-fold to reach 10 per cent of the transport budget.
Build on the successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund established by the Liberal Democrats when in government, and workplace travel plans, to reduce the number of cars – particularly single-occupancy cars – used for commuting,
and encourage the development of car-sharing schemes and car clubs and autonomous vehicles for public use.
Amend planning rules to promote sustainable transport and land use.
Fixing Britain’s Railways
There is enormous scope to improve Britain’s railways, providing reliable and affordable train services
and cutting emissions.
The Tories’ and Labour’s ideological obsessions – the former with privatisation, the latter with nationalisation – only serve to get in the way of making real improvements through investment and regulation.
We will improve the railways,
reform the franchising system
and improve services to customers.
We will: Freeze rail fares for commuters and season ticket holders for a parliament, while we fix our railways.
Extend Britain’s rail network, improve stations, reopen smaller stations and restore twin-track lines to major routes.
Convert the rail network to ultra-low-emission technology (electric or hydrogen) by 2035,
and provide funding for light rail and trams.
Support High Speed 2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, East-West Rail and Crossrail 2,
but ensure far tighter financial controls and increased accountability to ensure that these projects are value for money,
and address problems with implementation to ensure that HS2 opens as early as possible to meet our decarbonisation goals
while minimising the destruction of precious UK habitats and woodland.
Start a revolution in rail franchising by opening up the bidding process to public sector companies, local or combined authorities, not-for-profits and mutuals – which have the potential to deliver much better services than private operators.
Build into new rail franchise agreements a stronger focus on customers, including investment in new stations, lines and modern trains.
Create a new Railways Agency to oversee the operations of the railway network, removing the Department for Transport from day-to-day decision- making.
Be far more proactive in sanctioning and ultimately sacking train operators if they fail to provide a high-quality public service to their customers.
Improve the experience of people who rely on the railways for work by investing in commuter routes and the integration of rail, bus and cycle routes.
Fix the broken fares and ticketing system so that it provides better value for money.
Improve disabled access to public transport via the Access for All programme.
Animal Welfare
Liberal Democrats believe that all possible steps should be taken to promote animal welfare and prevent animal suffering, with better protection for animals, and full regard for animal welfare.
We will: Enshrine the principle of animal sentience in UK law to ensure that due regard is paid to animal welfare in policymaking.
Introduce stronger penalties for animal cruelty offences, increasing the maximum sentencing from six months to five years,
and ensure that the National Wildlife Crime Unit is properly funded.
Ban the sale of real fur,
end the use of primates as pets,
clamp down on illegal pet imports
and establish an independent regulatory body for horse welfare to prevent the abuse and avoidable deaths of racehorses.
Improve standards of animal health and welfare in agriculture, including a ban on caged hens,
and promote the responsible use of antimicrobials.
Develop safe, effective, humane, and evidence-based ways of controlling bovine TB, including by investing to produce workable vaccines.
Minimise the use of animals in scientific experimentation, including by funding research into alternatives.
Work within the EU to ensure that future trade agreements require high environmental and animal welfare standards,
and legislate to ban the importing of hunting trophies where the hunting does not contribute to environmental protection.
Our Plan for Health and Social Care
Everyone should be able to live a healthy life with the support they need in their local community.
That means properly investing in the NHS and social care,
doing more across government to promote wellbeing and to reduce inequality at every stage of life.
It means making the shift from healthcare that kicks in only when people are ill to systems of wellbeing that help them to stay healthy and minimise levels of physical and mental ill-health.
Under the Conservatives our NHS and social care services are in a state of crisis.
The average wait for patients for a routine GP appointment is now more than two weeks and waiting times are rising in A&E and for operations.
Health inequalities are widening
and life expectancy stalling,
and we have one of the worst rates of depression in the EU.
The Conservatives have failed the people who rely on health and care services.
Cuts have left hospitals and community facilities crumbling and struggling with overwhelming debts, and they have damaged the services that keep us healthy.
Labour’s approach is no better: their plan for the NHS is a backward-looking, top- down reorganisation which would leave it in chaos.
Liberal Democrats are the only party which is forward-thinking and committed to pursuing the preventative measures that will secure the future of the NHS and Social Care.
We recognise that a well-trained and well-funded workforce lies at the heart of making sure that people can receive the care they need.
We cannot continue to leave our NHS and care staff undervalued, overstretched and demoralised.
We have a bold plan to urgently invest in the workforce and facilities and to deliver equality for mental and physical health.
A Liberal Democrat government will build a better health and care system.
Our first priorities in the next parliament will be: Raising £7 billion a year in additional revenue by putting 1p on Income Tax, with this money to be ringfenced for spending on the NHS and social care.
Transforming mental health by treating it with the same urgency as physical health.
Reforming the Health and Social Care Act as recommended by the NHS, to make the NHS work in a more efficient and joined-up way, and to end the automatic tendering of services.
Leaving the European Union would pose serious threats to the sustainability of the NHS and Social Care systems.
It would severely threaten the scope to recruit or retain staff from elsewhere in Europe (a problem which will be made worse by the Conservatives’ proposed ‘nurse tax’).
It risks potential delays to medicines, cancer tests, and treatments using radioisotopes.
If Donald Trump has his way, it means increased access by US corporations to services currently provided by the NHS and the UK drugs market.
Above all it means a long-term loss of financial resources as a result of reduced UK economic growth.
Only a Liberal Democrat government can be trusted to avoid these risks by stopping Brexit.
Funding for Health and Social Care
Health and social care services are in a state of crisis.
After years of underinvestment our hospitals are crumbling and there is now a staggering £6.5 billion backlog of repairs, meaning that many of our hospitals are not fit for purpose and lack money even to repair leaky roofs and replace windows.
The workforce feels undervalued and services are struggling to retain staff.
Local authorities have been starved of resources, and are using up their reserves to try and cope with the demand for social care.
More than a million people are unable to get the care they need.
Too often, people are left stranded in hospital after they finish their treatment and no longer need to be there because the follow-up care and support they need to go home is not available in the community.
Liberal Democrats are the only party with a long-term plan for health and care services: Labour and Conservatives make short-term promises but have no long-term vision for ensuring the sustainability of these services.
We know that any party seeking to lead the country at this election should be prepared to take bold action to safeguard health and social care.
This isn’t about doing the easiest thing, it is about doing what is right and what is essential.
To tackle the immediate problem, we will: Raise £7 billion a year additional revenue which will be ring-fenced to be spent only on NHS and social care services.
This revenue will be generated from a 1p rise on the basic, higher and additional rates of Income Tax (this revenue will be neither levied nor spent in Scotland.)
Use this cash to relieve the crisis in social care, tackle urgent workforce shortages,
and to invest in mental health and prevention services.
This represents the most efficient and effective way of spending these extra resources – ensuring they will have the greatest impact on the quality of care patients receive.
Also use £10 billion of our capital fund to make necessary investments in equipment, hospitals, community, ambulance and mental health services buildings, to bring them into the 21st century.
In the longer term, to put the funding of health and care on a sounder footing we will: Commission the development of a dedicated, progressive Health and Care Tax, offset by other tax reductions, on the basis of wide consultation and extensive engagement with the public
The intention is to bring together spending on both services into a collective budget and set out transparently, on people’s payslips, what the Government is spending on health and social care.
Establish a cross-party health and social care convention that builds on the existing body of work from previous conventions, select committees and the 2018 citizens’ assembly to reach agreement on the long-term sustainable funding of a joined-up system of health and social care.
We will invite patients’ groups, professionals, the public and the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be a part of this work.
Introducing a cap on the cost of care as provided for in the Care Act but not so far delivered by the Conservatives would be a key starting point for Liberal Democrat participants.
Introduce a statutory independent budget monitoring body for health and care, similar to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
This would report every three years on how much money the system needs to deliver safe and sustainable treatment and care, and how much is needed to meet the costs of projected increases in demand and any new initiatives – to ensure any changes in services are properly costed and affordable.
Our ultimate objective will be to bring together NHS, Social Care and public health seamlessly – pooling budgets in every area and supporting integrated care systems.
We want to see services that work in a more joined-up way for the people who depend on them
and with local democratic accountability and transparency.
Fixing Mental Health Services
Physical and mental health should be treated equally in the NHS.
In government, we fought tirelessly to bring this about and are proud of the strides forward that we made by legislating to give mental and physical health equality under the law.
But we know that not enough resources reach front line mental health services and that in the fight for parity of esteem, there is still a very long way to go to achieve real equality for mental health.
Our plan prioritises early intervention to prevent people from experiencing a mental health crisis
and to minimise the number and duration of in- patient stays.
This means ensuring all young people can access support quickly.
We will: Ring-fence funding from the 1p Income Tax rise to provide additional investment in mental health.
Introduce further mental health maximum waiting time standards, starting with children’s services,
services for people with eating disorders,
and severe and enduring conditions.
We want to ensure that all children and young people with a diagnosable condition receive NHS treatment (currently only 35 per cent do).
Increase access to a broader range and number of clinically effective talking therapies so that hundreds of thousands more people can receive this support,
with equal access for older people, BAME and LGBT+ patients, and people with autism or learning disabilities.
Make prescriptions for people with chronic mental health conditions available for free on the NHS,
as part of our commitment to review the entire schedule of exemptions for prescription charges, which has not been fully updated since 1968 and contains many anomalies.
Transform perinatal mental health support for those who are pregnant, new mothers and those who have experienced miscarriage or stillbirth, and help them get early care when needed.
Ensure every new mother gets a dedicated maternal postnatal appointment as well as introducing other measures to tackle under-diagnosis of maternal physical and mental health problems.
Implement all the recommendations of the Wessely review of the Mental Health Act, including bringing forward the necessary investment to modernise and improve inpatient settings and ambulances.
We will apply the principle of ‘care not containment’ to mental health, while ensuring an emergency bed is always available if needed.
Ensure that no one in crisis is turned away, improving integration between mental health trusts, local authorities and hospitals, to promote a holistic approach to improving mental health services.
We will work to make mental health crisis services 24-hour, including mental health liaison teams in all hospitals, and ending the use of police cells for people facing a mental health crisis.
Ensure those admitted to hospital for mental ill-health are able to be treated close to home for all but the most specialist mental health services, minimising the use of hospital admissions through high-quality community and housing support for people who don’t need an admission.
Ensure that all frontline public service professionals, including in schools and universities, receive better training in mental health, and add a requirement for mental health first aiders in the Health and Safety First Aid Regulations.
Fully introduce Sir Stephen Bubb’s ‘Time For Change’ report recommendations and ensure that Assessment and Treatment Units are closed urgently.
Too many people with profound learning disability or autism are being detained in unacceptable institutions and it is disgraceful that the Transforming Care closure programme has not been implemented by the Conservatives.
Stop the cliff edge of young people transitioning to adult services and ensure uninterrupted care.
Establish a Student Mental Health Charter which will require all universities and colleges to ensure a good level of mental health provisions and services for students.
Tackle stigma against mental ill-health through investment in public education including Time to Talk.
Require that a fair proportion of all public funding for health research should be focused on research into mental ill-health,
including research into the different mental health needs of different communities within the UK such as BAME and LGBT+ people.
Improve mental health support and treatment within the criminal justice system
and ensure continuity of mental health care and addiction treatment in prison and the community.
Regard every suicide as preventable.
We will take an evidence led approach to prevention, making it easier for people at risk to get the help they need,
and equipping more members of the public with the skills and confidence to talk about suicide.
Ensure that LGBT+ inclusive mental health services receive funding and support.
Develop a scheme to reward employers who invest in the mental wellbeing of their employees, piloting reduced business rates for employers who support employees’ mental wellbeing and provide mental health first aid training to staff.
We know that there is a strong link between financial debt and suicide, with over 100,000 people in problem debt attempting suicide every year.
A Liberal Democrat government will build a more compassionate culture towards those in debt by ending threatening debt collection practices
and stopping firms profiting from consumers’ poor mental health.
There are 340,000 problem gamblers in the UK including some 55,000 children aged 11 to 16.
The Liberal Democrats will introduce further measures to protect individuals, their families and communities from problem gambling.
We will: Introduce a compulsory levy on gambling companies to fund research, education and treatment of problem gambling.
Ban the use of credit cards for gambling.
Restrict gambling advertising.
Establish a Gambling Ombudsman.
Access to Care
Most people’s experience of the NHS is their local GP, or the nurses and support staff who visit them at home or work in community clinics.
We know that people want care closer to home and that this is better for patients and helps to reduce pressure on hospitals.
The Conservatives have demoralised the community health workforce and failed to maintain outdated premises and equipment.
Our health and social care services’ greatest resource is their staff, but we know the NHS and social care workforce are subject to immense pressure, causing too many to leave.
Liberal Democrats will take the action needed to recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver services.
We will: End the GP shortfall by 2025 by both training more GPs and making greater appropriate use of nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists,
and also phone or video appointments, where clinically suitable.
The Conservative government has created a scandalous situation where the average wait for a routine GP appointment is now more than two weeks.
They have again promised to train more GPs, but it is difficult to put faith in this when they have completely failed to deliver their previous similar pledge, because of their approach to NHS workforce planning, Brexit and NHS funding and morale generally.
We will tackle all these problems.
We want health professionals to have time to talk and to offer holistic care that is linked in with social prescribing within local communities.
We must also make sure they are based in premises that are fit- for-purpose and equipped with modern technology and well-connected to other parts of the healthcare system.
Support GPs, nurses, physiotherapists, mental health and other professionals to work together across their local areas to provide multi-disciplinary health and care services,
to improve appointments outside of normal working hours, including mobile services.
Review the NHS’s future needs for all staff, and produce a national workforce strategy, taking the long view and matching training places to future needs.
We need to do more to retain staff
as well as to train them.
We will take a ‘what works’ approach to improving retention including continuing professional development, better support, and more flexible working and careers.
This will help to retain staff through more flexible working, so that we never again experience a shortage of the GPs, hospital doctors, dentists, nurses and other professionals that the NHS needs.
We will listen and act on the pensions crisis that is driving away our most experienced clinicians and worsening waiting times and the workforce crisis.
Target extra help for nursing students, starting with bursaries for specialties where shortages are most acute such as mental health and learning disability nursing, linked to clinical placements in areas that are particularly under-staffed.
Attract and support talented professionals from countries with developed health systems, with an ethical recruitment policy in line with World Health Organization guidance,
and make the current registration process more flexible and accessible without lowering standards.
In particular we will look to attract staff back from EU member states, encouraging them to once again come and work in our public services.
Encourage healthcare professionals to work in areas where there are shortages, especially inner city and remote rural areas, through our Patient Premium – which would give incentive payments to clinicians.
Implement the recommendations of Roger Kline’s report into the lack of diversity in senior management in the NHS
and commission a strategic analysis of racial discrimination in the NHS.
Address continuing inequalities in health services access faced by same-sex couples, and continue to improve LGBT+ healthcare overall.
We need services that fit around people’s lives, not ones that force them to fit their lives around the care they need.
This will become increasingly important as our population ages and the number of people living with long-term conditions continues to grow.
We must move away from a fragmented system to an integrated service with more joined-up care, so that people can design services for their own individual needs.
Services for local people should be accountable to them, and the NHS needs to do more to achieve this.
As local areas continue to develop new ways of partnership and joint working suitable to their area, we will encourage them to develop ways to become more accountable to local people.
We will: Support the changes to the Health and Social Care Act recommended by the NHS, with the objective of making the NHS work in a more efficient and joined- up way
and to end the automatic tendering of services.
Move towards single place-based budgets for health and social care – encouraging greater collaboration between the local NHS and Local Authorities in commissioning.
We will particularly encourage Clinical Commissioning Groups and Local Councils to collaborate on commissioning, including further use of pooled budgets, joint appointments and joint arrangements,
and encourage emerging governance structures for Integrated Care Systems to include local government, and be accountable to them.
Support the creation of a new Professional Body for Care Workers, to promote clear career pathways with ongoing training and development,
and improved pay structures.
Introduce a new requirement for professional regulation of all care home managers, who would also be required to have a relevant qualification.
For care staff, we will set a target that 70 per cent of care staff should have an NVQ level 2 or equivalent (currently levels are around 50 per cent).
We will provide support for ongoing training of care workers to improve retention and raise the status of caring.
Provide more choice at the end of life, and move towards free end-of-life social care, whether people spend their last days at home or in a hospice.
The number of family carers is rising.
Carers are unsung heroes; we need to do more to help them.
We will: Introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks for unpaid carers,
and require councils to make regular contact with carers to offer support and signpost services.
Provide a package of carer benefits such as free leisure centre access,
free bus travel for young carers,
and self-referral to socially prescribed activities and courses.
Raise the amount people can earn before losing their Carer’s Allowance from £123 to £150 a week,
and reduce the number of hours’ care per week required to qualify for it.
Help to Stay Healthy
It is better for people and for the NHS if we keep people healthy in the first place, rather than just waiting until people develop illnesses and come for treatment, but with 40 per cent of NHS spending on diseases that are preventable, we need to do more to support people to lead more active and healthy lives, and to help to improve the mental health and wellbeing.
This is everybody’s business – in our communities, places of work and education; the NHS, social care and public health can’t do it alone.
Our understanding of what causes physical and mental ill health is evolving all of the time.
It is clear that there are strong links between illness and both environmental and social factors.
We know that poor housing, unsafe streets, poor air quality, unhealthy diets and financial uncertainty can create the conditions for people to become both physically and mentally unwell.
We will: Publish a National Wellbeing Strategy, which puts better health and wellbeing for all at the heart of government.
Ministers from all departments will be responsible for implementing the strategy.
Pursue a Health in All Policies approach, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
This means that national and local decision making, policies and interventions will only take place after the full impact on people’s mental and physical health has been fully assessed.
Keep public health within local government, where it is effectively joined-up with preventive community services.
We will re-instate the funding that was cut from public health budgets by the Conservatives and join up services across public health and the NHS.
Introduce a new statutory requirement for public health interventions evaluated as cost effective by NICE to be available to qualifying people, within three months of publication of guidance.
Develop a strategy to tackle childhood obesity including restricting the marketing of junk food to children,
and closing loopholes in the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
We will extend it to include juice- and milk-based drinks that are high in added sugar.
Guarantee that every child who is eligible for free school meals has access to at least an hour a day of free activities to improve their health and wellbeing.
Local authorities will be funded through the public health grant to deliver the ‘Wellbeing Hour’ according to local needs, for example through voluntary organisations or after-school clubs.
We recognise the importance of active play to children and the need for this to be supported.
Require labelling for food products, in a readable font size, and publication of information on calorie, fat, sugar and salt content in restaurants and takeaways.
Restrict how products high in fat, salt and sugar are marketed and advertised by multiple retailers.
Reduce smoking rates by introducing a new levy on tobacco companies to contribute to the costs of health care and smoking cessation services.
Legislate for the right to unpolluted air, and take urgent action to reduce pollution especially from traffic.
Introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol, taking note of the impact of the policy in Scotland.
We will also ensure universal access to addiction treatment.
Fund public information campaigns to tackle stigmas within specific communities.
Address the scandal of women with learning disabilities dying an average 20 years younger, setting a national target for reducing this gap.
We will ensure people with learning disabilities can access screening, prevention, health and care services fairly.
Review on the basis of evidence any unscientific and discriminatory practices aimed solely at LGBT+ people, such as around blood donations.
Ensure Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention is fully available to all who need it on the NHS.
The prohibitionist attitude to drug use of both Labour and Conservative Governments over decades has been driven by fear rather than evidence and has failed to tackle the social and medical problems that misuse of drugs can cause to individuals and their communities.
Liberal Democrats will take a different approach, and reform access to cannabis through a regulated cannabis market in UK, with a robust approach to licensing, drawing on emerging evidence on models from the US and Canada.
To combat the harm done by drugs, we will: Move the departmental lead on drugs policy to the Department of Health and Social Care,
and, crucially, invest in more addiction services and support for drug users.
Divert people arrested for possession of drugs for personal use into treatment,
and imposing civil penalties rather than imprisonment.
Help to break the grip of the criminal gangs by introducing a legal, regulated market for cannabis.
We will introduce limits on the potency levels and permit cannabis to be sold through licensed outlets to adults over the age of 18.
Our approach will support and encourage more clinical trials of cannabis for medicinal use to establish a clear evidence base.
In the meantime, we will allow those who feel that cannabis helps to manage their pain to do so without fear of criminal prosecution.
We believe that everyone has a right to make independent decisions over their reproductive health without interference by the state,
and that access to reproductive healthcare is a human right.
We will: Decriminalise abortion across the UK while retaining the existing 24-week limit
and legislate for access to abortion facilities within Northern Ireland.
Enforce safe zones around abortion clinics, make intimidation or harassment of abortion service users and staff outside clinics, or on common transport routes to these services, illegal.
Fund abortion clinics to provide their services free of charge to service users regardless of nationality or residency.
We will act on the recommendations of the Public Inquiry into Infected Blood, ensuring a just settlement for victims and their families.
Our Plan to Build a Fair Society
People should have enough money to keep a roof over their heads, buy food, heat their home, access services and opportunities online, or afford a simple bus journey to visit or care for family.
But this is sadly beyond the reach of too many people: life has become unaffordable.
While the UK is one of the world’s richest countries, the benefits and opportunities that should follow from that are felt increasingly unevenly across our communities.
A fifth of the country live in poverty, one and half million people are destitute and can’t afford the most basic essentials – the situation is so bad that the UN felt the need to send its Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty to the UK to assess the situation.
Labour and the Conservatives are both unable to tackle these challenges.
The Conservatives have intentionally designed the welfare system for a traditional family with a main breadwinner and two children, which is entirely out of step with the modern world.
Labour have a nostalgic attachment to a nine-to-five working life that does not suit modern life either, as increasingly households have two earners and people want to be able to work flexibly.
Liberal Democrats are the only party with a plan to tackle poverty and inequality that makes sense in the modern world.
A plan that will mean a social security system that provides a real safety net for those that need it,
and effectively supports people to get back into work;
a plan that will support disabled people and help them find meaningful work that they can reasonably do;
a plan that will rebalance the economy and help rural and coastal communities thrive;
a plan that will ensure that – wherever people are in the country – they have access to the services that they need.
We will build a future in which people are supported in hard times and in which opportunity is spread across the whole country.
The importance of tackling poverty and inequality goes beyond ensuring that life is affordable: it is the poorest and most vulnerable people and areas of the country that are most impacted by crime.
We believe that preventing crime and ensuring people feel safe are crucial to achieving social justice.
We want to build a police force that is fit for the 21st century, in which police officers feel valued and able to focus on cutting crime.
Liberal Democrats are the only party capable of building a criminal justice system that can effectively prevent crime.
For 25 years, both the Conservatives and Labour have been looking to the failed approaches of the past and competing to seem tough on crime, without being willing to take the preventative measures that actually work.
We will build safe communities in which people do not need to fear crime.
Our plan for the police will see investment in community policing and a public health approach to serious violence.
Instead of wasting money locking people up on short sentences that don’t work, we will spend it on the things that really do prevent crime.
Our priorities in the next parliament will be: Investing £6 billion per year to make the benefits system work for people who need it
and reducing the wait for the first benefits payment from five weeks to five days.
Introducing a principle of universal access to basic services: starting by building 100,000 social homes a year,
ending rough sleeping
and bringing in a new legal right to food.
Creating a £50 billion Regional Rebalancing Programme to address the historic investment disparities between our nations and regions.
Adopting a public health approach to serious violence:
restoring community policing and youth services and supporting them to work together with other services to reverse the spread of violence.
A Safety Net that Works
The social security system is not working as it should: it is driving people further into poverty and forcing families to rely on foodbanks to get by.
The Conservatives have designed the welfare system based on their backward-looking view of work and families and are making the matter worse.
Liberal Democrats are looking to the future and will build a system that works for the modern world to support those who need it and help people back into work.
We will: Make the welfare system work by: Reducing the wait for the first payment from five weeks to five days.
Tackling child poverty by removing the two-child limit and the benefits cap.
Making work pay by increasing work allowances and introducing a second earner work allowance.
Establish a legal right to food to enshrine in law the government’s responsibility to ensure that existing and new public policy is audited for its impact on food security.
Reform Universal Credit to be more supportive of the self-employed.
Increase Local Housing Allowance in line with average rents in an area.
Abolish the bedroom tax and introduce positive incentives for people to downsize.
Ensure that everyone gets the help they need by separating employment support from benefits administration and increase spending on training and education.
Introduce an incentive-based scheme to replace the current sanctions system, which does not encourage people into work, penalises people with mental health issues and deters people from claiming support.
Reverse the cuts to Employment Support Allowance for those in the work- related activity group.
End Work Capability Assessments and replace them with a new system that is run by local authorities and based on real-world tests.
Reinstate the Independent Living Fund.
Radically overhaul the Bereavement Allowance, slashed by the Conservatives, so that widows and widowers receive far more support
and extend the payments to unmarried couples when a parent dies.
Aim to end fuel poverty by 2025 by providing free energy retrofits for low- income homes as part of our emergency programme to reduce energy consumption from all the UK’s buildings.
Support for Pensioners
Everybody should have enough to live on when they retire, but low wages and underemployment mean that people are not able to save as much for their retirement as they need.
Because people are living longer – meaning that their pensions need to last for 20, 30 or even 40 years – many people find themselves in an even more vulnerable position.
Liberal Democrats are looking to the future and will build a country that is the best place in the world to save for, and enjoy, retirement.
We will: Retain the Triple Lock on the basic state pension, so that it rises in line with the highest of wages, prices or 2.5 per cent.
Ensure that the women born in the 1950s are properly compensated for the failure of government to properly notify them of changes to the state pension age, in line with the recommendations of the parliamentary ombudsman.
Address continuing inequalities in pensions law for those in same-sex relationships.
Access to Affordable Housing
People are struggling to afford good homes in in the right location: house prices are too high and the possibility of owning a home seems remote for many people;
the private rental market is expensive and insecure; and there are not enough homes for social rent to meet demand.
We need to build 300,000 homes per year just to meet current demand, but are barely building half that amount.
The Conservatives, looking back to the 1980s, have tried to solve the problem of unaffordable homes by extending Right to Buy, but that has only served to deplete stock and deepen the crisis in social housing.
Liberal Democrats are looking to the future and will oversee a substantial building programme to ensure that everybody has a safe and secure home.
We will: Build at least 100,000 homes for social rent each year
and ensure that total housebuilding increases to 300,000 each year.
Help finance the large increase in the building of social homes with investment from our £130 billion capital infrastructure budget.
Build new houses to zero-carbon standards
and cut fuel bills through a ten-year programme to reduce energy consumption from all the UK’s buildings.
Devolve full control of Right to Buy to local councils.
To support people to find and keep homes of their own we will:Help people who cannot afford a deposit by introducing a new Rent to Own model for social housing where rent payments give tenants an increasing stake in the property, owning it outright after 30 years.
Allow local authorities to increase council tax by up to 500 per cent where homes are being bought as second homes
with a stamp duty surcharge on overseas residents purchasing such properties.
To reform the private rental sector, we will: Help young people into the rental market by establishing a new Help to Rent scheme to provide government-backed tenancy deposit loans for all first-time renters under 30.
Promote longer tenancies of three years or more with an inflation-linked annual rent increase built in, to give tenants security and limit rent hikes.
Improve protections against rogue landlords through mandatory licensing.
To improve social renting, we will:Set clearer standards for homes that are socially rented.
Require complaints to be dealt with in a timely manner.
Proactively enforce the regulations that are intended to protect social renters.
Fully recognise tenant panels so that renters have a voice in landlord governance.
End Rough Sleeping
Nobody should have to spend a night sleeping on the streets.
However rough sleeping has been increasing since the 2008 recession and is one of the most visible signs of increasing poverty and inequality.
Liberal Democrats will end rough sleeping within five years.
To do this, we will: Urgently publish a cross-Whitehall plan to end all forms of homelessness.
Exempt groups of homeless people, and those at risk of homelessness, from the Shared Accommodation Rate.
Make providers of asylum support accommodation subject to a statutory duty to refer people leaving asylum support accommodation who are at risk of homelessness to the local housing authority.
Introduce a ‘somewhere safe to stay’ legal duty to ensure that everyone who is at risk of sleeping rough is provided with emergency accommodation and an assessment of their needs.
Ensure sufficient financial resources for local authorities to deliver the Homelessness Reduction Act
and provide accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse.
Legislate for longer term tenancies and limits on annual rent increases.
Scrap the Vagrancy Act, so that rough sleeping is no longer criminalised.
Rural and Coastal Communities
People in rural and coastal areas should be able to work and live locally,
to have access to a well-funded and integrated transport network
and to have equal access to the new technology that is shaping modern life.
This, however, is far from the current reality: a proliferation of second homes and holiday cottages means that there is a shortage of affordable homes for the people that make communities work – teachers, nurses, carers, agricultural workers, police officers, and shopkeepers, among among others;
transport is usually limited to an expensive, infrequent and unreliable bus service;
broadband and mobile services aren’t fit for purpose;
and people have limited access to services.
Our plan is to build thriving communities which are innovative, flexible, resilient and prepared for the future.
We will: Set up a £2 billion Rural Services Fund to enable the co-location of services in local hubs around existing local infrastructure.
Invest in bus services by: Substantially increasing funding for buses, enabling local authorities to restore old routes and open new ones.
Supporting rural bus services and encouraging alternatives to conventional bus services where they are not viable.
Encouraging local authorities to use their new powers under the Bus Services Act, including franchising powers and repealing the rule preventing local councils from running their own bus companies.
Providing funding to accelerate the transition to electric buses.
Ensure that all households and businesses have access to superfast broadband (30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload).
Invest £2 billion in innovative solutions to ensure the provision of high-speed broadband across the UK,
working with local authorities and providing grants to help areas replicate the success of existing community-led projects.
Invest in mobile data infrastructure and expand it to cover all homes.
Launch a National Fund for Coastal Change, to enable local authorities to properly manage their changing coastlines.
Reform planning to ensure developers are required to provide essential local infrastructure from affordable homes to schools, surgeries and roads alongside new homes.
A Public Health Approach to Violence
People should feel safe in their homes and on their streets.
But this is not how it is for too many people today: knife crime has increased by over 75 per cent since 2015;
homicides are at their highest rate for a decade;
robberies and thefts are increasing and almost all go unsolved;
and there are more and more places in the country where people simply don’t see police officers.
The Conservatives, having unnecessarily cut police funding in England and Wales, are now trying to seem tough on crime without actually doing what is needed to prevent it.
We understand that the situation needs more than tough talk: our plan means more police, properly supported by the government
and focused on the community policing that prevents crime and makes people feel safe
while investing in the services that will help people build lives free from crime.
We will: Invest £1 billion to restore community policing, enough for two new police officers in every ward.
Adopt a public health approach to the epidemic of youth violence: identifying risk factors and treating them, rather than just focusing on the symptoms.
This means police, teachers, health professionals, youth workers and social services all working closely together to prevent young people falling prey to gangs and violence.
Invest in youth services.
We will provide a £500m ringfenced youth services fund to local authorities to repair the damage done to youth services and enable them to deliver a wider range of services, reach more young people and improve training for youth workers.
Embed Trauma-informed Youth Intervention Specialists in all Major Trauma Centres.
Introduce a target of one hour for handover of people suffering from mental health crisis from police to mental health services
and support the police to achieve adequate levels of training in mental health response.
Fully fund an immediate two per cent pay-rise for police officers to support recruitment and retention,
and future pay rises in line with recommendations from the independent Police Remuneration Review Body.
Properly resource the National Crime Agency to combat serious and organised crime,
and tackle modern slavery and human trafficking through proactive, intelligence-led enforcement of labour market standards.
Create a new Online Crime Agency to effectively tackle illegal content and activity online, such as personal fraud, revenge porn and threats and incitement to violence on social media.
End the disproportionate use of Stop and Search.
Prevent violence against women and girls and domestic abuse,
and support survivors, by:
Ratifying and bringing into law the Istanbul Convention.
Legislating for a statutory definition of domestic abuse that includes its effects on children.
Expanding the number of refuges and rape crisis centres to meet demand.
Ensuring sustainable grant-funding for specialist independent support services.
Giving local authorities the duty and funding to provide accommodation and support for survivors of abuse.
Establishing a national rape crisis helpline.
Ensuring access to special measures for survivors in all courts
and preventing direct cross-examination of survivors by their abusers.
Replace Police and Crime Commissioners with accountable Police Boards made up of local councillors.
Stop Brexit and maintain the European crime-fighting tools that keep us all safe, including: Europol, the European Arrest Warrant and direct access to shared police databases.
Reducing Reoffending
Prisons should be places of rehabilitation: when people leave them they should be ready to reintegrate into society with work and a place to live.
But, the prison system is in crisis and not delivering this: prisons are overcrowded and understaffed and riots, drug use, suicide and extreme violence have all become far too common.
For decades, Labour and Conservative governments have repeated the same failed policies, desperate to appear tough on crime while failing to properly provide the services that help people build lives free from crime.
Only the Liberal Democrats have a vision for making the justice system work.
Instead of wasting money locking people up on short sentences that don’t work, we will spend it on the things that actually prevent crime.
We will protect people from becoming victims of crime by focusing on what works to stop re-offending.
We will Transform prisons into places of rehabilitation and recovery by recruiting 2,000 more prison officers
and improving the provision of training, education and work opportunities.
Reduce the number of people unnecessarily in prison, including by: introducing a presumption against short prison sentences;
ending prison sentences for the possession of drugs for personal use;
and increasing the use of tough community sentences and restorative justice where appropriate.
Establish a Women’s Justice Board and provide specialist training for all staff in contact with women in the criminal justice system.
Reduce the overrepresentation of people from BAME backgrounds throughout the criminal justice system, including by:
Uniformly recording data on ethnicity across the criminal justice system and publishing complete data to allow analysis and scrutiny.
Introducing a principle of “explain or reform”: if the criminal justice system cannot explain disparities between ethnic groups, then it must be reformed to address them.
Promoting greater diversity in the criminal justice system by ensuring that the police, prison service and judiciary all adopt ambitious targets for improving the diversity of their workforce and requiring regular reports on progress to parliament.
Improve and properly fund the supervision of offenders in the community, with far greater coordination between the prison service, probation service providers, the voluntary and private sectors and local authorities, achieving savings in the high costs of reoffending.
Ensure that all prison-leavers have a suitably timed release and are supported with suitable accommodation, a bank account and employment or training, and are registered with a local GP.
Improve mental health support and treatment within the criminal justice system
and ensure continuity of mental health care and addiction treatment in prison and the community.
Reform criminal record disclosure rules so that people do not have to declare irrelevant old and minor convictions,
and remove questions about criminal convictions from initial application forms for all public-sector jobs.
Our Plan for Freedom, Rights and Equality
People should be able to live their lives free from discrimination or intrusion and without fear of having their most fundamental rights violated.
But this is not the reality in the UK today.
The hostile environment has unacceptably trampled on people’s rights
and people are still discriminated against on the basis of their gender, race, age, sexuality, gender identity, religion or whether they are disabled.
Inequalities are rife – children from Black households are more likely to be in persistent poverty
and both hate crimes and violence against women and girls are far too prevalent.
The Conservatives and Labour have entirely failed to stand up to hatred or combat entrenched inequalities.
The Conservatives have been relentlessly hostile in their rhetoric and policy around migration and have failed to take allegations of Islamophobia within their party seriously;
Jeremy Corbyn has failed to tackle institutional anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
For decades, both parties have seen civil liberties as an inconvenience standing in the way of other priorities, which has meant attacks on individual rights and surveillance of citizens conducted outside the law.
Our plan is for a free society where every person’s rights and liberties are protected
and where the contribution of migrants to our society is celebrated.
A plan for a world where everybody’s rights are respected
and society is fair and diverse;
a plan to allow everyone to get on and live as who they are, free from discrimination or state intrusion;
a plan that means that those who choose to come to the UK to work, study or join their families are welcomed for the skills and contributions that they bring;
a plan where family unity is protected and the rule of law is respected.
Our priorities in the next parliament will be: Standing up for human rights by championing the Human Rights Act
and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Fixing the broken immigration system by scrapping the Conservatives’ hostile environment, ending indefinite detention and taking powers away from the Home Office.
Giving asylum seekers the right to work three months after they have applied
and resettling 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children in the UK over the next ten years.
Protect Civil Liberties
Our rights and freedoms are under threat.
Labour and Conservatives consistently vote for new laws that curtail civil liberties
and Conservatives repeatedly threaten the Human Rights Act that safeguards our individual freedoms.
Liberal Democrats will build a society where rights and liberties are protected and where nobody has their privacy violated by prying instruments of the state.
We will: Defend the Human Rights Act,
resist any attempt to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights
and oppose any laws that unnecessarily erode civil liberties.
Establish a new right to affordable, reasonable legal assistance,
and invest £500 million to restore Legal Aid, making the system simpler and more generous.
End the bulk collection of communications data and internet connection records.
Introduce a Lovelace Code of Ethics to govern the use of personal data and artificial intelligence to ensure it is unbiased, transparent and accurate, and respects privacy.
Immediately halt the use of facial recognition surveillance by the police.
Introduce a right to no-fault divorce.
Extend limited legal rights to cohabiting couples, for example, to give them greater protection in the event of separation or a partner’s death.
Complete the introduction of equal marriage, by: Removing the spousal veto.
Allowing those marriages that were dissolved solely due to the Gender Recognition process to be retrospectively restored.
Enabling the Church of England and Church in Wales to conduct same- sex marriages.
Introduce legal recognition of humanist marriages.
Demand Equality
People should be able to go about their lives without fear of discrimination.
However, hate crimes are on the rise and too many groups of people no longer feel safe.
We believe that government needs to take an active role both in punishing discrimination and ensuring that it does not happen in the first place.
We will: Tackle the rise in hate crimes by making them all aggravated offences,
giving law enforcement the resources and training they need to identify and prevent them,
and condemning inflammatory rhetoric – including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia – by those with public platforms.
Provide funding for protective security measures to places of worship, schools and  community centres that are vulnerable to hate crime and terror attacks.
Complete reform of the Gender Recognition Act to remove the requirement for medical reports, scrap the fee and recognise non-binary gender identities.
Introduce an ‘X’ gender option on passports
and extend equality law to cover gender identity and expression.
Ensure accurate population data on sexual orientation and gender identity by including a question on LGBT+ status within the 2021 Census.
Increase accessibility to public places and transport by making more stations wheelchair accessible,
improving the legislative framework governing blue badges,
setting up a benchmarking standard for accessible cities,
and banning discrimination by private hire vehicles and taxis.
Introduce a British Sign Language Act to give BSL full legal recognition.
End period poverty by removing VAT on sanitary products and providing them for free in schools, hospitals, hostels, shelters, libraries, leisure centres, stadiums, GP surgeries, food banks, colleges and universities.
Scrap the so-called ‘Pink Tax’, ending the gender price gap.
Require schools to introduce gender-neutral uniform policies
and break down outdated perceptions of gender appropriateness of certain subjects.
Outlaw caste discrimination.
Promote Diversity
Liberal Democrats believe that in the diversity of the UK should be represented in public and working life.
That means that women, ethnic minority groups, LGBT+ people and disabled people should be properly represented
and paid fairly.
But deep- seated and – normally – unconscious biases mean that too many workplaces lack diversity and inequalities remain entrenched.
We will tackle institutional biases, promote equality and hold power to account through applying values of openness, transparency and accountability.
We will: Increase statutory paternity leave from the current two weeks up to six weeks
and ensure that parental leave is a day-one right,
and address continuing inequalities faced by same-sex couples.
Require organisations to publish parental leave and pay policies.
Continue the drive for diversity in business leadership, pushing for at least 40 per cent of board members being women in FTSE 350 companies
and implementing the recommendations of the Parker review to increase ethnic minority representation.
Extend the Equality Act to all large companies with more than 250 employees, requiring them to monitor and publish data on gender, BAME, and LGBT+ employment levels and pay gaps.
Extend the use of name-blind recruitment processes in the public sector and encourage their use in the private sector.
Improve diversity in public appointments by setting ambitious targets, which go further than targets for the private sector, and require reporting against progress with explanations when targets are not met.
Develop a free, comprehensive unconscious bias training toolkit and make the provision of unconscious bias training to all members of staff a condition of the receipt of public funds.
Develop a government-wide plan to tackle BAME inequalities
and review the funding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to ensure that it is adequate.
Establish a national fund for projects that work in schools to raise the aspirations of ethnic minority children and young people.
A Compassionate and Effective Immigration System
Britain’s immigration system is in desperate need of reform.
The Conservatives’ hostile environment has caused far too many innocent people to have their rights violated – most notably the Windrush generation.
The NHS can’t recruit the doctors and nurses it needs;
families are separated by unfair, complex visa requirements;
people are detained indefinitely, in inhumane conditions and at great expense.
Decades of incompetence, cruelty and hostile rhetoric from Labour and Conservative Home Secretaries have shattered confidence in the system.
The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a plan for a fair migration system that works for everyone.
A plan to ensure that migrants coming to the UK are welcomed for the skills and contribution that they bring,
while ensuring that everyone has confidence that the immigration system is functioning as it should.
We will: Stop Brexit and save EU freedom of movement.
Scrap the Conservatives’ hostile environment.
Invest in officers, training and technology to prevent illegal entry at Britain’s borders,
assist seekers of sanctuary
and combat human trafficking and the smuggling of people, weapons, drugs and wildlife.
Make immigration detention an absolute last resort,
introduce a 28-day time limit on detention
and close seven of the UK’s nine detention centres.
Establish a firewall to prevent public agencies from sharing personal information with the Home Office for the purposes of immigration enforcement
and repeal the immigration exemption in the Data Protection Act.
Move policymaking on work permits and student visas out of the Home Office and into the Departments for Business and Education respectively,
and establish a new arms-length, non-political agency to take over processing applications.
Replace Tier 2 work visas with a more flexible merit-based system.
Introduce a ‘Training up Britain’ programme to make the most of migrants’ skills.
Create a new two-year visa for students to work after graduation.
Reduce the fee for registering a child as a British citizen from £1,012 to the cost of administration.
Abolish the arbitrary, complex minimum income requirement for spouse and partner visas.
Waive application fees for indefinite leave for members of the Armed Forces on discharge and their families.
Enable people who came here as children to apply for resident status.
Dignity for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
We must do all we can to protect people forced to flee their homes to escape war and persecution.
The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need,
but Labour and Conservative governments have introduced a harsh system that fails to respect people’s dignity.
Thousands of asylum seekers are forced to wait many months for a decision, unable to work, rent a home or support their families.
Too many people are wrongly denied asylum, with 40 per cent of refusals overturned on appeal.
Liberal Democrats are the only party who can make the system work fairly for seekers of sanctuary.
We will: Give asylum seekers the right to work three months after they have applied, enabling them to work in any role so that they can support themselves, integrate into their communities and contribute through taxation.
Provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary in the UK by resettling 10,000 vulnerable refugees each year
and a further 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next ten years,
and expanding family reunion rights.
Fund community-sponsorship projects for refugees,
and reward community groups who develop innovative and successful ways of promoting social cohesion.
Offer asylum to people fleeing the risk of violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identification,
end the culture of disbelief for LGBT+ asylum seekers
and never refuse an LGBT+ applicant on the basis that they could be discreet.
Move asylum policymaking from the Home Office to the Department for International Development and establish a dedicated unit to improve the speed and quality of decision-making.
Provide free basic English lessons to refugees and asylum seekers
and scrap the 16 hours-per-week rule with respect to financial support for those unable to work due to insufficient English.
Provide public health services, including maternity services, to people from the moment they arrive in the UK.
Increase the ‘move-on period’ for refugees from 28 days to 60 days.
Our Plan for Better Politics
Everybody, wherever they live, should be given a proper chance to influence the decisions that affect them.
But, as it stands, British politics is far from delivering this for people.
Too many are being cheated out of a voice and a vote
For some, that is because they live in a constituency where they feel that it does not matter who they vote for – the same party will always get elected.
For young people, EU citizens and many British people living abroad, it is because they are denied any say at all in elections to parliament.
The failure of the UK’s democratic system to reflect the diversity of the public’s views in parliament has played a major role in creating the current political crisis – fixing this is a matter of urgency.
Neither Labour nor Conservatives are interested in changing our broken system, because it works to keep them in power.
They have been driven to the extremes and their leaders seek to win power by being slightly more palatable than the alternative – but the UK deserves better than the choice of the lesser of two evils.
Liberal Democrats have a plan to radically transform our political system so that it works for a modern democracy.
A plan that will mend our broken politics so that we can get on with building a fairer society that protects our planet.
Our priorities in the next parliament will be: Giving people a voice with a fair voting system so that everyone’s vote counts equally,
letting people vote at the first election or referendum after they turn 16
and giving votes to all British citizens abroad and to EU citizens who have made the UK their long-term home.
Embarking on a radical redistribution of power away from Westminster to the nations, regions and local authorities, giving power to communities to hold local services to account and decide how their taxes are raised and spent.
Introducing a written constitution for a federal United Kingdom.
Fair Votes
The current voting system is not working: it means that too many people do not have their voices heard.
Liberal Democrats are the only party that realises that the system is broken and will change it so that it works for the future:
Labour and Conservatives will not change the system that has always entrenched their privileged position.
We understand that British politics needs to be reformed to make it more representative and empower citizens.
We will: Put an end to wasted votes, by introducing proportional representation through the Single Transferable Vote for electing MPs,
and local councillors in England.
Give 16- and 17-year olds the right to vote in elections and referendums.
Extend the right to full participation in civic life, including the ability to stand for office or vote in UK referendums, Local Elections and General Elections, to all EU citizens who have lived in the UK for five years or more.
Introduce a legal requirement for local authorities to inform citizens of the steps they must take to be successfully registered with far greater efforts in particular to register under-represented groups;
and ensure that the UK has an automatic system of inclusion in elections.
Enable all UK citizens living abroad to vote for MPs in separate overseas constituencies,
and to participate in UK referendums.
Scrap the plans to require voters to bring identification with them to vote.
Reform the House of Lords with a proper democratic mandate.
Enabling Parliament, rather than the Queen-in-Council, to approve when parliament is prorogued and for how long.
Ensure that a new Prime Minister, and their programme for government, must win a confidence vote of MPs.
Take a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and bullying in Westminster and legislate to empower constituents to recall MPs who commit sexual harassment.
Legislate to allow all-BAME and all-LGBT+ shortlists.
Bring into force Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring political parties to publish candidate diversity data.
Power for Communities
Communities should be empowered to have maximum control over their local services.
Liberal Democrats are the only party with a vision for the future: Labour’s instinct is towards centralisation and taking power from communities; the Conservatives’ cuts to local government budgets have led to a huge reduction in services.
We will drive a devolution revolution to give power to people and communities and help fund the services that people need.
We will: Decentralise decision-making from Whitehall and Westminster, by inviting local areas to take control of the services that matter to them most.
Give democratic local government enhanced powers to call on new income sources appropriate to their area to support local services and investment.
Give people more power, with customers holding companies delivering services to account for their failures,
and with communities able to take charge of aspects of their own local development – through, for example, establishing local banks and community energy cooperatives.
Devolve further revenue-raising powers away from Westminster, to regions from Cornwall to North East England.
We will legislate to empower groups of authorities to come together to establish devolved governance
and ensure that any powers devolved are matched by the funding to deliver on the needs of local people.
Devolve more decision-making power over key levers of economic development including transport, energy, housing and skills.
High-Quality Public Debate
A well-functioning democracy should have a high standard of public debate in which: citizens are supported, educated and empowered to distinguish between facts and lies;
there is a pluralistic media environment where journalists have the resources they need to find the truth and to hold the powerful to account;
civility in public discourse is protected;
election procedures and rules are upheld robustly and quickly.
However, these foundations of our democratic way of life are under threat.
Liberal Democrats are the only party forward-looking enough to do what it takes to foster high quality public debate.
We will: Mandate the provision of televised leaders’ debates in general elections, based on rules produced by Ofcom.
Introduce a Leveson-compliant regulator to be given oversight of both privacy and quality, diversity and choice in both print and online media
and proceed with Part Two of the Leveson Inquiry.
Take big money out of politics by capping donations to political parties and introduce wider reforms to party funding along the lines of the 2011 report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Establish UK and local citizens’ assemblies to ensure that the public are fully engaged in finding solutions to the greatest challenges we face, such as tackling the climate emergency and the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms by the state.
Expect the BBC both to provide impartial news and information, and to take a leading role in increasing media literacy and educating all generations in tackling the impact of fake news.
Strengthen and expand the lobbying register
and ban MPs from accepting paid lobbying work.
Work towards radical real-time transparency for political advertising, donations and spending, including an easily-searchable public database of all online political adverts.
Make algorithms used by the data companies available for close inspection by regulators acting for democratically elected governments,
along with access for regulators to the programmers responsible for designing and operating them.
Review the need for any election safeguarding legislation that is needed to respond to emerging challenges of the internet age, such as foreign interference in elections.
Power for the Nations and Regions
The people who best understand what the UK’s nations and regions need are those who live in them.
However, the Conservative government has a terrible record at meeting the needs of the UK outside its heartlands in the south of England – this is most clear in the way that the Conservative government has excluded voices from the nations in the Brexit negotiations.
Liberal Democrats want home rule for each of the nations of a strong, federal and united United Kingdom.
We have a proud record of leading the way on giving greater powers to Scotland and Wales.
We will not allow Brexit to reverse devolution and will oppose attempts to use Brexit to go back to the past when powers were hoarded at Westminster.
We will champion a federal future for the UK.
Our plans for a written, federal constitution will include a permanent Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales
and we will take forward practical steps to ensure that Scotland and Wales both have strong voices in the future of the family of nations.
We will Extend the involvement of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government in the development of UK-wide policy frameworks.
Specifically include health and education departments of the Scottish and Welsh governments in UK policymaking on drug policy
and student visas.
Create a Joint Climate Council of the Nations to coordinate action to tackle the climate emergency.
Improve joint ministerial work on new cross-cutting policies, such as the UK industrial strategy.
Establish a dispute resolution process to resolve differences between the administrations
Scotland
In addition to the steps to ensure Scotland has a strong voice within the UK, we will:
Work hard to ensure that Scotland remains a part of the United Kingdom.
We will oppose a second independence referendum
and oppose independence.
Allocate to the Scottish Parliament all of the powers set out in the Scotland Act 2016, many of which have already been used by the Scottish Parliament, with others awaiting the request of the Scottish Government.
Build on the recommendations of the Smith Commission by extending the accountability of UK-wide bodies such as the BBC and Ofgem to the Scottish Parliament.
Continue to develop city deals in Scotland by bringing together all spheres of government.
Review the UK excise duty structure to better support whisky exports.
Scotland benefits from being inside the UK
and EU single markets.
Each is worth billions of pounds and supports tens of thousands of Scottish jobs.
Under the Liberal Democrats inclusion in those single markets will continue.
Wales
In the 20 years since the National Assembly for Wales was created, we have proudly played our part in Wales’ devolution journey: 20 years of devolution has allowed the Welsh National Assembly to mature into a Welsh Parliament.
Yet Brexit now threatens much of this progress.
We recognise that stopping Brexit and protecting existing levels of devolution will not be enough to create the federal Britain that Wales needs to achieve its potential.
We will complete the next stage of devolution in Wales by implementing the remaining Silk proposals and substantially reducing the number of powers reserved to Westminster.
In addition to the steps to ensure Wales has a strong voice within the UK we will: Devolve Air Passenger Duty to put Wales on a fair playing field with Scotland and Northern Ireland
and put Cardiff Airport on a fair playing field with regional airports in England.
Create a distinct legal jurisdiction for Wales to reflect the growing divergence in law as a result of devolution.
Devolve powers over youth justice, probation services, prisons and policing to allow Wales to create an effective, liberal, community-based approach to policing and tackling crime.
We firmly believe Wales is best off as part of both the UK
and the EU.
Each union is worth billions of pounds to the Welsh economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs.
For Wales, a federal UK will mean a truly equal family of nations, ensuring that every part of this union has a voice, backed up by real, meaningful devolution.
We will work to create a Wales that is able to shape its own destiny as part of a strong United Kingdom
playing a leading role within the EU.
Northern Ireland
We wish to see a permanently peaceful Northern Ireland,
with stable devolved government
and a truly shared society.
Northern Ireland and its institutions rely on sharing and interdependence, but Brexit has already increased tensions and risks new divisions, barriers and friction.
We will: Work constructively with the political parties in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government to urgently restore the devolved institutions.
Support policies and initiatives that promote sharing over separation and counter the cost of division.
Help to grow the economy in Northern Ireland,
boost infrastructure
and support local businesses.
Funding Devolution
The nations of the United Kingdom have long had different needs with regard to funding.
The Liberal Democrats when in government delivered a substantial extension of financial powers to the nations of the UK and we will devolve further fiscal powers.
To ensure reliable funding, we will retain the Barnett formula to adjust spending allocations across the UK.
This will protect the individual nations’ budgets from external shocks.
However, we recognise the findings of the Holtham Commission that the current formula underfunds Wales and will commission work to update this analysis.
We will address the imbalance by immediately ensuring that the Barnett floor is set at a level that reflects the need for Wales to be funded fairly
and seek over a parliament to increase the Welsh block grant to an equitable level.
Englan
Devolution of power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has implications for the UK parliament and its dual role in legislating for England as well as the federal UK.
Liberal Democrats support an English-only stage in legislation affecting England, so that English MPs can have a separate say on laws that only affect England.
However, this should be on a proportional basis, genuinely reflecting the balance of opinion in England
In some areas of England there is a greater appetite for powers, but not every part of the country wants to move at the same speed and there cannot be a one-size fits-all approach.
All areas should however have access to the same opportunities and mayoral authorities should not be ranked higher in terms of the powers with which they can be granted.
We will enact permissive legislation to empower groups of authorities to come together to establish devolved governance – for example to a Cornish Assembly or a Yorkshire Parliament, building on the One Yorkshire campaign.
We will proceed by consensus as far as possible but will not allow one local authority to veto a coherent proposal.
Our Plan for a Better World
The world today feels increasingly unstable and unsafe.
Nationalism and authoritarianism are on the rise in countries across the globe.
President Trump has repeatedly acted to cause instability, whether by initiating trade wars or abandoning Kurdish allies in Syria;
Putin’s Russia is persistently threatening the international rules-based order;
and tensions continue to rise across the world – a brutal war still rages in Yemen,
relationships with Iran are increasingly difficult and citizens are protesting against their leaders in places such as Hong Kong, Pakistan and Chile.
The UK should be playing a leading role as part of a coalition of liberal democracies to respond to these challenges,
but Brexit has already undermined our ability to shape world events.
Both the Conservatives and Labour would pursue a mistaken and backwards-looking approach to foreign affairs that would further undermine the UK’s position in the world.
The Conservatives base their plans on an invented past, blind to the realities of Empire//,
and Boris Johnson has shown, with his comments about Nazanin Zaghari- Radcliffe, that he cannot be trusted to protect British citizens;
the Labour leadership, wedded to an anti-Western obsession that makes them persistent apologists for an increasingly aggressive Russian government, likewise cannot be trusted to protect the UK’s interests.
Only the Liberal Democrats have a plan to renew international liberalism in Britain and ensure that the UK plays an active role in building a better world.
A plan that will tear down walls, not build them;
a plan that will champion the values of human rights,
democracy,
and equality;
a plan that means working through multilateral organisations such as the EU, UN, NATO, and the WTO, rather than undermining or leaving them entirely.
By clearly committing to these multilateral organisations, we can tackle our shared challenges, live up to our values internationally and shape international events in the interests of the UK.
Our priorities in the next parliament will be: Defending international cooperation against the rising tides of nationalism and isolationism, supporting multilateral organisations like the UN and NATO which are increasingly under threat.
Spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on aid:
reducing poverty,
defending human rights,
protecting the environment
and preventing violent conflict worldwide.
Cooperating with the UK’s European and global partners in tackling the climate and environmental emergencies.
Controlling arms exports to countries with poor human rights records and, as part of this, suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
A Peaceful World
Liberalism and cooperation have a vital role to play in securing peace,
promoting democracy
and defending human rights across the world.
But the rules-based international order that has governed international relations for the past 70 years is under threat.
The Liberal Democrats are the only party that is looking forward: neither the Conservatives nor Labour have a convincing vision of the UK’s role in the world.
We will build on the UK’s proud record of international leadership through the EU, UN, NATO and the Commonwealth by promoting values of freedom and opportunity for all.
It has never been more important for the UK to work with allies as a champion of this message.
We will: Champion the liberal, rules-based international order, which provides a strong basis for multilateral action to address the world’s biggest problems.
Use all aspects of government policy – trade, aid and diplomacy
as well as military cooperation –
to strengthen UK efforts to prevent violent conflict.
Increase overseas financial support for the ongoing refugee crisis, focussing on countries that have accepted millions of refugees.
Work with European partners to introduce a European Magnitsky Act that would enable sanctions against corrupt individuals and perpetrators of human rights abuses.
Improve control of arms exports, including by introducing a policy of ‘presumption of denial’ for arms exports to countries listed as Human Rights Priority Countries in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual human rights report.
Liberal Democrats believe that despite efforts to prevent violent conflict, sometimes military intervention is necessary.
The UK should only intervene militarily when there is a clear legal or humanitarian case, endorsed by a vote in parliament
– working through international institutions whenever possible.
We will encourage dialogue and mediation to reduce conflict between and within countries, working through the UN and other agencies.
In response to current crises, we will: Legislate to ensure there is a parliamentary vote before engaging in military action,
while preserving the ability to engage in action in emergencies or under treaty obligation without requiring parliamentary approval.
Focus on the diplomatic priorities of the UN’s Responsibility to Protect doctrine
and establish new tests to ensure that any UK action has regional support,
a reasonable prospect of defined success,
and a sound legal and humanitarian case.
Work with international partners to tackle violent extremism, paying special attention to UK citizens who have fought overseas for terrorist organisations who may become significant sources of terrorist activity if they return to Britain.
On Syria, cooperate internationally to stabilise the region and provide humanitarian assistance.
Work with the EU to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
Officially recognise the independent state of Palestine, condemn violence on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and support Israel’s right to security.
We remain committed to a negotiated peace settlement, which includes a two-state solution.
Suspend UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to their consistent targeting of civilians, in breach of international humanitarian law, in Yemen.
Promote democracy and stability in Ukraine and neighbouring countries against an increasingly aggressive Russia,
by working closely with the EU and international partners to exert maximum economic and political pressure,
and standing by our NATO treaty obligations.
Honour our legal and moral duty to the people of Hong Kong by reopening the British National Overseas Passport offer, extending the scheme to provide the right to abode to all holders.
A Secure Defence in the 21st Century
The Armed Forces play a vital role in the defence of the nation: government should have a deep sense of duty to properly support service personnel and veterans.
Neither the Conservatives nor Labour have shown a commitment to this:
the Conservative government in particular has spread chronic low morale, misspent money on vanity projects and failed to recruit and retain people with the skills needed for 21st century warfare.
Liberal Democrats are the only party who understand the new challenges faced by the Armed Forces and who are committed to properly supporting them.
We will: Commit to the principle of collective self-defence as laid out in the North Atlantic Treaty and spending two per cent of GDP on defence in line with NATO recommendations:
as the economy grows after we have stopped Brexit, this will mean an extra £3 billion over the parliament.
Strengthen our armed services and address critical skills shortages by recruiting STEM graduates to be armed forces engineers, providing ‘golden handshakes’ of up to £10,000.
Promote an international treaty on the principles and limits of the use of technology in modern warfare.
Recognise the expansion of warfare into the cybersphere by investing in our security and intelligence services and acting to counter cyberattacks.
Maintain a minimum nuclear deterrent,
while pursuing multilateral nuclear disarmament:
continuing with the Dreadnought programme, the submarine- based replacement for Vanguard, but procuring three boats and moving to a medium-readiness responsive posture and maintaining the deterrent through measures such as unpredictable and irregular patrolling patterns.
Support the Armed Forces Covenant and ongoing work to support veterans’ mental health.
Improve the quality of housing for service personnel by bringing the Ministry of Defence into line with other landlords, giving tenants the same legal rights to repair and maintenance as private tenants.
Trade, Aid and Investment
The liberal, international rules-based order has created peace and prosperity: trade has helped millions out of poverty and to live longer, healthier lives.
But the system is imperfect and must improve to tackle global inequalities: gender inequality remains widespread
and the climate crisis will disproportionately impact the poorest people and poorest countries.
Liberal Democrats are the only party with a vision for the future based on championing liberalism:
the Conservatives are inward-looking and nationalist and committed to leaving the EU, the biggest champion of the liberal order in our part of the world;
Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour spring to the defence of authoritarian regimes in Venezuela and Iran,
while failing to fight to stop Brexit.
Our plan for the future is built on championing liberal and international values,
ending poverty
and promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals both in the UK and abroad.
We will: Remain firmly committed to spending 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income on aid,
prioritising development that both helps the poorest and ties in with our strategic international objectives on gender equality,
climate change and the environment,
human rights,
conflict prevention
and tackling inequality.
Increase the proportion of the aid budget committed to tackling climate change and environmental degradation:
helping countries mitigate the impact of climate change and other environmental crises
and support climate refugees.
Pursue a foreign agenda with gender equality at its heart, focusing on: the transformation of the position of women through economic inclusion, education and training;
ensuring the lives of women and girls are not ignored in favour of trade or regional alliances;
working to extend reproductive rights and end female genital mutilation;
and ending sexual violence in conflict zones.
Protect, defend, and promote human rights for all, including LGBT+ individuals who are persecuted across the world as well as those persecuted for their religion or belief.
Develop a global education strategy to address the urgent crisis of 263 million children missing out on schooling.
Work through international bodies for better regulation and scrutiny of international trade and investment treaties to ensure they do not worsen inequalities
or undermine human rights
or developing countries’ ability to regulate the environmental and social impacts of businesses.
Champion global anti-corruption initiatives and ensure the UK and British Overseas Territories have publicly-accessible registers of beneficial ownership of companies registered in their jurisdictions.
Promoting Human Rights and Equality Around the World
Human rights are global.
An individual’s liberty should be equally respected wherever they live.
However, as authoritarian regimes trample over freedom of speech and belief and LGBT+ and other people are continuing to suffer discrimination, this is far from being the case.
Liberal Democrats are the only party capable of renewing international liberalism and combatting discrimination:
the Conservatives’ Brexit will mean prioritising trade deals over people’s rights
and Labour cannot hope to tackle discrimination abroad when they cannot even root out anti-Semitism in their own party.
We are the only party with a credible plan to enhance the UK’s soft power and to use it to promote human rights
and democracy around the world.
We will: Require UK-registered NGOs and organisations including the Armed Forces and defence contractors to report all instances of documented abuse overseas to government – reviewing, reducing, or refusing funding to organisations found in breach of these rules.
Establish an easy and appropriate reporting mechanism for abuse that makes clear that reporters and whistleblowers will not be discriminated against for reporting abuse.
Support free media and a free and open internet, championing the free flow of information.
Support the current UN initiative to protect journalists – combatting the impunity granted to those who attack reporters on the frontline – by funding UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication.
Work to abolish the death penalty around the world
and remove the power of ministers to allow security and justice assistance in cases that could result in its use.
Work to end the use of torture around the world
and conduct a full inquiry into the UK Government’s involvement in torture and rendition.
Develop proposals with the BBC for investment to grow the World Service to reach more people across the world with independent and trusted news
and continue to support BBC Monitoring and the British Council.
Develop a comprehensive strategy for promoting the decriminalisation of homosexuality around the world
and advancing LGBT+ rights.
Appoint an Ambassador-level Champion for Freedom of Belief.
Global Climate Action Now
The climate emergency is a global challenge and requires a global solution.
However, with the US withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and with most national climate policies falling well short of the Agreement’s ambition to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C, this global solution looks a long way off.
Neither the Conservatives nor Labour have a plan to tackle this: the Conservatives have given no real thought to the climate emergency, and Labour are only interested in repeating empty slogans.
Liberal Democrats are the only party with a detailed plan to lead global efforts to combat the climate emergency.
We will: Support the Paris Agreement by playing a leadership role in international efforts to combat climate change,
demonstrating commitment by rapidly reducing emissions from the UK economy,
increasing development spending on climate objectives
and aiming to persuade all countries to commit to net zero climate goals by the 2020 UN climate conference in Glasgow.
Use our role in the EU to tackle the climate emergency, by setting a binding, EU-wide net zero target of 2050,
and continuing to take part in the EU’s Internal Energy Market, to provide access to clean energy sources while keeping costs low.
Strengthen climate and environmental goals in EU trade and investment agreements
and refuse to enter any trade agreements with countries that have policies counter to the Paris Agreement, including the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement because of the Brazilian government’s actions in the Amazon.
Initiate negotiations within the UN for a legally binding international treaty on plastics reduction.
Argue for ambitious new legally binding international targets to protect global biodiversity,
and an effective global oceans treaty to create a network of ocean sanctuaries.
We will also provide greater resources for international environmental cooperation, particularly on actions to tackle illegal and unsustainable trade in timber,
wildlife,
ivory,
and fish.
Argue for an end to all fossil fuel subsidies world-wide
and provide aid to developing countries to help them transition to clean sources of energy.
This manifesto sets out Liberal Democrat policies and priorities for the United Kingdom. The Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats set their own policy on devolved matters, and for those policy areas, the proposals here apply to England only. Our sister party, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, makes its own policy on devolved issues in Northern Ireland.
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Key Commitments
In this Parliament Alliance will:
Demand Better Than Brexit
Northern Ireland’s interests are best served within the EU, which is why we want to Remain.
If a Leave Parliament seeks to persue Brexit, then we want to minimise the harm.
In descending order of preference we want: A People’s Vote with the option to remain in the EU.
The whole UK to remain in the Single Market and Customs Union.
A Special Deal for Northern Ireland.
Demand Better Devolution
Northern Ireland deserves a stable, functioning and locally accountable Assembly based on delivery, cooperation and mutual respect.
We support: Holding urgent, time-bound talks led by an independent mediator
and if agreement can’t be reached before the 13th January 2020 deadline, then we need fresh elections
The drift and decline in public services in NI cannot go on.
Creating a new approach to devolution to ensure that if one or two parties are holding up devolution, those who want to do the job have the opportunity to do so.
Reforming the petition of concern before the Assembly returns.
Demand Better Integration
We want to create a fairer society, integrating services and delivering social reforms, by: Developing a comprehensive approach to promoting a shared future, through prioritising integrated education, shared neighbourhoods and promoting community relations.
Opposing any repeal of the Human Rights Act.
Bringing Northern Ireland into line with equality and discrimination law in the rest of the UK by creating a Single Equality Act.
Requiring all Executive policies to be ‘shared future-proofed’ to ensure that all major decisions support a united society rather than continuing or enhancing division.
Creating a Programme for Government outcome on ending sectarianism to drive action across Executive departments.
Demand Better Public Services
Due to a combination of political stagnation and austerity, our public services are struggling
We support: Reforming the education system so we end annual crises in school budgets.
Implementing the Bengoa reforms to transform our health service,
freeing up resources to pay health sector staff fairly.
Radically improving our infrastructure to boost economic growth,
benefit communities and prepare Northern Ireland for the future.
Demand Better Governance and Transparency
We believe in open and transparent politics.
We propose: Realising full transparency of political donations in Northern Ireland.
Reforming Westminster by allowing votes at 16,
introducing PR elections for the House of Commons
and directly electing the House of Lords.
Delivering MPs who are committed to working for everyone in their constituency,
celebrating the diversity of Northern Ireland.
Demand Better Work and Welfare
Overhaul the welfare system at Westminster to deliver support for all those who need it.
We support: Extending the welfare mitigations for Northern Ireland
and legislating to reclassify housing associations.
Repealing cruel UK-wide welfare measures such as the bedroom tax,
the two-child limit
and the six-month rule.
Ending the benefits cap and the punitive sanctions regime.
Supporting increases to Carers Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay
as well as minimum wage equality for young people.
Expanding free childcare provision to 30 hours per week.
Demand Better Climate Action
The world is facing a climate emergency and urgent action is needed, including: Reducing the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030.
Mitigating the impact of climate change by implementing a comprehensive climate action plan.
Embedding environmentalism and climate action at the heart of government planning and delivery.
Brexit
Alliance is a progressive, internationalist and pro-European party.
We recognise that in this modern, globalised world we face many transnational challenges from climate change to the regulation of the internet, and we are stronger through co-operation and pooling our sovereignty.
The European Union allows us to face those challenges together.
People in Northern Ireland recognise the huge benefits of EU membership, which is why the majority voted to remain.
Alliance is standing up for Northern Ireland and advocating for the best interests of the people of this region, through maintaining political stability, defending the Good Friday Agreement, retaining open borders throughout these islands, protecting our economy and enabling future opportunities.
Northern Ireland only works based on sharing and interdependence, yet Brexit entails new divisions, barriers and friction.
Brexit exposes contradictions and ambiguities that are otherwise being managed through the Good Friday Agreement.
Any form of Brexit poses significant problems for Northern Ireland.
Our economy depends on sales and supply chains across these islands.
Brexit undermines people’s ability to enjoy current rights as EU citizens.
Brexit brings problems for security and other forms of intergovernmental co-operation.
This is why there is no such thing as a good or sensible Brexit – it is an act of huge self-sabotage.
We want to stop Brexit but if Brexit is forced through, we want to minimise the harm.
Our priorities and preferences are in descending order: A People's Vote to reconsider Brexit, with the option to remain in the EU.
The whole of the UK remaining in the Single Market and Customs Union.
A Special Deal that helps the Northern Ireland economy
and defends the Good Friday Agreement.
Our Campaign for a People’s Vote
In order to stop Brexit the most coherent, feasible and democratic way forward is a People’s Vote.
The 2016 Referendum was an unclear choice between a clearly defined Remain and an undefined Leave option, interpreted as a broad range of scenarios.
It was a snapshot in time based on limited information.
Questions persist regarding the fairness and transparency of the process.
Many wild and unrealistic promises were made, including the NHS funding pledge on the side of a bus.
Over three years on from the referendum, we now know so much more about Brexit: the complexities, risks and impacts upon so many areas of life;
the impracticalities of some of the proposals;
and of course the wider political impasse it has caused.
Given all this, it cannot be a betrayal of the people who voted in 2016 to now ask again what they want.
There are also over one million young people who have now joined the electorate
In a democracy, people have the right to change their mind and there is consistent evidence to suggest that there may now be a majority across the UK for Remain.
Indeed, it would be a tragedy if the UK ultimately left the EU, particularly in a cliff-edge no-deal, if a majority of people don’t want that to happen.
Opportunities to secure a People’s Vote have been missed on several occasions – Alliance is committed to using its influence in any incoming Parliament to finally secure a People’s Vote
This will require the incoming UK Government requesting a further extension from the European Council to provide the necessary time to facilitate a proper referendum campaign
Parliament would then legislate to facilitate the referendum with the Electoral Commission advising on the intelligibility of the question.
We now know the shape of any deal that can be done with the EU and neither Theresa May’s deal nor Boris Johnson’s reflected the promises made in 2016
It is imperative that we put the final deal to the public with Remain as an option on the ballot paper.
A Special Deal for Northern Ireland
If Brexit happens and a softer version of Brexit is ruled out, UK-wide, then Alliance will support a special set of arrangements to reflect the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, building on the foundations of devolution.
Alliance wants Northern Ireland to remain part of a Customs Union with the European Union and the entire Single Market, including all four fundamental freedoms: the free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
You can read more detailed proposals in our paper Bridges not Borders (November 2017).
We can maximise trade through the rest of world, benefitting from existing EU trade deals and negotiating new trade opportunities from a position of strength.
Membership of the EU does not prevent the UK trading with any part of the world.
By contrast, an independent trade policy would see the UK chasing trade deals from a position of weakness, and could see compromises around labour, environment, food safety and human rights,
and risk undermining key aspects of the NI economy such as agri-food.
While the EU may have fallen a little as a proportion of UK trade, it remains by far the most important market and represents the deepest level of economic integration in the world.
This is what the UK would turn its back on it a no deal scenario.
Other aspects of special arrangements for Northern Ireland should include: Protection of the rights of EU Nationals in Northern Ireland.
Recognition of all people from Northern Ireland as EU Citizens.
Maintenance of the all-island energy market.
Renegotiated access to EU Structural Funds.
Continued access to competitive EU funds, such as Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.
Retained ability for Northern Ireland organisations to be the lead partner in EU programmes, such as INTERREG and PEACE, even as a third country.
Participation in and access to the key policing, security and judicial mechanisms of the EU, such as the European Arrest Warrant and the Schengen Information System 2.
If Northern Ireland were outside the European Union, there would be an expectation that the UK Government bridge any funding gaps to Northern Ireland.
This must not revert to the Barnett Formula, as the existing approach to EU funding reflects the higher relative need of Northern Ireland.
This is particularly relevant to any successor to the Common Agricultural Policy and the proposed Shared Prosperity Fund which may replace the Structural Funds.
Boris Johnson’s Deal
We believe there is no such thing as a good or sensible Brexit and any version of a Brexit deal will bring its own particular challenges.
The current Boris Johnson deal is more challenging for Northern Ireland than Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement, which included the crucial backstop for Northern Ireland.
Theresa May’s deal fell well short of our concept of a special deal for Northern Ireland but at least provided a stronger platform from which to build.
The Johnson deal at a minimum only avoids a new border on the island of Ireland and protects the Good Friday Agreement
While any form of Brexit involves some degree of an interface to be managed, this deal entails a more bureaucratic, complicated and expensive framework of checks
There is also in-built uncertainty regarding the ongoing regulatory regime in Northern Ireland due to the requirement for periodic votes in the Assembly.
The Northern Ireland specific provisions only apply to the movement of goods and agri-food.
The future relationship negotiations could lead to major gaps in relation to the service economy and the free movement of people.
There is also uncertainty regarding Northern Ireland’s position on the level playing field provisions, including workers’ rights
and environmental protections.
There may also be gaps and a deterioration of arrangements in relation to policing, criminal and civil justice co-operation and uncertainty over access to EU programmes such as Horizons Europe and Erasmus+.
Moreover, a harder Brexit for Great Britain and a no deal situation, even at the end of any transition period, would have serious knock-on economic consequences for Northern Ireland.
If Boris Johnson’s deal is ratified by Parliament and implemented, Alliance will take the following actions: Supporting a future economic relationship based around a Customs Union and full participation in the Single Market.
In the absence of the above, seeking to minimise declarations and checks on NI to GB and GB to NI trade respectively,
plus pushing for further mitigations to reduce the regulatory burden and compliance costs for businesses, through clarification of the existing Withdrawal Agreement via the Joint Committee, further agreements with the EU, and financial assistance.
Advocating a wider future economic relationship for our region beyond the terms and scope of the current Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol.
Seeking access to a wide range of EU Programmes.
Securing ongoing co-operation in policing and justice.
The Protection of Rights
Alliance believes that rights and equality are central to the cohesion of our society and to the wider European project.
At present, all the people of Northern Ireland have rights as EU Citizens.
While those people from Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens have automatic entitlement to be EU citizens, the application of many of these rights may only be operational within the territory of the EU.
Brexit therefore risks loss of existing rights to access health care and educational opportunities.
By contrast, future recognition of rights only to those who are Irish citizens risks breaching the Good Friday Agreement as those people in Northern Ireland who are solely British citizens would no longer enjoy parity.
We are opposed to any regression or diminution of the existing rights that the people of Northern Ireland currently have through EU membership.
There is a joint challenge for the UK Government, the Irish Government and the EU to ensure continuity and further application of additional rights that become recognised.
This should apply to all those who reside within Northern Ireland and these rights should remain fully enforceable through the judicial mechanisms of the EU.
Alliance also wants to ensure that Northern Ireland remains welcoming to all those from elsewhere in the European Union and the rest of the world who have made this region their home, helping to build our economy and enriching our society
In the event of Brexit, some limited immigration powers should be given to the Assembly in order to have a system that better reflects the particular circumstances of our economy.
We want the 1981 UK Nationality Act to be amended to better reflect in law the identity and citizenship terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
We believe the Common Travel Area should be placed on a formal legal basis.
Northern Ireland
We believe that Northern Ireland deserves a functioning, stable Assembly.
Local decision-making, which shapes and delivers services in a way which takes account of local circumstances whilst being accountable at the local level, is vital in order to build confidence in our political system.
Moreover, it provides a framework to manage and reconcile our political and societal divisions.
It is unacceptable that we are now approaching three years without a functioning Assembly
Our public services are in crisis with long overdue reforms further delayed,
and our economy is increasingly stagnating.
We continue to hit roadblock after roadblock where legislative change and Ministerial sign-off is required, and the public have had enough.
As co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, the two governments should: Publish a paper on their best assessment of consensus, based on the most recent talks process, and challenge parties to engage.
Appoint an independent mediator to convene urgent, multi-party talks in order to create political space for agreement and repair political relationships.
These talks should be time-limited with a clear focus on accepting, amending or rejecting the governments’ paper.
In parallel, the following measures could help clear the deadlock: The Secretary of State should consider taking contentious issues – such as the Irish Language and Petition of Concern reform – off the table by legislating in Westminster if necessary.
Petition of Concern reform should be taken forward in this way as it must be in place for a restored Assembly, rather than risk it being kicked into the long grass.
A new Civic Forum should be formed, comprised of a combination of local politicians (33%) and a group of citizens (66%) drawn at random from the electoral register, which would hold a series of debates and evidence-based discussions focused on the restoration of the institutions.
We also note that the period for forming an Executive under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 will expire on 13th January 2020 and believe that this must lead to fresh elections within a reasonable timeframe, unless an Executive has been formed.
If those elections fail to deliver a new Executive within the two-week period, we believe that alternative arrangements for governing Northern Ireland, consistent with the Good Friday Agreement, should be introduced to end the drift and decline in public services and decision-making.
Governance and Transparency
For too long, investment in public services and the economy has been held back as a result of an almost complete failure of leadership over crucial issues and the breakdown of functioning relationships between the two leading political parties within the Executive.
It is clear that things must be done differently at Stormont.
The public deserve better – we should no longer accept the status quo.
The current stagnation is stifling social cohesion, damaging communities and the prospects of our young people.
Politics must work for the entire community.
Stormont needs a reboot.
The major weaknesses of the current system have been exposed by the current political deadlock.
A system whereby the two largest parties are able to veto the creation of a cross-community government further reinforces the need for reform to permit a voluntary coalition to proceed.
In our current deadlock, this could allow devolved government to continue and avoid the imposition of ‘Direct Rule’.
Transforming Stormont
Alliance has suggested a number of ways to secure a better functioning and more stable political system for Northern Ireland.
These include: Ending the process of community designation in the Assembly and replacing it with a requirement for weighted majorities on defined key votes or in situations where a reformed Petition of Concern has been invoked.
Urgent and meaningful reform of the Petition of Concern system.
It should be used in narrow circumstances in line with its original purpose as envisaged in the Northern Ireland Act.
Creating a coalition decided through voluntary negotiation between parties and subject to a vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Collective responsibility must apply.
Facilitating an effective opposition made up of parties who do not wish to enter the Executive.
This opposition would be accorded additional rights to help them fulfil this role.
Re-naming of the First Minister and deputy First Minister as “Joint First Ministers”.
This would end what has become a potentially polarising contest over which party has a claim to First Minister and which party is “relegated” to deputy First Minister.
The Executive Office should remain a joint office, in name and practice.
Requiring greater co-operation between Ministers, including working together to agreed aims under law.
Requiring all Executive policies to be ‘shared future-proofed’ to ensure that all major decisions support a united society rather than continuing or enhancing division.
Modifying the exclusion mechanisms to more clearly define the highest standards of integrity with respect to the rule of law for parties holding office,
and to prevent any party being able to veto sanctions against themselves.
Revitalising the North-South and East-West bodies under strands two and three of the Good Friday Agreement in order to strengthen relationships across the UK and Ireland particularly but not exclusively in the context of Brexit.
These changes would allow us not only to have a cross-community government,
but also one in which stalemate between parties does not either collapse the political institutions or prevent progress on economic or social issues.
A Changing Constitution
As the experience of the last Parliament has illustrated, the UK constitution needs to be strengthened
We cannot continue to rely on conventions to safeguard democracy and provide checks on executive power.
We believe there is an opportunity to move to a more sustainable and durable constitutional settlement which supports devolution.
We would: Support a UK-wide constitutional convention to develop a fully codified constitution
This should explicitly deal with the democratic deficit in England following devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
as well as taking in wider issues, such as reform of the House of Lords.
Retain a funding formula for Northern Ireland that properly reflects the structural problems in our economy and society, and adequately reflects local circumstances and needs.
Our Democratic Principles at Westminster
Whilst our focus as Northern Ireland MPs will be primarily on Northern Ireland, there are many issues that have indirect impacts on devolved matters.
For example, there are often complexities in deciding which areas are affected by a bill,
there can also be a financial impact on Northern Ireland from funding decisions concerning England,
and there are also general principles debated in Westminster and precedents set which affect how Northern Ireland develops its own policy and legislative approaches to certain issues.
Alliance MPs will be consistent in their approach to all these issues: just as Alliance stands for openness, honesty and fairness in Stormont, we will continue to do so in Westminster.
We want to make democracy fairer and more transparent.
We will continue to support: Making donations to political parties in Northern Ireland more transparent.
Changes brought by Naomi Long in November 2013 ensured that all political donations were recorded from January 2014 onwards.
However, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland chose only to publish those from July 2017 onwards, so we still have a period of secrecy, which needs to be addressed.
A fairer electoral system for elections to the House of Commons.
Our preferred system is multi-member Single Transferrable Vote, the system we use for all other elections in Northern Ireland.
Amending the 2014 Lobbying Act to ease restrictions on campaigning activities by affected organisations
and to implement a comprehensive lobbying register.
Votes at 16 for all elections and referendums.
Votes for EU citizens in all elections and referendums.
A directly elected House of Lords.
Elected representatives could be elected by proportional representation from the 12 regions of the UK, including Northern Ireland
and would serve one or at most two longer terms to avoid party politicisation of the roll.
Work and Welfare
Alliance will continue to argue for a fairer UK-wide benefits system as this will have the greatest impact on what we are able to afford in Northern Ireland.
We want to undo the Conservatives’ welfare policies – the government are willing to spend billions of pounds on Brexit preparations and are willing to risk losing billions from our economy due to the effects of Brexit.
We can no longer accept the logic that we cannot afford a more generous welfare system for those who need it.
We will argue for a full review of the UK welfare system – preferably by a Royal Commission or panel of experts, to include the option of a Universal Basic Income trial for Northern Ireland – based on the principles of dignity for all,
support for those who need it
simplicity for the claimants,
eradicating poverty,
and ensuring that there are meaningful pathways to work.
More immediately, Alliance will support the following measures within the first year of a new Parliament: Repeal of the bedroom tax, UK-wide.
Ending cruel and punitive sanctions and replacing them with an incentive-based system.
Reducing the five-week wait for the first payment and offering an interim payment.
Removing the two-child limit and the benefits cap.
An overhaul of bereavement benefits.
End outsourced medical assessments for welfare.
Scrapping the six-month rule for terminally ill claimants
and ending frequent, repetitive assessments for people with lifelong, permanent or deteriorating conditions.
A wide range of opportunities for claimants to re-skill or re-train, where appropriate.
Welfare and Northern Ireland
While it is clear that Universal Credit (UC) has not worked and must be changed at Westminster, the mitigations that were put in place by the Assembly from 2016/17 are due to expire in March 2020, which risks exposing people in Northern Ireland to some of the worst effects of UC.
As the time in which an incoming Executive could act has now passed, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland should legislate in Westminster to extend the mitigations for at least four years.
The contract for independent advisory services should also be rolled over in parallel.
We also want to see the Secretary of State urgently legislate to reclassify housing associations in Northern Ireland.
If this is not done in time for the end of the current temporary derogation in March 2020, social housebuilding in Northern Ireland could grind to a halt.
Employment Rights
We believe that people should have secure jobs, with proper rights and fair pay.
Alliance will: Ensure robust regulation of the “gig” economy, including zero-hour contracts and entitlements and protections for casual workers.
Support minimum wage equality for young people
and a review into minimum and living wage standardisation across age groups.
Supports an increase statutory maternity pay (SMP) and Maternity Allowance to the same level as the minimum wage.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK to which employment law and employment relations policy and practice is devolved.
While taking into account developments in Great Britain and the need on occasions for a common framework and approach, we have the capacity to shape employment law and relations policy to take account of the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland.
We will ensure continued NI Assembly competence in this area, which is especially important in the context of Brexit.
Childcare
Childcare provision in Northern Ireland is out of step with the rest of the UK.
We want to see the introduction of 30 hours of free, high-quality childcare on a similar basis to that provided in England and Wales,
but at the same time learning from difficulties in delivery there, in order to provide childcare that benefits child development and helps parents.
We want to see: A refreshed childcare strategy that ensures sustainable funding for high quality, free and affordable childcare,
encourages the growth of Sure Start centres,
and promotes wraparound care and other flexible options.
Acknowledgement of the additional challenges for parents of twins and other multiple births and providing additional support.
Revision of how childcare costs are supported within Universal Credit.
Restoration of a UK-wide target on reducing child poverty.
Carers
Alliance acknowledges the difficult and valuable work carried out by carers in Northern Ireland and the role carers play in providing support to loved ones which allows them to retain their dignity and respect.
We also acknowledge that the work, as well as the intensity of the commitment, can be emotionally difficult and place financial, emotional and physical strain on the carers themselves and the government has a duty to support them.
Alliance will:Advocate for an increase in the Carer’s Allowance, bringing it into line with Job Seekers’ Allowance.
Support funding and legislation to entitle carers to respite provision so that they can have regular breaks from the responsibility of providing care.
Push for a Northern Ireland approach to identify and support child carers and a strategy to ensure there is alternative care provision where suitable.
Ensure that the role played by carers is fully recognised as reform of the health service is implemented.
Pensions
Alliance is committed to pension provision that enables older people to live independent and dignified lives.
We have worked to reduce pensioner poverty
and we support many improvements to the state pension system such as: Retaining the triple lock on the state pension and ensuring an annual uplift linked to inflation.
Providing transitional support to those women who have been affected by the decision to bring the date of the increase in the women’s retirement age forward, in line with the WASPI campaign.
Taking independent, objective analysis on the issue of the national pension liability, age of eligibility and how this affects long-term funding arrangements.
Continuing to support automatic enrolment into workplace pensions.
We will seek to balance the need for sustainable finances with the need to ensure people have a dignified retirement and time to adjust to any necessary changes in their pension provision.
Funding Health and Social Care
Alliance believes that social care should be free at the point of access, funded by collective investment through the welfare state.
This is the same for other examples of ongoing treatment of long-term conditions.
The cost of this should be borne by progressive taxation and not regressive charges.
We will oppose any proposals to fund social care which are not fair and progressive.
We will also work to deliver improvements in the health service so that investment can be directed towards social care.
Climate and the Environment
The world is facing a climate emergency with potentially disastrous consequences for human existence - consequences that are already being experienced by some of the most fragile species and most vulnerable people on earth.
It is vital that all regions, and nations, work together to urgently reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change.
We need to: Reduce the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030.
Mitigate the impact of climate change by implementing a comprehensive climate action plan.
Embed environmentalism at the heart of government planning and delivery.
Energy
Although many energy powers are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, renewable energy is a matter that needs to be championed by Northern Ireland’s MPs.
Northern Ireland has an incredible opportunity in terms of renewable energy: we have the second highest potential for energy generation through wind in Europe,
as well as significant opportunity for tidal, biomass and geothermal energy production.
Alliance will cut carbon emissions through adapting Northern Ireland’s energy use.
We will: Support the continued existence of the all-island energy market.
This market is under significant threat from Brexit and any curtailing of it would create significant problems for electricity supply in Northern Ireland.
End the use of fossil fuels in the UK economy, including banning fracking
and the opening of new coalmines and pits,
and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Scrutinise every UK-wide energy package to ensure it prioritises renewable energy and acts to keep prices as low as possible.
Support research funding and revenue streams that promote innovation in renewable energy.
Mitigation
The impacts of climate change are already upon us and are hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.
We are experiencing changing and variable weather and climate patterns, increases in flooding, changes in the natural environment, habitats and biodiversity within these islands,
and bringing a financial cost to the Treasury of addressing these and related problems.
Governments must recognise these changes are occurring and be sure that we account for them.
In Westminster, Alliance will seek to: Green the taxation system to make the polluters pay and to reward progress towards net zero.
Ban non-recyclable single-use plastics and replace them with accessible, affordable alternatives within three years,
and extend deposit return schemes for food and drink containers throughout the UK.
Accelerate the rapid take-up of electric vehicles through subsidies and vehicle tax reform, to ensure there are no new fossil fuel cars or small vans sold in the UK after 2030.
Support innovation in zero-emission technologies, such as batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
Introduce a zero-carbon standard for all new buildings by 2021
and support a UK-wide emergency programme to reduce energy consumption from all buildings, including providing insulation to cut emissions and fuel bills,
and ending fuel poverty
Audit the existing UK flooding infrastructure to establish which areas need priority investment; either improving or constructing defences.
Work with industry to introduce circular economy models .
and provide funding to accelerate the introduction of industrial carbon capture and storage
Prioritise climate change mitigation in agricultural support systems, including measures to increase soil carbon, tree planting and woodland creation.
Adopt a UK-wide programme to restore peatlands, carbon sinks and plant an additional 60 million trees a year.
Climate Frameworks and Finance
In order to tackle the climate emergency effectively, we need to ensure climate action is at the heart of every relevant decision at every level of government.
Whilst some schemes need a UK-wide approach, many will also require Northern Ireland to shape and implement local equivalents.
Alliance supports: Creating a Just Transition Commission to advise on how to deliver a net-zero economy that works for everyone,
and Just Transition Funds to support development in those regions and communities most affected by the transition.
Ensuring climate objectives are a top priority for central government, including appointing a cabinet-level Chief Secretary for Sustainability in the Treasury,
creating a new Department for Climate and Natural Resources
and introducing a requirement on all public bodies to report on the extent to which climate risks pose a threat to their ability to fulfil their responsibilities.
Investing in zero-carbon infrastructure and technologies by establishing a new Green Investment Bank to steer private investment into these sectors.
Establishing Citizens’ Climate Assemblies to engage the public in tackling the climate emergency.
Regulating financial services to encourage green investments, including requiring all companies registered in the UK and listed on UK stock exchanges to disclose their level of climate risk
and make provisions for the costs associated with meeting targets compliant with the Paris Agreement.
Agriculture and Nature
Agriculture
Agriculture is Northern Ireland’s largest industry and plays a crucial role in both our economy and in countryside management –
but it must not only be a means of creating jobs
and delivering economic growth:
it can also be a tool for tackling climate change,
encouraging sustainable development
and protecting our countryside.
We need an approach to agriculture that is transparent, result orientated and that provides a decent standard of living for farmers.
We need to support farmers in vital food production work
as well as in their crucial role driving nature’s recovery,
protecting our wildlife and eco-systems
and in providing common goods that benefit us all.
In the context of Brexit, we have no clarity as to what support our farmers will receive
or whether they will have access to existing markets that are economically sustainable.
In addition, we have received no concrete assurances on how current EU agriculture policy will be implemented.
Whether this responsibility will be devolved or sit as part of a UK-wide common policy is unclear
This continuing uncertainty creates a ‘perfect storm’ for Northern Ireland’s farmers
and the absence of the NI Executive means that many of these issues have been left unaddressed.
Alliance believe that supporting our farmers is an imperative for any restored Executive.
We will push for the following to be implemented by the UK Government: Securing membership of the Customs Union to minimise the adverse effects of Brexit to our farming and agribusiness sectors
and ensuring that customers do not see price rises due to tariffs.
Access to both markets in GB and the EU is essential for agricultural and rural development in Northern Ireland.
Ensuring UK farming continues to meet high standards of production such as food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare.
These high standards need to be considered when negotiating any future trade deals.
Greening the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
with increased responsibility given to the devolved nations
In the event of Brexit, we will push for the same emphasis on the environment
but with funding allocation based on need, rather than the Barnett Formula, in order to reflect that Northern Ireland currently receives around 10% of UK CAP payments while representing less than 3% of the UK population.
Ensuring that immigration policy means that there is labour available for work on farms and in food processing.
Farming and agricultural supply chains make up a larger segment of the Northern Ireland economy in comparison to the rest of the UK.
Any agricultural and rural development strategy and resultant funding schemes should consider this proportional difference.
Supporting mechanisms that minimise disruption to the North-South supply chains in agri-food and maximise potential for sales into Great Britain, EU, and international markets.
Any barriers to free trade currently available to farmers today should be taken into account when formulating an agricultural strategy in Northern Ireland.
Continued use of the EU’s geographical indicators for food products after Brexit
These indicators provide recognition for Northern Ireland produce such as Irish whiskey and Lough Neagh eels and there are other products which could benefit from this.
Enhance the power of the NI Assembly in relation to the formulation and implementation of agricultural policy and associated environmental legislation.
It is our firm belief that agricultural support should be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and we will strongly advocate for this following Brexit.
We will push for any agricultural policy to: Ensure that rural development policy helps support rural areas in meeting the wide range of economic, environmental and societal challenges.
Ensure transparency in supply chains and pricing mechanisms and enhance competition to ensure value stays in the market, enabling a fairer price to farmers and processors.
Provide increased support for sustainable agriculture and land management,
as well as targeted financing for environmental objectives such as nature conservation, protection of biodiversity and carbon emission reduction.
This should also discourage harmful practices such as intensive farming and land abandonment.
Ensure an effective means of knowledge transfer and innovation in agriculture and forestry including farm advisory consultative bodies and risk management tools.
Be formulated using the principles of co-production and co-design, with all consultative information available in the public domain.
Fishing
As with agriculture, fishing is a major industry in many communities
It also faces a series of changes as a result of the proposed withdrawal from the EU.
Any replacement for the EU fishing regime must be decided locally in Northern Ireland
and ensure that the fishing industry is sustainable, both environmentally and in terms of maintaining stocks for future generations.
We will ensure that UK fishing policy: Supports the fishing industry’s transition to an ecosystem-based management regime that rebuilds healthy fish stocks
and supports a more equitable distribution of fishing opportunities.
Develops a method of deciding fish quotas that is flexible and efficient.
Incorporates long-term, regional stock management plans to ensure that fish stocks remain at sustainable levels.
Retains the ban on ‘discards,’ which results in dead fish being put back into the sea.
Nature, Wildlife and Biodiversity
Part of the environmental challenge that we face is restoring biodiversity and ensuring that nature is protected against climate change.
Lower levels of biodiversity and higher levels of habitat destruction profoundly affect our ecosystem.
We need to halt the decline in nature and put it on a path to recovery.
We will support nature by: Creating an independent Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland that has the powers and resources to enforce compliance with environmental and climate targets
and acts as a watchdog on public bodies and the private sector.
Protecting all existing EU environment directives by placing them into Northern Ireland’s domestic law following the proposed withdrawal from the EU.
Encouraging the development and funding of programmes to restore wildlife and biodiversity.
Where appropriate, this would include an allisland approach to wildlife management.
Implementing the EU Birds and Habitats Directive into domestic law following the proposed withdrawal from the EU.
Ensuring maximum opportunities to protect and restore our wetlands by ensuring conservation laws at least as strong as the Water Framework Directive.
Ongoing investment in our water and sewerage infrastructure is also required.
Supporting UK-wide legislation to improve decision making around nature issues and to establish long-term targets and powers to meet them.
Animal Welfare
Alliance has always prioritised animal welfare and sought to tackle cruelty against animals.
People who show such brutality are not only a danger to the animals involved, but potentially to our society as a whole.
Our priorities include: A UK-wide ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.
Phasing out the use of caged systems in farming
and banning the building of any new caged systems on UK farms.
Improving food labelling and traceability in relation to welfare standards.
Mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses.
Ending the overuse of antibiotics in farming.
Supporting the extension of the 2004 Hunting Act to Northern Ireland and opposition to any attempts to repeal it in Westminster.
Using the UK’s global influence to end ‘trophy hunting’ and the trade of illegal animal products.
Outlawing the use of snares.
Opposing the live export of animals and fattening for slaughter.
Better regulation of the sale of puppies and kittens, especially when sold on the internet or in pet shops.
Working to reduce and better regulate necessary animal testing
and invest in developing alternative scientific methods and practices.
Bringing the rest of the UK into line with Northern Ireland’s enhanced sentencing for animal cruelty, introduced by Alliance Minister David Ford.
Building an Integrated Society
For Everyone – A Shared Future in Northern Ireland
We believe radical changes are required to reduce the impact of division on our society and to achieve a shared future.
Alliance has a vision for a cohesive, shared and integrated society, where people are safe and prosperous, have opportunities and are treated fairly and with respect
This society would be underpinned by our shared values of equality, respect for diversity and interdependence.
We reject the notion of parallel societies and so-called ‘separate but equal’ provision.
Most of the mechanisms for delivering a shared future for Northern Ireland are devolved to the Assembly.
However, Westminster has an important role to play in ensuring that a shared future and good relations are central to Northern Ireland’s work.
As there is an inextricable link between the creation of a shared future and the economic transformation of Northern Ireland, we must recognise that continued divisions limit Northern Ireland’s potential.
Therefore, any borrowing the UK Treasury and NI Executive embark upon to develop infrastructure should seek to prioritise sharing.
For example, investment in new schools should prioritise the integrated sector,
and investment in housing and regeneration should be linked to ensuring space is accessible to everyone in our community.
Key elements for Alliance in a shared future, which must be reflected in the UK Government’s spending in Northern Ireland and with some delivered by the Assembly, would include: Creating a new Programme for Government outcome on ending sectarianism and division.
Requiring all Executive policies to be ‘shared future-proofed’ to ensure that all major decisions support an integrated society rather than continuing or enhancing division.
Working with communities to secure the removal of all interface barriers.
Requiring Departments to review spending plans to identify the costs of managing a divided society.
Creating a statutory duty on the Housing Executive to encourage, facilitate and protect mixed housing.
Strengthening the statutory duty on the Department for Education and the Education Authority to promote the development of integrated education and increasing the number of integrated school places.
Requiring public bodies to promote shared space in new capital projects.
Ending tolerance of illegally erected flags and emblems.
Passing a Single Equality Act.
Introducing an Irish Language Act as well as appropriate support for Ulster-Scots and non- indigenous minority languages.
We welcome the extension of Same Sex Marriage to Northern Ireland from January 2020
and will continue to support robust protections for faith groups.
Parades, Flags and Dealing With the Past
We believe that the peace process remains under threat as the result of other politicians being unable to come to agreement on tackling the controversial issues of parading, flags and the past.
This has the potential to undermine public confidence in politics, in the Northern Ireland institutions, and in the peace process as a whole.
We are clear that these issues need to be settled
In recent years, issues around parading, the display of flags and how we deal with the legacy of the past have all caused significant problems or challenges
Reactions to these have also raised tensions within our community and been cited as a justification for public disorder.
Alliance will continue to support the urgent implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, which reflects many longstanding Alliance proposals.
This package will finally offer the opportunity to deliver truth, justice and support services for victims and survivors.
Human Rights
We recognise that human rights are inherent and universal.
They are an essential part of modern governance and protect the individual, from any background, from injustices.
They also provide sensible and necessary limits on governments and allow governments to plan in advance for these limitations.
Alliance strongly supports the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
We will oppose any proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act
or withdrawal from the ECHR.
We believe any Northern Ireland Bill of Rights must: Be realistic and capable of being enforced through our own courts.
Be consistent with European and international standards.
Be flexible enough to take account of changing circumstances and an evolving Northern Ireland.
Avoid entrenching any particular view of identity, such as the notion of two separate communities in Northern Ireland and, accordingly, sectarian divisions
We also want the Secretary of State to urgently introduce legislation which would see the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s legal standing restored.
Equality
Alliance has a strong track record of opposing all forms of racism and sectarianism, including antisemitism and islamophobia,
and we want to see strong equality legislation which both reflects and protects the diversity of identities.
Equality policy is primarily devolved to the Assembly, but it is deeply concerning that no significant progressive reform to equality legislation has so far been passed under devolution: all the major reforms have occurred under ‘Direct Rule’.
This is not sustainable.
While devolution creates a powerful regional dimension to policymaking, this should primarily relate to decisions regarding the allocation of resources to fit particular economic and social circumstances, rather than creating special rights regimes.
We believe that there should be the same standard of equality provisions throughout the UK
We want to see the creation of a Single Equality Act for Northern Ireland.
Citizenship
Alliance wants to see the mutually interdependent identity and citizenship commitments within the Good Friday Agreement fully reflected in UK law.
We call for the 1981 British Nationality Act to be amended to reflect and protect those who have only Irish identity and citizenship.
The Common Travel Area has evolved over the last century.
However, it only provides essentially equivalent treatment for British and Irish citizens within Ireland and the UK respectively through custom and practice.
Over recent decades, it has been overlaid by the much more comprehensive and legally enforceable set of mutual rights that come from the joint UK and Irish membership of the EU.
Brexit threatens to strip away elements of this framework.
While the memorandum of understanding between the UK and Irish Governments is welcome, Alliance advocates that the Common Travel Area be encapsulated within a British-Irish Treaty.
Immigration
We are deeply concerned at the tone of the current immigration debate.
The language used perpetuates myths and allows anti-immigration views to legitimise racial stereotyping and enable racial abuse.
Immigration enriches our society, boosts our economy, provides tax revenue and attracts inward investment.
EU citizens who have chosen to make their life in the UK now face an uncertain situation post-Brexit and are forced to engage with a flawed Settlement Scheme after previous promises of automatic entitlements were reneged upon by the UK Government.
As well as the personal impact on the over two million EU citizens living in the UK, the government’s decision to end freedom of movement for EU citizens will restrict the supply of labour in sectors where migrant workers are vital, such as the health service and agriculture.
It also potentially restricts highly-skilled workers in innovative and high-value industries from entering the labour market despite their valuable skills and experience.
Alliance will: Provide a role for Northern Ireland in determining skills shortages for Northern Ireland in relation to Tier 2 visas, so that the particular needs of Northern Ireland’s labour market are reflected in immigration policy.
Ensure regional flexibility is built into immigration strategy and legislation, so regions with different wage levels or particular skills needs are able to attract new labour where it is needed, for example by varying salary thresholds to reflect a lower cost of living.
Guarantee the existing rights of EU citizens resident within the UK and the rights of UK citizens resident in the rest of the EU after Brexit.
Remove the cap on non-EU migrants as this has been detrimental to attracting high-skilled workers and students to British companies.
Exempt international students from being counted as migrants during the course of their studies
and introduce a two-year visa for students to work after graduation.
Ensure that any post-Brexit immigration policy remains open to workers in sectors that will have significant difficulty in functioning without migrant workers, such as the health service, agriculture and scientific research.
Make the visa system simpler and easier for legitimate sponsors to fulfil their role.
Pursue a rational and empathetic debate around immigration that emphasises facts and objective analysis, whilst remembering the human social dimension to immigration.
Seek to end the hostile environment policies and establish a firewall to prevent public agencies from sharing personal information with the Home Office for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
Asylum, Refugees and Vulnerable Economic Migrants
Alliance believes we have both legal and moral duties towards people seeking asylum and refuge.
The UK should fully honour its obligations to look after people fleeing persecution, disaster and extreme poverty
and should work with other European nations to reduce the dangers experienced by those attempting to reach Europe, whether from natural elements or criminal exploitation.
Recent moves from some EU nations to end search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean and to close borders to new overland migrants is creating a humanitarian crisis, often in already impoverished and unstable neighbouring nations.
This must be addressed by EU actions to ensure that life is protected, human dignity is maintained and that suitable accommodation can be found as cases are considered.
We believe: The current ban on people seeking asylum working results in many struggling to support themselves and their family and finding it difficult to integrate in their communities.
People seeking asylum should have the right to work so that they can use their skills and live in dignity.
The current system of indefinite immigration detention is expensive, ineffective and unjust.
No one should be held in immigration detention for migration-related reasons, other than in the most exceptional circumstances, for example, someone who poses a danger to the public.
The UK should provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary by resettling 10,000 vulnerable refugees each year and expanding family reunion rights.
Northern Ireland should lead the way in providing a new home for vulnerable refugees.
We must work together with other EU member states to deliver a Common European Asylum System and to step up search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
We must end the culture of disbelief in the Home Office, including training decision-makers to deal with cases involving trauma and abuse.
We need to train decision-makers to better handle complex cases involving the persecution of LGBT people, religious or ethnic minorities who are unsafe in their home country, irrespective of whether the state is the perpetrator.
If their home country has not kept them safe, then they must be allowed to claim asylum elsewhere.
The UK should create robust and flexible routes to documentation so that people can quickly and easily regularise their immigration status.
Finance and Economy
Alliance is clear that robust and sustainable public spending is essential to underpin economic growth and sustain quality public services.
Without a responsible and mature approach to expenditure, we are putting at risk our ability to deliver the sort of economy and society we want.
Fair and Progressive Taxation
Tax evasion costs both the UK Treasury and the governments of developing nations substantial amounts of money each year.
Brexit will also have a negative impact of the rate of economic growth and accordingly tax receipts.
By contrast, stopping Brexit will provide a Remain bonus for current financial planning.
Additional spending power could be used to promote economic growth and improve public services.
Alliance will support taxation that is progressive and fair, so that the wealthiest people in society pay a bigger proportional share.
We support: Simplification of the payment and administration of income tax and national insurance.
Increasing the tax-free allowance for income tax so that lower-earners keep more of what they earn.
An evidence-based approach as to what the highest rate of tax should be.
Taxes which tackle inequality, such as on very high-value properties or changes to inheritance tax.
A wider range of VAT exemptions, including zero-rating both sanitary products and sunscreen,
and lower rates for hospitality and housing renovation.
An international Financial Transactions Tax and, at a UK-wide level, retaining the banking levy.
We also support new legislation to: Require foreign companies to pay tax on those profits generated from within the UK.
Review current tax relief schemes to ensure they are meeting their intended purpose and are not being exploited.
Introduce a General Anti-Avoidance Rule, setting a target for HMRC to reduce the tax gap.
Reform rules that allow companies to avoid tax in both the UK and in developing countries.
Improve transparency by opening up companies’ reports into their tax activities to the public.
Strengthen the enforcement of and penalties for tax evasion.
Create a register of beneficial interests for all international companies.
Modernising and Re-balancing Our Economy
Northern Ireland has lost out as the result of a deeply unbalanced economy within the UK
There is a heavy focus around the south-east of England and those sectors which predominate there.
For example, only 3/12 UK regions are net contributors to UK Treasury.
Devolution should allow us to develop our own proposals for economic development,
but it is important that those economic functions that remain with the UK Government should be exercised in a way that maximises economic development across the whole of the UK.
To achieve this, Alliance will: Seek to best use the current low cost of borrowing to finance infrastructure and capital-spending programmes.
Support regional industries by boosting research, skills, infrastructure and innovation across the entire UK.
Continue to support the development of broadband, high-speed mobile internet access and similar telecommunications projects in such a way that ensures all parts of the UK benefit from this technology.
Support expansion of the British Business Bank to perform a more central role in the economy,
to ensure that profitable, viable small and medium-sized businesses have access to capital, even when the rest of the commercial banking system can’t provide it.
Support a legal duty on the UK Government to ensure its economic policies are assessed on their likelihood of reducing regional inequality in the economy.
Support the introduction of a capital £50 billion Regional Rebalancing Programme for infrastructure spend across the nations and regions of the UK
with local and devolved authorities given a say in how it is used,
reinforced by Just Transition funding for areas particularly affected by the transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, we want to see Northern Ireland maximise its access to funding opportunities that exist on a UK level.
The NI Executive and the UK Government must work together to ensure that Northern Ireland has the skills and ability to attract greater levels of funding from projects such as: UK Research Councils, which fund academic research across the UK.
Continued access to competitive EU funds, such as Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.
Supporting Local Economic Development and Trade
Alliance is committed to developing the local economy in Northern Ireland.
Our aim is to make Northern Ireland the most innovative and dynamic regional economy in Europe.
However, to do this, we can no longer rely on what made us prosperous in the past.
We must invest in the skills infrastructure and harness the creativity needed to ensure our economy is fit for the 21st Century.
Improving our level of productivity is an essential part of any new economic approach.
Alliance believes that despite the challenges facing the economy, Northern Ireland has the resources to become stronger and more competitive.
We have an enterprising and resilient business base;
a youthful and well-educated population;
a strong manufacturing base
; excellent research and innovation attributes;
a world-class telecommunications network;
strong international links;
and unique natural and cultural resources.
Our strengths far outweigh our weaknesses.
Taking advantage of these strengths will create the right conditions for growth and address many of the weaknesses in our economy.
There is a role for Westminster to help Northern Ireland develop these strengths and Alliance MPs will work alongside the Executive to do this.
In order to promote economic development and trade, we will: Argue for changes to UK-wide procurement rules that make it easier for small businesses to bid.
Examples include improving information available to applicants, tackling the complexity of the process and reducing the ‘bundling’ of procurement contracts.
Ensure economic policy is assessed for its impact on small businesses.
If Brexit happens, we will work with the UK Government and Invest NI to ensure that any trade deals struck reflect the business environment in Northern Ireland and enable local businesses to be involved in trade missions.
Science, Skills and Innovation
Alliance believes that the future of the economy will be based on securing high-tech, highly innovative and highly-skilled jobs.
Creating such an economy needs to be based on work that would be undertaken by both the UK Government and the NI Executive.
Both have powers at their disposal that would enable Northern Ireland to invest heavily in the sort of economy we will need to prosper in the future.
In Westminster we will support the following changes to improve the standing of science, skills and innovation:
Increasing investment in science and research through the UK Research Councils
There is a clear link globally between state investment in science and econom    ic prosperity.
Abolition of the Apprentice Levy as an inefficient and distorting intervention to support skills investment, replacing it with greater direct government spending on skills programmes co-designed with the business community and other stakeholders.
Supporting Northern Ireland’s universities in drawing down greater levels of science and research funding from both the Research Councils and the EU.
Specifically identifying where gaps exist in both funding and infrastructure for science in Northern Ireland.
Investing in a wide range of programmes to assist young people in gaining appropriate skills and working with specific industries where appropriate.
Ensuring that any immigration system implemented after Brexit enables those who are highly–skilled in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and related disciplines to continue to migrate to the UK to work.
Crime, Security and Justice
Policing and Security
Most policing and justice powers were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2010.
However, there is still a role for Northern Ireland MPs to promote crime prevention and public safety in Northern Ireland.
Alliance is committed to an effective and accountable police service and to upholding the rule of law.
In order to ensure this, Alliance will: Argue for continued UK participation in the European Arrest Warrant
and work with the National Crime Agency, PSNI, and police forces across Europe to ensure international policing co-operation, in the event of Brexit.
Make the case for Unexplained Wealth Orders to be extended to Northern Ireland in order to better tackle paramilitary organised crime gangs.
Continue our strong opposition to domestic and gendered violence, supporting the Domestic Abuse Bill and its provisions relating to Northern Ireland.
Continue to support the proposals of the Gillen Review of the law and procedure in prosecuting serious sexual offences,
and make the case for a UK-wide approach to delivering the best outcomes for victims, defendants and justice.
Promote collaborative efforts to tackle global crimes which require an integrated national and international response, including human trafficking, fuel laundering and counterfeiting.
We recognise that the profits from these crimes fund illegal organisations locally and globally.
Civil Liberties
Alliance is committed to personal liberty, privacy and civil rights: they ensure that individuals can exercise their own choices and that the state acts fairly.
As a party which respects the rule of law, we know how important it is to ensure civil liberties are protected.
In order to do so, Alliance will: Oppose any proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act or withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Support ending the bulk collection of communications data and internet connection records.
Support the principle of net neutrality and oppose wide-ranging restrictions on access from the UK to certain parts of the internet.
Support the retention of the Freedom of Information Act in its current form.
Continue to apply an approach to the most difficult issues in Northern Ireland which balances civil liberties and human rights.
Delivering Truth and Justice for Legacy Victims
Alliance has long advocated a new approach to dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past.
Alliance refused to support the “Fresh Start” Agreement because it failed to deliver for victims.
We remain committed to establishing the legacy institutions proposed in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement.
Alliance proposed the principles set out in that agreement which should guide the Executive and the British and Irish governments as they deal with the past, as follows: Promoting reconciliation.
Upholding the rule of law.
Acknowledging and addressing the suffering of victims and survivors.
Facilitating the pursuit of justice and information recovery.
Complying with human rights.
Be proportionate, transparent, fair and equitable.
We remain strongly opposed to any statute of limitations or amnesty, be it for armed forces personnel or any other actors in the conflict.
This would clearly violate the above principles and has the potential to cast doubt over the integrity of all who served in Northern Ireland with honour and protected the entire community, with particular consequences for those who still reside here.
Following the Northern Ireland Office consultation on the Stormont House Agreement proposals to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Westminster should legislate for the proposed bodies: An Oral History Archive to provide the opportunity of a central place for people from all backgrounds (and from throughout the UK and Ireland) to voluntarily share experiences and narratives related to the Troubles.
The Archive will be independent and free from political interference and be complemented by a factual historical timeline and statistical analysis of the Troubles, produced by academics.
A Historical Investigations Unit to take forward independent, Article 2 compliant investigations into outstanding Troubles-related deaths, including outstanding cases from the Historical Enquiries Team process and the legacy work of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
An Independent Commission on Information Retrieval, to enable victims and survivors to seek and privately receive information about the Troubles-related deaths of their next of kin.
This Commission would not disclose the identities of people who provide information.
No individual who provides information to the body will be immune from prosecution for any crime committed should the required evidential test be satisfied by other means.
An Implementation and Reconciliation Group (IRG) to oversee themes, archives and information recovery, with the promotion of reconciliation underpinning all of its work.
The IRG would encourage and support other initiatives that contribute to reconciliation, better understanding of the past and reducing sectarianism.
International Affairs
We believe that the circumstances of the global challenges that the UK faces have changed over recent decades.
Global co-operation is essential to tackle global problems such as poverty, migration, humanitarian crises and climate change.
We must defend international institutions and a rules-based international system against increasing nationalism and isolationism, supporting multilateral organisations such as the United Nations, NATO and WTO which are increasingly under threat,
and we must continue defence cooperation across Europe, regardless of Brexit.
Trident
Alliance has seen no evidence to suggest that the like-for-like renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system is necessary or cost-effective.
We believe that other approaches can be used to ensure the security of the UK, which reflect the security challenges of the future, rather than of the Cold War era.
The UK can help combat nuclear proliferation by leading by example in reducing nuclear weapons as part of agreed multilateral efforts.
Conflict Resolution
War and global conflict has a disastrous effect on international relations, economic stability, the environment, and public finances, and creates human misery and destruction.
As a result, Alliance supports: Military intervention only as a last resort –
any military interventions must be legal, have defined aims and an exit strategy, assurances that the result will be sustainable, and accompanied by non-military attempts at tackling the problem.
The ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine.
We accept that this must be a factor in decision-making about intervention.
Reforming global institutions to better promote globally agreed objectives
and recognise the central role of the United Nations in maintaining global peace and security.
Based on existing UN Resolutions and our advocacy of an independent state of Palestine, we support a two-state solution.
Continued and enhanced European cooperation in security and defence, regardless of Brexit.
However, we remain opposed to any suggestion of an EU army.
Support for the Armed Forces
Alliance respects and values the difficult work that our armed forces undertake.
That is why we believe several changes need to be made to ensure that they are properly remunerated and rewarded for their efforts.
This should include: An audit of the equipment and training provided to the armed forces to ensure that they are properly prepared for the various types of mission that they face.
This audit should ensure appropriate equipment for newer types of deployment such as counterinsurgency and peace-keeping.
Supporting the full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant in Northern Ireland, including regular monitoring of the scheme and individual Executive Departments reporting to the UK Government for inclusion in annual reports.
International Development
Alliance believes that richer countries have both a moral obligation and a strategic interest in international development spending.
We want to build a fair, sustainable world: reducing poverty and inequality, ensuring that the most marginalised groups such as women, girls, people with disabilities and the LGBT community are at the forefront of international development and humanitarian assistance policy.
Therefore, Alliance will: Maintain the commitment to spend 0.7% of the UK’s gross national income on international development:
reducing poverty,
defending human rights,
protecting the environment
and preventing violent conflict worldwide.
Tackle international tax-dodging which harms the economies of both the UK and the developing world.
We will ensure that the UK’s tax rules do not have a negative effect on developing countries.
Support the creation of a register requiring the publication of company ownership information in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
This would ensure financial transparency and reduce the use of tax havens.
Support greater investment in water, sanitation and hygiene as a matter of priority.
This not only reduces disease and improves sanitation but can help prevent the development of new diseases with a global threat,
as well as impacting directly on economic growth and inclusion.
Its impact on the safety, security, education, economic and social participation of women and girls is also hugely significant.
Support a global climate change fund to help ensure that poorer countries can mitigate the impact of climate change.
Climate change is disproportionately caused by industrialised nations so we should assist other nations to adapt to it.
This agenda needs to have accountable implementation and be supported by a global agreement on climate change.
Support the financing and delivery of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and the commitment made by all UN member states to ‘leave no one behind’ by 2030.
Supporting Human Rights and Political Freedoms
Alliance respects and promotes human rights, civil liberties and political freedom.
We believe that these issues are universal and must be respected by governments across the world
We will always seek to promote our values abroad, promoting a world which is tolerant, respects human rights and supports political freedom.
Alliance will: Continue to promote our unwavering commitment to freedom of, and from, religion across the world
and opposing discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.
Recognise that civil liberties and the rule of law are a crucial part of developing stable governments
and enabling economic growth,
and ensure this recognition is embedded in foreign affairs.
Pay particular attention to protecting the rights and well-being of women across the world, given that women are typically financially and politically disadvantaged in comparison to men.
Access to education is a priority.
Use the UK’s role in the Commonwealth to make progress on protecting the rights of women, religious minorities and LGBT people.
Strengthen the role the international community plays in overseeing elections abroad so that we can continue to promote fair and free elections.
Continue to support the fight against slave labour and human trafficking
Improve control of arms exports and end continued arms sales to countries with poor human rights records.
Increase overseas financial support for the ongoing refugee crisis, focusing on countries that have accepted millions of refugees.
Get Brexit Done
When the new Government entered Downing Street, the Prime Minister made a simple promise: to get Brexit done.
Many said it would be impossible.
But he swiftly negotiated a great new deal – despite Parliament’s best efforts to block his progress.
And then, when he put it to MPs, they insisted on yet more delay.
We must move on.
No more renegotiations.
No more referendums.
Every week is costing us.
Investment is waiting to come into the country.
Families and businesses cannot make vital decisions.
The public services cannot get the attention they deserve.
Our priority as Conservatives is to get Brexit done
– so that we can unleash the potential of this great country.
So that we can push past the obstacles that other parties have put in our country’s way.
So that we can deliver on the people’s decision in 2016
and use our new post-Brexit freedoms to transform the UK for the better by focusing on your priorities.
If we elect a majority of Conservative MPs to Parliament, we will start putting our deal through Parliament before Christmas and we will leave the European Union in January.
Boris Johnson’s new deal takes the whole country out of the EU as one United Kingdom.
It takes us out of the customs union,
allowing us to set our own tariffs
and do our own trade deals.
It allows us to pass our own laws and ensures that it is our courts that enforce them.
Our deal is the only one on the table.
It is signed, sealed and ready.
It puts the whole country on a path to a new free trade agreement with the EU.
This will be a new relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation,
not on the EU’s treaties
or EU law.
There will be no political alignment with the EU.
We will keep the UK out of the single market,
out of any form of customs union,
and end the role of the European Court of Justice.
This future relationship will be one that allows us to: Take back control of our laws.
Take back control of our money.
Control our own trade policy.
Introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system.
Raise standards in areas like workers’ rights,
animal welfare,
agriculture
and the environment.
Ensure we are in full control of our fishing waters.
We will negotiate a trade agreement next year
– one that will strengthen our Union –
and we will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020.
In parallel, we will legislate to ensure high standards of workers’ rights,
environmental protection
and consumer rights.
The only way to deliver Brexit is with a Conservative majority in Parliament.
A vote for any other party or candidate is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn
– and a vote for more chaos.
Unleash Britain’s Potential
For the past nine years, the Conservatives have been cleaning up Labour’s mess.
Because of the tough decisions that our party made and our success in bringing down the deficit ,
the economy has continued to grow ,
and the public finances have been restored.
Thanks to Conservative policies, employment is at a near-record high.
We’ve helped millions of people into work, halving the unemployment rate.
We’ve doubled the personal allowance to £12,500, meaning that every worker gets to keep more of what they earn.
We’ve introduced and consistently raised the National Living Wage
– and will raise it still further.
The strength of the UK’s balance sheet – the hard work done by all of us in this country – means that we are now in a position to invest properly in our future.
A Conservative Government will give the public services the resources they need, supporting our hospitals,
our schools
and our police.
We will help people and families throughout their lives by bringing down the cost of living
and making sure that work always pays.
We will keep costs down for small businesses – rather than hiking their taxes and crushing Britain’s prosperity.
We will not borrow to fund day-to-day spending,
but will invest thoughtfully and responsibly in infrastructure right across our country
in order to increase productivity and
wages.
Our fiscal rules mean that public sector net investment will not average more than 3 per cent of GDP,
and that if debt interest reaches 6 per cent of revenue, we will reassess our plans to keep debt under control.
This means that debt will be lower at the end of the Parliament –
rather than spiralling out of control under Labour.
And we will use this investment prudently and strategically to level up every part of the United Kingdom,
while strengthening the ties that bind it together.
We will also prioritise the environment in the next Budget,
investing in the infrastructure, science and research that will deliver economic growth, not just through the 2020s, but for decades to come.
Above all, we will listen to the people who have felt left behind by the last few decades of economic growth and want to have more control of their future.
We will get Brexit done, so we can unleash Britain’s potential.
so we can unleash Britain’s potential.
We Will Focus On Your Priorities
In his first months in office, the Prime Minister has shown how he intends to make life better for everyone in the UK.
Supporting our police.
Increasing funding for our schools.
Building new hospitals.
We have listened to you, and we have acted.
Acted to ensure that we deliver world-class public services so that you can have the help and support you need throughout your life.
And we want to take that agenda further.
But none of it will happen without a Conservative majority Government.
Strengthen the NHS and social care
The NHS represents the best of this country.
It is there for us when our children are born, when our friends and families fall sick, when our loved ones succumb to old age and ill health.
It is precious to all of us – especially because it is free at the point of use and there for you on the basis of need, not your ability to pay.
We as Conservatives believe passionately in the NHS.
Because we believe that everyone deserves the chance to live free of sickness and disease –
and to know that if they do fall ill, our brilliant NHS staff will be there for them.
We are proud that since its foundation, it is the Conservative Party that has acted as the steward and guardian of the NHS and its principles for 44 of its 71 years.
We are proud that it is coping with increasing demand, with more doctors and nurses,
and using more advanced treatments than ever before.
And we are proud to have confirmed a record £34 billion per year by the end of the Parliament in additional funding for the NHS
– and to have begun work on building 40 new hospitals across the country,
as well as investing in hospital upgrades and new machines to boost early cancer diagnosis across 78 hospital trusts.
But we want to do more.
Within the first three months of our new term, we will enshrine in law our fully funded, long-term NHS plan.
This is the largest cash settlement in NHS history.
One that is only possible because we have delivered the growth and prosperity to pay for world-class public services –
and will continue to do so.
Between 2018 and 2023, we will have raised funding for the NHS by 29 per cent.
By the end of the Parliament, that will be more than £650 million extra a week.
And we will ensure this money goes to the frontline so that you and your family get appointments more quickly and experience improved care.
We believe that the best way to improve the NHS and meet rising demand is to invest in its most important asset – its people.
That is why we are devoting additional funding, on top of our existing record settlement, to hire and support more doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
Our NHS Prevention and Treatment Plan
We will build and fund 40 new hospitals over the next 10 years.
This is on top of the 20 hospital upgrades announced in the summer.
We will roll out cancer diagnostic machines across 78 hospital trusts to boost early diagnosis.
We are committed to reducing health inequality.
We will continue to repair the damage done by Labour’s disastrous PFI deals.
We will invest in preventing disease as well as curing it.
We will tackle the underlying causes of increases in NHS demand, for example via a long-term strategy for empowering people with lifestyle-related conditions such as obesity to live healthier lives
, as well as tackling childhood obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
We will continue to promote the uptake of vaccines via our national vaccination strategy.
We will extend social prescribing and expand the new National Academy of Social Prescribing.
We will overhaul NHS screening and use new technology and mobile screening services to prevent ill health.
We will focus on helping patients with multiple conditions to have simplified and more joined-up access to the NHS.
And we will improve hospital food alongside our wider National Food Strategy.
We will develop new treatments for serious diseases.
We will extend the successful Cancer Drugs Fund into an Innovative Medicines Fund so that doctors can use the most advanced, life-saving treatments for conditions such as cancer or autoimmune disease,
or for children with other rare diseases.
If you or a loved one is unlucky enough to fall ill, we’ll ensure you have access to the best available medicines.
We will also improve the early diagnosis and treatment of all major conditions.
We will treat mental health with the same urgency as physical health.
We will legislate so that patients suffering from mental health conditions, including anxiety or depression, have greater control over their treatment
and receive the dignity and respect they deserve.
We will make it easier for people with learning disabilities and autism to be discharged from hospital
and improve how they are treated in law.
We will continue to take action to tackle gambling addiction.
We will improve NHS performance, using our record funding settlementnto bring down operating waiting times,
improve A&E performance
and increase cancer survival rates.
We will study carefully the recommendations of the ongoing review led by NHS clinical staff into A&E and clinical performance.
We will use frontline technology to improve patients’ experience,
provide flexible working for clinicians,
and help save lives.
We will also hold an annual health technology summit.
We will support our precious hospices, developing the plans already announced by Boris Johnson to secure their future, with a £25 million cash injection in August to support 200,000 people at the end of their lives.
We will make the NHS the best place in the world to give birth through personalised, high-quality support.
And we’ll uphold our commitment to extend healthy life expectancy by five years by 2035.
We will end unfair hospital car parking charges by making parking free for those in greatest need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight
and staff working night shifts.
This will eliminate costs for those in need, while making sure there are enough spaces for everyone.
We will clamp down on health tourism, ensuring that those from overseas who use NHS services pay their fair share.
And we will increase the NHS surcharge paid by those from overseas.
When we are negotiating trade deals, the NHS will not be on the table.
The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table.
The services the NHS provides will not be on the table.
Our NHS People Plan
The 1.4 million dedicated staff who deliver world-class care day in, day out are at the heart of the NHS.
Our core priority is to make sure this workforce can grow and has the support it needs – in terms of numbers, training and resources.
That means that if you do fall ill, you’ll get the care and attention you deserve.
We will deliver: 50,000 more nurses,
with students receiving a £5,000-£8,000 annual maintenance grant every year during their course to help with their costof living – and they won’t have to pay it back.
Everyone will receive at least£5,000
with further funding in regions or disciplines that are struggling to recruit – such as mental health –
and help with their childcare costs.
6,000 more doctors in general practice
and 6,000 more primary care professionals, such as physiotherapists and pharmacists.
This is on top of the 7,500 extra nurse associates
and 20,000 primary care professionals that we have already announced.
We will improve staff morale with more funding for professional training and more supportive hospital management.
We will introduce an NHS Visa.
Our NHS People Plan will ensure that we train and employ tens of thousands more NHS professionals here in the UK.
But we also want to make sure that those from overseas who want to work in and support our NHS are encouraged to do so.
That is why qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with a job offer from the NHS, who have been trained to a recognised standard, and who have good working English, will be offered fast-track entry,
reduced visa fees
and dedicated support to come to the UK with their families.
Our new funding will deliver 50 million extra general practice appointments a year, an increase of over 15 per cent.
That means that if you need an appointment, waiting times will be shorter and you’ll get the service you deserve.
We also want to make sure that doctors spend as much time as possible treating patients, so we will
address the ‘taper problem’ in doctors’ pensions, which causes many to turn down extra shifts for fear of high tax bills.
Within our first 30 days, we will hold an urgent review, working with the British Medical Association and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to solve the problem.
Improving social care
It is a basic, compassionate Conservative belief that we should care for those in need – helping those who cannot help themselves.
Thanks to decades of economic growth and scientific innovation, people are living longer, healthier lives.
But this, alongside the rise of dementia and other chronic conditions, means that the pressures on the elderly care system are ever-increasing.
There has also been significant growth in the number of working-age people with disabilities who need care at a younger age.
We need to have a system to give every person the dignity and security that they deserve.
This is a significant and complex challenge and in order to lay the foundations, we must plan for the infrastructure, workforce growth and healthcare integration that is required for a care system fit for the 21st century.
Because this is a long-term problem that will affect so many people, any solution has to be able to survive long-term.
We must build the same level of consensus on social care as we have already built on the NHS.
So we will build a cross-party consensus to bring forward an answer that solves the problem, commands the widest possible support, and stands the test of time.
That consensus will consider a range of options but one condition we do make is that nobody needing care should be forced to sell their home to pay for it.
As a first step, and to stabilise the system, we announced in the autumn additional funding of £1 billion for the year beginning in April 2020.
We are now confirming this additional funding in every year of the new Parliament.
We will also extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to one week.
We also want to save millions of people, and their families, from suffering the agony of a slow decline due to dementia.
We will make finding a cure one of our Government’s biggest collective priorities – one of the ‘grand challenges’ that will define our future
along with the impact of climate change
or artificial intelligence.
This will include doubling research funding into dementia and speeding up trials for new treatments.
We will also provide £74 million over three years for additional capacity in community care settings for those with learning disabilities and autism.
We need a long-term solution for social care – that’s why we are committing to an ambitious three-point plan: £1 billion extra of funding every year for more social care staff
and better infrastructure, technology and facilities.
We will commit to urgently seek a cross-party consensus in order to bring forward the necessary proposal and legislation for long-term reform.
The prerequisite of any solution will be a guarantee that no one needing care has to sell their home to pay for it.
Invest in our schools
Talent is evenly spread in this country, but opportunity is not.
As Conservatives, we believe absolutely in equality of opportunity – the idea that every child, in every part of the country, should have a fair chance.
It is not only the most important thing we can do to unleash the UK’s potential, but is at the heart of creating a fair and just society.
This is why we want to ensure every child has access to a great state school
– that every pupil gets the qualifications they need for a prosperous future,
while learning in an environment where they will be happy and fulfilled.
In his first months in office, Boris Johnson announced an extra £14 billion in funding for schools.
That translates to £150 million a week, and will include at least £5,000 a year for each secondary school pupil
and at least £4,000 for each primary school pupil.
This also includes £780 million in new funding to support children with Special Educational Needs next year alone.
One of the Conservative Party’s proudest achievements is that we have raised standards in our schools and improved behaviour.
Students learn best when they are stretched, challenged and nurtured – in an environment where there is no disruption and no excuses for bad behaviour.
In the last nine years, the percentage of children passing their primary reading check has gone up from 58 per cent to 82 per cent.
We have strengthened teachers’ powers to deal with bullying and disruption.
We have given schools the ability to decide how money is best spent – because we trust parents and headteachers to know what is best for the children in their care.
For our children to get the training and opportunities they deserve, they need to have the best teachers.
We want tonattract the best talent into teaching and recognise the great work they do, so we’re raising teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000 – among the most competitive in the graduate labour market.
We also want to build on our record of raising standards, improving behaviour
and promoting knowledge and creativity.
We will back heads and teachers on discipline.
We will expand our programme to help schools with the worst behaviour learn from the best –
and back heads to use exclusions.
Unlike Labour, we believe that Ofsted inspection serves a valuable purpose not just in improving standards but in improving behaviour.
We will continue to help teachers tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying.
No child should be bullied on account of who their parents are or where they come from.
We will create more great schools.
We will continue to do everything we can to ensure every school is a great school.
We will continue to support innovation, like our successful maths schools, set up for the most gifted young physicists and mathematicians.
We will expand ‘alternative provision’ schools for those who have been excluded.
We will also deliver more school places for children with complex Special Educational Needs.
We will intervene in schools where there is entrenched underperformance.
We will continue to ensure that parents can choose the schools that best suit their children and best prepare them for the future.
And we will continue to build more free schools.
We will invest in arts, music and sport.
Over the last nine years we have made real improvements in maths, English and science, and given more children access to a rich academic curriculum.
We retain our commitment to the core subjects and also want young people to learn creative skills and widen their horizons, so we will offer an ‘arts premium’ to secondary schools to fund enriching activities for all pupils.
And to ensure children are getting an active start to life, we will invest in primary school PE teaching and ensure that it is being properly delivered.
We want to do more to help schools make good use of their sports facilities and to promote physical literacy and competitive sport.
Vulnerable children
Children who end up in care are more likely to struggle as adults, denied the love and stability most of us take for granted.
We will prioritise stable, loving placements for those children – adoption where possible or foster parents recruited by the local authority.
We will review the care system to make sure that all care placements and settings are providing children and young adults with the support they need.
A strong society needs strong families.
We will improve the Troubled Families programme and champion Family Hubs to serve vulnerable families with the intensive, integrated support they need to care for children – from the early years and throughout their lives.
Support working families
Since 2010, the Conservatives have helped more than 1,000 people on average into work every day
That is an extraordinary figure.
And it has only been possible because of the strong economy we have helped to create;
our support for business;
and our welfare reforms, which have encouraged more people into work.
The majority of jobs created since 2010 have been high-quality: full-time
and outside London and the South East.
Whoever you are, we want to make it easier for you to get a good and rewarding job
– and to be able to combine a rewarding career with raising a family or caring for elderly or disabled relatives, rather than being forced to prioritise between them.
We want to make sure that you get to keep more of the money you earn,
and that we keep your bills low.
And we want to make sure that those who can’t work, or have entered retirement, get the level of support they need.
We have focused, over the past decade, on making sure that work always pays – particularly for those most in need of support.
We have raised the minimum wage significantly
and introduced and consistently raised the National Living Wage.
We have doubled the personal allowance to £12,500, so that everyone gets to earn a decent amount before they are taxed.
And we have made sure the state pension keeps pace with earnings.
In our first months, we announced an increase in the National Living Wage to two thirds of average earnings, currently forecast at £10.50 an hour,
and widened its reach to everyone over 21.
That means an average pay rise of£4,000 per year for four million people by 2024.
To help young people get a foot on the employment ladder, we abolished employers’ National Insurance Contributions for under-21s
and apprentices under 25.
Creating millions more jobs is one of the Conservatives’ proudest achievements.
A Labour Government that makes it harder for businesses to grow and to hire –
that allows people to sink into dependency rather than encouraging them to work and earn – could undo all of this progress.
A majority Conservative Government will deliver a major package of measures designed to ensure that it always pays to work,
while doing everything we can to protect and support those who cannot
– and to address the cost of living pressures that we all face.
We promise not to raise the rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT.
This is a tax guarantee that will protect the incomes of hard-working families across the next Parliament.
We not only want to freeze taxes, but to cut them too.
We will raise the National Insurance threshold to £9,500 next year – representing a tax cut for 31 million workers.
Our ultimate ambition is to ensure that the first £12,500 you earn is completely free of tax – which would put almost £500 per year in people’s pockets.
Raising a family should be the most fulfilling experience of your life.
But for too many parents, the costs of childcare are a heavy burden.
We want to give parents the freedom, support and choice to look after their children in the way that works best for them.
We will establish a new £1 billion fund to help create more high quality, affordable childcare, including before and after school and during the school holidays.
For many families, energy costs are a major source of financial pressure.
We will keep our existing energy cap and introduce new measures to lower bills.
We will also give the Competition and Markets Authority enhanced powers to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad business practices.
We recognise that water bills can be a major source of financial pressure, so will extend the water rebate for those in the South West.
On entering Government in 2010, the Conservatives acted decisively to protect the UK’s pensioners.
The ‘triple lock’ we introduced has meant that those who have worked hard and put in for decades can be confident that the state will be there to support them when they need it.
We will keep the triple lock, the winter fuel payment, the older person’s bus pass and other pensioner benefits, ensuring that older people have the security and dignity they deserve.
We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC.
A number of workers, disproportionately women, who earn between £10,000 and £12,500 have been missing out on pension benefits because of a loophole affecting people with net pay pension schemes.
We will conduct a comprehensive review to look at how to fix this issue.
We will use our freedom from the EU to improve the UK’s tax regime
not least by abolishing the tampon tax.
We as Conservatives believe that everyone who can work, should work – and that it should always pay them to do so.
But we also believe that those who truly can’t work must be given the help they need.
That is why we will continue the roll-out of Universal Credit, which combines multiple benefits into one while building a clearer pathway from welfare into work.
We have already acted to increase work allowances, a move worth £630 to working families with children,
and those with disabilities,
and we will do more to make sure that Universal Credit works for the most vulnerable.
We will also end the benefit freeze,
while making sure it pays to work more hours.
At the same time, we will make sure those who cheat the system by committing benefit fraud are punished.
There is no excuse for exploiting others who have worked hard and paid in.
To help those looking after family members, especially women, we will support the main carer in any household receiving the Universal Credit payment.
And we will continue our efforts through the tax and benefits system to reduce poverty, including child poverty.
Children should grow up in an environment with no limits to their potential –
which is one of the reasons we are making it a priority to put more money in the pockets of low-paid workers
and maintaining our commitment to free school meals.
We will also extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to one week.
As part of our efforts to empower and support disabled people,we will reduce the number of reassessments a disabled person must go through when a significant change in condition is unlikely – because you should not have to provide repeated proof of your disability in order to receive support.
We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020.
This will look at ways to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and jobs.
It will include our existing commitments to increase SEND funding
and support pupils, students and adults to get careers advice,
internships, and transition into work.
We will reduce the disability employment gap.
Make our country safer
Our first duty as a Government is to keep our country safe.
One of Boris Johnson’s first actions as Prime Minister was to start recruiting 20,000 new police officers.
These new officers will take violent criminals off the streets and protect us and our country.
The Conservatives will always back the brave men and women of our police and security services, which is why we will empower the police, backing the increased use of stop and search as long as it is fair and proportionate.
And we will provide them with the equipment they need.
We need a fair justice system – one that stands for the law-abiding majority, not the criminal minority,
and that gives a second chance to those who have served their time and wish to make a fresh start.
Adam Wordsworth Candidate for Weaver Vale Former Police Officer
Our plan to cut crime
We will back our police by equipping officers with the powers and tools they need to keep themselves and all of us safe, including tasers and body cameras.
We will put the Police Covenant into law to ensure they have the support they need.
Police will be empowered by a new court order to target known knife carriers, making it easier for officers to stop and search those convicted of knife crime.
Anyone charged with knife possession will appear before magistrates within days not weeks.
Those who use a knife as a weapon should go to prison.
We will introduce tougher sentencing for the worst offenders
and end automatic halfway release from prison for serious crimes.
For child murderers, there will be life imprisonment without parole.
We will use our new freedoms after Brexit to prevent more foreign national offenders entering our country.
We will cut the number of foreign nationals in our prisons,
and increase penalties to stop them returning.
We will back all those who put their lives on the line to keep us safe – police and prison officers and emergency service workers.
We will pass the Police Protection Bill
and consult on doubling the maximum sentence for assaulting workers in emergency services such as police officers, firefighters and paramedics.
We will strengthen the accountability of elected Police and Crime Commissioners and expand their role.
People must have an accountable local leader delivering on their crime and justice priorities, who they can vote out.
We will expand electronic tagging for criminals serving time outside jail,
including the use of sobriety tags for those whose offending is fuelled by alcohol.
We will toughen community sentences, for example by tightening curfews and making those convicted do more hours of community payback to clean up our parks and streets.
We will embrace new technologies and crack down on online crimes.
We will create a new national cyber crime force and empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework.
We will also create a world-class National Crime Laboratory.
We will counter the growing threat of serious and organised crime.
We will strengthen the National Crime Agency so it can tackle the threats we face, from fraud, county lines gangs and child sexual abuse to illicit finance, modern slavery and people-trafficking.
We will add 10,000 more prison places,
with £2.75 billion already committed to refurbishing and creating modern prisons.
We will maintain the ban on prisoners voting from jail.
We will conduct a root-and-branch review of the parole system to improve accountability and public safety,
giving victims the right to attend hearings for the first time,
and we will establish a Royal Commission on the criminal justice process.
We will combat extremism and do all we can to ensure that extremists never receive public money.
We will keep our country safe from terrorism.
We will invest in the police and security services and give them the powers they need to combat new threats.
In the wake of the terrible events in Manchester in 2017, we will improve the safety and security of public venues.
We will tackle unauthorised traveller camps.
We will give the police new powers to arrest and seize the property and vehicles of trespassers who set up unauthorised encampments, in order to protect our communities.
We will make intentional trespass a criminal offence,
and we will also give councils greater powers within the planning system.
In order to successfully keep our streets safe, we need to turn people away from crime and end the cycle of reoffending:
Youth offending
Young people are less likely to get into trouble in a well-disciplined school, which is why we will back teachers to enforce discipline.
We are investing £500 million in youth services for young people.
If they endanger others, we will put them in new alternative provision schools.
If they are offenders, we are trialling Secure Schools.
New laws will require schools, police, councils and health authorities to work together through Violence Reduction Units to prevent serious crime.
Addiction
Drug addiction fuels crime, violence and family breakdown – and new dangerous substances are driving an increase in deaths from drug abuse.
We will tackle drug-related crime,
and at the same time take a new approach to treatment so we can reduce drug deaths
and break the cycle of crime linked to addiction.
Rehabilitation
We will create a prisoner education service focused on work-based training and skills.
We will improve employment opportunities for ex-offenders, including a job coach in each prison.
This approach is proven to reduce reoffending.
We are improving prison security to protect staff, stop drug smuggling and reduce violence.
Supporting all victims of crime
Delivering justice does not just mean treating defendants fairly, but doing right by victims.
So we will pass and implement a Victims’ Law that guarantees victims’ rights and the level of support they can expect.
We will support all victims of domestic abuse and pass the Domestic Abuse Bill.
We will increase support for refuges and community support for victims of rape and sexual abuse.
We will pilot integrated domestic abuse courts that address criminal and family matters in parallel.
We will continue to fight crime against women and girls, including rape, Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriage.
Our support for the main carer receiving Universal Credit will help give greater independence to individuals, most often women, trapped with coercive partners.
We will protect people from physical attack or harassment whether for their sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or disability,
and expand funding for and protect places of worship.
We will vigorously combat harassment and violence against all religious groups,
and against LGBT people.
We will ensure that those who work in countering extremism are protected from threats and intimidation.
We will ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries.
These undermine community cohesion.
We will legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online – protecting children from online abuse and harms, protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content,
and ensuring there is no safe space for terrorists to hide online
– but at the same time defending freedom of expression
and in particular recognising and defending the invaluable role of a free press.
Also, given how the online worldis moving, the Gambling Act is increasingly becoming an analogue law in a digital age.
We will review it, with a particular focus on tackling issues around loot boxes and credit card misuse.
Fix our immigration system
The vote to leave the EU was, among other things, a vote to take back control of our borders.
That is why a majority Conservative Government will get Brexit done,
and then introduce a firmer and fairer Australian-style points-based immigration system,
so that we can decide who comes to this country on the basis of the skills they have and the contribution they can make – not where they come from.
Migrants will contribute to the NHS – and pay in before they can receive benefits.
Our new system gives us real control over who is coming in and out.
It allows us to attract the best and brightest from all over the world.
Only by establishing immigration controls and ending freedom of movement
will we be able to attract the high-skilled workers we need to contribute to our economy, our communities and our public services.
There will be fewer lower-skilled migrants and overall numbers will come down.
And we will ensure that the British people are always in control.
Attracting the best and brightest
We want the UK to be a magnet for the best and brightest, with special immigration routes for those who will make the biggest contribution.
We will create bespoke visa schemes for new migrants who will fill shortages in our public services,
build the companies and innovations of the future and benefit Britain for years to come.
These include: the NHS Visa.
Qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with a job offer from the NHS, who have been trained to a recognised standard, and who have good working English, will be offered fast-track entry, reduced visa fees and dedicated support to come to the UK with their families.
Actively recruiting leaders in their field to come to the UK.
The small number of the best technology and science graduates from the top universities in the world and those who win top scientific prizes will be offered fast-track entry to the UK – these people can do more than any others to drive scientific progress and help our NHS and our economy.
Our student visa will help universities attract talented young people and allow those students to stay on to apply for work here after they graduate.
Our start-up visa, alongside our new rules for those of exceptional talent, will ensure that we can attract the entrepreneurs of the future who want to start great businesses here in the UK.
Our Australian-style points-based system
We will prioritise people who: Have a good grasp of English
Have been law-abiding citizens in their own countries
Have good education and qualifications
Most people coming into the country will need a clear job offer.
In addition: We will not allow serious criminals into the country.
If people abuse our hospitality, we will remove them as quickly as possible.
We will keep track of who is coming in and out of our country.
We will overhaul the current immigration system, and make it more fair and compassionate – what happened to the Windrush generation was horrific and we will ensure it never happens again.
We are committed to the Windrush compensation scheme.
We will treat EU and non-EU citizens equally.
Regardless of whether they are from Europe or another part of the world, we welcome people who meet our criteria.
We want EU citizens who came to live in the UK before Brexit to stay – and we have committed absolutely to guaranteeing their existing rights and ensuring that they feel a welcomed and valued part of our country and community after Brexit.
That is why we introduced the EU Settlement Scheme.
Integration and openness
We want our party, and our Government, to represent modern Britain – a diverse and tolerant country with confidence in its own identity and values.
We believe the enduring beliefs that unite us are far more important than our differences.
Our society has been enriched by immigration and we will always recognise the contribution of those who have helped build our public services, businesses, culture and communities.
We will ensure no matter where in the world you or your family come from, your rights will be respected
and you will be treated with fairness and dignity.
We will tackle prejudice, racism and discrimination and address the complex reasons why some groups do less well at school, earn less at work,mor are more likely to be victims of crime.
We will act to improve the lives of all and reject the politics of division.
Our priority is to focus on practical solutions that make a real difference to people’s lives.
We will boost English language teaching to empower existing migrants and help promote integration into society.
We will back the National Citizen Service and promote it in schools as a way of bringing communities together.
The Youth Futures Foundation will invest at least £90 million to improve employment outcomes for young people.
We will improve the quality of evidence and data within Government about the types of barriers different groups face, ensuring that fairness is at the heart of everything we do.
We will continue to grant asylum and support to refugees fleeing persecution, with the ultimate aim of helping them to return home if it is safe to do so.
We will champion freedom of expression and tolerance, both in the UK and overseas.
We will ensure that the historic contribution of migrant groups is recognised.
We will maintain our support for a memorial recognising the contribution of the Windrush Generation in a prominent site in London.
Contributing to our country
It is a basic point of principle – and natural justice – that you should not be able to take out before you have put in.
Of course we should help those in genuine need – especially those who have fled from persecution.
But at the same time, it is both right and fair that, as in other countries, people making the UK their home should pay into the tax system for a reasonable period of time before they can access welfare.
Our new immigration system will mean: People coming into the country from the EU will only be able to access unemployment, housing, and child benefit after five years, in the way non-EEA migrants currently do.
We will no longer allow people to claim child benefit for children living overseas.
We will require new arrivals to contribute to the funding of the NHS and will increase the health surcharge to ensure it covers the full cost of use.
and will increase the health surcharge to ensure it covers the full cost of use.
We will also enforce charges on those who come to our country and use our health services without contributing, doubling the budget for our health tourism enforcement unit.
We will continue to offer free emergency care to anyone who needs it.
In order to help communities cope better with pressures on public services, we will ensure that new GP and school places are delivered ahead of people moving into new housing developments,
and will invest in technical skills and work incentives so British workers take up as many jobs as possible.
This is a package of measures that is fair, firm and compassionate – that brings the immigration system, after so many years, into line with the British people’s own sense of what is right.
But we cannot do any of it unless we have a strong Conservative Government that can get Brexit done.
We Will Unleash Britain’s Potential
Getting Brexit done allows us to focus on making this the best possible place to live and work –
to use our post-Brexit freedoms to build prosperity and strengthen and level up every part of the country.
Because it is not just Britain’s potential that we want to unleash, but that of the British people.
Our plan means making sure people have access to world-class public services,
that they feel safe on the streets,
that working families get to keep more of their own money,
and that we help with cost of living pressures.
But it also means making sure that we share prosperity across the country, addressing the longstanding economic challenges in parts of the country.
We will invest responsibly and prudently in the infrastructure that can make a difference,
and ensure communities in every corner of the United Kingdom are pleasant, safe and prosperous.
And we will invest far more in helping workers train and retrain for the jobs and industries of the future.
Investing in people,
restoring the fabric of our towns and cities,
building the homes we need,
supporting science and industry,
bstrengthening the great Union between the United Kingdom’s four nations – that is how we will unleash our country’s full potential.
We are the only party that can deliver this programme, because we are the only party that understands the symmetry at the heart of the UK economy.
That the only way to fund world-class public services and outstanding infrastructure is to encourage the millions of British businesses that create the wealth of the nation –
especially small businesses, family firms and the self-employed.
We stand for the people working every hour they can,
those taking a risk on a new idea,
those challenging existing markets.
Their success is our success.
And we stand for those who give their time to help others – the charities, community groups and volunteers who already do so much to make our country a better place.
We believe, in other words, that Britain is a great country – the greatest place on earth.
Together, we can make it greater still.
Revive our towns and cities
People across the UK are rightly proud of where they come from, and of their local areas.
But too many communities feel let down.
Violent crime and anti-social behaviour are ignored amid a backdrop of boarded-up department stores, shops and pubs.
Great towns and cities are being held back.
We as Conservatives want to give you freedom – low taxes, opportunity, the chance to realise your dreams.
But we also want to give you security – safe and pleasant streets, and the ability to take pride and comfort from the community around you.
This is why, in his first months as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has set out an agenda for levelling up every part of the UK – not just investing in our great towns and cities, as well as rural and coastal areas, but giving them far more control of how that investment is made.
In the 21st century, we need to get away from the idea that ‘Whitehall knows best’ and that all growth must inevitably start in London.
Because we as Conservatives believe you can and must trust people and communities to make the decisions that are right for them.
To underpin this national renewal, we will invest £100 billion in additional infrastructure spending – on roads, rail
and other responsible, productive investment which will repair and refurbish the fabric of our country and generate greater growth in the long run.
For example, flood defences will receive £4 billion in new funding.
We will ensure that we are always spending what we can afford – with strict limits on borrowing and repayment costs.
We will use this historic investment to level up and connect this country, so that everyone can get a fair share of its future prosperity.
A new deal for towns
Our new Towns Fund will help communities make sure their towns are safe to walk in and a pleasure to be in.
We want there to be things to do, great places to shop and eat and transport to be easy.
Above all, we want the town’s future to be in the hands of the people who live there.
Regenerating towns.
The Towns Fund will go to an initial 100 towns to improve their local economy – and they and only they will make the choice about what improvements their local area needs.
Thriving high streets.
We will cut taxes for small retail businesses and for local music venues, pubs and cinemas.
Giving young people a future.
As well as our investment in schools and technical education, we will invest £500 million in new youth clubs and services.
Safer streets, safer towns.
A new Safer Streets Fund will invest in preventative measures like new CCTV or community wardens.
New civic infrastructure.
We have announced the largest cultural capital programme in a century, of £250 million.
This will support local libraries and regional museums.
We will work with local universities to do more for the education, health and prosperity of their local areas.
Community ownership.
We will establish a £150 million Community Ownership Fund to encourage local takeovers of civic organisations or community assets that are under threat – local football clubs, but also pubs or post offices.
We will set up a fan-led review of football governance, which will include consideration of the Owners and Directors Test,
and will work with fans and clubs towards introducing safe standing.
And we will help communities that want to create ‘pocket parks’ and regenerate derelict areas.
Community spirit.
Through the Cultural Investment Fund, outlined above, we will also support activities, traditions and events that bring communities together.
We will support local and regional newspapers, as vital pillars of communities and local democracy,
including by extending their business rates relief.
A transport revolution
A key part of our plan to level up the UK’s cities and regions is to connect them.
Leeds is the largest city in Western Europe without a light rail or metro system.
And European cities are often more productive than our own in large part because they have better infrastructure.
We will connect our cities:
We will build Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and then focus on Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle.
We will invest in the Midlands Rail Hub, strengthening rail links including those between Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Derby, Hereford and Worcester.
We will also invest in improving train lines to the South West and East Anglia.
We will extend contactless pay-as-you go ticketing to almost 200 more stations in the South East, meaning that 50 per cent of all rail journeys and almost all London commuter journeys can be completed using a contactless bank card.
We will give city regions the funding to upgrade their bus, tram and train services to make them as good as London’s,
with more frequent, better-integrated services,
more electrification,
modern buses and trains
and smart ticketing – such as the vision proposed by Andy Street for the West Midlands.
The railways need accountability, not nationalisation.
So we will end the complicated franchising model and create a simpler, more effective rail system,
including giving metro mayors control over services in their areas.
We will make a £28.8 billion investment in strategic and local roads.
We will invest £1 billion in completing a fast-charging network to ensure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehicle charging station.
We will consult on the earliest date we can phase out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars,
while minimising the impact on drivers
and businesses.
We will require that a minimum service operates during transport strikes.
Rail workers deserve a fair deal, but it is not fair to let the trade unions undermine the livelihoods of others.
HS2 is a great ambition, but will now cost at least £81 billion and will not reach Leeds or Manchester until as late as 2040.
We will consider the findings of the Oakervee review into costs and timings and work with leaders of the Midlands and the North to decide the optimal outcome.
Connectivity is not just about the UK’s great cities.
To help communities across the country, we will restore many of the Beeching lines, reconnecting smaller towns such as Fleetwood and Willenhall that have suffered permanent disadvantage since they were removed from the rail network in the 1960s.
We will invest in superbus networks
with lower fares
– flat fares in urban areas
– and increased frequency.
We will keep bus fares low,
bring back and protect rural routes,
and speed up your journeys.
We will invest in electric buses, developing the UK’s first all-electric-bus town.
We will launch the biggest ever pothole-filling programme as part of our National Infrastructure Strategy
– and our major investment in roads will ensure new potholes are much less likely to appear in the future.
We will support commuter cycling routes, so that more people can cycle safely to work
and more families can go out together.
We will create a new £350 million Cycling Infrastructure Fund with mandatory design standards for new routes.
We will extend Bikeability – cycling proficiency training – to every child.
And we will work with the NHS to promote cycling for healthier living.
Parliament has voted in principle to support a third runway at Heathrow, but it is a private sector project.
It is for Heathrow to demonstrate that it can meet its air quality and noise obligations,
that the project can be financed and built and that the business case is realistic.
The scheme will receive no new public money.
More broadly, we will use new air traffic control technology to cut the time aircraft spend waiting to land, reducing delays, noise nuisance and pollution.
We will also build on Britain’s pioneering work in electric and low-carbon flight.
Connecting the UK is not just about transport.
We are Europe’s technology capital, producing start-ups and success stories at a dazzling pace.
But not everyone can share the benefits.
We intend to bring full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business across the UK by 2025.
We know how difficult it will be, so we have announced a raft of legislative changes to accelerate progress and £5 billion of new public funding to connect premises which are not commercially viable.
Supporting local communities
Local government is the bedrock of our democracy.
We are proud that Conservative councils have led the way in helping keep council taxes low, providing value for money and supporting local communities.
We will ensure that councils continue to deliver essential local services – which is why they received a substantial funding increase in the most recent Spending Round.
Local people will continue to have the final say on council tax, being able to veto excessive rises.
This does not prevent councils raising more – but it does ensure that they will need to have solid and convincing reasons for doing so.
We remain committed to devolving power to people and places across the UK.
Our ambition is for full devolution across England, building on the successful devolution of powers to city region mayors, Police and Crime Commissioners and others, so that every part of our country has the power to shape its own destiny.
We will publish an English Devolution White Paper setting out our plans next year.
Through our City and Growth Deals we have already delivered more than £9 billion of funding across England,
and almost £3 billion to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Through bodies like the Northern Powerhouse, Western Gateway and Midlands Engine we will drive greater levels of foreign investment into the UK, promoting our towns, cities and counties around the world.
As part of our plans for full devolution we will also invite proposals from local areas for similar growth bodies across the rest of England, such as the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
This is an agenda which shows that the days of Whitehall knows best are over.
We will give towns, cities and communities of all sizes across the UK real power and real investment to drive the growth of the future and unleash their full potential.
Helping people buy and rent
The biggest problem that young people face in getting on the housing ladder is the deposit.
There are more than three million people, many of them with good jobs and secure prospects, who would have been homeowners before the economic crisis in 2008 but have been locked out of the mortgage market.
We will encourage a new market in long-term fixed rate mortgages which slash the cost of deposits, opening up a secure path to home ownership for first-time buyers in all parts of the United Kingdom.
We will offer more homes to local families, enabling councils to use developers’ contributions via the planning process to discount homes in perpetuity by a third for local people who cannot otherwise afford to buy in their area.
Councils could use this to prioritise key workers in their area, like police, nurses and teachers.
We will maintain our commitment to a Right to Buy for all council tenants.
We will also maintain the voluntary Right to Buy scheme agreed with housing associations.
Following the successful voluntary pilot scheme in the Midlands, we will evaluate new pilot areas in order to spread the dream of home ownership to even more people.
And we have extended the Help to Buy scheme from 2021 to 2023 and will review new ways to support home ownership following its completion.
We will reform shared ownership, making it fairer and more transparent.
We will simplify shared ownership products by setting a single standard for all housing associations, thereby ending the confusion and disparity between different schemes.
We will continue with our reforms to leasehold including implementing our ban on the sale of new leasehold homes,
restricting ground rents to a peppercorn,
and providing necessary mechanisms of redress for tenants.
We will bring in a Better Deal for Renters, including abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions
and only requiring one ‘lifetime’ deposit which moves with the tenant.
This will create a fairer rental market:
if you’re a tenant, you will be protected from revenge evictions and rogue landlords,
and if you’re one of the many good landlords, we will strengthen your rights of possession.
Deliver the housing people need
Home ownership is one of the most fundamental Conservative values.
People are happier, more secure and more rooted in their communities when they own their own home – and know that they can pass it on to future generations.
For the UK to unleash its potential, young people need the security of knowing that home ownership is within their reach – that they too can have a tangible stake in society,
can be rooted in their communities
and have a place to raise a family.
A majority Conservative Government will continue to increase the number of homes being built.
But we must also rebalance the housing market towards more home ownership –
while ensuring fairness for the new generation of renters.
While we want to encourage as many people as possible into home ownership,
we recognise that not everyone can afford their own home – and that those in social housing deserve the same dignity, respect and fair treatment as private renters.
As Boris Johnson has promised, we will bring forward a Social Housing White Paper which will set out further measures to empower tenants and support the continued supply of social homes.
This will include measures to provide greater redress,
better regulation
and improve the quality of social housing.
We will also commit to renewing the Affordable Homes Programme, in order to support the delivery of hundreds of thousands of affordable homes.
This is a key part of our efforts to prevent people from falling into homelessness,
along with fully enforcing the Homelessness Reduction Act.
We will also end the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament by expanding successful pilots and programmes such as the Rough Sleeping Initiative and Housing First,
and working to bring together local services to meet the health and housing needs of people sleeping on the streets.
We will help pay for this by bringing in a stamp duty surcharge on non-UK resident buyers.
Places we want to live in
Since 2010 there has been a considerable increase in homebuilding.
We have delivered a million homes in the last five years in England:
last year, we delivered the highest number of homes for almost 30 years.
But it still isn’t enough.
That is why we will continue our progress towards our target of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
This will see us build at least a million more homes, of all tenures, over the next Parliament – in the areas that really need them.
And we will make the planning system simpler for the public and small builders,
and support modern methods of construction.
Crucially, however, we need to make sure homes are built in a way that makes sense for the people already living in the area and for the families moving in:
Infrastructure first.
We will amend planning rules so that the infrastructure – roads, schools, GP surgeries – comes before people move into new homes.
And our new £10 billion Single Housing Infrastructure Fund will help deliver it faster.
Beautiful, high-quality homes.
We will ask every community to decide on its own design standards for new development, allowing residents a greater say on the style and design of development in their area,
with local councils encouraged to build more beautiful architecture.
Building safety.
Following the Grenfell tragedy there has rightly been a focus on building safety.
No report or review can truly capture the heartache, sorrow, anger and grief that many people feel.
We have already committed to implementing and legislating for all the recommendations of the Hackitt Review and the first phase of the independent inquiry.
We will continue to work with industry, housing associations and individuals to ensure every home is safe and secure.
And we will support high rise residential residents with the removal of unsafe cladding,
and continue with our rigorous process of materials testing.
Community housing and self-build.
We will support community housing by helping people who want to build their own homes find plots of land and access the Help to Buy scheme.
We will also support communities living on council estates who want to take ownership of the land and buildings they live in.
Environmentally friendly homes.
We will support the creation of new kinds of homes that have low energy bills
and which support our environmental targets
and will expect all new streets to be lined with trees.
Homes for the Future.
We will encourage innovative design and technology to make housing more affordable, accessible, and suitable for disabled people
and an ageing population.
The Green Belt.
We will protect and enhance the Green Belt.
We will improve poor quality land,
increase biodiversity
and make our beautiful countryside more accessible for local community use.
In order to safeguard our green spaces, we will continue to prioritise brownfield development, particularly for the regeneration of our cities and towns.
Make Britain the best place to start and grow a business
We want Britain to be the best country in the world to start and grow a business
– a place where entrepreneurs know they can build on their ideas and find success.
Not only because businesses are good for society – creating the jobs that put bread on the table
, and generating the tax revenue that funds our vital public services.
But because we believe that we should do everything we can to support those who want to start their own company, strike out on their own, and have an idea that grows into a world-leading business.
Our mission as Conservatives is to give everyone across the country the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
We have many strengths.
We are a highly competitive economy
with a strong education system
and well-respected regulatory framework.
We have more world-class universities than anywhere in Europe.
We are a magnet for talent, and home to more innovative and successful new companies than anywhere on the continent
– especially in the technology sector.
In areas such as tech, financial services, law and the creative industries we lead the world –
and will continue to do so after Brexit.
Of the nearly six million businesses in this country, the vast majority are small and medium sized.
Small and family businesses are the backbone of the economy and Britain is immeasurably stronger for their contribution.
Once we get Brexit done, we can use our new freedoms to ensure that Britain’s businesses can unleash their enormous potential – that they can invest, hire, export and grow,
rather than being crushed by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell’s inexorable hostility towards aspiration and entrepreneurship.
Driving down costs and supporting small businesses
We understand the challenge of increasing running costs, especially for smaller firms, and are committed to reducing them.
Our plan to upgrade infrastructure will make it easier for businesses to operate – to move goods about the country
and to connect to customers around the world via gigabit broadband.
And our new £3 billion National Skills Fund, alongside other major investment in skills and training
and our reforms to high-skilled immigration,
will ensure that businesses can find and hire the workers they need.
But we also want to tackle the other everyday obstacles that they face.
We will cut the burden of tax on business by reducing business rates.
This will be done via a fundamental review of the system.
As a first step, we will further reduce business rates for retail businesses,
as well as extending the discount to grassroots music venues,
small cinemas and pubs.
That means protecting your high street and community from excessive tax hikes
and keeping town centres vibrant.
We will increase the Employment Allowance for small businesses – a tax cut for half a million small firms.
We will support start-ups and small businesses via government procurement, and commit to paying them on time.
We will also clamp down on late payment more broadly
and strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner to support small businesses that are exploited by their larger partners.
We will expand start-up loans, which have particularly high take-up from women and BAME entrepreneurs.
The British Business Bank has supported 90,000 smaller businesses with over £7 billion in investment or loans, and will continue to grow.
We will help SMEs to become exporters, so that they can seize the opportunities that will become available once we get Brexit done.
Good regulation is essential to successful businesses:
we will strive to achieve the right regulatory balance between supporting excellent business practice
and protecting workers,
consumers
and the environment.
Through our Red Tape Challenge, we will ensure that regulation is sensible and proportionate,
and that we always consider the needs of small businesses when devising new rules,
using our new freedom after Brexit to ensure that British rules work for British companies.
As well as encouraging investment in physical building and equipment,
we will help employers invest in skills
and look at how we can improve the working of the Apprenticeship Levy.
Backing entrepreneurs and innovation
Every day, people risk their savings and their future by becoming entrepreneurs.
They invent the new goods and services that improve our lives.
From decarbonisation to expanding the frontiers of artificial intelligence, they are tackling some of the great challenges of our time.
We want to be a nation of start-ups, and of successful scale-ups.
We have more ‘unicorns’ – new billion-dollar tech companies – than any other nation in Europe.
We are proud of the work we have done to support entrepreneurship and want to see more entrepreneurs,
including women and those from BAME backgrounds.
Some of our work has been spectacularly successful – such as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Enterprise Investment Scheme, which we will continue in the next Parliament.
And by cutting corporation tax from 28 per cent to 19 per cent, we have encouraged more businesses to invest and grow in the UK.
Some measures have worked, but need to go further – as with R&D tax credits.
We will increase the tax credit rate to 13 per cent
and review the definition of R&D so that important investments in cloud computing and data, which boost productivity and innovation, are also incentivised.
We also have to recognise that some measures haven’t fully delivered on their objectives.
So we will review and reform Entrepreneur’s Relief.
Of course, supporting enterprise is not just about championing businesses – more people than ever are moving into self-employment, especially women.
We will therefore launch a review to explore how we can better support the self-employed.
That includes improving their access to finance and credit (not least mortgages),
making the tax system easier to navigate,
and examining how better broadband can boost home-working.
Building a fairer taxation system
Conservatives believe in a corporate tax system which rewards entrepreneurship
and punishes evasion.
We will always be whole-heartedly on the side of business,
while making sure everyone pays their fair share of tax.
Already, the top 1 per cent of income taxpayers pay over 29 per cent of income tax– higher than at any time under the last Labour Government.
We will continue to build on this to tackle tax evasion
and reduce opportunities for aggressive tax avoidance.
Since 2010, we have introduced more than 100 anti-avoidance measures
and secured more than £200 billion which would otherwise have gone unpaid – £24 billion in the last year alone.
We have led the international fight against aggressive tax avoidance and offshore tax havens, rewriting global rules to ensure tax is paid where profit is made.
This has included committing 100 jurisdictions to ending bank secrecy.
But we can go further still.
The gap between the amount of tax that should be paid and is actually collected stands at £35 billion – still too high.
Hard-working families and businesses who do pay their fair share should know that we will not permit evasion to go unchecked.
So we will set out a new anti-tax avoidance and evasion law.
This will: Double the maximum prison term to 14 years for individuals convicted of the most egregious examples of tax fraud.
Create a single, beefed-up Anti-Tax Evasion unit in HMRC that covers all duties and taxes, from individual errors to deliberate non-compliance – which is put on a legislative footing.
Consolidate existing anti-evasion and avoidance measures and powers.
Introduce a new package of anti-evasion measures, including measures to end tax abuse in the construction sector,
crack down on illicit tobacco packaging
and further measures to avoid profit-shifting by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes.
Major multinational companies should pay their fair share of tax.
As part of our approach, we will implement the Digital Services Tax.
While always backing entrepreneurs that choose to make the UK the place to invest and set up a business,
we will take further action to redesign the tax system so that it boosts growth,
wages and investment
and limits arbitrary tax advantages for the wealthiest in society.
We are also strengthening the UK’s corporate governance regime, and will reform insolvency rules and the audit regime so that customers and suppliers – and UK taxpayers – are better protected when firms like Thomas Cook go into administration.
We will also carefully study the results of the ongoing investigation into its collapse.
We will improve incentives to attack the problem of excessive executive pay and rewards for failure.
We will reintroduce legislation that protects pension pots from being plundered by reckless bosses,
helps savers be better informed with pension dashboards,
and creates a new style of pension scheme which is more sustainable for workers and employers.
Invest in Britain’s people
The 2020s will see a transformation in jobs.
Automation and computing will change how businesses function.
Our plan to deliver clean energy and a carbon-neutral future means new kinds of jobs in new industries.
And our departure from the European Union means we can develop forward-looking regulations to ensure we are first in line to develop and benefit from the technologies of the future.
This requires a dramatic rebooting of our training system
– to support public services,
existing businesses and the businesses of the future.
But above all, we want to ensure that Britain’s workers have the skills they need to flourish
– and that every citizen of this country has the opportunity to express their talents to the fullest.
Levelling up Britain’s skills
Since 2010, the Government has invested significantly in technical qualifications and apprenticeships, with 3.8 million more apprenticeships.
In the next Parliament, we expect to train up hundreds of thousands more highly skilled apprentices.
But we will go further and require significant numbers of new UK apprentices for all big new infrastructure projects – new hospitals, new schools, major transport projects and so on,
being built with pride by a new generation of British workers.
Whatever age you are, nothing is more Conservative than working hard to improve your lot
and nothing is more important for the Conservative Party than supporting people in those efforts.
Our reforms and investment in education and skills mean more children are leaving school better equipped for working life
and there are more high quality apprenticeships.
But there is much more to do to level up the skills of the entire nation.
Not just to improve Britain’s productivity,
but to enable people to fulfil their potential.
As the centrepiece of our plan, we will create a new National Skills Fund worth £3 billion over the next Parliament.
This fund will provide matching funding for individuals and SMEs for high-quality education and training.
A proportion will be reserved for further strategic investment in skills, and we will consult widely on the overall design.
The National Skills Fund will help to transform the lives of people who have not got onto the work ladder and lack qualifications,
as well as people who are keen to return to work from, say, raising a family, or switch from one career to another.
It will not only make this country more prosperous, but fairer.
Just as universities have been transformed by significant long-term investment over the last few decades, we need to make sure local colleges are equally excellent places for people to learn.
We are therefore investing almost £2 billion to upgrade the entire further education college estate.
And we’ll also have 20 Institutes of Technology, which connect high-quality teaching in science, technology, engineering and maths to business and industry.
Vitally, leaving the EU also means that we can take back control of the money that was being channelled via its Structural Funds.
We have already announced a UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to ensure that the people of the UK do not lose out from the withdrawal of EU funding
(which was, of course, only a small part of the billions of pounds we were contributing),
and to replace the EU programme with one that is fairer and better tailored to our economy.
And we will ensure that £500 million of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is used to give disadvantaged people the skills they need to make a success of life.
Taken together, this package of measures represents a profound commitment to Britain’s future –
to helping people of whatever age and background navigate the new world of work,
equip themselves with the skills they need,
increase their earnings
and Britain more productive.
World-leading universities
The UK is home to leading universities, which attract students from all over the world, conduct vital research, and generate enormous benefits for our economy and our society.
They also do an excellent job of generating many of the skills that our economy needs, producing globally renowned scientists, entrepreneurs and creators, and enabling millions of people to fulfil their potential.
In the next Parliament we will work to maintain and strengthen our global position in higher education.
The Augar Review made thoughtful recommendations on tuition fee levels, the balance of funding between universities, further education and apprenticeships and adult learning, and we will consider them carefully.
We will look at the interest rates on loan repayments with a view to reducing the burden of debt on students.
We also will continue to explore ways to tackle the problem of grade inflation and low quality courses,
and improve the application and offer system for undergraduate students.
Our approach will be underpinned by a commitment to fairness, quality of learning and teaching, and access.
We will also strengthen academic freedom and free speech in universities
and continue to focus on raising standards.
We will strengthen universities and colleges’ civic role.
We will invest in local adult education and require the Office for Students to look at universities’ success in increasing access across all ages, not just young people entering full-time undergraduate degrees.
Fairness in the workplace
As well as making Britain the best place to start a business,
and the best place to learn and develop your skills,
we want to make the UK the best place in the world to work.
The increase in employment that the Conservative Government has overseen since 2010 is proof that there is no contradiction between high employment and high standards
– between dynamic growth and protecting employees from unfair policies and discriminatory treatment.
Over the last year, for example, unemployment has continued to fall,
even as average real wages have increased.
We have raised the personal income tax allowance,
increased the minimum wage
and introduced and consistently raised the National Living Wage to ensure that people get to keep more of what they earn
and that work always pays.
And we have aimed to strike the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that employees deserve,
introducing new protections for workers
while preserving the dynamism and job creation that drive our shared prosperity.
Once we have got Brexit done, we will go further.
Because people cannot fulfil their potential if they do not have jobs that treat them with dignity and respect,
and if they are not in control of their lives and their futures.
As Conservatives we will always prioritise the principle of fairness in the workplace, whether it is in the job application process,
ensuring equal pay for equal work,
or people’s working conditions.
We scrapped exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts to give workers more flexibility.
We have already taken forward a number of recommendations from the Taylor Review and will build on existing employment law with measures that protect those in low-paid work and the gig economy.
For example: We will create a single enforcement body and crack down on any employer abusing employment law, whether by taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay.
We will ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections.
We also want to look at more radical ways to support working families in the UK.
Our lifestyles have been transformed over the last four decades – many families today have two working parents who are juggling work and other responsibilities.
They have to stretch themselves daily to care for children, elderly relatives and those with disabilities.
For women, who still tend to be the main carers in households, this can have a big impact on their careers and limit their participation in the workplace.
But while the modern workplace is adapting as a result, we can do more as a Government to make things easier, learning from sensible approaches adopted in other countries.
We will therefore introduce a raft of measures that balance the needs of employees and employers:
We will encourage flexible working and consult on making it the default unless employers have good reasons not to.
We have reformed redundancy law so companies cannot discriminate against women immediately after returning from maternity leave.
We will legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal care, to support those new mothers and fathers who need it during the most vulnerable and stressful days of their lives.
And we will look at ways to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave.
We will extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, to a week.
Over the last nine years, we have extended the offer of free childcare hours to more working parents.
We know that people value this support, but wish it could be more flexible.
As outlined above, we will fund more high-quality childcare before and after school and during the holidays
so that working parents do not have to choose between their careers and their children.
Our vision for the labour market, in other words, is not one where the state does everything for you.
It is one where the state does everything it can to help you help yourself – by upgrading your skills,
or by being able to balance work and family life.
It is one in which a deep commitment to entrepreneurship and business is matched
by a desire to ensure that the jobs that are created are highly skilled, well-paid and fulfilling.
Unleash innovation
The UK has a proud record of innovation and discovery.
We are the country that gave the world penicillin, the World Wide Web, the theories of gravity and evolution, that unravelled the structure of DNA.
The University of Cambridge alone has played host to more Nobel laureates than have been produced by any country in the world bar the United States.
More, indeed, than France, Japanand China – combined.
That spirit of discovery is still alive in this country today.
But we have not always turned our genius for innovation into jobs and companies here in Britain.
EU regulations have been another barrier to innovation.
We need to use science and research to unite and level up our country, giving people opportunity and hope.
Once we have got Brexit done, we will turn our attention to the great challenges of the future such as clean energy and advanced energy storage;
a cure for dementia;
and solving antibiotic resistance.
To do this we will make an unprecedented investment in science so we can strengthen research and build the foundations for the new industries of tomorrow.
We are committing to the fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending, including in basic science research to meet our target of 2.4 per cent of GDP being spent on R&D across the economy.
Some of this new spending will go to a new agency for high-risk, high-payoff research, at arm’s length from government.
We will continue to support our outstanding science sector as we leave the EU.
Unlike Corbyn’s Labour, we will not spend blindly and wastefully.
We will focus our efforts on areas where the UK can generate a commanding lead in the industries of the future – life sciences, clean energy, space, design, computing, robotics and artificial intelligence.
In particular, we will make the UK the leading global hub for life sciences after Brexit.
We will use our £1 billion Ayrton Fund to develop affordable and accessible clean energy that will improve lives
and help us to lead the world in tackling climate change.
We will use our increased R&D funding from Government to attract and kickstart private investment.
We will support international collaboration and exchange and ensure UK teams can recruit the skills and talent they need from abroad.
We will reform the science funding system to cut the time wasted by scientists filling in forms.
We will unlock long-term capital in pension funds to invest in and commercialise our scientific discoveries,
creating a vibrant science-based economy post-Brexit.
We will continue to collaborate internationally and with the EU on scientific research, including Horizon.
These unprecedented increases to the science budget will be used to drive forward the development of technologies of critical importance to the UK,
by investing in clusters around world-leading universities and spreading knowledge.
But it isn’t just about laboratory work.
The UK is at its best when it allies its extraordinary design and artistic abilities with science and technology.
The Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2022 – a national celebration which coincides with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games – will encourage our leading arts and cultural organisations, universities, research institutes and businesses to come together to inspire the next generation in British innovation and creativity.
We will invest in world-class computing and health data systems that can aid research, such as the ground-breaking genetic sequencing carried out at the UK Biobank, Genomics England and the new Accelerating the Detection of Disease project, which has the potential to transform diagnosis and treatment.
We will use government procurement to support new ideas and new companies.
We will continue to support charities which have helped to transform our public services.
Alongside investing in science, we will maintain our support for the arts and culture, taking pride in the world-beating strengths of the UK’s creative industries and its unparalleled cultural heritage.
In addition to our new support for arts in schools,
business rates relief for music venues and cinemas,
and the largest cultural capital programme in a century – £250 million to support local libraries and museums
– we will maintain support for creative sector tax reliefs
and free entry to the UK’s national museums.
A post-Brexit deal for farming
Once we have got Brexit done, we will free our farmers from the bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy and move to a system based on ‘public money for public goods’.
To support this transition, we will guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of the next Parliament.
In return for funding, they must farm in a way that protects and enhances our natural environment,
as well as safeguarding high standards of animal welfare.
When we leave the EU, we will be able to encourage the public sector to ‘Buy British’ to support our farmers by investing in clusters around world-leading universities and spreading knowledge.
and reduce environmental costs.
We will increase the annual quota for the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme we are piloting from 2,500 to 10,000.
A post-Brexit deal for fisheries
Upon leaving the EU, we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy, becoming an independent coastal state and taking back control of our waters.
We will maintain funding for fisheries across the UK’s nations throughout the Parliament
and support the regeneration of our coastal communities.
There will be a legal commitment to fish sustainably
and a legal requirement for a plan to achieve maximum sustainable yield for each stock.
Support rural life and coastal communities
Even as the UK forges ahead in the future, we must not forget those communities that have not shared fully in the growth generated by our economy.
This Government is committed to levelling up all parts of the United Kingdom
– and getting Brexit done will enable us to give new support to people in rural and coastal communities,
and for our farming and fishing industries.
We intend to make their lives much easier.
We want to roll out gigabit broadband across the country by 2025, with £5 billion in funding already promised,
and provide greater mobile coverage across the country.
We will use our additional police resources to tackle rural crime.
For areas – such as some coastal towns – which have historically been poorly served in terms of education and public services (among much else), we will cement our Opportunity Areas programme to raise standards and support regeneration.
We will also invest in the bus network to improve infrequent or non-existent services in the countryside, including more on-demand services
Just as in the wider economy we can combine strong employment growth with high employment standards,
so we believe that British farmers and fishermen should be able to profit by producing food and fish that are the envy of the world – both for their quality and the high standards to which they were produced.
We want people, both at home and abroad, to be lining up to buy British.
And one of the great opportunities of Brexit is the chance to lead the world in the quality of our food, agriculture and land management – driven by science-led, evidence-based policy.
And we want those same farmers and fishermen to act as the stewards of the natural world, preserving the UK’s countryside and oceans as they have for generations.
Stewards of our environment
Our Environment Bill will guarantee that we will protect and restore our natural environment after leaving the EU.
Because conservation has always been at the very heart of Conservatism.
We will set up a new independent Office For Environmental Protection
and introduce our own legal targets, including for air quality.
We will invest in nature, helping us to reach our Net Zero target with a £640 million new Nature for Climate fund.
Building on our support for creating a Great Northumberland Forest, we will reach an additional 75,000 acres of trees a year by the end of the next Parliament,
as well as restoring our peatland.
We welcome the Glover Review and will create new National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
as well as making our most loved landscapes greener, happier, healthier and open to all.
We will make the coast to coast path across the most beautiful areas of the North a National Trail.
We will continue to lead the world in tackling plastics pollution, both in the UK and internationally,
and will introduce a new levy to increase the proportion of recyclable plastics in packaging.
We will introduce extended producer responsibility, so that producers pay the full costs of dealing with the waste they produce,
and boost domestic recycling.
We will ban the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries, consulting with industry, NGOs and local councils on the date by which this should be achieved.
We will crack down on the waste and carelessness that destroys our natural environment and kills marine life.
We will increase penalties for fly-tipping,
make those on community sentences clean up their parks and streets,
and introduce a deposit return scheme to incentivise people to recycle plastic and glass.
We will make no changes to the Hunting Act.
Strengthen our Union
The United Kingdom is the most successful political and economic union in history.
Together, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are safer, stronger and more prosperous.
For more than 300 years, our people have built this great country together.
And we believe our best days lie ahead.
By getting Brexit done, we will deliver certainty so that all four nations of the UK can move on together.
This will allow us to strengthen the Union, by making it our mission as a Government to work for the whole of the United Kingdom, delivering for all of its people wherever they live.
Investing across the Union
UK Shared Prosperity Fund: The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be used to bind together the whole of the United Kingdom, tackling inequality and deprivation in each of our four nations.
It will replace the overly bureaucratic EU Structural Funds
– and not only be better targeted at the UK’s specific needs, but at a minimum match the size of those funds in each nation.
Strengthening the Union: Conservatives have a proud history of upholding and strengthening the devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We also want to ensure that the UK Government and its institutions are working effectively to realise the benefits of four nations working together as one United Kingdom.
We will carefully consider the recommendations of Lord Dunlop’s Independent Review into UK Government Union capability when it is published as we work to strengthen our Union going forward.
Freeports: We will aim to ensure that our new freeports benefit the people in each of the four nations.
We believe that there are many places across the United Kingdom that have the opportunity to be successful innovative hubs for global trade.
Standing up for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland enjoys huge benefits from membership of the United Kingdom and our country is stronger and richer for Northern Ireland being part of it.
That is why we will never be neutral on the Union and why we stand for a proud, confident, inclusive and modern unionism that affords equal respect to all traditions and parts of the community.
Our commitment to the 1998 Belfast Agreement and its successor agreements is unshakeable and we will not deviate from the principle of consent or the three-stranded approach.
We will continue to work with all sides to re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly so that the people of Northern Ireland can enjoy the full advantages of devolved government for the benefit of the whole community.
Guaranteeing the full economic benefits of Brexit: Northern Ireland will enjoy the full economic benefits of Brexit including new free trade agreements with the rest of the world.
We will ensure that Northern Ireland’s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the UK
and that in the implementation of our Brexit deal, we maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal market.
Turbocharging the Northern Ireland economy: After Brexit, we will support the Northern Ireland Executive to improve infrastructure,
enterprise and tourism,
reduce public sector dependence
and make the most of our new City Deals.
We intend to devolve responsibility for corporation tax
and will consider the same for short-haul Air Passenger Duty to serve our goal of making our Union more prosperous and connected than ever before.
Security and legacy issues: Keeping people safe and secure will always be our priority.
That means taking action to tackle the threat from terrorism and the scourge of paramilitarism.
We will also never forget the immense contribution of the police and Armed Forces in standing firm against terrorists in the past
and the debt we owe them for peace today.
We will continue to seek better ways of dealing with legacy issues that provide better outcomes for victims and survivors
and do more to give veterans the protections they deserve.
Delivering for Scotland
Twelve years of SNP government have led to an obsessive focus on independence – all while Scotland’s public services and its economy have been neglected.
So long as the SNP are in power, Scottish schools and hospitals will always take second place to the pursuit of another independence referendum.
We are opposed to a second independence referendum and stand with the majority of people in Scotland, who do not want to return to division and uncertainty.
Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP promised that the 2014 referendum would be a ‘once in a generation’ vote and the result was decisive.
We believe that outcome should be respected.
Only the Scottish Conservatives can block a Sturgeon/Corbyn alliance and stop a second independence referendum,
so that we can get Brexit sorted
and Scotland can move on from uncertainty and division.
A post-Brexit deal for Scottish fishing: As outlined above, we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy,
an independent coastal state,
and take back control of our waters in December 2020.
Alcohol Duty Review: Scotch whisky is a national export that supports 42,000 jobs across the UK.
Yet the tax on each bottle of Scotch sold in this country represents almost three quarters of its price.
That is why over the past two years we have frozen the duty on spirits, cutting the price of a bottle of Scotch by 30p.
Now, we want to do more, which is why we will review alcohol duty to ensure that our tax system is supporting British drink producers.
Oil and gas sector deal: The oil and gas industry employs almost 300,000 people, of whom four in 10 work in Scotland.
We believe that the North Sea oil and gas industry has a long future ahead and know the sector has a key role to play as we move to a Net Zero economy.
We will support this transition in the next Parliament with a transformational sector deal.
Investing in Wales
In the 2016 referendum, Wales voted to Leave – yet the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru are intent on overturning that decision by holding another referendum on our membership of the EU.
Only the Welsh Conservatives can end the current uncertainty by delivering on the democratic decision of the Welsh people to Leave
– getting Brexit done
so we can unleash Wales’s potential as part of the United Kingdom.
We are ambitious for the Welsh economy and for our Union.
We will ensure that Wales gets a fair deal, with major investments in infrastructure and industry to deliver real opportunity across the nation.
After Brexit, we will continue to be a champion for Welsh exports and Wales’s presence on the global stage as part of a strong United Kingdom.
Marches Growth Deal: Too often infrastructure is focused on national connectivity within England and within Wales, rather than across the communities which live and work near the border.
We will work with the WelshGovernment and councils on both sides of the border to negotiate a transformative Marches Growth Deal,
focusing on cross-border infrastructure which supports the local and cross-border economy.
This will be modelled on the successful collaboration between governments and councils through the Borderlands Growth Deal in Northern England and the South of Scotland – building on the work of the Western Gateway partnership we have already announced.
Transport: To support our Union, we will upgrade the A55 as the main road transport artery for North Wales
– improving its capacity and resilience to build connections between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.
A Welsh Conservative Government would deliver the M4 relief road which has been mothballed by the Labour administration.
We gave financial support to the Welsh Government to build the relief road, yet the Labour administration decided to abandon those plans out of timidity.
This road is a vital economic lifeline and its cancellation shows that Wales is continually being held back by the Labour Welsh Government.
We will also deliver on our commitment to fund the building of the West Wales Parkway Station outside of Swansea.
Automotive industry: The automotive industry in Wales sustains tens of thousands of jobs and we believe that it has a bright future ahead.
In September, we worked to bring INEOS Automotive to Bridgend, which will create 500 new jobs.
We will continue to back Welsh car manufacturing,
as the industry transitions to building electric vehicles in the coming decades.
Welsh language: Conservatives are proud of Welsh language and culture.
We will support Welsh institutions such as S4C, the National Library and Museum, the Urdd and the National Eisteddfod.
We will support the ambition for one million people in Wales to be able to speak Welsh by 2050.
Protect our democracy
As Conservatives, we stand for democracy and the rule of law.
Our independent courts and legal system are respected throughout the world.
One of the strengths of the UK’s constitution is its ability to evolve – as times have changed, so have Parliament, government and the judiciary.
Today, that need is greater than ever.
The failure of Parliament to deliver Brexit
– the way so many MPs have devoted themselves to thwarting the democratic decision of the British people in the2016 referendum
– has opened up a destabilising and potentially extremely damaging rift between politicians and people.
If the Brexit chaos continues, with a second referendum and a second Scottish referendum too, they will lose faith even further.
It is only by getting Brexit done that we can start the necessary task of restoring public trust in government and politics:
We will get rid of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act – it has led to paralysis at a time the country needed decisive action.
We will ensure we have updated and equal Parliamentary boundaries, making sure that every vote counts the same – a cornerstone of democracy.
We will continue to support the First Past the Post system of voting, as it allows voters to kick out politicians who don’t deliver, both locally and nationally.
We will protect the integrity of our democracy, by introducing identification to vote at polling stations,
stopping postal vote harvesting
and measures to prevent any foreign interference in elections.
We will make it easier for British expats to vote in Parliamentary elections, and get rid of the arbitrary 15-year limit on their voting rights.
We will maintain the voting age at 18 – the age at which one gains full citizenship rights.
We will ensure that no one is put off from engaging in politics or standing in an election by threats, harassment or abuse, whether in person or online.
We will champion freedom of expression and tolerance, both in the UK and overseas.
To support free speech, we will repeal section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2014, which seeks to coerce the press.
We will not proceed with the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry.
We will ensure redundancy payments can be clawed back when high-paid public servants move between jobs.
We will improve the use of data, data science and evidence in the process of government.
Once we get Brexit done, Britain will take back control of its laws.
As we end the supremacy of European law, we will be free to craft legislation and regulations that maintain high standards but which work best for the UK.
We want a balance of rights, rules and entitlements that benefits all the people and all the parts of our United Kingdom.
After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts;
the functioning of the Royal Prerogative;
the role of the House of Lords;
and access to justice for ordinary people.
The ability of our security services to defend us against terrorism and organised crime is critical.
We will update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government.
We will ensure that judicial review is available to protect the rights of the individuals against an overbearing state,
while ensuring that it is not abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays.
In our first year we will set up a Constitution, Democracy & Rights Commission that will examine these issues in depth,
and come up with proposals to restore trust in our institutions and in how our democracy operates.
We Will Strengthen Britain In The World
As Conservatives, we are immensely proud of the UK’s history and its standing in the world.
Unlike those currently leading the Labour Party, we view our country as a force for good.
The strength of the Armed Forces, our alliances with like-minded democracies and our willingness to act are all reasons for the UK to hold its head high.
So too is our work in promoting international development
and fighting climate change
– both issues on which the Conservative Party and Conservative Governments have driven the agenda forward.
And in an uncertain world, in which the threat of terrorism, rogue states and malign non-state actors is ever-present, it is vital that Britain stands up and is counted.
Getting Brexit done will allow us to do more on the international stage.
We will continue to be an outward-looking country that is a champion of collective security,
the rule of law,
human rights,
free trade,
anti-corruption efforts
and a rules-based international system.
After Brexit, we will bolster the alliances and institutions that help project our influence and keep us safe: the UN and the UN Security Council; NATO; the Commonwealth; Five Eyes; the G20; the G7; and the World Trade Organisation.
We will open new markets and support free trade and global growth.
We will build on our fantastic track record of delivering major international sporting events – including supporting the upcoming Commonwealth Games,
UEFA European Women’s Championships
and Rugby League World Cup
– and we would back a potential UK and Ireland bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup
As we extend our diplomatic network, we will reinvigorate relationships with Europe and seek to strengthen old and new partnerships across the world.
We will work with our cultural institutions like the BBC and British Council to expand our influence and project our values.
And unlike Jeremy Corbyn, we will stand up to foreign countries that threaten the stability of Europe,
or commit state-sanctioned murder on British soil.
Supporting our veterans and investing in the men and women of today’s Armed Forces
A Conservative Government understands the sacrifices made by Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families.
That is why we will introduce new legislation to tackle the vexatious legal claims that undermine our Armed Forces and further incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law.
We will continue to acknowledge and commemorate the invaluable contribution of diaspora communities in previous armed conflicts.
We also recognise the contribution in the present day of so many from beyond these shores, such as the Gurkhas.
In addition, we will bring in a range of measures to support former and current Service personnel.
We will reduce National Insurance contributions for employers if they employ ex-Service personnel.
We will offer wraparound childcare for Forces families.
We have established a new Office for Veterans’ Affairs and we will introduce a Veterans’ Railcard.
We will offer a guaranteed job interview for veterans for any public sector role they apply for.
Put our national security first
The security of our nation comes first.
We will protect the British people at home and abroad,
and also ensure that the democratic rights of people in Gibraltar, the Falklands and all our overseas territories are protected.
We will continue to exceed the NATO target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence
and increase the budget by at least 0.5 per cent above inflation every year of the new Parliament.
We will modernise the equipment and improve the capability of our world-class Armed Forces and intelligence agencies.
We will invest in training and equipping our Armed Forces, and constantly champion their exemplary contribution to our security and our country.
We will maintain our Trident nuclear deterrent, which guarantees our security.
We will adapt to new threats, investing more in cybersecurity
and setting up the UK’s first Space Command.
We will stand against terrorism and extremism around the world.
We will support the UK’s world-class defence industry by investing in ambitious global programmes, including building the new Type 31 frigates in British shipyards such as Rosyth
and a new generation of armoured vehicles, made in Britain.
Promote our values
From helping to end the slave trade to tackling modern slavery, the UK has long been a beacon of freedom and human rights – and will continue to be so.
We are proud of our peace-building and humanitarian efforts around the world, particularly in war-torn or divided societies,
and of our record in helping to reduce global poverty.
We will continue to support international initiatives to achieve reconciliation, stability and justice across the world,
and in current or former conflict zones such as Cyprus, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, where we maintain our support for a two-state solution.
Once we leave the EU, we will champion these values even more strongly.
We will further develop an independent Magnitsky-style sanctions regime to tackle human rights abusers head on.
We will stand up for the right of every girl in the world to have 12 years of quality education.
We will continue our campaigns to promote international media freedom
and to eradicate human trafficking and the scourge of modern slavery.
We will support marginalised communities in the developing world, hosting the UK government’s first ever international LGBT conference.
We will seek to protect those persecuted for their faith and implement the Truro Review recommendations.
We will proudly maintain our commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on development,
and do more to help countries receiving aid become self-sufficient.
Building on this Government’s existing efforts, we will end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030,
and lead the way in eradicating Ebola and malaria.
We will support the construction of the planned UK Holocaust Memorial.
Animal Welfare
High standards of animal welfare are one of the hallmarks of a civilised society.
We have a long tradition of protecting animals in this country, often many years before others follow.
Under a Conservative Government, that will continue
– and we will continue to support such efforts overseas.
We will introduce tougher sentences for animal cruelty.
We will crack down on the illegal smuggling of dogs and puppies.
We will bring in new laws on animal sentience.
We will end excessively long journeys for slaughter and fattening
– one of the many benefits of leaving the European Union.
We will bring the ivory ban into force and extend it to cover other ivory-bearing species,
and ban imports from trophy hunting of endangered animals.
We will ban keeping primates as pets.
We will bring forward cat microchipping, giving cat owners peace of mind and increasing the measures we have available to tackle cat theft.
Fight climate change and protect the environment
Conservation is, and always has been, at the heart of Conservatism.
Our Government’s stewardship of the natural environment,
its focus on protecting the countryside
and reducing plastic waste, is a source of immense pride.
But today, the climate emergency means that the challenges we face stretch far beyond our borders.
Thanks to the efforts of successive Governments, the UK has cut carbon emissions by more than any similar developed country.
We are now the world’s leader in offshore wind – a fantastic success story of Government and the private sector working hand in hand to cut costs and deliver ever more electricity at plummeting costs.
Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, we believe that free markets, innovation and prosperity can protect the planet.
Yet we recognise that there is far more that needs to be done.
We will lead the global fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as advised by the independent Committee on Climate Change.
We have doubled International Climate Finance.
And we will use our position hosting the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow in 2020 to ask our global partners to match our ambition.
We will set up new international partnerships to tackle deforestation
and protect vital landscapes and wildlife corridors.
We will establish a new £500 million Blue Planet Fund to help protect our oceans from plastic pollution,
warming sea temperatures
and overfishing,
and extend the Blue Belt programme to preserve the maritime environment.
We will continue to lead diplomatic efforts to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030.
Our first Budget will prioritise the environment:
investing in R&D;
decarbonisation schemes;
new flood defences, which will receive £4 billion in new funding over the coming years;
electric vehicle infrastructure including a national plug-in network and gigafactory;
and clean energy.
In the next decade, we will work with the market to deliver two million new high quality jobs in clean growth.
We have ambitious targets: Our world-leading offshore wind industry will reach 40GW by 2030,
and we will enable new floating wind farms.
We will invest £800 million to build the first fully deployed carbon capture storage cluster by the mid-2020s.
We will invest £500 million to help energy-intensive industries move to low-carbon techniques.
We will support gas for hydrogen production and nuclear energy, including fusion, as important parts of the energy system,
alongside increasing our commitment to renewables.
We placed a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect.
Having listened to local communities, we have ruled out changes to the planning system.
We will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely.
We will help lower energy bills by investing £9.2 billion in the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals.
We will support clean transport to ensure clean air,
as well as setting strict new laws on air quality.
We will consult on the earliest date by which we can phase out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars.
Increase trade and prosperity
For the first time in nearly half a century, the UK will have its own independent trade policy once we leave the EU.
Free trade has been proven time and again to be the best way to increase exports, cut prices for consumers, increase investment and create jobs right here in the UK.
We believe we can use this historic opportunity to connect the UK to the world’s fastest-growing nations, create new export opportunities and enrich ourselves and our trading partners.
As part of the EU, we were forced into accepting trade deals that put their priorities first.
Now, we will be able to tailor our trade deals to the needs of British firms and the British economy
Our trade deals will not only be free but fair – in particular towards the developing nations whose economies could be transformed by access to the UK’s markets and expertise.
We can, for example, include provisions in our new free trade agreements that promote the fair treatment of workers
and advance women’s empowerment.
Our goals for British trade are accordingly ambitious.
We aim to have 80 per cent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
These will be negotiated in parallel with our EU deal.
We will also forge stronger links with the Commonwealth, which boasts some of the world’s most dynamic economies such as India, with which we already share deep historical and cultural connections.
We will use export finance to increase our businesses’ access to emerging markets
and engage diaspora communities in the UK with this agenda.
The UK is a world leader in many areas such as architecture, engineering, accountancy, information technology, digital services, law and the creative arts.
Just as we led the way in opening up trade in manufactured goods in the last two centuries, we should open up trade in services, in which the majority of us work
and where most new jobs will be created.
As part of our commitment to making the most of the opportunities of Brexit,
and levelling up the nation,
we will create up to ten freeports around the UK,
benefiting some of our most deprived communities.
We will also redouble our efforts to promote British business and UK exports
and dismantle barriers to trade
and retake our seat at the World Trade Organisation.
In our trade talks, we will follow the following principles: We will seek to provide security to the British people in a world of heightened trade tensions and tariffs.
We will seek to gain market access for British businesses and lower the cost of trade for them.
We will drive a hard bargain with all of our trading partners – and, as with all negotiations, we will be prepared to walk away if that is in the national interest.
We will defend British industries from dumping and other anti-competitive practices from overseas.
In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection,
animal welfare
and food standards.
The NHS is not on the table.
The price the NHS pays for drugs is not on the table.
The services the NHS provides are not on the table.
We Will Put You First
Getting Brexit done.
Investing in our public services
and infrastructure.
Supporting workers and families.
Strengthening the Union.
Unleashing Britain’s potential.
The future is there for us to grasp.
Not a future in which we endlessly refight the battles of Brexit
and the Scottish independence referendum,
or in which Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell – propped up by Nicola Sturgeon – lead a Government which rejects everything that has made the UK great.
The Conservatives offer a future in which we get Brexit done,
and then move on to focus on our priorities – which are also your priorities.
Because more important than any one commitment in this manifesto is the spirit in which we make them.
Our job is to serve you, the people.
To deliver on the instruction you gave us in 2016 – to get Brexit done.
But then to move on to making the UK an even better country
– to investing in the NHS,
our schools,
our people and our towns.
We will build a Britain in which everyone has the opportunity to make the most of their talents.
We will ensure that work will always pay.
We will create a fair society, in which everyone always contributes their fair share.
Given the Parliamentary arithmetic, a vote for any other party or candidate is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn
– and a vote for chaos and delay.
We need to end the paralysis so we can do our job in the way you deserve.
That is why we ask you to vote for a Conservative majority Government on December 12th.
So that together, led by Boris Johnson,
we can get Brexit done,
and move on to unleash the full potential of this great country.
The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019
Promoted by Alan Mabbutt on behalf of the Conservative and Unionist Party, both at 4 Matthew Parker Street, London, SW1H 9HQ.
Printed by Paragon CC, Park House, Lower Ground Floor, 16-18 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7EB.
Wales, it’s us.
General Election Manifesto 2019
Plaid Cymru Party of Wales
Wales, it’s us.
A vote for Plaid Cymru in the General Election on 12 December will be a vote for Wales to stay inside the European Union and build a prosperous future.
A vote for Plaid Cymru in the General Election on 12 December will be a vote for Wales to stay inside the European Union and build a prosperous future.
Westminster does not work for Wales.
As Wales’ leading party of Remain, Plaid Cymru is united in its aim of ensuring Wales remains a member of the European Union.
We are campaigning to give the decision back to the people in a referendum.
No form of Brexit would be good for Wales.
It would devastate the livelihoods of thousands of our people.
The Tories’ plan to take Wales out of the Single Market and the Customs Union will hit the Welsh economy hard.
The Government’s own forecasts suggest it will result in a slow-down in growth of at least -5.5% by 2030.
In this election Plaid Cymru is campaigning for policies that will directly improve the lives of Welsh families,
tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis,
boost our economy,
schools
and health service,
provide free personal care for older people,
and lift 50,000 Welsh children out of poverty.
All these plans will be much more difficult to put into action if Wales is dragged out of the EU by a hard-right wing Westminster government.
While Westminster politicians are deadlocked over Brexit, Wales is being left behind.
It’s time for change in Wales.
It’s time to vote Plaid Cymru.
The future, it’s us.
Our Five Key Priorities For Wales: Welsh Green Jobs Revolution
Create tens of thousands of new jobs throughout Wales
by kick-starting a multi-billion investment programme in renewable energy,
transport infrastructure and digital technology,
with the goal of making Wales a carbon and single-use plastic free nation by 2030.
Caring for Everyone
Free social care for the elderly and other vulnerable citizens through a new National Health and Social Care Service,
with an additional 1,000 new doctors
, 5,000 new nurses
, and 100 new NHS dentists
offering seamless access to health and care for everyone throughout Wales.
A Fair Deal for Families
Universal free childcare for 40 hours a week,
and a new £35 a week payment for every child in low income families, lifting 50,000 children in Wales out of poverty.
Plus £300m extra for schools and colleges to give our children the best start in life
Action on Housing
Major investment in environmentally sustainable affordable homes
and rent relief for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent.
Combating Crime
Create a Welsh justice system, devolve policing
and create a new crime prevention fund to recruit 1,600 extra police officers, at least two for every community in Wales, to keep us safe.
A Final Say Referendum
Plaid Cymru has long campaigned for a People’s Vote to end the Brexit crisis, to safeguard Wales’s place in Europe
and the thousands of jobs that depend upon our EU membership.
The Tories have wasted three years on their failed Brexit project
and have consistently refused to give people a final say.
The Tory Deal
Plaid Cymru strongly opposes Boris Johnson’s catastrophic Brexit deal.
It takes us on a trajectory out of the Single Market and Customs Union.
The Government’s own forecasts, made in January 2018, suggest it would lead to a slowdown in growth for the UK of -5.5% after 15 years outside the European Union.
For Wales this would likely be worse since our economy has a higher reliance on exports to the EU.
It is a blind Brexit, giving no certainty about what will happen after the transition period, which will be negotiated from a position of extreme weakness.
It fails to guarantee workers’ rights
and environmental standards
– with assurances placed in the non-binding Political Declaration rather than the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement.
We cannot trust Boris Johnson with our rights.
It puts a hard border in the Irish Sea, creating chaos in Holyhead and Fishguard.
Our western ports are of primary strategic importance for our nation – Plaid Cymru will do everything in our power to protect them.
It denies a say for our Senedd.
Despite having consistently voted in favour of remaining in the Single Market and Customs Union, and supporting a People’s Vote, our parliament has been ignored throughout.
Prolonging Brexit Chaos
The Tory deal is, in effect, no-deal by another route.
It means that we will be stuck debating Brexit for the next twelve months.
We will then face another no-deal Brexit cliff-edge in December 2020 if no free trade agreement is agreed,
with all the economic harm we know that will cause to Wales.
Leaving without a deal, with tariffs imposed on our lamb exports, would seriously impact on Welsh agriculture.
It would also put at risk vital supplies of medicines and fresh food.
The catastrophe of a crash out Brexit is still in play and safeguarding the welfare of the people of Wales is Plaid Cymru’s number one priority.
Brexit would lead to a severe reduction in the growth of the Welsh economy.
Remaining in the EU will give the economy certainty it has lacked for three years.
Brexit would lead to huge import tariffs – as high as 84% on cattle carcasses,
and 48% on lamb
. Remaining in the EU would allow farmers to maintain their current markets without disruption.
Brexit will lead to huge uncertainty for the thousands of EU citizens in our communities in Wales,
and to those from Wales living in the rest of Europe.
Remaining in the EU means equality – welcoming EU citizens to Wales
and giving our young people the chance to live, work and study across the EU.
The Tories have wasted three years pursuing damaging deals which show their complete disregard for Wales.
It is now time to draw a line under their mess – by stopping Brexit.
Plaid Cymru’s Record
In the wake of the 2016 referendum, Plaid Cymru worked hard to understand the potential impacts of Brexit and took the initiative to work with the Welsh Government to produce a common policy aimed at mitigating the worst effects of leaving the EU.
Our work recognised: Two thirds of Welsh exports go to EU countries.
Our success in attracting foreign investment is largely based on access to the EU single market of more than 500 million customers.
200,000 Welsh jobs rely on our trade with Europe being frictionless.
Consequently, Plaid Cymru called for: Full membership of the EU Single Market for goods, services and capital – including our key agricultural and food products.
Wales to remain in the Customs Union to allow goods to be traded freely with more than 80 countries around the world.
As Plaid Cymru’s representative on the House of Commons Brexit Select Committee, Arfon’s Hywel Williams worked tirelessly to scrutinise the British Government’s shambolic handling of the negotiating process.
He has ensured that Welsh interests have been at the forefront of Committee members’ minds, especially concerns over Welsh industry
and agriculture,
as well as the impact on Welsh ports of leaving the Customs Union and Single Market.
The EU Single Market and Customs Union are both essential for our home-grown employers and for attracting inward investment and job creation and this would be the minimum we need to protect Wales’ economic interests.
That is why we voted for them when the opportunity arose in Westminster.
At the same time, we in Plaid Cymru stated that this would still be worse than staying inside the EU.
Even though we might be able to negotiate a position where Wales could remain in the Single Market and Customs Union, being outside the EU would mean we would have no say over the future decisions about the way they develop.
Indeed, since the referendum, industries and jobs have suffered as a consequence of Brexit and the current climate of uncertainty.
Remaining in the EU will enable us to safeguard jobs
.  and having easy access to Europe will encourage important foreign companies to invest in Wales
Trade Deals
The idea that forging new trade deals once out of the EU would be easy was another of the unrealistic promises made during the referendum.
Plaid Cymru warned from the very beginning that the British Government would find it impossible to roll over the 40 trade agreements from which it currently benefits through its membership of the EU.
So far, the UK has only been able to reach 18 deals that represent a small proportion of total UK trade.
As a state with a population of 67 million, Britain will not be in a position to call the shots in negotiations with the US, with its population of 328 million.
A trade deal with the US, if prioritised over the EU, will inevitably involve the UK following some US regulations.
Plaid Cymru will work hard to ensure that any future trade policy will uphold social, health and environmental protections.
We will never support deals that weaken the standards and rules on food safety and medicines.
While Plaid’s Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards brought attention to the important issue of agricultural tariffs in the event of no-deal, the British Government had indicated it would follow a slash and burn approach in the event of no-deal, seeing vital protections removed.
At every opportunity we will fight any attempt to open up the NHS to privatisation in future trade deals.
Wales’ future is better placed within the EU with its high regulation standards, and its population of over 500 million people.
Plaid Cymru will ensure that all the national parliaments of the UK are consulted throughout the negotiations on future trade deals,
and that the ratification process includes endorsement by the Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Agriculture
Brexit has serious implications for Welsh farmers.
In Wales, more than half of a farmer’s income comes from the direct payments received through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
If we leave the EU, the Welsh Labour Government proposes to follow the UK Conservative Government by phasing out direct payments to farmers and establishing a new environmental land management system.
Meanwhile, farmers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU 27 will retain direct payments, creating an unlevel playing field for Welsh farmers and undermining the viability of their businesses.
Ceredigion’s Ben Lake strongly made the case to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that in any future agriculture funding arrangement each country in the UK should have an equal say on the total amount of money allocated to farming.
Meanwhile, if we were to leave the EU without a deal, Welsh farmers would face crippling tariffs on selling their products in their main market which is the rest of the EU.
It is vital that we protect the Welsh family farm through remaining in the EU –
vital for our rural communities, economy, environment and culture.
Manufacturing
Uncertainty around Brexit is already impacting on manufacturing.
To give three examples from just one sector, more than 1,700 job losses have been announced at Ford in Bridgend
and another 220 at Schaeffler
and 95 at Calsonic Kansei car components plants in Llanelli.
There has also been a serious decline in inward investment since the 2016 referendum, with Wales bottom of the league table.
The average fall-off in incoming new projects across the UK was 16.5%, but for Wales it was 46%.
Nissan is abandoning its plans to build one of its flagship vehicles in Sunderland.
The electronics giants Sony and Panasonic are moving their headquarters from London to Amsterdam
and Honda is closing a factory at Swindon, which will affect up to a dozen major suppliers in the Welsh automotive industry.
Meanwhile Airbus, which employs 6,000 people in Broughton in north-east Wales and another 500 at Newport, has announced that Brexit will threaten future investment decisions
and job prospects.
Citizens’ Rights
Brexit is not merely an economic problem – it is ripping away rights from millions of people.
Thousands of people from all over Europe have honoured our country by choosing to live with us, to contribute to our society, to become Welsh.
They were promised from the beginning that their circumstances would not change as a result of Brexit.
However, the Tories’ “EU Settlement Scheme” treats people like second class citizens, forcing millions of people across the UK to apply to stay in their own homes.
The British Government’s position means that anyone who does not apply by the deadline (which is 31st December 2020 in case of no deal, or 30th June 2021 in case of a deal) will not have the right to stay in the UK and could face deportation.
Plaid Cymru have led the campaign both in Westminster and in Brussels on the right of the people of Wales to keep their status as Welsh Europeans, in securing continuing European citizenship after Brexit.
In 2018, the House of Commons backed a Plaid Cymru motion to allow continuing European citizenship after we leave the EU, a call that was also supported by organisations such as Open Britain, Best for Britain and the New European newspaper.
Our MEP Jill Evans also secured widespread support in the European Parliament for the proposal.
Plaid Cymru would change the Settled Status application system into a registration system, ensuring that all EU citizens who are resident in the UK before exit day should have the right of permanent residence,
and that every person who is entitled to settled status will have the same rights.
A Welsh Migration System
Migrants make a valuable and important contribution to Welsh life, both economically and culturally.
Migration is important for many of our key sectors.
For example, migrants make an important contribution to our NHS.
Thirty per cent of our doctors received their training abroad, with 6% being trained in EU countries.
Remaining in the EU is the best way of protecting EU citizens’ right to work here.
This Westminster Government is proposing unworkable and illogical immigration policies which will hurt the Welsh economy.
Instead, we need a rational immigration policy that works for Wales, where students and job creators can come,
but wages aren’t undercut.
In government in Wales, Plaid Cymru will create a Welsh Migration Advisory Service so that we can have a system that plugs skills gaps,
especially in agriculture
and social care,
and protects our health service from staff shortages.
Plaid Cymru will also seek the devolution of migration policy, so that Wales can set its own migration quota according to our own needs, with greater flexibility, for example, in processing entrepreneur visas.
Where there are identified skills shortages, we should be actively recruiting across the EU.
In addition, international students must be taken out of net migration targets.
Staying in the EU will enable our students and our researchers to study anywhere across Europe, which is in the best interests of Wales and the UK as a whole.
It is crucial that all migrants are treated with dignity and regard for their basic human rights.
We want to protect the rights of migrant workers and combat all forms of labour exploitation and forced labour
.
Plaid Cymru has consistently called for the rights of all EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU to be legally protected.
Like other EU countries, we must assume our responsibilities and provide aid and support for those fleeing war or persecution.
We must take a more humane approach and show greater solidarity with refugees, including those crossing the Mediterranean in precarious circumstances.
We will lead the call for an EU migration policy based on solidarity, which means moving towards a migration system based on a fair allocation of asylum seekers across all Member States.
Plaid Cymru wants Wales to be a nation of sanctuary for refugees fleeing war and oppression
and will help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into Welsh society.
The evidence is clear - Brexit would be deeply  damaging to Wales’  communities. That is   why we are campaigning  for  a Final Say referendum in which Plaid  Cymru will campaign to Remain.
“The only reason Westminster remembers Wales exists is because  of Plaid Cymru’s MPs.”
WELSH GREEN JOBS REVOLUTION
We understand that climate change, together with the global collapse of biodiversity, is the defining challenge of our time.
The climate crisis, destruction of nature and overuse of natural resources threaten the foundations of humanity’s well-being.
With declining biodiversity, polluted air and accelerating climate crisis, the time to act is now.
Wales has the natural resources to become a world leader in renewable technology and address the biggest global challenge of our time.
If we are serious about tackling climate change, we need to start investing in the green economy
and building the workforce we need to make it a success by investing in our people.
That is why Plaid Cymru will implement a Green Jobs Revolution which will ensure that Wales makes the transition to becoming 100% self-sufficient in renewable energy by 2030.
Our Renewables Revolution will create tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs in Wales over the next ten years.
Carmarthen East’s Jonathan Edwards and Ceredigion’s Ben Lake have campaigned tirelessly with the Traws Link Cymru campaign to create a national rail corridor starting with Carmarthen to Aberystwyth.
As a result of the Budget deal between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Labour Government, Mott MacDonald was commissioned to undertake a feasibility study on the project. It calculated that if the rail line was up and running by 2024, it would generate 370,000 trips. That would rise to 425,000 by 2027 and 489,000 by 2037.
We are demanding that the UK Government allocate an additional 1 per cent of GDP per year to capital investment over the next ten years.
In Wales this would allow us to invest an extra £15 billion through a Welsh Green Jobs Revolution to shift the economy away from London.
In addition we will be pressing the Treasury to allow the Welsh Government to borrow on its account up to £5 billion for capital investment.
In Wales this will allow us to invest a total of £20 billion in our green jobs revolution
These sums will allow us to create tens of thousands highly skilled green collar jobs,
allowing Wales to be a trailblazer in the fight to tackle the climate emergency.
Wales Fund for the Future
This investment capacity will allow us to establish a National Reconstruction Fund to rebuild Wales
. An incoming Plaid Cymru government in 2021 will embark upon the biggest programme of reconstruction our nation has seen since devolution.
We have a comprehensive plan for national infrastructure
and green investment designed to reverse decades of decline.
This momentous task will take a generation, but we must start now in order to ensure that we leave a safe environment for our children.
Projects could include:
Communications Infrastructure
Creating a publicly-owned Welsh Broadband Infrastructure Company to guarantee access to full-fibre broadband to every home and business in Wales by 2025.
Electrification of all major rail lines by 2030.
We will complete the planned electrification of the South Wales Valley Lines.
The next line to be electrified should be the North Wales Coast Line.
Building a super-Metro for south-east Wales with new stations acting as development hubs.
Building the new Swansea Bay and Western Valleys Metro,
and reopening rail services for the Amman, Swansea, Neath and Dulais Valleys.
Developing a metro for north-east Wales and relocate the Chester
Transport for Wales Depot to the north of Wales.
Creating a trans-Wales railway: connecting Wales’ coastal communities by re-opening the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line
together with a second phase linking our communities from north to south.
A Cross-Rail for the Valleys, from Porth to Pontypool.
Expanding the Traws Cymru bus network with high-quality coaches powered by renewable sources of energy.
Transport for Wales will create a new publicly owned regional bus company for southern Wales.
This will amalgamate Cardiff and Newport Bus with First Cymru to provide additional inter-city bus services between Newport, Cardiff and Swansea and additional cross valley services.
Green Energy Infrastructure
Tidal Lagoons for Swansea Bay, Cardiff and Colwyn Bay.
Building an Ynys Môn offshore windfarm.
Building an Usk barrage.
A network of local energy grids for Wales.
Amending land use planning legislation to enshrine a fast-track route for community-owned energy schemes such as hydro-electric power projects, with a presumption in favour of development.
Green Social and Economic Infrastructure
A comprehensive £5bn Greener Homes programme to improve the energy efficiency of housing in Wales
and reduce fuel poverty
Build 20,000 green social homes.
Creating a new Urban Development Corporation for the Valleys and for the Arfor (coastal) region of rural west and north-west Wales
Designating town centres across Wales as Opportunity Zones, with tax relief and capital investment
to turn them into engines of localised green development rather than symbols of decay.
We will establish Empoyment Action Zones in rural and industrial areas with high unemployment
where we will offer special exemption for employer National Insurance
and enhanced tax credits for Research and Development.
Public Sector Procurement
More environmentally friendly jobs can be created and secured within the Welsh public sector by promoting more localised procurement policies.
Far too much money is being spent buying goods and services from non-Welsh contractors.
Huge multinational companies are doing work that could be done by local companies.
Plaid Cymru will fight to ensure that billions of pounds in public sector contracts are spent in Wales,
protecting jobs
and retaining investment locally.
As part of new public procurement regulations we will ensure that all public sector workers in Wales and those in the private sector, who work for business in receipt of public money, earn a real living wage.
Plaid Cymru opposes the use of Zero Hours Contracts and has led calls at the Senedd to ban them in Wales.
CARING FOR EVERYONE
Free Social Care at the Point of Need
In the face of devastating on-going cuts and an increase in demand, our social servicesnare struggling to cope,
and it is the vulnerable people who use them who are suffering.
Free Social Care at the point of need, delivered by a new and seamless National Health and Social Care Service,
will ensure that our older people are treated with the dignity they deserve.
We estimate this will cost the Welsh Government an extra £300 million a year, which in the context of an overall Welsh budget of £17 billion, is an achievable priority.
Social care will be transformed into a service that puts people’s independence above the needs of bureaucracy, meaning that we aim to make people’s lives worth living rather than merely keeping people alive.
We will place far greater emphasis on investment in early intervention and preventative health and care services to ensure people can be kept healthy and independent.
This is the best way to relieve the pressure on the NHS.
We will establish parity of pay and terms and conditions between Social Care and Health Care workers
The ambition of health and social care services working side by side cannot be achieved with the current inequality.
We want our sick, elderly and vulnerable people to be treated and cared for effectively and with dignity.
This can only happen if the social care workforce is well-trained, resourced and motivated to do so.
Planning for a skilled and sustainable workforce is therefore crucial.
The Older Generation
As a party, we recognise the positive economic impact of older people upon the economy and will promote Wales as an older-person friendly location.
Plaid Cymru will protect our pensioners from the stealth cuts that have been inflicted on our pensioners over the past decade
Plaid Cymru recognises the importance of older people to Welsh society and to our economy.
Plaid Cymru campaigned for the end of the compulsory retirement age,
and will support older people to stay in employment, or find work, if they wish to do so.
We will work with third sector organisations and the police to better protect older people from exploitative scams.
We support the Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) campaign and would provide compensation to those women who have lost out from an ill communicated and ill thought through policy.
Plaid Cymru supports calls by the UK Mineworkers Pension Association to get the 50-50 split of pension surplus renegotiated
We will continue to demand a fairer deal for former miners to access the money that is rightfully theirs.
Ben Lake has been one of the strongest and most dedicated voices for WASPI women over the last two years, both in local campaigns in Ceredigion and parliamentary campaigns in Westminster.
We will protect the benefits given to pensioners and will maintain the triple lock on state pensions
We will require the BBC to reverse the cuts to free TV licences
The free bus pass that allows older people to keep in touch with friends and maintain their independence will be protected and with our investment in public transport will become more important
We will also support keeping public toilets open to allow older people, and others, to visit town centres and other places of interest and maintain their independence.
More Doctors, Nurses and Dentists
Today’s Welsh NHS is characterized by a shortage of doctors, nurses and dentists.
The number of doctors per head in Wales is lower than in Scotland and is one of the lowest in Europe, despite our higher ill-health statistics.
In government, Plaid Cymru will train and recruit an additional 1,000 doctors
, 5,000 nurses
, and 100 dentists for the Welsh NHS
We will increase the number of home-grown Welsh doctors, nurses and dentists through our investment in medical schools and training, including accelerating development of a medical school in Bangor
In hard-to recruit areas and specialisms we will offer financial incentives to new doctors in exchange for service.
This will also enable us to ensure that we protect our local services and improve access to care in the community.
The Welsh NHS makes too much use of Agency staff
This spending increased from £60m in 2013-14 to £150m in 2018-19.
We will aim to bring this amount down to the 2013-14 levels, freeing up an extra £90m to contribute to our recruitment programme.
Opposing Privatisation
There is no place for profiteering in our health service.
Plaid Cymru rejects the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS and will continue to oppose any moves in that direction from governments, whether in Westminster or Cardiff Bay.
Thanks to pressure from Plaid Cymru and trade unions, the Welsh Labour Government was forced to accept that Betsi Cadwaldr Health Board was planning to privatise dialysis services and even transfer NHS nurses into the private sector.
They dropped the dialysis plans but came up with a new scheme to privatise pharmacies.
We are continuing to lead the fight against privatisation.
In the event of leaving the EU, we will strongly oppose the inclusion of the Welsh NHS within any future trade deals with the USA, if necessary, by promoting legislation in the Senedd
.
Role of Local Government
Plaid Cymru recognises the essential work of local government in providing vital services to the community
From child protection to economic development, from the maintenance of highways to education, it is Local Authorities that are instrumental in delivering a significant range of services.
We will continue to support the proper funding of council services
and will continue to rebalance the Welsh budget towards preventative, locally-delivered interventions across health and social services,
education
and support for families
Mental Health Services
Plaid Cymru strongly believes that Mental Health should have parity of esteem with other NHS services.
We will provide for a 5% increase in mental health expenditure every year for the next decade, doubling the amount we spend on a cumulative basis.
We will establish a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis service for those in acute distress, that will work alongside the emergency services.
We will continue to support whole population approaches towards improving the mental health of everyone
and preventing illness through better education in schools,
access to green spaces,
and the tackling of stigma and discrimination experienced by so many
People with mental health problems should not be forced to travel to outsourced and often inappropriate residential facilities
. We will thus seek to establish Welsh based specialist services for the small numbers who need acute inpatient treatment,
building the facilities that are conducive to recovery.
We will invest in improving community mental health services, including creating more counsellors so that, where appropriate, alternatives to medication are available in all communities.
Some people with mental health problems also have problematic substance use issues.
Mental health professionals should be trained to deal with these inter-related and co-occurring conditions.
We will restore to Wales the specialist mother and baby unit for mothers suffering from severe mental illness that was removed by Cardiff and Vale Health Board in 2013.
Cancer
Wales continues to have lower cancer survival rates than most countries in Europe
. Diagnosis at an earlier stage is essential in improving long term survival.
Multi-disciplinary diagnostic testing that is currently only available in south Wales will be extended to the rest of the country
. We will also provide screening programmes where the clinical evidence shows these will be of benefit.
We remain committed to ensuring cancer patients have a key worker to support them at all stages of their cancer journey.
We will develop cancer pathways that enable speedier treatment, particularly for those at greater clinical risk.
Rural Healthcare
We will improve access to rural healthcare by providing consultant-led Accident and Emergency and Maternity services within one hour’s reach of rural and peripheral communities.
We will reform NHS planning guidance to avoid penalising rural hospitals
. Clinical networks will enable consultants working predominantly in smaller hospitals to retain sufficient skillsets.
NHS Rehabilitation Service
We will create a Community NHS Rehabilitation Service, bringing together GPs, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, District and Community Nurses, Mental Health Counsellors, and Patient Advocates.
It will be responsible for follow-up treatment and ensuring that other services such as social security and local authorities play their part in helping patients.
The service will: Provide rehabilitation for patients following treatment, including prevention of further ill-health,
and ensuring a person can live as independently as possible.
Ensure the optimal management of chronic conditions.
Tackle causes of continuing ill health such as access to income support and poor housing.
Public Health
Plaid Cymru has already led the way on public health measures in Wales, campaigning successfully for a ban on smoking in public places and minimum alcohol pricing.
Until recently we were ridiculed for suggesting a sugary drinks tax, but now this is policy across the UK.
We will further explore how the tax system can be used to promote public health, for example through introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol,
and through imposing additional taxation on other potentially harmful products.
We will establish an independent, publicly funded National Institute for Public Health policy to advise on all public health matters without being influenced by vested interests.
This body will also be responsible for supporting schools in educating children about healthy lifestyles.
We will reform planning law to provide greater protection for green spaces in urban areas,
expanding the minimum requirements for play area provision in planning developments,
and banning the sale of playing fields for housing unless those fields are replaced on a like for like basis.
We will increase spending on active travel routes and promote walking and cycling.
We will ensure all schools meet the minimum requirement of providing children with the opportunity to do two hours of physical activity each week.
We will prevent local authorities from cutting access to sports and leisure facilities, or using community asset transfer of such facilities where doing so would put the access to such facilities at risk.
Drugs Misuse
Drug misuse can have a debilitating effect on people and their loved ones.
However, the current hardline approach to drugs criminalises citizens who have an addiction but does nothing to help them overcome their problems.
It also criminalises people may use drugs medicinally or recreationally but who do no harm to others.
Rather than focusing services on all drug users, we believe we should focus on the small number of people with dependency and seek to address the underlying causes of their misuse via Checkpoint Cymru.
Drugs have been decriminalised in Portugal since 2001, enabling a public health approach to drug users;
dissuading new drug users and encouraging dependent drug users to enter treatment
whilst focusing police resources on those who profit from the drugs trade.
By sending the message that drug users are not criminals, the reform has contributed towards greater tolerance and integration of drug users into society.
It has reduced the stigma around drug use and has allowed more users to access the treatment they need.
Moreover, drug use in Portugal has decreased since decriminalisation.
Its drugs prevalence is below the EU average and, for example, it now has the lowest rate of cannabis use in the EU.
Rather than turning more people towards drugs, decriminalisation has allowed more people to receive the treatment they need.
For these reasons, Plaid Cymru is calling for a National Commission on reforming drug law.
Accountability of NHS Managers
We will make NHS management accountable by establishing a new regulatory body for approved NHS managers.
This will be responsible for setting and improving professional standards for managers within the NHS.
We will give the new regulatory body the power to strike managers off the register in the event of serious errors or misconduct.
We will also establish a new national whistleblowing procedure and enhanced protection for whistleblowers in the NHS.
Charter for Patients’ Rights
We will Introduce a Patients’ Rights Charter to specify minimum standards of service for patients, including maximum waiting times before patients receive treatment.
Research
We will invest in the infrastructure needed to make the Welsh NHS a world class environment for conducting clinical trials.
This will help us to recruit doctors and scientists, as well as ensuring that our patients get access to the latest and most innovative treatments.
We will continue to push for Welsh participation in European Research Networks,
and to ensure that Wales receives its fair share of research funding.
Rigorous Professional Qualifications
Qualifications for professionals working in the NHS should be rigorous and compatible with EU standards.
They should not be watered down by the threat of a de-regulated workforce.
We will press for free movement of health professionals throughout the EU.
Clinical Trials
We support the publication of all clinical trials to ensure transparency in medical research.
We will support efforts to increase the robustness of EU licensing of medicines, and stronger regulation against false health claims being made in product marketing.
We will be vigilant against any attempt to reduce these standards in any post Brexit environment.
A Paperless NHS
We will use technological developments to underpin modernised models of care to deliver better outcomes for patients
as well as increasing efficient use of finance and human resources.
Patient records will be fully electronic within the next period of Government and every patient will have access to a Digital Health Service which will offer an app for appointment booking,
contacting specialists over a secure messaging service,
and viewing lab results.
A FAIR DEAL FOR FAMILIES
Lifting Children out of Poverty
Every child deserves to have the best start in life.
Plaid Cymru want our children to live in warm homes, have enough food, to receive high-quality education and to be happy.
The reality is that Wales has the highest rates of child poverty of any UK nation, with one in three children living in poverty.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies have indicated that if nothing changes, this figure is likely to increase to 40% of Welsh children by 2020,
with welfare reform a significant factor
. This is a damning indictment of the impact of the Conservatives’ cruel austerity agenda and consequent cuts to welfare
, together with twenty years of inefficient governing of Wales by Welsh Labour.
Beyond the statistics, poverty has real consequences for the lives of children in Wales today.
Children are being forced to go to school hungry and to bed cold, resulting in a negative impact on their health and education.
Poverty can have lasting impacts long into adulthood  such as increased risk of homelessness, lower earning potential and greater likelihood of limiting illnesses.
The time has come to take bold action.
If we do not, we risk a whole generation of Welsh children in low-income families being left behind.
In Government, Plaid Cymru will introduce a comprehensive plan to tackle child poverty which will include:
A new £35 a week payment for every child in low income families, lifting 50,000 children in Wales out of poverty.
Free Care and Education for all 1-3 year olds – we will provide free full-day early years childcare and early years education to all children between 1-3 years old.
We will offer seamless care from early years into school.
Our aim will be to use this first stage of education to ensure that all Welsh children become bilingual.
We will impose statutory targets for reducing child poverty.
Early years interventions are vital.
We will ensure that coordinated national and local multi-agency early intervention strategies will create a level playing field for each child, whatever their background or circumstances.
Plaid Cymru will use schools as family support hubs with multi-agency early intervention for vulnerable children and their families from birth.
Raising Education Standards
We will raise education standards and create more opportunities for our children by tackling the funding emergency faced by our schools that sees £324 less being spent in real terms per pupil during 2018-19 compared with the corresponding figures in 2009-10.
Plaid Cymru will provide an extra £300million a year for our schools and colleges, allowing for long term planning.
It will enable us to expand capital investment in new school-community hubs,
together with developing new Welsh medium schools and 3-14 and 3-19 through- schools where there is local demand.
We will make sure resources reach the frontline in an effective and timely manner, moving away from specific grants, and last-minute allocations.
We will work with childcare providers, such as Mudiad Meithrin, to ensure that sufficient Welsh language childcare is available in all parts of Wales.
Teachers inspiring children in our schools are crucial to raising standards and producing a prosperous and fair Wales.
We will encourage a close connection between teacher and pupil and give it space in which to flourish.
We must pursue all avenues in order to promote and protect this important relationship, removing all unnecessary interference.
Good teaching makes all the difference.
However, we are currently facing a crisis in our education system with an estimated one in three teachers quitting the classroom within their first five years.
Therefore, a Plaid Cymru Government will implement a series of measures to give teachers and auxiliary staff a supportive workplace,
allowing them to make their relationship with their pupils the primary focus of their work.
This will be done by: Fully utilising devolved powers over work conditions in the classroom
to ensure teachers are allowed to dedicate their time to teaching and inspiring their pupils, making the needs of the child and young person central to all they do.
Cutting bureaucracy and removing all unnecessary interventions that disrupt the essential child/teacher relationship,
concentrating on meaningful support, monitoring and accountability
where necessary following a full review of current practice.
Creating a professionalised support staff network with adequate rates of pay and clear career progression.
Ensuring that we attract and retain world class teachers by raising the formal standing of teaching as a profession through introducing mandatory continuous professional development.
Creating a National Cooperative Agency for Supply Teachers which will ensure they receive the same entitlement to training and standards as classroom teachers.
The development of the new curriculum presents exciting opportunities to transform our education system.
However, successfully delivering a new way of working requires a great deal of preparation and support.
Plaid Cymru will ensure that teachers have the time and resources they need to prepare,
and access to professional development opportunities to ensure that the curriculum is implemented effectively.
We will ensurethat we take the opportunity the new curriculum provides to foster a good understanding of mental health and well-being,
including establishing physical education as a core element of the curriculum with more time earmarked for physical activity,
as well as provision for lessons on healthy relationships,
citizenship,
children’s rights
and Welsh identity.
Higher Education
Plaid Cymru believes that higher education should be free for all, and we will continue to work towards this aim.
Another guiding principle is our determination to address the long term brain drain of young people out of Wales.
Forty per cent of all Welsh students left Wales in the past year.
Plaid Cymru will undertake a review of the funding offer for Welsh domiciled undergraduate and post-graduate students, in respect of both tuition fees and living costs.
We will provide a subsidy to students resident in Wales who wish to study in Wales.
Target groups and those studying subjects vital to the Welsh economy and public goals will pay no tuition fees in Wales,
including those taking up key healthcare posts,
studying science, engineering and technology subjects
and students from particularly challenging backgrounds.
In addition, we will: Increase funding for degree apprentices in Wales
Guarantee to replace EU funding which supported research in higher education in the event of Brexit
Protect inward and outward student mobility post-Brexit, including participation in Erasmus+ or any successor schemes
and cross- border study on the island of Ireland.
Further Education
Further Education colleges are a crucial link to expanding key skills and productivity for all.
But they are underfunded, and college teachers and lecturers are not given the same level of support or pay as schoolteachers.
We propose to increase college lecturer pay in Wales to ensure parity with schoolteachers in terms of base hourly pay.
Plaid Cymru will establish a paid student officer position for each college to ensure student unions are securely established in the FE sector.
We propose making public transport free for all FE/6th form students and apprentices in Wales below age 21 in full time education or training.
Apprenticeships
Apprentices aged below 21 do not have the same access to support networks such as student voices.
An apprenticeship should not just be considered an access point to employment, but an educational experience, with more uniformity than is currently the case.
We propose all apprentices under the age of 21 should be partnered with a Further Education college to ensure appropriate support, including access to college days or off-site training/education for key skills or other appropriate education choices.
ACTION ON HOUSING
Help for people in the rented sector
We support a new tax credit for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities.
Renters in Wales have a bad deal: 37% of private renters in Wales earn less than £15,000, and almost half of private households in Wales spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs.
Everyone needs safe, stable and suitable housing to stay well, but in Wales, that is becoming the privilege of fewer people every year,
due to soaring prices and limited public sector budgets.
This leaves over 100,000 households with very little to spend on basic living expenses like food, heating or transport.
Rent is becoming more and more expensive
while wages are stagnating.
Plaid Cymru will help those people by creating a new tax credit of up to £25 a week to households paying over 30% of their income on private rent.
Investment in Affordable Homes
Alongside the new tax credit, we need an overhaul of housing policy in Wales.
The supply of new units of social housing remains lower than it was in the 1990s, most of the 1980s, and substantially lower than the second part of the 1970s.
This reflects successive governments’ lack of willingness to invest in new social housing over the period.
A Plaid Cymru government in Wales will create a National Housing Company which will borrow against rents to build a new generation of public rental housing in Wales, with a target of achieving 20,000 new homes over five years.
We will also support Local Authorities wishing to build new Council Housing.
We will ensure that all new-build housing will be insulated to the highest standards and equipped with photovoltaics for electricity generation and solar water-heating.
Homelessness
The slashing of public provisions and benefits by consecutive Conservative Governments in Westminster,
together with a policy of ‘managed decline’ by the Welsh Labour Government,
has led to huge increases in homelessness.
Across Britain, more than 12,300 people sleep on the streets each night,
with a further 12,000 spending the night in cars, trains, buses or tents.
Homelessness increased by 63% in Wales between 2012 and 2017,
with 10,373 households threatened by homelessness between 2018 and 2019.
Plaid Cymru believe that no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a person must sleep on the street.
Above all, tackling this problem is a question of political will.
We support the comprehensive and detailed plan produced by the homelessness charity Crisis which, if implemented would  end homelessness
and bring overall savings to UK public services of around £34.6 billion by 2041.
In Wales it would entail savings of about £70 million a year.
Plaid Cymru will adopt a ‘housing first’ philosophy - as implemented in countries like Finland – to support those that are homeless.
Recovery programmes are more successful after an individual has been housed.
Being asked to be abstinent and/or sober whilst homeless prior to receiving housing is impractical.
We are committed to abolishing the archaic Vagrancy Act of 1824, a pre-Victorian law that makes homelessness a crime.
Not only is fining or imprisoning those on the streets cruel, it leads to their being actively discouraged from engaging with the police for fear of enforcement measures being taken.
This does not help anyone.
We support an approach based on Centrepoint’s key principles to tackle youth homelessness.
There should be a ‘single front door’ for young people to have a consistent and reliable place to access help.
We will ensure that agencies coordinate their activities to respond to young people at risk.
Too often young people fall between the gaps of different services and agencies.
Plaid Cymru is fighting for a fairer benefit system that will take the cost of housing into account.
Planning
We will create an overarching strategic framework for planning that prioritises sustainable development
and protects against environmentally damaging development.
Our aim is a system that provides greater freedom for individuals to improve their own homes
but less freedom for the large developers to ride roughshod over communities.
We will reform the Local Development Plan system to ensure that development is far more collaborative, involving communities at a far earlier stage in the process than at present.
We will ensure the Welsh language is given greater prominence in the planning system,
with all large developments being required to demonstrate a positive impact on the language.
We will create a Welsh-based Planning Inspectorate that is required to meet the needs of our communities.
We will ensure fairness in the planning system through strengthening the rights of communities to speak and provide evidence to planning committees,
and ensure that committees receive genuinely independent legal advice.
COMBATING CRIME
Devolution of Police and Justice
It is unacceptable that Wales is the only nation in these islands without powers over its policing and justice policies.
Plaid Cymru is committed to the devolution of policing and justice to Wales to empower us to implement and pursue policies that serve the interests of our citizens and communities.
As argued by the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales, this will allow us to create integrated people-centred services – from prisons to counselling to housing –
to replace the present callous approach that prioritises targets over people’s needs.
Police budgets have been slashed, putting far fewer officers on the street.
Welsh forces have been hit harder than those in the rest of the UK, due to an unfair funding formula.
Between 2010 and 2018, the number of police officers in Wales decreased by 9%.
More Police in our Communities
Plaid Cymru will recruit an extra 1,600 police officers – two for each community – to keep us safe.
This would mean that our officers will be better rooted in our communities, instead of being stretched to cover large geographical areas with fewer resources.
This would give the police the ability to focus on the priorities they need to keep us safe.
The extra police officers will help facilitate community engagement in which the police and the community can relay issues of mutual concern.
Targeted, community- based problem-solving approaches improve crime reduction and rehabilitation.
Crime Prevention
In recent years we have come to understand more about the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – traumatic events such as sexual or physical abuse, domestic violence, and parental separation – and future offending and imprisonment.
The Welsh ACEs study showed that people who have experienced four or more ACEs are 14 times more likely to have been a victim of violence over the last 12 months,
15 times more likely to have committed a violent crime,
and 20 times more likely to have been imprisoned at any point in their lifetime.
Eight in ten prisoners in Wales had at least one ACE and nearly half had four or more ACEs.
Within the general population, around 46% have one ACE and 14% have four or more.
Community-based interventions are more effective at reducing re- offending and social exclusion than short-term imprisonment.
Short custodial sentences offer limited opportunities for rehabilitation and many people leave custody with the same underlying issues as when they entered.
We believe that a preventative approach across health, criminal justice, education and other settings is more effective in tackling youth offending.
Addressing the underlying causes of crime, such as  protecting children from abuse or neglect, is proven to reduce criminal behaviour.
In civil matters, early intervention and sound advice can prevent the involvement of the courts and can reduce hardship for many people.
As part of our preventative approach, we will implement a long-term substance use harm reduction strategy.
Problems and deaths from substances are more prevalent in Wales than other parts of the UK.
We want to reduce substance use and substance related deaths by investing in a long-term strategy.
This should focus on harm reduction through a wide range of services and education programmes that treat problematic substance users as patients rather than criminals.
Domestic Abuse
Whilst a member of the Domestic Abuse Bill Committee and co-chair of the Justice Unions and Family Courts Parliamentary Group, Liz Saville Roberts was the leading voice in Parliament for an overhaul of family courts in order to protect victims of domestic abuse.
Liz Saville Roberts’ Ten-Minute Rule Bill highlighted the issue of cross- examination by perpetrators, particularly in vexatious court claims received cross-party support, and successfully put pressure on the UK Government to include the change in the draft Bill.
However, due to Boris Johnson’s reckless parliamentary games, all the progress achieved on the Domestic Abuse Bill has been lost.
In the next parliamentary session, Plaid Cymru will continue to work hard for a robust piece of legislation including: A register for repeat domestic abuse register where abusers have been convicted of abusing two or more victims,
administered by a properly resourced police force.
Prevent the police or prosecutors from disclosing the address of a victim or witness of domestic abuse, coercive control or sexual assault to the person accused of the offence.
Proper training for Police forces on Domestic Violence.
Ensuring that Accident and Emergency Departments have trained Domestic Violence advisors who can advise doctors to refer cases to the Police.
Ensuring that migrant and BME victims of domestic violence receive tailored support from authorities
Courts and Legal Aid
Plaid Cymru has been vociferously opposed to the British Government’s reforms to the legal aid budget which have stripped thousands of people of access to legal aid.
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 effectively reversed the previous legal aid scheme, removing most civil legal matters from the scope of legal aid.
Plaid Cymru will reverse the harsh cuts so that people who are currently unable to access legal aid can exercise their right to justice.
This should include the establishment of a simpler and more generous assessment scheme for civil legal aid,
ensuring all benefit recipients automatically qualify for legal aid,
and making the contributions to legal aid more affordable.
Prisons
Wales has the highest incarceration rate in western Europe, with one in every 667 people in the country behind bars.
The prison-industrial complex in the UK has meant that four of the five prisons in Wales are overcrowded,
leading to a deterioration of conditions for both staff
and inmates.
One of the most effective ways of ensuring the rehabilitation of an inmate is to house them close to their local community and families.
However, 39% of Welsh prisoners are held in England and 30% of prison spaces in Wales are for English inmates.
We believe that inmates should be placed as close to their local communities as possible.
We do not believe that super-prisons are the most effective way of combating crime nor the best use of our resources.
That is why we opposed the building of the Berwyn super-prison in Wrexham and the proposed super-prison in Port Talbot which was scrapped due to our opposition.
Entering the criminal justice system can either be a symptom of or cause longer-term issues.
These include homelessness, mental health issues and substance misuse.
Almost 25% of Welsh inmates were homeless when they entered prison,
over 90% of prisoners have at least one of five psychiatric disorders,
and there was a 475% increase in drug finds in prisons over the last year.
Poverty and poor health are being criminalised.
This needs to change by ensuring that support services are well-funded and by tackling the underlying issues that can lead to criminality.
According to research by the Wales Governance Centre, those from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately represented in prisons and the criminal justice system.
In 2017, black people were 4.5 times overrepresented in prison,
Asian prisoners were 1.7 times overrepresented
and individuals from mixed ethnic group were 2.4 times overrepresented.
Plaid Cymru will fully implement the recommendations of the Lammy Review to address the disparity of treatment and outcomes for black and minority ethnic people within the criminal justice system,
together with the Angiolini Review on deaths and serious incidents in police custody.
Women in Wales are especially ill-served by the justice system, with all Welsh female prisoners being held in one of the twelve women’s prisons in England.
This often results in the separation of young children from their mothers and makes family visits difficult.
Moreover, there is a complete absence of Welsh language services for women prisoners.
The crimes committed by men and women can vary significantly.
Women’s offending tends to be of a less serious nature, which means they tend to serve a shorter sentence.
In 2016, 74% of all women convicted were sentenced for less than 6 months.
Short-term sentences often bring considerable chaos and disruption to the lives of women and their families, Conversely, women who complete short-term sentences are more likely to re-offend than those sentenced to a court order.
Women are also overwhelmingly sent to prison for theft rather than violent offences.
Often, women are stealing to feed their children or to support a partner’s drug habit.
According to the Prison Reform Trust around half of women have been victims of crimes that are more serious than the ones for which they are being imprisoned.
We will use suspended sentences for those women who are charged with non-violent crimes, dampening the disruption caused to them and their family.
Rather than being ‘soft’ on crime, this is in line with best practice as it lowers reoffending rates in comparison to short-term custodial sentences.
Plaid Cymru will support a dedicated, small, prison or secure centres for female prisoners in Wales, to ensure access to family support networks as we accept that there will be occasions where a custodial sentence is appropriate and justified.
Rape
An estimated one in five women have experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 16.
Rape is still an under-reported crime and it is estimated by the Crime Survey for England and Wales that only one in six victims of rape report the incident to the police.
There were only were three convictions for every 100 rape cases recorded by the police in England and Wales in the past year.
Although the number of alleged rapes recorded by the police increased by 9%, the number of charges fell by 38%,
prosecutions by 33%
and convictions by 27%.
More needs to be done to tackle this heinous crime and our approach will be multidisciplinary and work across a plethora of institutions.
From an early age we will teach our children about respectful relationships and consent in schools whereby they can be informed about what constitutes a healthy relationship and what is permissible.
We will also launch a public information campaign to make clear what constitutes as consent and tackle rape culture.
For those that have already committed sexual assault we will ensure that perpetrator programmes are well funded in prisons
and within probation teams in order to minimise the risk of this crime happening in future.
We will ensure that the police, magistrates and juries have the correct information with regards to the handling of complaints and the correct information with regards to what constitutes rape.
Only a tiny minority of cases fit under the ‘textbook’ definition of rape and those within the Criminal Justice System must be aware that rape can be between partners or between those that have been intimate in the past.
For those that have been a victim of this crime we will ensure that Sexual Assault Referral Centres are properly funded with adequate training for the professionals that work there.
We will also ensure that counselling services are available and well-funded as victims of rape can suffer from co-occurring issues relating to mental health and drug and alcohol abuse, especially due to self-medication.
Knife crime
Rising knife crime has coincided with austerity, having increased to record levels, with 1,353 in the UK in 2018, a 23% rise on the previous year.
This is a reflection of the impact of Tory cuts to policing at Westminster
and Labour cuts to local government in Wales.
The Welsh Government’s total spend on youth work has fallen from more than £40m five years ago to £32m in 2017-18.
We will work with youth clubs, sports governing bodies, schools, community groups, voluntary organisations and youth workers to improve youth services and to increase the availability of both formal and informal activities.
Racism and Hate Crime
Everyone should be able to feel safe and respected within their communities.
In Wales, Plaid Cymru will work with Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure that all hate crime – including homophobic, racist and anti-disability hate crime, and online abuse – is treated as a serious offence by Welsh police forces and investigated appropriately so that victims can feel confident and secure in reporting incidents.
We will proactively engage with a broad and representative spectrum of communities to ensure a plurality of views are heard and taken into account.
In particular we will: Combat Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-migrant sentiment and all forms of racism and bigotry in politics, on our streets, online and in our media.
Work to increase the participation of minorities and women in politics and public life.
Address the underlying socio-economic challenges faced by BAME communities,
including providing funding for English and Welsh language tuition, to encourage successful integration in Welsh society.
WELSH CONSTITUTION
Plaid Cymru believes that Wales should become an independent member of the European Union.
We want to forge a new relationship with the other countries of these islands based on equality.
This will be made all the more urgent in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Our aim is to achieve these objectives by 2030, and before then if circumstances allow.
We recognise that achieving these objectives will entail a number of interim steps, the first being for Plaid Cymru to form the Welsh Government following the 2021 Senedd election.
Further Devolution
During this period, we will press for the devolution of financial powers to the Senedd,
plus the transfer of justice,
economic development,
welfare
and culture powers that are currently reserved to Westminster.
Finance
We need greater financial powers to enable the Welsh Government to tailor taxation and funding to meet the needs of Wales.
These include: Devolution of corporation tax as is the case in Northern Ireland.
Devolution of Air Passenger Duty as is the case in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
VAT revenues assigned to Wales as is the case in Scotland.
Borrowing by the Welsh Government is currently limited to £1bn over five years.
This is far too low.
Wales should be permitted to borrow to invest up to £5bn over five years.
This would be well within the fiscal guidelines proposed by both the Conservatives and Labour for the UK as a whole.
Justice
The two reports of the Commission on Devolution in Wales, together with the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales for the People of Wales have made a powerful case for the devolution of Justice Powers to Wales and the creation of a distinctive Welsh jurisdiction and legal system.
Together with the necessary resources for undertaking them, these powers will include:  Policing
Criminal Justice and the courts
Sentencing, Legal Aid, the Crown Prosecution Service and the
Judiciary
The Prison Service and the Probationary Service
Economic Development
Economic powers currently reserved to Westminster that should be devolved to enable to Welsh Government to develop a more coherent economic development strategy include: Public Sector Pay
Natural resources
All licensing and oversight powers for the exploitation of natural resources
The Crown Estate
Water
Ports and harbours
Maritime Coastguard Agency
Full control of the Wales and Border rail franchise
Network Rail operation in Wales
Welfare
A decade of austerity has had a severe impact on our poorest communities.
That is why we are pressing for full control of Universal Credit.
This will enable us, for example to permanently remove the bedroom tax, as is planned in Scotland.
The Westminster Government’s Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Welfare and Work Act 2016 have inflicted untold harm on thousands of people in Wales.
In November 2018, a report by the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty found that poverty in the UK is “systematic” and “tragic” due to the deep “ideological” cuts to public services since 2010.
To tackle these problems Plaid Cymru will press for welfare powers to be devolved, and negotiate an appropriate fiscal framework in each case.
They would include: Personal Independence Payments
Carers Allowance
Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance
Winter Fuel Payments
Cold Weather Payments
Severe Disablement Allowance
Industrial Injuries Disability Benefits
Funeral Expenses Payments
Sure Start Maternity Grant
Discretionary Housing Payments
Culture
Plaid Cymru will demand the devolution of broadcasting to the Senedd so that we can develop a broadcasting sector made by the people of Wales,
for the people of Wales,
and accountable to the people of Wales.
Independence Commission
In November 2019 Plaid Cymru established an expert Independence Commission, chaired by Jocelyn Davies, the former Senedd Member for South East Wales and former Minister in the One Wales Government.
The Commission’s role is to prepare the way for an incoming Plaid Cymru Government in 2021.
It will recommend the steps we will need to take to achieve independence for Wales in the coming decade.
The greatest obstacle to Welsh independence is the charge that we simply cannot afford it, that a country as rich as Wales in natural resources and in the skills and imagination of her people, is somehow too poor to be independent.
Fundamentally, the reason why there is such a large gap between the taxes we raise in Wales, and the money we spend on benefits and public services, is the way our economy has been mismanaged by successive centralised London governments.
We need independence precisely in order to change that.
In the meantime, we need to demonstrate that, even with the limited powers that the present devolution settlement offers us, we can begin to close the fiscal gap.
The Independence Commission will undertake an analysis and produce recommendations on policies an incoming Plaid Cymru government should pursue over a ten-year period to ensure that the Welsh fiscal gap is reduced.
The Independence Commission will address the legitimate questions people have about how an independent Wales would work, on issues such as currency, borders, the UK national debt, and pensions.
The Commission will draw up a Written Constitution for an independent Wales.
It will also oversee the production of a Self-Determination Bill.
This will be the paving legislation that an incoming Plaid Cymru Government will bring forward in 2021, aimed at preparing for the referendum on Welsh independence that will take place before the end of the next decade.
The legislation enacted by this Bill will enable the Plaid Cymru government to engage with as wide a cross-section of people and interests as possible.
It will include the creation of a new organization with a full-time secretariat, to oversee the process leading to the referendum.
A series of Citizens’ Assemblies will inform the people of Wales on the wide-ranging issues and questions that the prospect of independence raises.
FINANCE AND TAXATION
The UK is one of the most unequal states in Europe.
The richest region in the UK, Inner London, has a GDP of 614% of the EU average, compared to the UK’s poorest region, West Wales and the Valleys, with a GDP of 68% of the EU average.
This is a shocking indictment of a financial system that has impoverished Wales for the benefit of a select few in London.
Nine of the twelve countries and regions of the UK are persistently in deficit.
The current UK economic and fiscal model is broken.
Policies pursued by successive UK governments, both Conservative and Labour, underpin the high concentration of political and economic power in London and south east England Personal Independence Payments
with public investment being disproportionately concentrated in those areas at the expense of the rest of the UK.
In Parliament, our Treasury spokesperson Jonathan Edwards has used every opportunity to highlight the inequality at the heart of the British State, and to fight for fiscal fairness for Wales.
To begin addressing the imbalance, Jonathan presented a Ten Minute Rule Bill at Westminster seeking to establish an Office for Fair Funding, with a statutory obligation to deliver geographic wealth convergence. It would be a neutral and expert arbiter in disputes so that Wales would stand on an equal footing with London and the South East of England when it comes to funding.
Public investment needs to have rebalancing the UK economy as a goal.
What is needed is sustained, additional funding: to replace EU funds if Brexit happens
– to help sustain the economy through the Brexit headwinds and,
crucially to pump-prime the economy to redress the current and long-standing geographic imbalances.
It is only by pursuing such a strategy that the full economic potential of Wales and the rest of the UK outside London and south east England can be realised.
Fair Funding for Wales
The present Barnett Formula for distributing funding to the devolved nations has been largely unchanged for forty years and is not fit for purpose.
Tied to an outdated population-based formula it has been widely discredited as failing to relate to relative need.
Plaid Cymru believes it should be replaced by an Office for Fair Funding, with a statutory obligation to deliver geographic wealth convergence across the UK.
It would be an independent and expert arbiter in disputes.
Capital Investment
For too long Wales and the rest of the UK has suffered from low capital investment resulting in low productivity
and low pay.
At a UK level, funding for increased capital investment should be at least an additional 1 per cent of GDP per year (£20bn) for a minimum of ten years.
Such investment would be funded by increased borrowing.
The funding should be allocated on a needs basis with Wales being allocated at least an additional £1.5bn a year to fund the investment programme set out in this manifesto.
Increasing Revenue
Plaid Cymru believes that everybody should pay a fair share of tax so that we can all share excellent, world-class public services.
That means that those who earn most – as individuals or as companies – must make a fair contribution.
We advocate the following tax measures: We would reverse the British Government’s planned cut on corporation tax.
Cancelling the planned cut from 19% to 17% due in 2020–21 would raise around £5 billion.
Income tax relief on pension contributions should be restricted to the standard rate of 20 per cent.
This would raise revenue across the UK estimated by the Institute of Fiscal Studies at £11.5bn a year.
We should increase the employee rate of National Insurance Contributions for higher rate and additional rate taxpayers from 2 per cent to 4 cent raising an estimated £2bn a year.
Taken together these three measures will raise an additional £20bn a year for funding vital public services.
Thus, increased current spending on services will be funded from increased taxation,
while additional capital investment will be funded by borrowing.
Transport
We would scrap the wasteful and environmentally harmful HS2 project.
That would not only avoid the destruction of important habitats,
it would also allow us to instead invest public transport infrastructure more fairly across the UK.
HS2 currently swallows up a third of the UK Government’s support for rail (£2.1 billion out of a total of £6.4 billion during 2017-18).
It is clear from published and leaked reports that HS2 will cost far more than the planned £56bn - up to £100bn and may never reach beyond Birmingham.
Now is the time to stop this vanity project and redirect that investment to areas, such as Wales and the north of England, that really need it.
Plaid Cymru opposes the construction of a third runway in Heathrow.
Although Heathrow has put a £14bn figure on its expansion costs, others say the true figure will be nearer £30bn.
If the go-ahead is given for these English projects, which nonetheless have UK-wide impact, then Plaid Cymru will demand extra funding for Wales in terms of a full proportionate share, as determined by the Barnett funding formula.
Defence
Plaid Cymru has consistently opposed the hugely wasteful and dangerous replacement of Trident.
The replacement of Trident is expected to cost at least £205 billion.
We will scrap this waste of money, allowing money to be invested in public services
and infrastructure.
ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
Biodiversity
Widespread loss and degradation of habitats across Wales is now as obvious to us as climate change.
We must act swiftly and with determination if we want to halt the effects of the ecological crisis on our wildlife and begin to see recovery.
This calls for action close to home and globally.
Plaid Cymru will bring forward legislation to tackle the extinction crisis, placing a legal obligation on this and future governments to act for the recovery of nature.
Furthermore, we will secure robust, independent governance and accountability processes to uphold the law and stand up for our environment.
We will support greater transition to organic and other sustainable farming systems.
We will develop plans for renewable energy that operate in harmony with nature by identifying ecologically sustainable sites for offshore and onshore wind energy development,
as well as potential areas for solar and tidal energy development.
This will be a cornerstone of our ‘Welsh Energy Atlas’.
It will show where different forms of energy resources would have the least ecological impact,
as well as potential sites for nature redevelopment and conservation.
Global Deforestation
Though forests are the lungs of our planet, they are being decimated across the world at an alarming rate.
Wales has a role in resisting this trend.
We will: Legislate to end the importation of goods that have caused deforestation.
Invest in Overseas Development Aid that supports a transition to ecologically friendly farming.
Require that imported palm oil comes from sustainable sources.
Ban imports of soy, beef and other agri-commodities from illegally deforested land.
Protecting our Seas
Plaid Cymru supports a strong UN Global Ocean Treaty capable of creating a network of ocean sanctuaries covering at least 30% of oceans by 2030.
This should involve an immediate moratorium on deep sea mining.
All further activity within UK exploration contracts should be halted.
International Trade
Future trade deals undertaken by the UK, whether inside or outside the EU, should maintain and enhance environmental standards,
minimise the environmental footprint of trade
and make trade terms explicitly subject to environmental
and human rights commitments.
There should be specific protections for vital global ecosystems and habitats such as the Amazon,
and for indigenous people.
Minister for the Future
Plaid Cymru proposes the establishment of a new Ministry for the Future.
In the Senedd, we already have a dedicated Shadow Minister for the Future.
As well as surveying the broad policy environment, the Minister will be tasked with taking a long-term view of our environment, with responsibility to:
Ensure that Wales transitions to a low carbon, nature friendly economy.
Develop a package of environmental and fiscal reforms to aid the transition to a greener economy.
Encourage private sector investment in new green technologies.
Creating Sustainable Communities
We want Wales to play our part in leading the world in a just transition to sustainable communities.
The first step is securing the devolution of all responsibilities for our natural resources, such as the Crown Estates, Ofgem and the National Grid,
so that the power to act is in the hands of the people of Wales, through our democratically elected Senedd.
Carbon Mitigation
Our energy policy will be geared towards ensuring that our resources are used sustainably, tackling pollution,
developing jobs in the post- carbon economy
and increasing our energy independence.
We will invest in the acquisition and development of new large scale generating and storage capacity projects through our renewables revolution
and provide support for community energy initiatives.
Plaid Cymru will commission a national inventory of green energy potential in Wales, an “Energy Atlas for Wales”, which will identify areas where development will have the least ecological impact.
Plaid Cymru will increase community ownership of renewable energy to retain more benefits locally.
We will: Establish a national energy agency, Ynni Cymru, which would be charged with realising Wales’s green energy potential.
Fully realise marine energy potential including wave, tidal range and tidal stream energy.
Seek a complete ban on fracking and new open-cast coal mines.
Oppose the development of new sites for nuclear power stations.
Oppose the use of pylons through National Parks and Areas of Natural Beauty, advocating the use of underground and undersea cables to carry electricity where feasible.
Increasing Woodland
To make our contribution to tackling climate change we need to substantially increase the acreage of Welsh forestry.
Since Natural Resources Wales took over responsibility for forestry in 2013, new woodland planted has been less than 1,000 hectares a year, and in some years has been below 500 hectares.
We should aim for a minimum planting rate of 2,000 hectares a year from 2020, a target recommended by the UK Climate Change Committee.
We will examine the case for establishing a dedicated forestry organization to undertake the urgent task of addressing the Climate Emergency by planting more trees.
We will ensure that this policy is closely connected with agri-environment incentives for farmers.
Increasing our native tree woodlands not only has a major part to play in terms of carbon capture,
but offers many other benefits including flood control,
providing wildlife habitat,
improving the quality of our landscape,
and creating useful timber products.
While they were MPs, Plaid Cymru’s team recently received a 100% rating in the Guardian’s analysis of MPs’ records on 16 indicative climate votes between 2008 and 2018, reflecting our long-standing support for ambitious long-term climate targets.
Clean Air
It is estimated that air pollution contributes to 2,000 deaths a year in Wales.
We will implement a Clean Air Act for Wales to: Create clean air zones in our towns and cities.
Give communities the right to place pollution-monitoring equipment outside schools and hospitals.
Enable local authorities to introduce pollution and congestion charges.
Set a national and regional plan to reduce air pollution in Wales.
Reform planning law to require impact on air pollution to be given greater weight in the planning system.
Accelerate the transition to an electric transport system so that petrol and diesel cars are phased out by 2030.
Reducing Plastic Waste
We will tackle the issue of plastic waste by banning single-use plastics,
developing sustainable alternatives
and increasing recycling targets.
Plaid Cymru will place Wales at the forefront of the circular economy and ensure a Zero Waste Wales by 2030 through a combination of legislation and policy initiatives, such as Deposit Return Schemes, extended producer responsibility and use of planning laws, levies and tax-making powers.
Flood Prevention
We will place a greater emphasis on flood prevention in planning guidelines, recognising that climate change will make serious flooding events more likely in future.
We will invest in prevention work to reduce new and repeat flooding across Wales, utilising land management techniques such as planting new woodland to manage water retention in the uplands and prevent water run-off.
Electric Vehicle Charging Network
We will invest in a national electric vehicle charging network across Wales, starting the transition towards a wholly electric fleet of public sector vehicles
and increased use of private EVs.
Currently Wales has eight of the counties with the lowest number of public car charging points per person across Britain.
Cardiff has 45 public charging points, compared with 112 in Edinburgh and 258 in Milton Keynes.
Without public intervention Wales will be left behind in the coming electric car revolution.
Bike Reward Scheme
Plaid Cymru will introduce a bicycle use reward scheme, to encourage people out of their cars and onto their bikes.
This will lead to a significant reduction in road congestion and a boost for improved health and wellbeing.
We will develop a scheme where participants are paid for every mile they cycle to work, as is the case in the Netherlands.
This would go hand in hand with significant improvements to cycling infrastructure, making cycling safer and more enjoyable for children and casual bike users.
It would include nationwide improvements to cycle paths,
the development of cycleways connecting economic hubs
and providing train carriages with enough room for bicycles.
FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND FISHING
Food
The Welsh food and drink sector is integral to the prosperity and health of communities throughout Wales.
The food supply chain is worth £7 billion to the Welsh economy,
while the food and drink industry employs an estimated 240,000 people.
We will seek to create a stronger domestic food market underpinned by a more resilient processing capacity supported by more pro-active public procurement policies.
We will also protect and grow the Welsh brand,
building on the highest environmental and animal welfare standards.
We support a GMO-free Wales and the continuing moratorium on GM crops in the EU.
Plaid Cymru will fight for full powers for the Senedd over food labelling.
This would allow us to build on and enhance the Welsh brand,
helping promote and add value to our internationally renowned Welsh produce.
Plaid Cymru MPs will also seek to ensure that any future trade deals secure geographical indications for key Welsh food such as Welsh Lamb and Beef, Halen Mȏn/Anglesey Sea Salt, Pembrokeshire early new potatoes, Conwy Mussels, Carmarthen Ham and Welsh Wine.
Agriculture
Farming is the backbone of rural communities across Wales and agriculture is an important sector in terms of the broader Welsh economy.
Currently, well over half of most Welsh farmer’s incomes come from the direct payments they receive through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
Direct payments provide stability and security to farmers and are crucial in ensuring the vitality of Welsh farms and the wider rural economy.
The Welsh Labour Government intend phasing out direct payments if we leave the EU, which would have a devastating impact on the rural economy and the fabric of rural communities.
A Plaid Cymru government will retain a direct payment scheme.
We can also protect this funding for Welsh farmers by remaining in the EU.
This general election has added more uncertainty around Brexit, since before it was called the UK government had guaranteed payments until the notional end of the Parliament, that is until 2022.
Plaid Cymru believes that more must be done to tackle bovine TB.
Experience from other countries shows that we must be more effective in tackling TB in wildlife if we are to get a grip on the situation.
Evidence from the Downs study recently underlined the contribution that removing badgers can have on TB breakdowns, which is why Plaid Cymru believes it has to be part of the answer in Wales.
Plaid Cymru is calling for the devolution of powers relating to dog attacks on livestock.
In the north of Wales alone, there were 449 recorded cases of dog attacks between 2013 and 2017.
As well as causing distress to animals they incur a large financial burden on farmers.
The four main pieces of legislation that currently cover livestock attacks are antiquated and do not fit with current agricultural practices or the seriousness of the offence.
Devolution and a change in the legislation is necessary to ensure the seriousness of this offence is understood,
and that Welsh police forces have the powers to properly trace and deal with offenders.
Fishing
The Welsh fish and shellfish sector is worth £25 million to Wales
and exports 90% of its produce, much of it to the EU.
The vast majority catch shellfish, exporting them live to the continent or further afield via EU trade deals.
Welsh capture fisheries, aquaculture producers and seafood supply chains are particularly vulnerable to any hold-ups in the transporting of their produce.
If they are held up in ports, they can ndeteriorate and lose value.
Any tariff barriers or non-tariff barriers would have an immense impact on their viability.
The frictionless trade which is a benefit of EU membership is therefore crucial.
Remaining in the EU will help protect the future of our fishing families.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Wales can lead the way in the protection of animals and ensuring high animal welfare standards.
We believe that there should be tougher sentences for those who abuse animals
and that there should be an Animal Abuse Register for Wales.
New legislation
Plaid Cymru supports the introduction of new legislation to regulate the sale of pet animals online to ensure that animals are protected.
Primates are intelligent and socially complex animals and we believe it to be unethical to keep these animals as pets.
As such, we will introduce new legislation to fully ban the keeping of primates as pets.
We will implement the recommendations of the Westminster Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee on  ending breed specific legislation, as it fails to protect public safety and results in the unnecessary destruction of hundreds of dogs.
We will also introduce an online harms regulator with the power to require social media providers to ensure that animal cruelty content is not shared on their platforms.
We will ensure that any imports in existing and future trade agreements are consistent with Welsh and UK animal health and welfare standards, in order to maintain our current high standards
and to provide a level playing field between our farmers and farmers in other parts of the world.
We will strengthen legislation against illegal puppy imports in order to end the exploitation of legislative loopholes by criminal gangs.
Brexit
Currently, 80% of animal welfare legislation comes from EU law.
We cannot trust the Westminster government when it comes to animal welfare.
As members of the EU, countries may adopt more stringent rules than the EU animal welfare legislation, which sets down minimum standards.
However, the UK Government has been resistant to going further than the EU minimum in the past over fears that this would weaken UK competitiveness.
If we leave the EU, the UK will be seeking to strike trade deals with economies much larger than its own –
countries such as the USA that have much lower animal welfare standards than the EU.
It will be doing so from a position of weakness.
Plaid Cymru will demand that future trade deals seek to strengthen rather than weaken animal welfare legislation.
However, the best way of securing animal welfare protection is by stopping Brexit, allowing us to build upon the foundations provided by EU law.
THE WELSH LANGUAGE
Plaid Cymru want a genuinely bilingual Wales where citizens can choose which language to use in their daily lives.
There is wide support for the goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050.
The education system has a key role to create the growth that is needed and to make fluency in both our national languages the norm.
To achieve that, we need to substantially increase the number of Welsh speakers across the country and ensure that speakers have opportunities to use the language wherever they choose to do so.
We want to encourage a greater use of Welsh in the workplace in the public, private and third sectors, and in government.
We will use procurement contracts and apprenticeships to promote the use of Welsh.
The Welsh language belongs to everybody in Wales and it is important that everyone has the opportunity to become bilingual.
We will increase the availability of Welsh language education from nursery, to further and higher  education, right through to adult learning.
We will achieve a world-class education system that is truly bilingual, giving everyone the opportunity to learn through the medium of Welsh.
A Welsh Education Act would ensure that everyone in Wales has the right to receive Welsh-medium education.
Through this new law, Plaid Cymru will ensure that our citizens have the opportunity to develop skills in the Welsh language at every level
as well as ensure the right to receive Welsh-medium education whatever a person’s age or background.
Plaid Cymru will retain the post of Welsh Language Commissioner, ensuring that the Commissioner focuses chiefly on activities relating to setting and regulating Welsh Language Standards.
New robust standards would also be introduced in the NHS which would secure the right to receive face-to-face services through the medium of Welsh.
We will establish a new high-status organisation, either at arms’ length or embedded within the Welsh Government.
This body will have responsibility for comprehensive language planning,
the promotion and facilitation of the language in the community,
and will be empowered to guide policy development across all sections and levels of government.
We will create an Economic Agency responsible for developing the economy of the western and northwest counties of Wales.
As one of Europe’s poorest regions, improving its prosperity is essential for underpinning the Welsh language and culture.
It is also crucial that Welsh speakers are able to access and use the digital world in Welsh so that they are not excluded from an increasingly digitized society.
There is already ground-breaking work taking place in Wales and Plaid Cymru will support this work, including establishing a Digital Menter Iaith to  ensure that we address the problem of digital language barriers.
CULTURE AND MEDIA
Plaid Cymru will place art, culture and language together with sport – all vitally important parts of our social tradition and way of life – at the heart of all our policies, from local government finance, through to health and education and our European policies.
Creativity, innovation and a sense of place will be critical to the success of any economy in the 21st century and also carry a huge social dividend in wellbeing and community cohesion.
We will maintain free entry to museums,
create a National Digital Library for Wales,
and work with National Museums Wales to create a dedicated National Gallery for Contemporary Art.
We recognise that Wales has fewer bank holidays than almost any other nation in the EU.
Plaid Cymru will make 1st March a national St David’s Day bank holiday in Wales.
Plaid Cymru is seeking the devolution of broadcasting so that we can create a level- playing field with every other UK nation and give Wales the power to decide its own media and broadcasting policy.
In government, we will promote a Welsh media that represents the people of Wales and what matters to them.
EQUALITIES
Plaid Cymru believe in a fair and just society where everyone is treated equally and enjoys the same rights, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
Against the backdrop of a Tory Party who are intent on undermining the Human Rights Act,
we will publish a human rights charter for Wales to protect the most vulnerable members of our communities.
We will also seek devolution of responsibility for equalities legislation to Wales.
Plaid Cymru understands that despite the significant progress made, on average, women are paid at lower rates per hour than men for work of equal value
and are more likely to be in part-time employment or under- employed.
We are committed to encouraging women’s full and equal participation in the economy by ending gender segregation in the workplace
and promoting more flexible working patterns.
Our policy of providing 40 hours free universal education
and childcare to children above one
will ensure that parents have the option of returning to work and save on the cost of childcare.
A Plaid Cymru Government will promote all careers as being available to men and women.
We will support women and girls to follow careers in key growth areas, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields.
We will create mentorships schemes to increase the visibility of women in non-traditional occupations and senior roles
and to increase girls’ awareness of the many different paths available to them.
We will also introduce gender balanced management boards in Welsh Government funded organisations.
Plaid Cymru will address the impact of austerity-led cuts on funding for specialist services for women who have experienced domestic violence or abuse
and ensure continued support to marginalised and vulnerable groups in society.
We believe that LGBTQI+ voices and experiences need to be heard and affirmed.
Having secured recurrent funding for the Gender Identity Clinic, Plaid Cymru will work to improve the provision and ensure timely access to the service.
Schools in Wales will be required to keep a register of bullying incidents related to sexuality, to take action where necessary and to involve students in anti-bullying initiatives.
We will promote LGBT participation in sport,
as part of broader efforts towards healthier lifestyles,
and work with clubs and organisations to reduce homophobic, transphobic and sexist behaviour.
Whilst we believe that disabled people should be encouraged and supported into employment, we do not believe it is appropriate to require disabled people to face the same obligations and threats of sanctions in looking for employment.
We will establish sheltered employment schemes for those people who need a more supportive environment to return to work, as a stepping stone towards full participation in employment,
and will work with accredited employers to create such schemes.
We will ensure local authorities and social landlords provide more disabled friendly and lifetime housing suitably adapted to people’s needs.
All schools will have appropriate access for physically disabled pupils.
We will ensure that better support is available for people with learning difficulties,
including increasing the number of specialist nurses in hospital settings to address inequalities in the provision of health services.
Plaid Cymru is committed to working with blind, partially sighted, and deaf people and those experiencing hearing loss, the organisations representing them, and professionals, to develop national strategies to ensure co-ordinated and equitable access to services.
Plaid Cymru will support the reform of the Gender Recognition Act to introduce a streamlined, de-medicalised process.
We will support efforts to reform the Equality Act to include ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic
and to remove the use of the terms ‘gender reassignment’ and ‘transsexual’ from the Act.
Caring for New and Growing Families
Plaid Cymru believes that parents should be supported to work and take periods of leave that reflect modern working practices, including flexible working.
With Brexit posing a real threat to workers’ rights, Plaid Cymru commits to protect the right to work of pregnant women and new mothers by supporting a legal ban on employers making a woman redundant throughout pregnancy, and until six months after return from maternity leave, other than in very limited circumstances, as called for by the charity Maternity Action.
We will also tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace by supporting the call to legislate to add reporting of retention rates for women returning from maternity leave to the existing ‘gender pay gap’ reporting regime.
With a multitude of changes across new parents’ lives, Plaid Cymru will work to support parents’ mental health during what can be a joyous, yet challenging time by extending access to perinatal mental health services, including access to specialist mother and baby units within Wales.
We will tackle loneliness and isolation amongst new parents by establishing local Parent Networks, inspired by the successful Mamma Gruppen initiative in Sweden.
Plaid Cymru supports the call for maternity and paternity pay and leave to be extended in the case of babies that are born prematurely (before 36 weeks’ gestation).
The recent Westminster legislation providing for free funerals for babies should be extended to cover those lost to early miscarriage.
Autism
Plaid Cymru believes that neuro-diversity should be regarded as an equalities issue,
with public services required to make reasonable adjustments in the delivery of services.
Consequently, we would make neuro-divergence a protected characteristic under the Equalities Act.
Plaid Cymru will pass an Autism Act for Wales that adopts a rights- based approach for people with autism, or who are suspected of having autism but are yet to receive a diagnosis.
WESTMINSTER REFORM
The Brexit crisis has demonstrated that Westminster is broken, and the people of Wales are paying the price.
We are best served by our own National Parliament – the Senedd which is more inclusive and more representative than Westminster.
Plaid Cymru were the hardest working party at Westminster. In the last parliament, Plaid Cymru MPs asked more parliamentary questions and made more speeches than the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem MPs representing constituencies in Wales.
But we also have a duty to the people of Wales to protect their interests in the institutions that currently exist.
That’s why we have led the way in efforts to protect representative democracy against Boris Johnson’s undemocratic shutdown of parliament and worked closely with other parties to block a no-deal Brexit.
Plaid Cymru is committed to overhauling the Westminster voting system, getting rid of First-Past-the-Post and turning it into a parliament elected under the Single Transferable Vote proportional system, in which all votes count equally.
Plaid Cymru supports reform of the House of Lords so that it becomes a directly elected upper chamber representing the regions of England,
and so long as they remain part of the UK state, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
We will lead efforts to extend the right to vote to sixteen and seventeen-year-olds for Westminster elections,
and we will campaign to give EU citizens and all those with permanent residency the right to vote in all elections.
Westminster’s faults are fundamental.
The confrontational architecture of the chamber encourages antagonism and distrust between political parties.
Plaid Cymru were at the forefront of the legal fight against Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of Parliament, with Hywel Williams, Liz Saville Roberts, Jonathan Edwards and Ben Lake all petitioners to the case to the Scottish Court of Session. We will continue to work across the parties to defend democracy at every opportunity.
We will cancel plans for the £5bn restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.
Instead of building a replica of a parliament that has seen barely any reform since the Nineteenth Century, we will campaign to move the Parliament out of London, in order to build a chamber that encourages civilized debate and which holds enough seats for all 650 MPs.
We will also support abolishing the archaic and inefficient voting procedure in Westminster whereby MPs walk through lobbies for hours.
Instead, we will support electronic voting, freeing up time for MPs to represent their constituents.
Currently, nearly one in five MPs has regular paid work outside parliament.
We will lead efforts to strengthen the MPs’ code of conduct, to include an upper limit of extra earnings pegged at no more than half of their regular salary.
Currently, there are 17 Assembly Members and seven Welsh MPs who employ members of their own families at the public’s expense.
Whether in the Senedd, Westminster or Brussels Plaid Cymru politicians will not employ family members.
As members of the Welsh Affairs Committee over the last two years, Plaid’s Ben Lake and Jonathan Edwards have scrutinised the British Government on issues such as the proposed closure of Ford’s Bridgend plant, City Deals and Growth Deals in Wales, Wales and the Armed Forces, the devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Wales, and the impact of Brexit on Wales.
We will put the interests of the people of Wales above political rivalries
and discourage language that incites hatred or encourages disrespect.
We commit to upholding a level of respect and professionalism between colleagues in Westminster.
Nationality on Electoral Forms
Currently, official electoral register documents force us to identify as British instead of Welsh.
This is an insult to the 58% of people in Wales who identify as Welsh only and not British.
We will introduce a Bill to Parliament changing electoral law so that all national identities – Welsh, British, Scottish, English and Irish – are recognised as official options.
We will give people the opportunity to identify as Welsh on their passports,
as well as the chance to have a Welsh flag, a British flag, or neither on drivers’ licences.
The Welsh Language in Westminster
Twenty-six years after the Welsh Language Act, Welsh speakers are still at a disadvantage when it comes to Westminster.
Welsh speakers have a right to correspond with all Ministers and access all government and parliament services through the medium of Welsh.
MPs should have the right to speak Welsh in the House of Commons chamber so that all their constituents can feel represented.
PEACE AND SECURITY
Plaid Cymru wants to see Wales as part of a global community where we work together to keep each other safe and secure.
Both the Tories and Labour want to spend billions on the renewal of an ineffective and unnecessary nuclear weapons system.
Plaid Cymru are determined to prevent the renewal of a weapon of mass destruction and to scrap Trident.
We will resist all attempts to relocate nuclear weapons in Wales or in Welsh Waters.
We will instead base our regiments at home in Wales with a properly funded and looked- after defence force.
We will also work with the UK government and other agencies on cyber-defences to prevent technology attacks upon Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom.
Plaid Cymru believes that, with the exception of binding international treaties, the decision to go to war should require the support of all four nations
and we demand that a vote is held in the Senedd prior to any UK-supported military intervention in foreign affairs.
The people of Wales have a democratic right to support or oppose such incursions.
Plaid Cymru will take responsibility for our Welsh based veterans, in consultation with the Welsh Veterans Partnership.
Veterans have been forgotten by successive governments, with vast numbers continuing to suffer mental and physical health issues with little access to the services they require.
We will make sure that veterans receive excellent health care, including mental health care, and adequate housing.
WALES AND THE WORLD
In government, Plaid Cymru will develop an international policy for Wales that restores our position as a great trading nation.
We will introduce a Wales International, responsible for attracting new businesses, talent and industry from around the world,
but also for putting Wales onto the global map for our exports.
We will also establish, as in Ireland, a separate National Enterprise Agency, responsible for development inside Wales.
A particular responsibility for this new body will be to ensure equitable investment
and sustainable development throughout Wales.
Plaid’s Ben Lake has forged connections with the Consular Association in Wales in order to emphasise the importance of diplomatic representation. He raised the issue through a Westminster Hall debate in June 2019.
Plaid Cymru will continue to support strategic trade missions across the world to foster awareness of Wales in new territories
and take advantage of new opportunities that this provides to create jobs.
We will publish a set of trade negotiation principles, including for labour
and environment standards,
and protection of the rights of cultural and language minorities.
We will encourage other countries to establish diplomatic representation in Wales, taking inspiration from countries such as Catalonia and Québec, whose capital cities host dozens of Consulates-General and Consulates, and have emerged as thriving international hubs.
Whilst chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia, Arfon’s Hywel Williams was the leading voice in Westminster against Spanish state repression in Catalonia. Hywel’s urgent question in October 2019 led to cross-party support for the defence of freedoms and civil liberties in Catalonia, and gained international press attention.
We will establish a formal relationship between the Welsh Government and the Consular Association in Wales as a starting point for developing a strategy to encourage more diplomatic representation in Wales, bringing together key businesses, with a shared objective of enhancing the Welsh economy.
We will call for Welsh associate membership of UNESCO,
the Food and Agriculture Organisation,
and the International Maritime Organisation.
Tourism
Plaid Cymru recognises the importance of the tourism industry across Wales as an employer and in attracting investment into the country.
We want to promote Wales as a high quality, sustainable tourism destination with activities and experiences based on our natural resources, our produce, our unique coastline and landscape, and our language, culture and heritage.
We will increase funding for tourism promotion for Wales to take its place amongst the best destinations world-wide.
Currently, the tourism industry is held back by unfair taxes
and a Government that is failing to promote Wales as a global tourist destination.
Plaid Cymru want to see tourism VAT on hospitality cut to 9% to put Wales ahead in the international tourism market.
We will establish a National Academy for the Welsh tourism sector to provide hands-on learning from apprenticeships to degree level, offering world-class vocational and professional development for workers across the sector.
We will also advocate associate membership of the UN World Tourism Organisation.
We will improve the tourist experience by ensuring that: There is joined-up services and knowledge so that tourists can stay close to events.
Hotels have access to the latest tourism information.
Public transport is available when required.
Hotels provide the best quality of service, including the use of foreign languages.
We will support the development of locally-run municipal camping sites in our towns and cities.
We will launch a Celebrate Wales year to stimulate tourism across the country.
OUR KEY PLEDGES
The chaos of Brexit has exposed just how dysfunctional Westminster really is.
We have had an unelected Prime Minister with no mandate seek to impose a damaging Brexit on Scotland,
and a paralysed Parliament delivering for no one.
Scotland deserves better.
Now more than ever, it is vital to have strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland.
Here are our key pledges and the issues that SNP MPs will prioritise:
Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands
We believe that the best future for Scotland is to be an independent, European nation.
Not for our own sake, but because it allows Scotland to become the open, tolerant, inclusive and democratic nation we are determined to build.
By making all our own decisions here in Scotland,
we could end poverty faster,
play our full part in tackling the climate emergency,
ensure a fair deal for pensioners
and create new opportunities for jobs
and our economy.
We have a clear mandate to deliver a new referendum on becoming an independent country,
and we are making it clear at this election that next year we intend to offer the people of Scotland a choice over their future.
It is important to ensure a referendum is put beyond legal challenge.
Before the end of the year, we will demand that the UK Government transfers the necessary powers under The Scotland Act to ensure the decisions about the referendum can be taken by the Scottish Parliament.
Escape from Brexit
Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU
but has been completely ignored by Westminster and our interests have been trampled over throughout the entire process.
This is unacceptable.
There is no way that Brexit will be done in the next few months.
Instead it will go on for years as the UK has to try to negotiate trade agreements with the EU and countries around the world.
We will work with others across Scotland and the UK to escape from Brexit.
In a UK context, we will support a second EU referendum with Remain on the ballot paper.
And if it is the only alternative to a ‘no deal’ Brexit, we will support the revocation of Article 50.
Whatever Scotland’s constitutional status it is important for the UK to remain as close to the EU as possible.
SNP MPs will always vote to protect Scotland’s place in the single market and customs union.
NHS
We will call on the UK government to match Scottish per capita NHS spending,
which will deliver increased funding for Scotland.
We will propose a new National Health Service Protection Act to guarantee that trade deals will not undermine the founding principles of the NHS,
nor open it to profit driven exploitation.
End austerity
More than a decade of austerity,
years of low wage growth
and a freeze on social security payments,
has left families struggling and our public services stretched.
We will not stand by whilst Scotland is denied its fair share of public spending.
SNP MPs will demand an end to austerity and instead press the UK Government to invest in public services
and the economy,
starting with a reversal of the cut Scotland has seen to its real-terms budget.
Eradicating poverty and inequality
SNP MPs will demand an end to policies which are pushing people into poverty, debt and desperation
including ending the two child cap on tax credits
and associated rape clause,
an end to the punitive benefit sanctions regime,
and a halt to Universal Credit.
We will also press for an immediate end to the benefit freeze
and for uplifts in the value of income replacement benefits of at least inflation.
Tackling the drugs crisis
SNP MPs will call for the devolution of drug policy so the SNP Scottish Government can take all the steps needed to tackle addiction, reduce health risks and take the vital steps to tackle drug-related deaths and harm in Scotland.
Fair pensions
We will always protect the Triple Lock, ensuring that pensions continue to rise by inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent – whatever is highest.
We will oppose any increase to the state pension age.
We will also continue to support the WASPI campaign,
and fight to reverse the cut to Pension Credit
and demand that the government re-instates the free TV licence for all over-75s.
A tailored migration system
We will seek the devolution of immigration powers so that Scotland can have an migration system that works for our economy and society.
We will oppose in all its forms the ‘hostile environment’ of the UK immigration system,
and we will stand firm against the demonisation of migrants.
Devolution of employment law
Pending Scottish independence, we will press for the devolution of employment law
so that the Scottish Parliament can protect workers’ rights,
increase the living wage
and end the age discrimination of the statutory living wage.
The climate emergency
Scotland has the world’s most ambitious emissions reductions targets in law,
but we can only end our contribution to climate change if the UK Government plays its part and meets its targets.
SNP MPs will demand the UK matches Scotland’s ambition,
meets its Paris Climate Agreement responsibilities
and sticks to future EU emission standards – regardless of our position within the EU.
We will propose a Green Energy Deal that will ensure green energy schemes get the long-term certainty needed to support investment
and that a UK Government plays its part in delivering a Green New Deal for Scotland.
Scrap Trident
SNP MPs will build a cross-party coalition to scrap Trident as quickly and as safely as possible.
We believe the billions spent on Trident should be invested in our public services.
WESTMINSTER IS BROKEN
This election really matters.
At stake is who will decide Scotland’s future – Westminster leaders like Boris Johnson or the people who live here?
People in Scotland are sick of Brexit
and fed up with Westminster.
It’s a mess.
Whatever people’s view on the European Union, and however they voted on Brexit, it is obvious that Westminster is broken.
Three years of political chaos has exposed that for all to see.
There is no end in sight.
A vote for the SNP at this election offers an escape route for Scotland.
It’s a vote for Scotland’s right to choose our own future in a new independence referendum.
Brexit is a disaster for Scotland
Brexit has destroyed the idea of the United Kingdom as a partnership of equals.
Wales and England both voted to leave and under the Boris Johnson deal will leave.
Northern Ireland is to get a special deal and the right to choose its future.
Scotland – the nation of the UK with the highest remain vote – is to get nothing.
The Tory Brexit deal will take Scotland out of the EU,
out of the Single Market and Customs Union,
all against our will.
That is unfair and anti-democratic.
Brexit will put barriers between our businesses and the world’s largest single market.
It will make Scotland poorer,
cost jobs,
hit living standards
and threaten environmental standards
and workers’ rights.
The trade deal the Tories plan with Donald Trump also risks opening the NHS up to US multinational companies.
It risks opening our markets to chlorinated chicken and hormone injected beef.
The Boris Johnson deal does not get Brexit done.
It will just herald the start of lengthy and complex trade talks.
It opens the door to many more years of Brexit dominating Westminster politics.
And if trade talks fail next year, or don’t reach a conclusion in time, a no deal Brexit will be back on the table.
Scotland has the right to choose a better future.
Westminster’s broken promises
Brexit has broken the Britain Scotland was promised in 2014.
Here’s what the Westminster parties promised in the first Independence Referendum ... and how they broke those promises.
European Union: The Better Together campaign claimed that a Yes vote would remove our EU Citizenship.
Now, the UK Government is removing Scotland from the EU against our will.
Lead the UK: They said “Don’t leave the UK. Lead the UK.”
The Prime Minister now says that the Scottish Parliament will not get a say in Brexit
– despite Northern Ireland getting a voice under his Brexit deal.
Boris Johnson: Better Together suggested Boris Johnson being Prime Minister was a ‘scare story’.
Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the UK, unelected, less than five years after the 2014 referendum.
Protection for our NHS: We were told Scotland’s NHS would be safe as part of the UK, but now we see the NHS is up for grabs in a future trade deal with Donald Trump.
Protecting Scottish Pensions: The Westminster parties claimed that staying in the UK would protect pensions.
The UK Government have since removed pension entitlement from WASPI women,
and some Tories are openly suggesting raising the state pension age to 75.
Shipyards: Before the referendum, the No campaign promised contracts for 13 Type-26 frigates to be built in Govan and Scotstoun shipyards.
Now only 8 such frigates are to be built, and only some of the work on these ships will come to Scotland.
Social Security: The No campaign said that the most vulnerable in Scotland would be better protected with a No vote.
Instead, £3.7 billion a year is set to be cut from social security spending in Scotland next year and the UN has labelled the UK welfare system a “digital and sanitised version of the 19th-century workhouse”.
New Powers: Unionist parties told us the Scottish Parliament would be the most powerful devolved assembly in the world.
Not only did the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee judge that such new powers fell short of what was promised,
now the UK Government has launched a power grab on Holyrood under the guise of Brexit.
Public Sector Jobs: It was claimed in the referendum by the UK Government that it provided valuable employment through civil service jobs in Scotland.
Within a year of the referendum, 2,500 of these jobs were put on the line with the planned closure of 17 HMRC centres.
Defence Personnel: Voters were warned a Yes vote would damage Scotland’s defence.
Yet since the referendum, the Tories’ have failed to meet their commitment to increase defence personnel and announced they would close a fifth of the MoD’s estate in Scotland.
Barnett Formula: They promised the Barnett Formula would remain but billions have been pledged to other parts of the UK – bypassing Barnett – as part of political pacts with the DUP
SCOTLAND’S FUTURE
The SNP believes Scotland should be an independent country in a new partnership of equals with the rest of the UK and our European neighbours.
We believe a better Scotland can be built for this and future generations if decisions about Scotland are taken by the people of Scotland.
It is our core belief that responsibility for Scotland’s future should rest with all those who have made our country their home, no matter where they come from.
At present, our future is not in our hands.
It is in the hands of the Westminster Parliament and Government.
The question we face as a country is this: who has the right to determine our future, Westminster politicians or the people who live here?
In an independent Scotland: we will always get the governments people vote for,
as part of the EU, we will be a member of the world’s largest trading block and single market, which is currently eight times the size of the UK alone,
economic and migration policy will be tailored to Scotland’s needs,
the Scottish Parliament will have full control of tax and social security policy,
we won’t have to waste money on Westminster priorities like nuclear weapons
or Brexit,
and our NHS will never be under threat from a UK  Government trade deal with Donald Trump.
If we are not independent: we will continue to get Westminster governments we don’t vote for,
Westminster can take us out of the EU and out of the Single Market of more than 500 million people,
and in the words of the UK Government Treasury, Brexit will make us “permanently poorer”,
Westminster will continue to control social security policy, with the threat that the Tories could raise the retirement age as high as 75,
and our NHS will be under threat from a Donald Trump trade deal.
If Westminster maintains control over Scotland, major changes which could profoundly damage this and future generations will be imposed without our consent.
We believe people in Scotland have the right to choose their own future
- a choice between Westminster control and becoming an independent country.
Scotland’s economic strength
Our country has massive economic strengths.
Here’s just a few:Overall Wealth
Scotland would be ranked 16th in the OECD in terms of GDP per head, higher than the UK, France, Japan or New Zealand.
Renewables
Scotland accounts for around one quarter of Europe’s tidal resource,
around one-quarter of its offshore wind resource
and around 10% of its wave potential.
Food & Drink
The latest food and drink export figures show exports were valued at £6.3 billion (in 2018).
These are now at record levels, and are up 78% since 2007
Education
Scotland has 4 of the top 200 universities in the world.
Per head of population, Scotland has more universities in the top 200 than any other country in the world, except Switzerland.
Exports
Scotland’s international exports are stronger than ever.
Since 2011, our international exports, excluding oil and gas, have increased by over 57% and are now worth £32.4 billion.
Of this, almost half were exports to the EU
Inward Investment
Scotland has been the leading Foreign Direct Investment destination in the UK - outside of London - for five years running.
Culture and creativity
The Creative Industries contribute more than £7 billion to the Scottish economy each year
and support more than 80,000 jobs.
Fair Work
Scotland is leading the way on fair pay.
Scotland is the best performing of the four UK countries in terms of paying the real Living Wage at 81.6%.
The choice of making Scotland an independent nation is in your hands
There is a clear mandate to hold a referendum on independence during the current term of the Scottish Parliament.
Scotland has already voted for it but Westminster has so far refused to respect that mandate.
A vote for the SNP in this election, therefore, is a vote to endorse the following position: the people of Scotland have the right to choose their own future in a new referendum on becoming an independent country,
it must be for the Scottish Parliament not Westminster to decide when an independence referendum should be held - and the SNP intends that it will be in 2020.
An SNP election victory will be a clear instruction by the people of Scotland that a new referendum on independence should be held next year,
on a precise date to be determined by the Scottish Parliament.
An agreed process
In order to put a referendum beyond legal challenge, we will seek a transfer of power, such as a section 30 order under The Scotland Act.
Westminster should not have the right to over-rule a decision of the Scottish Parliament on whether or when to hold an independence referendum.
An SNP election victory will therefore also be a clear instruction by the people of Scotland to Westminster to ensure a referendum is put beyond legal challenge and under the control of the Scottish Parliament.
It is unsustainable for a UK Government to ignore such a democratic instruction.
The Scottish Government has said it intends to seek that transfer of power before the end of this year.
An agreed process means that no-one will be able to question the legitimacy of the referendum both here in Scotland and in the wider international community.
For EU member states in particular, it will be essential to demonstrate that a referendum has been held legally and constitutionally.
Scotland’s future in Europe
The people of Scotland voted decisively to remain in the EU and their wishes should be respected.
And whatever the different views of Brexit might be, there is no doubt that the whole process has descended into chaos and confusion.
The SNP will therefore continue working with others across Scotland and the UK to stop Brexit.
We will support a referendum with remain on the ballot paper to allow Brexit to be stopped for the whole of the UK.
And if we face a situation where the only alternative is a no deal Brexit, we will support the revocation of Article 50.
The SNP believes the best future for Scotland is to become an independent member of the EU.
Whatever Scotland’s constitutional status it is in our interests for the UK to remain as close to the EU as possible.
The Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson will not “get Brexit done”.
Instead it opens the door to many more years of negotiations on the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
Talks on a future trade deal have not even started and there is a high chance they could break down next year meaning “no deal” will be back on the table.
The deal that Boris Johnson wants will take Scotland out of the EU,
out of the Single Market
and out of the Customs Union.
It threatens environmental standards
and workers’ rights,
and it will leave the NHS vulnerable to a trade deal with Donald Trump.
It will make Scotland poorer – a GDP loss equivalent to £1,600 per person by the end of the next decade – compared with continuing EU membership
And by ending freedom of movement it will increase the risk of Scotland’s working population falling, damaging our economy, prosperity and public services.
It is time therefore for Scotland to look to the future, rather than being embroiled in never-ending Brexit debates that drag us back to the past.
12 of the other 27 EU member states have populations similar to or smaller than Scotland.
For countries of our size the attractions of being part of the world’s biggest trading block and single market are obvious.
The more Ireland, for example, has broadened its export base as a result of EU membership, the wealthier it has become.
We are strongly committed to upholding the core values of the EU.
Scotland’s abundant energy resources, leadership on tackling climate change, world-class universities and many other attributes mean we not only have much to contribute to EU membership, but also a lot to gain.
JOANNA CHERRY:
Standing Up for Democracy and The Rule of Law
The past three years have highlighted the reality that the Tories simply do not care for democracy and will stop at nothing to pursue their own narrow party interests.
With the Brexit chaos consuming Westminster, Joanna Cherry QC has led the battle to protect democracy and prevent the Tories from imposing lasting harm, while working to protect Scotland’s place in the EU.
Prevented Boris Johnson from crashing the UK out of the EU without a deal
The court case brought against Boris Johnson forced him to promise the Scottish Courts that he would obey the law to request and accept an
extension from the EU to the Brexit deadline, which stopped Scotland and the UK crashing out of the EU on 31 October without a deal – an outcome that would cost thousands of jobs, hit the economy, and harm people’s livelihoods.
Despite all the bluff and bluster that Boris Johnson was going to ignore the Benn Act and crash Scotland and the UK out of the EU with no deal, the court action and campaign by Joanna Cherry QC forced him to comply.
Stopped the illegal shut-down of parliament
Joanna Cherry also lead the case against the anti-democratic shutdown of the Westminster Parliament. As Boris Johnson took steps to force through a no-deal by proroguing Parliament, the SNP candidate for Edinburgh South West took the case to the Supreme Court to challenge the lawfulness of the move.
All 11 justices on the UK Supreme Court followed the ruling of Scotland’s highest court and declared the shutdown to be unlawful.
Article 50 Case in the European Court of Justice
Alongside the SNP’s candidate for Stirling, Alyn Smith MEP, as the only MP to play a part in the Article 50 case, Joanna Cherry’s participation was vital to securing success.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg found against the UK government and ruled that the Article 50 Notice can be unilaterally revoked to stop Brexit, and if Parliament so decides the UK can avoid crashing out without a deal.
STRONGER FOR SCOTLAND
Our Achievements at Westminster
The Westminster system has been shown to be broken and incapable of meeting Scotland’s needs.
However, SNP MPs have worked hard to stand up for Scotland and will continue to do so.
Standing up for Scotland
Led by Ian Blackford MP, SNP MPs have fought to make Scotland’s voice heard at Westminster.
From holding Theresa May and Boris Johnson to account at Prime Minister’s Questions, to leading the fight against a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, the SNP has been the real opposition to the Tories at Westminster.
Fighting the Power Grab on Scotland’s Parliament
The SNP at Westminster has led the campaign to protect Scotland’s Parliamentary powers from a Tory government, trying to roll back 20 years of devolution.
We will never let a UK government ignore Scotland’s voice in decision making.
Decisions for the people of Scotland must be made by the people of Scotland
Blocking a No Deal Brexit
We co-sponsored the critical piece of legislation in the House of Commons that forced the Prime Minister to seek an extension to Article 50, ensuring we didn’t crash out of the EU on October 31st.
Protecting the democratic process
The SNP was integral to the legal challenge over Boris Johnson’s undemocratic attempt to prorogue parliament,
winning a victory that prevented the unlawful attempt of an unelected Prime Minister to close down Parliament and undermine democracy being successful.
Securing a VAT exemption for Scotland’s Police and Fire services
Pressure from SNP MPs stopped the Tories charging Scotland’s police and fire services £40 million of VAT each year.
We will continue to demand the UK Government refunds the £175 million in VAT owed to Scotland’s emergency services.
Securing a Post-work study visa
The SNP has been pressing for the reintroduction of the post-study work visa since the Tory - Lib Dem UK government scrapped it in 2012.
The Tory government finally u-turned and the scheme will now operate for students starting courses in the UK from 2020/21 onwards, delivering a big boost to Scotland’s world class universities.
Getting Justice for Scotland’s Farmers
In 2013 the UK was given extra money from the EU to increase farm payments in Scotland, but instead the Tories chose to spend it across the UK, giving Scottish farmers only a fraction of what they were due.
The SNP has ensured that £80 million has now been handed over by the Westminster government
– and we will keep up the pressure until every penny of the £160 million owed to Scottish farming and crofting comes to Scotland.
Scrapping immigration fees
Pressure from the SNP forced the UK government into a major climb-down over its plans to charge fees for EU citizens applying for settled status.
Pushing for a new approach on drugs
The SNP sponsored a Private Members Bill aimed at legalising safe drug consumption rooms for people suffering from addiction.
The Bill would create safe consumption rooms to help reduce the number of people dying from drug overdoses
and tackle a rise in HIV among drug users.
Protecting Scottish whisky
SNP MPs campaigning prevented a tax raid on Scottish whisky and the SNP is now fighting to protect the sector’s EU protections.
We will oppose any trade talks with the US until they drop the new tariffs on Scotch whisky.
Tackling violence against women and girls
We have campaigned tirelessly for the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention - the gold standard approach to tackling violence against women and girls.
Universal Credit
The SNP has fought hard against the roll out of the Tories’ Universal Credit which is causing real hardship.
The efforts of our MPs have secured an increase in the work allowance worth an additional £630 a year for working people,
reduced the waiting time for UC payments
and secured vital additional funding for the transition to Universal Credit worth £1 billion.
Fighting the Tory Rape Clause
The appalling two-child cap and the rape clause have been a focus of SNP MPs.
Recent changes to the policy mean it only applies to children born after April 2017, but SNP MPs won’t stop until this policy is scrapped completely.
Scrapping rip-off DWP phone charges
SNP MPs successfully campaigned for the UK government to introduce a free phone number for all those requiring assistance from the DWP, ensuring vulnerable people aren’t ripped off getting advice on jobs, pensions and benefits.
Protecting workers and family rights:
SNP MPs have been at the forefront of arguing for and securing protections for workers and families.
From campaigning to extend parental leave for parents whose babies need neonatal care,
to legislation that would stop young people being exploited through unpaid trial shifts
and demands that Westminster ban exploitative zero hour contracts,
we have been on the side of workers and their rights.
Leading the campaign against problem gambling
The SNP was at the forefront of cross-party efforts to reduce the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals to £2,
and helped stop Tory attempts to postpone this from spring to autumn 2019.
Demanding action on tax evasion
The SNP has led the fight at Westminster against global tax evasion,
including a rare Finance Bill amendment forcing the UK to come clean on their ineffective anti-tax avoidance measures.
We will continue to fight to ensure big corporations and the super-rich pay their taxes like everyone else.
ALISON THEWLISS:
Preventing Drug Deaths in Scotland
In 2018 there were 1,187 drug-related deaths in Scotland – the highest since records began. Each death is a tragedy for the victims and their families. In response, the SNP Scottish Government recently established a task force to tackle this problem
in partnership with frontline agencies, those in recovery, and their families. However, we know there is much more that can be done at a UK level to tackle drug deaths.
In the House of Commons, Alison Thewliss introduced a Private Members’ Bill aimed at legalising safe drug consumption rooms. The facilities have been proposed by Glasgow’s Health and Social Care Partnership, and has gathered cross-party support from MPs at Westminster and a majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, as well as the unanimous backing of Glasgow City Council.
However, the Home Office has repeatedly ignored the evidence and blocked the proposals - refusing to allow the facilities to be piloted. The Scottish Government is unable to implement the proposals due to the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act being reserved to Westminster.
It is only with a strong group of SNP MPs returning to the House of Commons that we will be able to pressure the UK government to heed the evidence and take action.
Experts and those with lived experience stress that a Supervised Drug Consumption Facility (SDCF) could reduce the harm associated with drug use, and afford those with a drug addiction the dignity of a safe, clean space where they can engage with support services.
Drug deaths are a public health emergency and we desperately need a fresh approach. The
Tories have displayed a shocking lack of empathy towards people struggling with addiction. If the UK government refuses to act, then they must devolve the powers to Scotland so that we can step in and help to save lives.
ENDING AUSTERITY AND INVESTING IN PUBLIC SERVICES
The SNP always fights for the interests of the people of Scotland.
That is why tackling austerity and securing investment in our public services remains the priority for SNP MPs.
The pre-election bribes of the Tories – and Labour – do not mean an end to austerity, not least with the prospect of Brexit, of any kind, around the corner.
Instead we must fight for our vision of an economy that provides opportunity for all.
We will not support an unfunded Tory race to the bottom, but instead will fight for a society where opportunities are created for all and the benefits of increased prosperity are shared fairly.
Economic growth must be sustainable,
it must increase wellbeing
and everyone must have the opportunity to contribute to that growth.
We will stand up for jobs
and businesses in Scotland
and we will demand the support businesses need to grow and to boost productivity.
SNP MPs at Westminster will: demand the devolution of the tax powers Scotland needs to make the system fairer – as we have already done with Income Tax
– while protecting public services,
reject the ‘race to the bottom’ tax policy of the Tories, opposing tax cuts for big business and the wealthiest, instead supporting a crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion,
back a reduction in employers National Insurance contributions –
helping firms with the cost of creating new jobs,
and oppose any increases in VAT – helping families make ends meet.
The full powers of Independence would allow Scottish Governments to tailor all economic policy to the needs of our citizens
It opens the way to a Scotland with increased prosperity, reduced inequality and greater opportunity.
An end to austerity
Tory austerity has caused untold damage to our communities and has had a deep impact on our public services.
By 2019-20, Scottish public services, like schools and hospitals, will have lost out on over £13.9 billion of real-terms investment.
We will therefore not support any UK government that does not end austerity and begin to replace the funds lost over the last ten years.
And, we will not stand by whilst Scotland is denied its fair share of public spending, particularly when the DUP in Northern Ireland are the beneficiaries of a £1 billion Brexit bung.
Instead, we will press the UK Government to reverse its cuts to the Scottish budget,
invest in public services
and the economy
and follow Scotland’s lead in putting wellbeing at the heart of policymaking.
Help for household finances
More than a decade of austerity and years of low wage growth have left too many families struggling.
Instead of tax cuts for the wealthy, SNP MPs will back plans to help the majority with a freeze on National Insurance contributions and Value Added Tax.
The SNP has already introduced the most progressive income tax rates in the UK.
Overall the average income tax bill in Scotland is less than in the rest of the UK, with those on low incomes paying less whilst those who can afford to pay more.
SNP MPs will support reform of VAT, including the continuation of VAT-exemption on essential items like children’s clothes,
and will hold the UK government to a commitment to remove VAT from sanitary products.
We will press the UK to keep pace with the EU and scrap VAT on e-books and e-journals.
We also want the UK to devolve control of National Insurance to Scotland,
allowing us to make our own decisions on a tax that directly impacts employers’ ability to afford to create new jobs.
Either here in Scotland or while in the control of Westminster, we must make sure that National Insurance rates and thresholds fit devolved income tax rates.
And for homeowners seeking to move but unable to get a mortgage due to issues with cladding following the Grenfell tragedy, we will press the UK Government to work with the mortgage industry to identify a viable solution that is compliant with Scots law.
Help with home energy bills
Households across Britain spend around £30 billion on gas and electricity each year, an average of around £1,123.
For those who switch their energy suppliers regularly, the market is working.
But for the two thirds of households who don’t switch either supplier or tariffs – often those on the lowest incomes, older people, and those without access to the internet – that’s just not the case.
The difference in switching to the cheapest tariff can be as much as £300.
We want to reform the market for all consumers whether that’s a family home or a small business.
SNP MPs would press for the introduction of an Ofgem database of people who have not switched suppliers alongside a national free switching service, which compares the whole market – all the energy tariffs available with clear explanations of costs, and average bills.
This free service would be accessible by everyone, and the service could use the database to contact people who hadn’t switched to encourage them to get a cheaper deal.
We would also be open to consideration of new legislation to cap the most expensive tariffs.
This switching service would also look at where collective switching could work to the advantage of households – for example in the social rented sector.
SNP MPs would support legislation to: put a duty on energy suppliers to use clear language in explaining tariffs and costs
introduce a cap on credit that can be built up
provide a minimum of quarterly bills so arrears cannot be built up
contact all customers who have been on the same tariff for two years unless it is the cheapest tariff
and ensure that, in the event an energy supplier fails, the full credit built up by a consumer is paid back
and if there are arrears to be paid, then customers are treated fairly and administrators follow Ofgem rules of repayment not their own.
Protecting our health service
We all rely on our NHS – that is why we are committed to making sure it is fit for the future.
The SNP Scottish Government has delivered record levels of funding for the NHS in Scotland, up 6% in real-terms over the last decade - with more to come.
On our current plans frontline health spending will exceed £15 billion by 2021/22.
As a result, frontline health spending per head in Scotland is £136 per person (6.3%) higher than in England.
This amounts to over £740 million more spending on frontline health services in Scotland, compared to the UK.
We are calling on the next UK government to close this spending gap.
This would not only substantially increase health investment in England
but will also allow us to increase the frontline investment to NHS Scotland to more than £17 billion by 2024/25.
And, our increased health investment comes despite Westminster reducing Scotland’s fiscal resource budget by £1.5 billion (5%) in real terms between 2010/11 and 2019/20.
We’ve increased health resource funding by 13.1% over the same period.
Now Scotland faces the real risk that Tory Brexit trade deals with Donald Trump’s United States will open the NHS to multinational US health companies.
SNP MPs will demand that any future UK government pass a new National Health Service Protection Act, guaranteeing that trade deals do not undermine the founding principles of the NHS
nor open it to profit-driven exploitation.
The SNP will also continue to press the UK Government to accept responsibility for the contaminated blood scandal
and pay compensation to the surviving victims and bereaved families.
NHS Protection Act
There is not a life in this country that our precious NHS has not touched.
The Tories’ desperation for a post-Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump has exposed how vulnerable our NHS could be to future trade deals in the hands of those who don’t care about it.
That’s why a vote for the SNP is a vote to demand that our NHS is protected explicitly in law from being included in future trade deals.
We will propose a new law to explicitly protect the NHS in Scotland, Wales and England, and ‘Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland’, from being subject to future trade deals.
The NHS Protection Act would enshrine in law that our NHS must be protected as publicly owned, publicly operated,  and its services publicly commissioned.
The Act would stipulate that any goods or services that are procured by the NHS must be explicitly prevented from being subject to any future ‘investment protection mechanisms’ or ‘investorstate dispute resolution mechanisms.
As a result, the new law would force any future government to have these explicit protections and exemptions on the face of any future trade agreements.
Any proposed agreements without these explicit protections could not be considered for approval by either the UK government or UK parliament.
To give a double-lock on protecting our NHS, the new law would also ensure that future trade deals would require the explicit consent of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Northern Irish Assembly;
and conformation that any trade deal entered into did not adversely impact on our respective health services prior to any deal being ratified.
We would also support moves to re-instate a publicly owned, publicly operated, and publicly commissioned NHS in England through the replacement or significant amendment of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Powers to tackle the drug crisis
Recent statistics showing a rise in the numbers of drugs deaths in Scotland means that we must act urgently to save lives.
The Scottish Government has put in place a further £20 million over two years to support local services and provide targeted support
but we want to go further and take the radical step of creating a supervised Drug Consumption Facility (SDCF) in Glasgow.
The Scottish Parliament has backed these plans and MSPs from all political parties - except the Conservatives – have united to call on the UK to change the law and allow the facility to be opened.
It will save lives and make our streets safer.
Despite this, the UK Government has refused consent.
This decision is actively preventing Scotland tackling vital issues that are a matter of life and death to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
SNP MPs will therefore call for: the devolution of Misuse of Drugs Act to allow for the full range of effective public health measures to tackle the drugs death crisis,
and pending that devolution, the UK Government to introduce a Supervised Drug Consumption Facility.
Maintaining Law & Order
Everyone has the right to feel safe in their community and have confidence in their police and fire services.
Despite the constraints on Scotland’s public services through a decade of UK austerity, policing services have been maintained and improved.
Since the SNP took office in Scotland, we have recruited an additional 1,000 police officers
– this is in stark contrast to England and Wales, where the UK Government have slashed police numbers by more than 21,000.
If we had followed the same approach, there would be more than 2,000 fewer officers in Scotland.
The recent announcement that the UK will now recruit 20,000 officers for England & Wales in coming years will not even reverse their cut.
As a direct alternative to the cuts agenda seen in England and Wales, we have increased our total funding for the Scottish Police Authority by £42.3 million
while giving our police officers the best pay deal anywhere in the UK.
Scotland’s police officers received a 6.5% 31 month pay deal in comparison to only 2% for English and Welsh officers in 2018 and 2.5% in 2019.
Despite emergency services in England having tax relief from VAT, the UK government failed to deliver the same relief for Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which cost Scottish taxpayers more than £175 million over five years.
After repeated SNP calls for the end to VAT charges on our police and fire services, the UK Government finally relented.
The decision to end this injustice was long-overdue but it doesn’t go far enough.
We will continue to demand the UK Government refunds the £175 million in VAT owed to Scotland’s emergency services.
Co-operating to keep us all safe
The strengthening of internal security is, more than ever, an international affair.
We rely on vital EU tools and databases, like the European Arrest Warrant, Europol, Passenger Name Records and the Schengen Information System to assist Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service to fight crime across borders and keep people safe.
It is clear that Brexit will have an impact on how Scotland protects the public and delivers justice.
We will continue working with others to stop Brexit
and retain criminal justice systems that we benefit from as a member of the EU.
If this is not possible, we will campaign to keep as many of the existing measures as possible to keep Scotland safe.
Investing in our children
Scotland has embarked on a massive programme of investment in our children and their education.
The massive expansion of early learning and childcare - from 600 hours per year to almost double that at 1,140 hours - will transform lives, giving more children the best possible start.
And If the SNP is returned to government after the next Holyrood election, we will expand childcare into the school holidays for primary pupils from the poorest backgrounds.
And our £750 million Scottish Attainment Fund is closing the attainment gap in our schools and lifting standards for all.
The results are beginning to be seen.
The attainment gap is closing and we have record numbers of students from poorer backgrounds going to university in Scotland – aided, of course, by our commitment to free higher education.
There will be no return to tuition fees in Scotland.
All of this has been put in place despite the huge real-term cuts to Scotland’s budget at the hands of Westminster Tories.
SNP MPs will never cease to argue for Scotland to receive our fair share of funding, reversing the realterms cuts imposed against our will so that we can continue to invest in our children’s future.
Tax Fairness
After a decade of austerity, it is more important than ever that everyone pays the taxes they owe for the public services they enjoy.
The SNP has legislated to close tax loopholes in Scotland and we have led the fight against tax avoidance at Westminster.
SNP MPs will back improvements to tax collection and tougher action on tax avoidance,
including: a review of the closure of HMRC offices in Scotland and across the UK,
immediate action, including reform of Companies House, to uncover the beneficial ownership of Scottish Limited Partnerships, other companies and trusts,
measures to improve the transparency of tax paid by international companies to ensure that they make a proportionate contribution to tax revenues,
multilateral efforts to address tax challenges from the digitalisation of the economy,
further action by the UK government to tackle international tax avoidance,
the full implementation of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering directive
and a fit for purpose online retailer tax,
a review of the tax rules around intermediaries – known as the IR35 tax rule - and problems with implementation of the Loan Charge,
and a comprehensive inquiry into the digitisation of tax, to uncover the reasons for HMRC and UK Government delays that mean we still do not have the 21st century tax payments system that could help tackle avoidance and evasion.
AN OPEN MODERN ECONOMY
We want Scotland to be the best place to live, work and do business.
We believe that Scotland should be able to emulate the performance of the most successful small countries in the world.
To do that we need the powers of independence
and the right economic strategy.
We believe that strategy must be founded on the three P’s of population, participation and productivity.
We must grow our population,
we must tackle inequality
and improve participation,
and we must increase the productivity of our economy.
The SNP will always promote policies that reflect the needs of Scotland’s businesses and economy
while putting fair work at the heart of everything we do.
In government, we have created a National Manufacturing Institute which will be the centre of excellence for manufacturing in Scotland
and launched the Scottish National Investment Bank which will invest in Scottish businesses
and help to grow our economy.
Unlike successive Westminster governments, we will never turn our back on Scottish industry.
We have stepped in to secure a future for Scottish Steel, Pinney’s, BiFab and more recently, Ferguson’s shipyard – taking it into public control.
But a fair society isn’t just about the right to work, it must be about the right to fair work.
That is why in Government we have launched ‘Fair Work First’ – championing the Real Living Wage,
opposing exploitative zero hours contracts
and ensuring that companies that want grants from government sign up to fair work principles.
Scotland now has the highest rate of workers in the UK earning not just the UK mandatory living wage, but the real Living Wage.
We will call on the UK Government to adopt our Fair Work First approach.
While the SNP Scottish Government does everything it can to promote Fair Work,
save jobs
and support businesses,
the reality is that most powers over employment and the economy remain reserved to the UK government.
MICHELIN: A tale of two governments
Just over a year ago, as a result of a change in the global tyre market, Michelin announced its decision to close its plant in Dundee.
While the plant will close, thanks to the work of the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council, Michelin will retain a presence in Dundee.
With a £30 million investment from the company, matched by the Scottish Government, the Michelin site will be transformed into the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc –
a centre for low carbon skills and innovation.
Despite being involved in the Michelin Action Group, the UK Government has not contributed a single penny to the efforts to secure a future for the site.
The SNP will push the UK Government to match our £30 million investment
– ensuring they play a full part in securing new jobs and a bright future for the Michelin site.
SNP MPs will demand that powers over employment are devolved to Scotland to allow our parliament to get on with the crucial job of supporting employment and helping business to thrive.
In the meantime, we will press for the statutory living wage to rise to at least the level of the real living wage,
and for an end to age discrimination.
And, SNP MPs will demand tougher action to close the gender pay gap,
including introducing fines for businesses that fail to meet an agreed Equal Pay Standard.
Action is now needed on the Taylor Review findings and rights for those working in the gig economy, whether agency workers, those on zero hours or in insecure work, we need to ensure those workers can still get access to the employment rights others in secure employment have.
Under the SNP Scotland’s economy is strong, we’ve seen growth and a high employment rate  – yet our economic stability is seriously threatened by the UK Government’s EU exit plans which, in whatever form they take, will damage the Scottish economy.
Scotland has an alternative to the inevitable economic decline of Brexit Britain.
Our future can be one of greater prosperity and higher living standards.
Scotland is an energy powerhouse;
we have world-leading universities;
and our innovative companies export across the world.
Countries Scotland’s size lead the world.
We want to join them.
Systemic reform of the economy
The UK economy needs fundamental, systemic reform.
Ten years after the financial crash, there is still a clear need for radical change based on the principles of Fair Work
and environmental sustainability.
The starting point must be that prosperity and economic justice are not in conflict.
As Scotland has begun to demonstrate with the limited powers we have,
a more equal economy generates more stable, sustainable growth,  at lower social costs and greater wellbeing.
It is no longer enough to address economic injustice through redistribution using the tax and benefit system alone.
Injustice needs to be tackled at source.
And, perhaps most urgently, the environment cannot continue to suffer the impact of unrestricted economic growth that has led to the climate emergency now facing the planet.
We need to change the way the economy works
and that requires the wholesale transfer of powers to Scotland.
Until Scotland has those powers, SNP MPs will campaign at Westminster for the UK to adopt progressive, sustainable economic reform that reshapes the economy,
tackling economic and environmental injustice at source.
Fighting for jobs
Whether it is at Ferguson’s on the Clyde, the smelter in Fort William, steel making in Motherwell, renewable energy in Fife, the energy industry in the North East or fish processing in Annan, the SNP government has fought for threatened jobs wherever and whenever there has been a chance to save them.
Now we must fight for jobs in the face of the threat from Brexit.
Scotland’s exports to the EU are worth almost £15 billion yet the Tories want to drag us out of the European Union, the world’s largest free trade area of 500 million consumers
– against the people of Scotland’s wishes.
The best way forward is to stop Brexit and escape from the chaos.
If that isn’t possible, SNP MPs will always act to protect Scotland’s place in the single market and customs union.
The Tories have placed uncertainty upon Scottish businesses resulting in the Scottish economy already being £3 billion smaller than it would have been without the Brexit vote.
Having got us into this mess, Westminster must give firms the legal, accounting and technical advice they need to continue doing business.
SNP MPs will therefore press for a fit-for-purpose support service for small and medium sized businesses, to help firms navigate Westminster’s Brexit mess.
Whilst Scotland has a strong labour market, crippling Brexit uncertainty is putting jobs at risk.
To lower the cost of employment at this time, SNP MPs will back a rise in the National Insurance discount businesses receive – the Employment Allowance – when they increase employment from £3,000 per business per year to £6,000 per business per year.
Increasing Productivity
Despite Westminster’s Brexit mess, Scottish firms continue to export more and more to the world.
Scottish business is not standing still and Westminster must now do its part by supporting measures to boost productivity.
SNP MPs will press the UK Government to introduce fit for purpose sector deals – including manufacturing – focussed on supporting productivity improvements right across the economy.
A key lever of improving productivity comes from city and region deals which can improve connectivity, innovation and productivity.
However, Westminster has underfunded Scottish deals to the tune of £400 million – failing to match the level of investment being made by the Scottish Government.
SNP MPs will demand the UK stops short-changing Scotland on city and region deals,
urge the UK Government to deliver for all of Scotland through an early agreement to deliver Growth Deals for those areas of Scotland yet to receive them,
and make up the shortfall in their investment in existing deals.
We support the call from the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands and the Outer Hebrides for a much more ambitious Islands Growth Deal which will allow the tremendous potential of the Islands to be realised.
The SNP will continue to lead the campaign to ensure Westminster protects the funding Scotland has benefited from through EU Structural and Social Funds.
We will stand up against the Westminster power-grab and demand that the roles of the Scottish Government and Scotland’s local authorities in dispersing these funds is protected,
so they are invested in Scotland’s priorities not Westminster’s.
Boosting Infrastructure and Investment
Investment in modern physical and digital infrastructure is vital to a thriving, productive economy in the 21st Century.
In Government, the SNP has recognised this through the National Infrastructure Mission which will see an additional £7 billion invested in Scotland over the period to 2026.
The creation of the Scottish National Investment Bank will provide £2 billion of long term, patient capital to businesses
and infrastructure projects that will help transform the Scottish economy
and reduce our carbon emissions.
To ensure public projects serve the public interest we are currently conducting work on the establishment of a National Infrastructure Company
– an idea that puts fair working conditions at the heart of public infrastructure projects.
To build on the work of the Scottish Government, SNP MPs will push for an increase in the capital borrowing limits that restrict our ability to invest in infrastructure
and grow our economy.
We will also demand that Scotland gets a fair share of any investment by the British Business Bank
and that it works closely with the Scottish National Investment Bank.
We will also press the UK Government to invest in digital connectivity including superfast broadband and 5G technology.
Since 2013, we have increased broadband to 95% of premises across Scotland, on time and on budget.
Now only the SNP is committed to providing access to superfast broadband to every home and business in Scotland, investing £600 million towards this,
with the UK Government providing just £21 million of that.
SNP MPs will press for Scotland to get its fair share of the £5 billion UK Government funding
to roll out gigabit broadband to the hardest to reach areas.
We will call on the Shared Rural Network to deliver 95% 4G mobile coverage in Scotland  – as applies for the rest of the UK.
And we will press for the current review into the UK Telecoms Supply Chain to be concluded promptly.
SNP MPs will work to bridge the digital divide to improve the availability and affordability of broadband and mobile services.
We will press the UK Government to reclassify the internet as an essential service
and support affordable housing providers to make the service available.
We will also work with broadband and mobile service providers to make more affordable tariffs and packages more widely available
– and call for the UK Government to legislate for a social tariff.
If the UK leaves the EU, SNP MPs will monitor the impact of voluntary free roaming arrangements for mobile phone use in the EU.
We will press for legislation to protect Scottish and UK consumers should these break down.
Tourism and hospitality
Scotland’s tourism industry is of huge importance to our economy, contributing around £7 billion to GDP
and employing over 200,000 people.
The SNP Scottish Government is working to ensure that Scotland retains its reputation as an open, warm and welcoming destination.
However, any risk to freedom of movement will have a catastrophic impact on our tourism sector where EU nationals make up over 11 per cent of the hospitality sector’s workforce.
Against the backdrop of Brexit, we are working collaboratively with Scotland’s tourism industry to future-proof the workforce.
However, the impact of Brexit goes deeper than this.
The EU currently accounts for six out of Scotland’s ten key visitor markets
and around 44% of our overseas visitors.
Adding barriers to travelling freely will put recent industry success at risk.
We will continue to stand firm against Scotland being taken out of the EU
and SNP MPs will press the UK government to make it as easy as possible for international tourists to visit Scotland.
To provide further support to our tourism industry the SNP will call on the UK government to examine a reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector, levelling the playing field with other EU nations
and creating new jobs.
Broadcasting and Creative Industries
Creative industries are of huge importance to Scotland socially, culturally and economically, with the total contribution to the economy (GVA) having grown by 62% between 2008 and 2017.
We continue to support tax incentives for creative industries, including for film and television,
and for more work to increase equality, inclusion and diversity across the sector.
We will press for responsibility for broadcasting in Scotland to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament
and for greater authority and funding to be moved from the BBC network to BBC Scotland.
In the meantime, we welcome the creation of a new BBC Scotland TV channel and its associated investment,
and we will continue to push for a fairer share of the TV licence fee raised in Scotland being spent in Scotland.
To prevent the UK Government playing games with the licence fee – as it did when it transferred the cost of free licences for over 75s from the government to the BBC – we believe the licence fee should be set independently of UK government.
We will also press for the UK government to take responsibility for licence fees for over 75s and ensure that free licences continue to be available.
If Brexit happens we will argue for streamlined visa schemes for artists and performers which ensures people from across the world can come to Scotland to perform, work and collaborate,
and Scotland’s culture sector and creative industries can continue to benefit from international partnerships and shared experiences.
Improving Corporate Culture
The SNP has led the way in promoting improved social responsibility and corporate culture, not least through the Scottish Business Pledge.
This partnership between Government and business is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality, environmental action and sustainable employment.
It is a commitment to fairness – including mandatory elements such as paying the living wage,
closing the gender pay gap
and not using exploitative zero-hours contracts.
By bringing these together companies across Scotland have shown they can improve productivity and competitiveness
and build sustainable growth
that also achieves fairness, equality, opportunity
and innovation.
At Westminster, the SNP will further support the growing trend in the private sector towards greater corporate responsibility.
By taking a greater stake in the communities within which they operate, firms can become partners for social progress.
Whilst it is always better to work collaboratively as partners, the SNP supports direct intervention when firms fail to meet their legal and social obligations.
SNP MPs will back moves to increase worker representation on company boards – a practice common place amongst our more productive, investment-rich European competitors
and one that we believe will promote a greater social responsibility amongst companies.
We will also argue for greater representation of women and minority communities on public and private sector boards.
In Scotland, the public sector is on track to ensure that all public boards have 50-50 gender balance by 2020 due to statutory targets we put in place.
We would support similar UK legislation for the private sector.
The evidence shows that companies and organisations do better when they properly represent society.
SNP MPs will back moves to ensure executive pension contributions are the same as for all workers in the company.
According to the Investment Association, shareholder pressure has resulted in thirty percent of FTSE 100 companies pledging to cut executive pension contributions.
Whilst we support the sector’s call for firms to set out plans to align executive pension contributions with those of other workers, we will support calls for this to be extended to all staff and put onto a statutory basis.
We will also consider proposals to ensure fairer pay by ensuring that the balance of salaries of all employees within a company or organisation are considered when senior pay packages are decided.
Scotland has great expertise in long term investment and one of the greatest business risks at present comes from climate change.
It is vital that shareholders can assess the climate change related business risks before they decide to invest in firms.
We therefore support industry calls for firms to include climate change related disclosures in their annual reports and will back steps to put this onto a statutory basis.
SNP MPs would also support moves to introduce an easy to understand system of climate-friendly external auditing of firms,
so that small investors can better understand the climate related risks of investments,
including employee pension schemes.
One of the building blocks of a thriving business sector is contracts being met in full and on time.
With too many of Scotland’s SME’s suffering from late payments, SNP MPs will support the introduction of effective legal protections to ensure small businesses are paid on time.
The biggest corporate failure in recent years was the financial crash and it is vital that those responsible are held fully to account.
The SNP will support measures including the reinstatement of the reverse burden of proof which, before being removed by the Tories, required senior bank managers to demonstrate they had done the right thing where wrongdoing had emerged on their watch.
It seems unfair to many that the taxpayer stepped in to bail out the banks, but that the shares could be sold off on the cheap; allowing financial investors to reap the profit.
To ensure that taxpayers get their money back, the SNP will press for the public interest to be fully protected in any future disposal of RBS shares, including in decisions on how any windfall revenues should be used.
Protecting Consumers
The EU has led and remains at the forefront of consumer protection, not least in giving us greater rights over how our data is used.
We will stand up for consumers and push for greater devolution of powers over consumer protection to the Scottish Parliament.
SNP MPs will: support a freeze in further Insurance Premium Tax hikes to ensure consumers aren’t penalised for taking steps to reduce risks,
following the introduction of a cap on interest rates and charges for pay day loans, push for the cap to be lowered further
and for a cap on credit card interest rates and unauthorised overdrafts to be introduced,
fight to ensure Scotland does not face a return of mobile roaming charges banned from the EU,
press for stronger legal protection against ticket touting
and push for a ban on software used by ticket touts,
push to stop consumers being short-changed through lost gift-card money,
press for a streamlined complaints and redress process for those miss-sold under the Coalition Government Green Deal,
call on the UK government to regulate to ensure fair delivery charges for rural communities,
and stand up for those impacted by miss-selling, such as through the Equitable Life Scandal.
Protecting Access to Cash
The Tories have sat back whilst bank branches, ATMs and post offices have closed.
The SNP will stand up for our citizens’ rights to access cash.
We will fight against bank, ATM and post office closures and demand the UK Government and big banks guarantee communities’ access to cash.
SNP MPs will support moves suggested by the Treasury Committee to force big banks to pay more to the Post Office when they leave it as the last place in town to do basic banking.
And we will urge a strategic review of support provided to the Post Office
and support increases in the remuneration given to sub postmasters.
Tackling Problem Gambling
Having led the campaign against Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, the SNP will continue to tackle problem gambling, pushing the UK Government to treat it as a public health matter and tackle it with a joined-up strategy.
We will press for greater devolution of gambling regulation to the Scottish Parliament
and press the UK Government to stop underage gambling on video games.
We will support changes to charity lottery law to reduce bureaucracy and maximise returns to good causes
and we will support a full public health inquiry into gambling related harm.
Protecting our children from online harm
The internet is an amazing resource we all now take for granted, and technology means we are just a click away from finding out anything we want to know and online communities can help us feel connected.
However, the online world can also be a place where our children see images that are unsuitable or are distressing and where they could be put at risk from harm.
We all want our children to be safe and do we all we can to protect them, but when it comes to online harm, we are behind the times in tackling it.
SNP MPs will demand that new laws tackle this issue and protect our children including: New standards and measures to be put in place so social media, gaming and technology organisations protect their users fully including having a statutory duty of care and mandatory obligations to tackle unsuitable content that can lead to self-harm and suicide, sexual exploitation, grooming, abuse and extremism.
Appointment of a new independent Online Regulator with the ability to take action such as imposing heavy fines and blocking access to sites.
Age verification for sites that are not suitable for children or have lower age limits, like the existing rules for films.
A duty on the UK Government to provide free and up-to-date expert resources to help protect people and support learning about online harm and abusive behaviour and how to report it.
It would also provide support for parents to keep their children safe – from learning about what social media platforms do through to parental controls and learning how to chat to children about online safety and privacy.
Regular awareness campaigns to highlight these resources.
A levy on technology companies to fully fund the regulator and associated resources.
CLIMATE CHANGE – A MORAL AND ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY
Scotland – like the rest of the world – faces a climate emergency.
We have a moral responsibility to tackle climate change and will lead the way in showing how our society can transition to net zero
while creating economic opportunity
and providing the assurance of rewarding work for all.
We have a huge opportunity to lead the world in building the new economy of the future, creating sustainable technologies and jobs that can secure our prosperity.
SNP MPs will: demand the UK accelerates its action to meet Scotland’s climate change targets – the toughest legal targets in the world - of a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030,
net zero carbon emissions no later than 2040
and net zero of all emissions by 2045,
campaign for the UK government to bring forward plans to move to electric vehicles to match the Scottish target of 2032,
press for the accelerated deployment of fully operational carbon capture utilisation and storage facilities to ensure Scotland is not denied this opportunity again,
support substantial reforms to the UK tax system to support greener choices, including a greener tax deal for heating and energy efficiency improvements in homes and businesses
and new vehicle and tax incentives regime for transport,
campaign for the UK to remain aligned with EU environmental regulations even if Brexit takes place,
and propose a Green Energy Deal that will ensure renewable energy schemes get the long-term certainty needed to support investment.
Independence would allow us to go even further, and not rely on a UK government for action on reserved areas
– a reliance that has seen them reduce support for renewables,
undermine the drive towards Carbon Capture and Storage
and fail to live up to the challenge of the Climate Emergency.
Scotland must end its contribution to Climate Change
Scotland has the world’s most ambitious emissions reductions targets in law.
These are underpinned by the best scientific advice available from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the independent UK-wide group of experts tasked in law with providing advice on climate change to government.
SNP MPs will campaign for the UK Government to fund and resource the dedicated CCC office in Scotland that the Scottish Government is committed to establishing.
Earlier this year, the CCC advised that Scotland could reach net-zero emissions by 2045 – five years ahead of the rest of the UK.
We have put a target to achieve this in law with our world-leading Climate Change Act.
It means that we will end our contribution to global climate change by 2045 at the latest,
with Scotland becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
Westminster must play its role
As the CCC made clear, we can only end Scotland’s contribution to Climate Change if everyone plays their part – including the UK Government.
They have control of major parts of policy and infrastructure and if they do not meet their targets, we will be less able to meet ours.
That’s why it is crucial the UK government does not backtrack on promises to follow the CCC advice.
SNP MPs will work to hold them to account on this.
We urge the UK Government to adopt the same approach and match our tougher, faster interim targets so that the decisions that need to be taken – for example on how we heat our homes and investment in transport, are taken as early as possible.
For too long, reckless Tory policies have damaged the environment.
From fracking – which harms wildlife, causes disruption and threatens to contaminate soil and water – to tax hikes on solar power and reducing support for offshore wind, recent UK governments have taken the wrong path on climate change.
This short-sighted approach must end.
SNP MPs will work to prevent the threat of Brexit being used by the UK to reduce commitments to tackle climate change.
This includes the UK sticking to future EU emission standards regardless of our position in relation to the EU.
SNP MPs will never engage in a race to the bottom and will seek to prevent the sell-out of Scotland’s environment to any dodgy trade deal.
Helping people reduce their carbon footprint
We all need to play our part in tackling climate change.
That’s why we want to help people reduce their own emissions, whether it be by using public transport more or by promoting greener homes.
That means taking bold action through investing in services,
changing planning rules,
decarbonising the railways
and building better infrastructure.
Better, greener public transport
We all know that the way the rail network is run – using a model of franchise contracts to run services while the infrastructure sits with Network Rail – isn’t working.
We want Scotland’s rail services to be significantly better
and significantly greener into the bargain.
We support the overdue and necessary change to full Scottish public sector control of the structure, governance and operation of the Scottish railway system,
and, unlike the Labour Party who plan to hand powers over railways back to Westminster with a single GB-wide company – we will insist our railways are run here in Scotland
and that they can be run by the public sector.
To make our transport system greener, we are committed to: investing over £500 million in improved bus priority infrastructure
to make bus travel the faster, greener option and encourage people out of their cars,
reducing emissions from Scotland’s railways to zero by 2035,
pursuing the UK Government to commit to improvements on the journey times between Scotland and London -
improving connections to the North of England at the same time,
and helping people with the cost of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs), including second-hand cars, by providing an additional £17 million for loan funding
to reduce domestic flights, the Scottish Government will work with the UK Government to improve our rail journey times between Edinburgh and London.
Better, greener taxes
We will support substantial reforms to the UK tax system to support greener choices, with SNP MPs campaigning for: tax incentives to enable people to make the switch to low-carbon heating systems more affordable.
the re-design of vehicle and tax incentives to support industry and business investment in zero emission and sustainable transport choices – such as reduced VAT on bicycles
and additional incentives for businesses and individuals to use Ultra Low Emission Vehicles,
and a reduction in VAT on energy efficiency improvements in homes, ending the Treasury’s 20% tax on making people’s homes warmer and greener.
Funding Green Infrastructure
We must harness the massive investment power that government can bring to bear.
Therefore, we will: put the transition to net-zero at the heart of the Scottish National Investment Bank’s work,
unlock additional resource for emissions-reducing investment through a Green Growth Accelerator combining public and private investment to transform cities and regions,
bring to market a £3 billion portfolio of projects, including renewables, waste and construction, ready for green finance investment,
and We will press for an increase in new woodland creation,
working towards a target of 60 million trees planted annually in the UK by 2025,
with 30 million of these in Scotland to help tackle the Climate Emergency and to support biodiversity
and rural employment.
We will share Scotland’s success in this area in an effort to drive up planting rates across the UK.
Leading the world on aviation
We all know that aviation contributes to climate change.
But we also know that many of Scotland’s remote and rural communities rely on flights.
We do not believe that aviation can simply be the preserve of the better off.
We believe we must find solutions that allow all of Scotland’s communities to flourish
That’s why we are committed to making the Highlands and Islands the world’s first net zero aviation region by 2040, with trials of low or zero emission flights, including electric planes, starting in 2021.
The SNP believes aviation emissions should be counted within national emissions and targets.
Aviation emissions in Scotland count towards our carbon reduction targets
and the same approach should be taken across the UK.
Supporting Carbon Capture & Storage
We want Scotland to be a leader in the development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology,
which has the potential to create thousands of jobs
while helping to fight climate change.
Too often the UK has held this ambition back – not least when they reneged on their commitment to a £1 billion project set to benefit Peterhead Power Station.
SNP MPs will pressure the UK Government to accelerate deployment of fully operational carbon capture utilisation and storage facilities in Scotland to ensure we are not denied this opportunity again.
Transitioning our economy
A Just Transition
We’ve established a Just Transition Commission to advise Scottish Government ministers on how to maximise the economic and social benefits of decarbonising Scotland,
and manage the risks and challenges, so that we can move to a net-zero economy  in a way that is fair for all.
This will also help to tackle inequality and poverty,
and promote a fair and inclusive jobs market.
Our next steps include supporting Scotland’s people to gain the skills they need to share the rewards of these new approaches to investment through a Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.
SNP MPs will press the UK to join Scotland in establishing and developing strategies that ensure a fair transition.
Net Zero Fund
The UK Office for Budget Responsibility estimate that oil and gas revenues will be worth £8.5 billion over the five years to 2023-24.
We will press for that revenue to be put to work in building the transition to a greener, sustainable future.
We will demand the ring-fencing of oil and gas receipts, creating a Net Zero Fund, to help pay for the energy transition through investment in areas such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and carbon capture utilisation and storage.
And, because the communities that currently host the oil and gas industry cannot be left behind in the transition, we will demand that 12% of the fund – at least £1 billion over 5 years – will go to a Net Zero Industrial Strategy to help diversify the economies of oil hubs like Aberdeen, Falkirk and Shetland.
Getting the energy mix right
Scotland has already made great strides in greening our energy production – but there is more we can and must do.
Nearly 75% of Scotland’s electricity in 2018 came from renewable sources,
and we’ve doubled our exports of renewable electricity to the rest of the UK.
We’re also investing over £10 million in the marine energy sector and tidal innovation,
as well as developing a bioenergy action plan through cutting-edge research.
Wind power output in Scotland hit a record high in the first half of 2019, producing almost double the amount of energy required to power all homes in Scotland.
Now, Scotland and the UK must go further and we are committed to: pressing the UK to accelerate action to decarbonise the gas grid – a critical recommendation of the CCC,
ensuring that, from 2024, all new homes must use renewable or low carbon heat,
pressing the UK to properly support the renewables industry
or else devolve the powers to Scotland to let us get on with the job,
opposing new nuclear power plants and prioritising investment on cleaner, cheaper forms of electricity generation, including reform of the UK support for renewables to ensure it takes into account wider economic considerations such as supply chain benefits, not just price,
and allowing onshore wind and solar power to bid for ‘contracts for difference’ support – the UK’s main renewables support mechanism.
We will also seek to ensure that it supports less mature technologies like floating offshore wind and tidal stream generation so that Scotland’s economy benefits from these industries.
SNP MPs will press the case for more support for the critical renewables industry by proposing a Green Energy Deal that will: ensure green energy projects get the long-term certainty needed to support investment,
deliver a wave and tidal energy industrial strategy with adequate funding,
allow onshore wind to compete for ‘contracts for difference’ support – the UK Government’s main mechanism to support low-carbon electricity generation,
reform the punitive transmission charging regime that discourages investment in Scotland,
set a clear timescale for the delivery of the interconnectors to Scotland’s islands,
press the Tories to ditch their plans to quadruple the VAT on home solar,
and support a diesel scrappage scheme if trading in ultra-low emission vehicles.
To ensure the Scottish supply chain benefits from the boom in renewable energy, SNP MPs will demand that the UK Government uses the support it provides through the contracts for difference mechanism to ensure that supply chain benefits are taken into account
and that wind energy firms follow through on promises made to support domestic supply chains.
Opposing Fracking
Following a comprehensive period of evidencegathering and consultation, the SNP Scottish Government has set out a finalised policy of no support for unconventional oil and gas – such as ‘fracking’ - in Scotland.
This means the Scottish Government will not issue licences for new unconventional oil and gas development,
and that Scotland’s planning framework will not support development using unconventional oil and gas extraction techniques, including coal bed methane and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as ‘fracking’.
NEIL GRAY:
Scrapping The Cruel Tory Benefits Freeze and Reforming Universal Credit
The Tories have been responsible for inflicting a decade of devastating Tory austerity that has led to lasting harm being imposed on our public services, economy and families.
The UK government’s welfare cuts have led to a rise in poverty and food bank use, with organisations such as the Trussell Trust warning that Tory policies - from Universal Credit, benefit sanctions, the benefits freeze, to the bedroom tax – having been
a key factor in the dramatic increase in food bank use and extreme poverty in the UK over the past seven years.
In Westminster, Neil Gray, the party’s Social Justice spokesperson, has led the way in opposing the Tories’ flawed Universal Credit policy - an illthought-out welfare scheme which has forced families into debt, foodbank usage and destitution.
The SNP candidate for Airdrie & Shotts has consistently campaigned calling on the UK government to immediately scrap the benefit freeze – which will have cost Scots £300 million a year, negatively affected more than 27 million people, and plunged 400,000 people into poverty.
Rather than heeding the evidence and acting to prevent more people from facing poverty and hardship, the Tories are ploughing on regardless.
SNP MPs have led the way in campaigning against these cuts, and the SNP Scottish Government has done what it can by mitigating the Bedroom Tax, boosting Carer’s Allowance and establishing the new Best Start Grant’s. However, Scotland needs a strong voice in Westminster that will work day in day out to stop the Tories in their tracks.
This General Election is an opportunity to send a clear message to Westminster that its deep and damaging cuts will not be tolerated by people in Scotland. Only a vote for the SNP will send a strong group of SNP MPs to Westminster to oppose Tory austerity and instead champion a social security system that will bring dignity, fairness and respect back.
A FAIRER SCOTLAND
While handing tax cuts to the wealthiest, the Tories have cut support for the most vulnerable, entrenching poverty, across the UK.
By 2021, the total loss to people in Scotland as a result is estimated to reach around £3.7 billion per year.
As a result the Tories have also presided over the introduction of the disastrous and discredited Universal Credit system which has led to rising poverty, rent arrears and an increase in the need for foodbanks.
It is time to end the deliberate targeting of the poorest and most vulnerable by successive Westminster governments.
SNP MPs will: demand the end of the two-child benefit cap,
the rape clause,
and a halt to Universal Credit,
demand an immediate end to the benefit freeze,
the abolition of the bedroom tax
and the introduction of a period of uplifts to benefits of at least inflation,
demand an end to the punitive benefits sanctions regime,
oppose any rise in the pensions age,
and demand a UK wide benefit take-up campaign so people are encouraged to get the help they are entitled to, particularly pension credit.
Since 2014, the Scottish Government has spent around £100 million a year to protect people from the worst aspects of Tory policies that push people into poverty
and our MPs have consistently opposed Tory austerity.
As an independent Scotland, we can build a fairer, more inclusive, society  - where everyone feels valued,
human rights are respected
and we properly support our most vulnerable people and tackle poverty head on.
Respect and dignity in our social security system
Scotland has shown that dignity and respect can successfully be placed at the heart of a social security system.
With the limited powers we have, a system has been built that does exactly that.
It is based on a simple set of principles we have placed in law: that social security is a public service, an investment in the people of Scotland
and is itself a human right, essential to the realisation of other human rights.
Our system has been up and running for less than 18 months and has already helped more than 91,000 people with £190 million in vital financial support.
The contrast with the UK system could not be more stark.
As a result of Tory cuts, people across the UK are being pushed into debt, hardship and poverty.
The policies being pursued are harmful.
Families are no longer eligible for child tax credits for their third or subsequent child.
Thousands of families in Scotland have already had their income cut
and when Universal Credit is fully rolled out this policy will push a further 20,000 children into poverty.
In-work poverty has risen faster than employment, with most parents of children in poverty in work.
SNP MPs have been at the forefront of the campaign against the Rape Clause, which requires women to prove they’ve been raped in order to receive support for more than two children.
We believe it is utterly unacceptable for women to have to disclose that they have been raped to access UK Government benefits.
SNP MPs will continue to fight for the abolition of the two-child cap and the rape clause.
The four-year benefit freeze represents one of the biggest cuts to social security we have seen in recent times and represents a cut of £300 million a year in Scotland alone.
By 2020, across the UK, the benefit freeze will have negatively affected more than 27 million people
and plunged 400,000 people into poverty across the UK.
We call on the UK Government to immediately end the freeze alongside the benefit cap,
and commit to a period of above inflation increases to restore lost value and tackle poverty.
The Tories punitive benefit sanction scheme has been shown to be ineffective in supporting people into work yet it has contributed to rising poverty across the UK.
The recent changes that have been implemented do not go far enough.
It is time for the whole scheme to be scrapped.
The Tories have been pressed by SNP MPs to match Scotland and adopt a fair definition of terminal illness, based on clinical judgment not timescales.
SNP MPs will vociferously demand this change and a more humane attitude for people facing the most tragic of circumstances.
Over the past six years, the roll-out of Universal Credit has pushed people into poverty, debt, and crisis.
The SNP has been vocal about the many issues with this shambolic system from the in-built minimum five-week delay in receiving the first payment to the abolition of the child element, and changes in the work allowance.
Universal Credit is having catastrophic consequences, with rent arrears and debt spiralling and families increasingly relying on emergency welfare support and foodbanks.
The system is fundamentally flawed and is clearly not working for people.
Yet there are changes that could be made immediately which will effectively deliver a new radically different benefit that supports rather than penalises people without requiring individuals to go through a new application process.
In the meantime both natural and managed migration must be halted.
SNP MPs have been the consistent critics of Tory policies that push people into poverty and have also been instrumental in forcing the UK government budget U-turns on some of the proposed cuts to tax credits and disability benefits.
A vote for the SNP will strengthen Scotland’s hand against further Tory cuts.
Tackling care leaver poverty
We recognise that the care system requires root and branch reform.
That’s why we set up the independent Care Review to provide recommendations on how best to build a system based on love.
But we also accept that we cannot wait.
Care experienced young people have made clear that changes is urgent and we agree.
That is why we are taking action on devolved issues and will go further in future.
At Westminster, our MPs we will demand further support to careexperienced people from the UK Government, particularly new measures to prevent and mitigate poverty amongst care leavers,
including the ‘levelling-up’ of incomes of care leavers by ensuring the real Living Wage applies to all,
and for care leavers to be exempt from the Shared Accommodation Rate for Housing Benefit to support them to secure and maintain their own tenancy.
Fairness in retirement
According to a report from the OECD, the UK State Pension is the lowest in the developed world.
While pensioner poverty in Scotland is the lowest in the UK, it is unacceptable for any person to face hardship in their old age.
We will continue to argue for a fairer pensions system.
SNP MPs will oppose the Tory plan to increase the State Pension Age to 68 by 2038
and will stand firm against any move to raise the State Pension Age to 75.
The Triple Lock on the State Pension, which ensures the State Pension rises by inflation, earnings or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest, protects the income of pensioners, many of whom rely on their pension as their only source of income.
The SNP will stand up for pensioners against any attempts to remove the Triple Lock on the State Pension.
We will also fight to reverse the cut to Pension Credit that means older couples in Scotland could be £7,000 worse off per year.
Pension Credit has one of the lowest take-ups so we will call for a pension credit awareness and take up campaign to ensure our poorest older people are getting the benefits they are entitled to.
We support the establishment of an Independent Savings and Pension Commission, to ensure pensions and savings policies are fit for purpose and reflect the demographic needs of different parts of the UK.
We’ll stand up for the women in Scotland, and across the UK, who have been short-changed by the Tory Government due to the accelerated timetable for increases in the women’s State Pension Age.
SNP MPs will continue to support the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign in their efforts to secure fairness for the women affected.
The SNP will call on the UK government to take steps to extend auto-enrolment, so that more low paid and self-employed workers can benefit from regular pension savings.
And, we believe it was unfair to pensioners for the Tories to force the BBC to take responsibility for deciding whether the license fee remains free to over-75s.
We will therefore support the urgent reversal of the decision to make pensioners pay and demand that the UK Government fully fund licences for over 75s.
To prevent the UK government from short-changing pensioners in the future, licence fees should be set independently of the UK government.
Child poverty
It is shameful that so many of our children grow up in poverty.
SNP MPs will always hold the UK government to account on the impact of their policies which under the Tories and the Lib Dems over the past decade have increased child poverty.
The Tory government scrapped targets to reduce child poverty, as well as the Commission that reported on them.
Scotland is now the only UK nation to have clear targets for the eradication of child poverty set out in law.
We have also established a Poverty and Inequality Commission.
The SNP Scottish Government has taken decisive action to tackle child poverty head on by committing to introduce a new £10 a week Scottish Child Payment for low income households by the end of next year - a step that could lift 30,000 children out of poverty when fully rolled out.
This comes after the successful introduction of our three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, providing eligible parents and carers with help to meet the costs of raising their children.
In the first seven months, we made more than 42,000 grants, putting £12.9 million in the pockets of low-income families,
lifting thousands of children out of poverty
– nearly £11 million more than the UK government had paid out in the whole of the previous year.
Our Best Start Foods replaced the UK Healthy Start Voucher scheme but did so at a higher level
and introduced a new payment card to remove the stigma associated with the old paper vouchers.
But we do this in the face of continuing cuts, austerity, and without powers over all social security or employment that are needed to make the radical changes our society needs to eradicate child poverty,  invest in our people and give our children the best start in life.
SNP MPs will urge the UK government to follow the lead of the SNP Scottish Government by introducing a benefit that will reduce child poverty,
re-establish UK-wide child poverty targets
and establish a Poverty and Inequality Commission to provide expert advice on using Westminster powers to tackle poverty and to report on progress.
Whilst the Tories policies on welfare have been criticised by the UN, the actions of the SNP Scottish Government have been praised for its attitude to social security and the action it is taking to support families on low incomes.
Last year the Scottish Government invested over £1.4 billion to support low income households, including £100 million a year to protect people from the worst aspects of Tory policies that push people into poverty.
However, in the face of a block grant reduction of £2 billion since 2010, and without full powers, it is not possible to mitigate their £3.7 billion cuts in full.
With independence, we can tackle the deep-seated inequalities in our society and shift the curve on poverty without our efforts being undermined by another government’s policies.
Poverty is unacceptable and not inevitable.
With full powers over social security and employment, we can introduce inclusive and progressive policies rather than having to tackle poverty and support our citizens in the face of cuts from another government.
Parental Rights
The SNP will continue our work to increase parental rights - maternity, paternity, and adoption rights - working to introduce legislation to support parents and children get the best start in life.
Mothers are currently entitled to take a year for maternity leave yet are only entitled to maternity pay for 36 weeks, with just six weeks at 90% pay.
That is not fair and works against those on lowest incomes.
It also means that parents, mainly mothers, who take a full year are also losing out on pension provision.
We would therefore increase the provision of paid leave for both parents
and promote shared parental leave
Building on models successfully introduced in Scandinavia and, in particular, Iceland, we will seek legislation to: increase maternity leave to one year,
set maternity pay at 100% of average weekly earnings for the first 12 weeks,
then 90% for 40 weeks or £150.00, whichever is lower.
increased shared parental leave from 52 to 64 weeks,
with the additional 12 weeks to be the minimum taken by the father in order to encourage an increase in shared parental leave
introduce a principle of ‘use it or lose it’ – whereby the paternity leave cannot be transferred in order to encourage fathers to take the leave - while protecting maternity leave if a couple choose not to take advantage of the provision.
In addition, because we know the extra pressures that a baby in neonatal care creates for families, parents would receive an extra statutory paid week of leave for every week their baby is in neo natal care.
We would also increase paternity rights by increasing the statutory weeks allowed
as well as the weekly rate of Paternity Pay to 100% of average weekly earnings for one week then 100% for2 weeks or £150.00 (whichever is lower).
Dads can still be discriminated against before the birth, with rights at present to only take unpaid leave to attend two antenatal appointments.
We would increase this to paid leave for six antenatal appointments.
We will also continue to press for extended legal protection against redundancy for pregnant parents,
those on shared parental leave,
and adoption leave,
and new parents for up to six months after their return to work.
And we will maintain our campaign for a three month time limit for bringing a claim in redundancy cases to be extended to six months to allow parents more time to enforce their rights.
We will also urge the UK Government to match our commitment to supporting low income families by introducing payments at key times in a young child’s life as the SNP Scottish government have done with nursery and school payments of £250
as well as matching the new Scottish Child Payment.
A SUSTAINABLE RURAL ECONOMY
Brexit, especially a No-Deal Brexit, threatens catastrophic harm to almost every area and sector of Scotland’s rural economy.
The SNP is clear that the best option for Scotland’s rural, coastal and island communities is to stay in the EU.
Since 2016, SNP MPs have worked hard to protect the interests of rural Scotland.
We will continue to do all we can: to prevent a no deal Brexit;
to resist the UK Government grabbing devolved powers over farming or fishing or attaching strings to any future funding;
to make the UK Government pay all the costs to Scotland’s rural economy resulting from Brexit;
to maintain current and future EU standards and regulations in key areas like animal and plant health if we leave the EU;
to prevent Scotland’s interests being used as bargaining chips in future negotiations with the EU or in any future trade agreement
Safeguarding the success of our world- class food and drink sector
Scotland’s food and drink is a global success story, worth a record £14.8 billion in 2018.
The EU – Scotland’s biggest overseas regional food and drink export market – is of vital importance to the sector.
Brexit represents a huge threat to the cost and quality of produce exported from Scotland.
The sector has already estimated huge losses in annual value thanks to the creation of trade barriers and tariffs,
as well as the loss of vital workers from Europe.
Around 10,000 EU citizens are employed in food and drink, particularly in food processing,
and up to 22,000 seasonal migrant workers are employed in the soft fruit and vegetable sectors.
SNP MPs will continue to call on the UK government to guarantee EU nationals’ right to remain in the UK,
and for devolution of migration policy.
If the UK Government insists on creating a seasonal migrant workers’ scheme, rather than retaining freedom of movement, we will press for it to meet the needs of workers and businesses in Scotland.
The food and drink sector estimates that a no-deal could lead to a loss of £2 billion worth of food and drink sales,
with implications for rural communities where many producers are based
and the loss of trade for key products like seed potatoes.
This is unacceptable.
We will continue to fight to maintain Scotland’s membership of the EU to protect the future success of the industry.
Should the UK leave the EU, we will fight to prevent damaging tariffs
and for affected sectors like seafood, fisheries and red meat to be fully compensated.
The removal of import tariffs on other products including cereals, horticulture, potatoes and eggs could open up Scotland to substandard imports.
We will press for a future deal with the EU that protects and enhances Scotland’s high value agricultural outputs.
Scotland produces food and drink products that are respected and renowned around the world, including whisky, Stornoway Black Pudding, Arbroath Smokies, Dunlop Cheese and Scotch Lamb.
Staying in the EU allows us to protect and promote their identities through Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs),
yet the UK Government’s refusal to take no deal off the table puts future recognition at risk.
SNP MPs will press the UK Government to prioritise reciprocal recognition of PGIs to protect Scotland’s iconic products
and will work with the Scottish Government to create more PGI products.
Scotch whisky is one of our most iconic products, supporting 41,000 jobs across the UK,
many of them in remote rural areas in Scotland,
and generating nearly £5 billion in exports for the Scottish economy in 2018.
SNP MPs will encourage reform of the UK excise duty structures and fairer tax for Scotch whisky.
They will also seek UK Government investment to improve the whisky industry’s connectivity and sustainability, including funding for low carbon projects.
Whisky is likely to be impacted significantly by US tariffs.
SNP MPs will do all they can to encourage resolution of this EU-US situation (for Scottish products like cashmere and shortbread too)
and will press the UK Government to fund additional promotion and marketing in this vital export market for key Scottish produce.
EU regulation over animal and plant health and environmental and food safety gives Scotland access to export markets around the world.
SNP MPs will support the Scottish Government’s efforts to maintain all these current standards and regulations.
They will campaign to ban the import into the UK of any supposed trophy of any animal on the CITES list of endangered species.
Protecting our agricultural sector
Scotland currently receives around £580 million each year through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, providing a lifeline for many farmers, crofters and rural businesses.
Despite SNP MPs pressing for certainty, the UK Government has refused to set out how this funding will be replaced beyond the end of this UK Parliament.
This autumn, to mitigate the potential damage of a no deal Brexit, the SNP government has paid out over £330 million to over 13,800 businesses in what are effectively advance basic payments.
They were the first administration in the UK to act, ensuring Scotland’s farmers and crofters received support at the earliest possible point in the payment year.
SNP MPs will fight to ensure funding over agriculture and rural policy is repatriated to Scotland
if we are dragged out of the EU against our will
and will always fight for fair funding for Scottish farmers.
As a result of Scotland’s historically low average farm payments, the UK has been eligible for additional EU ‘convergence uplift’ funding,
funding the UK government refused to pass on to Scottish farmers, short-changing them to the tune of around £160 million.
Thanks to campaigning by the SNP, the UK Government has belatedly passed this vital support to Scotland’s farmers, with the first tranche of £80 million coming this year.
SNP MPs will press for the UK Government to deliver the remaining £80 million and for the future funding due to Scotland of approximately £25 million per year to be secured, with no strings attached.
The UK Government had the chance to devolve the red meat levy with its Agriculture Bill.
SNP MPs won important concessions that would have seen Scotland finally benefit from around £2 million that should be used for promoting quality beef, lamb and pork at a time when prices are compromised, and future trade is uncertain.
The Bill fell as a result of the chaotic Tory handling of Parliament.
Tariffs put many of Scotland’s key food exports at huge risk, not least dairy which faces tariffs of 70% on milk and cream, and around 40% on cheddar if Scotland leaves the EU without a deal.
We will continue to do all we can to prevent Brexit.
The standing of farmers and crofters must be improved in the supply chain.
We will press the UK Government to increase confidence between producers, their customers, and consumers.
This means strengthening and extending the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator so it has real clout to root out unfair treatment of farmers as the primary producers.
And we will listen carefully to the sector’s views on mandatory written contracts and press the UK Government to better meet the interests and needs of milk producers.
SNP MPs will expect any compensation arrangements for any farming sector in the UK to apply to Scotland equitably and fairly.
Successful food production is driven by demand as well as supply.
SNP MPs will press for all relevant UK government departments and agencies to apply for and achieve the Food for Life catering award
and to purchase more quality Scottish food produced to current farm assurance standards.
We will not allow the UK government to dismantle Scotland’s GM-free status and commitment.
Standing up for fisheries and maritime
The SNP has a long record of standing up for Scotland’s coastal communities and places a priority on our fishing and aquaculture sectors.
We will fight against any attempts to sell out Scotland’s fishing communities through the Brexit process.
Europe is the most important export destination for Scotland’s fish and seafood exports, with salmon being the UK’s most valuable food export.
The UK exports 75 per cent of the fish it catches, with three quarters of that going to the EU.
With around 4,500 EU nationals working in fish processing, we need to ensure that they remain in their Scottish communities.
In a no deal Brexit, Scotland’s salmon and seafood industry may need four times as many export health certificates, with a potential cost of £15 million.
Any disruption to trade flows could be devastating for fresh seafood exports, which must hit a tight delivery window.
SNP MPs will press for prioritisation to be given to seafood and fish exports leaving these islands and will press for the UK Government to fully fund any additional costs.
The Tories betrayed our fishing industry in the 1970s, dismissing the livelihoods of our coastal communities as ‘expendable’.
Since then, under the Common Fisheries Policy, successive UK Governments have traded away our interests and put those of fishing communities elsewhere in the UK ahead of those in Scotland.
SNP MPs will fight for Scottish control of Scottish fisheries, as we have done for many years.
An independent Scotland, with control over Scottish fisheries, could have avoided the disastrous situation the Tories have left our fishing communities to face by having our own seat in the annual negotiations.
If we leave the EU, we will seek to protect our fishing interests by insisting on Scotland playing a central role in future annual negotiations.
The SNP is clear that access to Scotland’s waters must not be traded away permanently by the UK Government,
nor should our waters be closed off to our international neighbours and partners.
The UK Government must also not enter into annual access arrangements which harm Scotland’s fishing interests.
SNP MPs will also seek to ensure that the same standards apply to all vessels fishing in our waters
and that the UK Government funds all appropriate, additional compliance measures arising from being an independent coastal state.
And if we remain within the EU, the SNP will push, as we always have, for fundamental reform of the CFP to shift from a one size fits all fishing policy towards a policy which suits different fleets and different geography.
Whatever the future holds, SNP MPs will work within international guidelines to help our fishing industry grow sustainably,
with benefits flowing to Scotland’s coastal communities.
We will press for any rules, restrictions or obligations that apply to a Scottish vessel fishing in Scottish waters to apply equally to any other vessel permitted to fish in Scottish waters.
STUART McDONALD:
Protecting Freedom of Movement
Freedom of movement has brought amazing possibilities for Scots to live, work and study across the EU. It has opened the door to opportunities and allowed people to benefit from and experience other communities and cultures.
However, that is under threat from the increasingly isolationist Tory government that is intent on rolling back on these rights – once again pulling up the ladder of opportunity from behind themselves.
In Westminster, Stuart McDonald, the party’s Immigration spokesperson, has worked across party lines and with organisations, including the 3million campaign, to support EU nationals already living in Scotland and the UK, and to prevent the Tories from creating another Windrush scandal.
In the last Parliament, Stuart McDonald and SNP MPs played a key role in forcing the UK government to scrap fees that EU citizens were being charged to stay here, and have supported efforts to give EU nationals more certainty over their future in the country.
Scotland has benefited hugely from freedom of movement and losing those rights would be devastating for our NHS, social care, universities, and key sectors of the economy like farming, hospitality and construction. That is a price that we must not be made to pay.
Unlike Labour, SNP MPs have been unequivocal in their support for free movement rights and opposed the Tory government’s toxic Tory Immigration Bill from the very beginning. It would be catastrophic for Scotland and would extend the Tories’ hostile environment.
And unlike Labour and the Tories, Stuart McDonald has championed the benefits of immigration to Scotland – pressing the UK government to scrap its hostile environment or devolve the powers to the Scottish Parliament instead so we can put in place a tailored immigration system that addresses our social and economic needs.
In an independent Scotland, the rights of EU nationals will be safeguarded and strengthened.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS
Our democratic institutions should be representative of and accountable to the people they represent.
In recent years, they have been under sustained attack.
The assault on basic democratic processes by the Tory Brexiteers led to the humiliation of the UK Government being found to have acted illegally in trying to shut down Parliament.
SNP MPs will always stand firm in defence of our democracy
and the right of our people’s voice to be heard.
Democratic Reform
We will back the replacement of the first-past-thepost system with the Single Transferable Vote,
a system that makes sure every vote and every part of the country counts.
SNP MPs will continue to oppose the undemocratic House of Lords and vote for its abolition.
We will work to ensure that there is as much support as possible for disabled people, and people from all backgrounds, to stand for election to the House of Commons.
We trust our young people.
That’s why we have extended the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds in Scottish Parliament and local government elections.
We believe that these young citizens have the right to have their voice heard at Westminster too and will back giving 16 and 17-year-olds a vote in all elections.
While Scotland is enfranchising EU citizens, the UK still refuses to do so.
SNP MPs will work to extend the franchise for Westminster elections to include EU citizens
and all those with a right to remain in the UK – as we are doing in Scotland.
There is still significant work to be done to achieve gender balance in our Parliaments.
We will press for the devolution of the power to tackle this issue here in Scotland,
including giving the Scottish Parliament the option of adopting candidate quotas.
We will also support any further reforms that are effective in tackling sexism, bigotry or harassment in politics, including reporting by political parties on candidate diversity data.
And because we recognise the need for all voices to be heard during elections, the SNP will introduce legislation to establish an independent debates commission for televised political debates during all elections and referenda.
It is clear this cannot be simply left to broadcasters – an impartial and independent commission – separate from government and the media is required.
Extending Human Rights
The Tories’ obsession with Brexit threatens the fundamental rights that people in the UK currently enjoy
– not simply because we will lose the rights we have as EU citizens,
but also because many Tories have openly said that they want to see the end of hard won rights that protect employment, the environment, health and safety.
Tory denials don’t explain why they removed safeguards that had been written into the EU exit deal Theresa May negotiated.
Many of these safeguards have been removed from Boris Johnson’s deal.
In contrast, the Scottish Government is a leader in human rights.
It has moved to enshrine extended rights in law with the planned incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
and has established a human rights taskforce to develop a new statutory framework to improve human rights protection for everyone in Scotland.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is already enshrined in the Scotland Act 1998, ensuring that human rights are protected by the Scottish Government and all Scottish legislation.
The SNP re-affirms its commitment to the Council of Europe and the ECHR.
SNP MPs will oppose any attempts by the UK government to scrap the Human Rights Act and
withdraw the UK from the ECHR.
They will also press for the UK to introduce new rights including a right to food for all
and to support and resource action which makes such a right meaningful for people.
The SNP has adopted the definition of antiSemitism and Islamophobia and will continue to challenge all forms of racism and bigotry.
We recognise the importance of working with diverse communities to ensure concerns are addressed.
We will urge the UK to follow Scotland’s lead by incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law.
And we will press for ratification of the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – the Istanbul Convention – to have a clear timetable.
We will support an inquiry into the contribution and mechanisms that small nations and devolved administrations can develop to support the international rules based order,
including in relation to climate change,
the use of new technology
as well as the protection and promotion of the rule of law,
human rights,
peace-making
and poverty alleviation both at home and abroad.
Defending existing rights
Scotland is a welcoming and progressive country, and we value the contribution of all those who choose to make Scotland their home.
Our diversity makes us stronger and more competitive as a nation.
Wherever you come from, if you have chosen to make Scotland your home, the SNP’s message is simple – we welcome you and we want you to stay.
The SNP has been consistently clear that Freedom of Movement has benefited Scotland and should be allowed to continue so that, as well as people coming here, we too can live, work, study and travel across the EU freely.
EU citizens living and working in Scotland significantly enrich our society and make a huge contribution to Scotland’s economy and public services.
It is deplorable that the UK Government is forcing them to apply to retain their existing rights,
and we continue to urge them to implement a declaratory system with proof of status.
SNP MPs will oppose Tory plans to introduce a minimum salary threshold - preventing anyone earning less than £30,000 from being admitted to the UK.
Given that this translates into a salary level higher than almost two-thirds of people in Scotland earn, it would limit immigration solely to the better off.
That is simply wrong and we will oppose these plans at every opportunity.
We will continue to campaign for an extension to the no-deal three-year ‘Temporary Leave to Remain’ scheme, which discriminates against students in Scotland.
The UK government has introduced an Immigration Skills Charge – a charge for employers, including in the public sector of up to £5,000 per non-EEA worker.
This fee penalises businesses, will lead to skills shortages, harm our economy and remove funding from frontline public services.
We oppose this policy and remain concerned that the UK government will implement a similar charge for workers from the EU post-Brexit.
SNP MPs will oppose any such moves and continue to press for the charge to be scrapped altogether.
Access to citizenship has become increasingly expensive.
We support a review of the citizenship application process, with a view to bringing down its cost and reducing its complexity.
The reality that even the most vulnerable children – those in care – are now at risk of deportation simply because they cannot access the right documents is beyond deplorable, and SNP MPs will oppose such illiberal policies at every turn.
We will also continue to urge the UK government to introduce a less restrictive approach to family migration, including the repeal of the minimum income requirements for family visas, so families can settle in Scotland long-term.
SNP MPs will continue to press the UK government to end indefinite immigration detention.
No other European country has indefinite detention.
We continue to oppose the detention of children and vulnerable people, including pregnant women and people with mental illnesses.
We will continue to call for the UK government to pursue alternatives to detention - we need a new approach which prioritises compassion and fairness over punishment and isolation.
A Scottish migration system
Scotland relies on migration for growing our population – more so than anywhere else in the UK.
In fact, all of Scotland’s population growth over the next 25 years is projected to come from migration.
Scotland needs people to want to work here, in our businesses, our universities and in our public services.
UK immigration policies do not take into account Scotland’s unique circumstances and they are harmful to our communities and future prosperity.
Tory immigration proposals would be disastrous for Scotland, sending our working-age population into decline, threatening tax revenues and causing serious staffing shortages in our NHS, care services and key sectors such as tourism, agriculture and construction.
With independence, and full power over migration policy, we can build asylum and immigration systems geared to meet Scotland’s needs
and built on fairness
and human rights.
In the meantime, the SNP will continue to seek devolution of migration powers
so that Scotland can have an migration policy that helps to grow our population and works for our economy and society.
And we will stand firm against the UK’s hostile immigration environment and the demonization of migrants.
This includes campaigning to end visa fees for children
and to ensure an automatic system of settled status for children in care and care leavers.
The UK Migration Advisory Committee recommended regional rural immigration pilot projects which was a welcome acknowledgement of the need for tailored migration policy for different parts of the country.
We believe Scotland should be the location for these pilots.
We believe there should be an additional route for migration to Scotland, alongside UK routes, by means of a Scottish Visa.
This could operate within a UK framework but the requirements should be set by the Scottish Government,
accountable to the Scottish Parliament,
and be designed to reflect and address Scotland’s economic and demographic circumstances.
A Place of Refuge
We believe that every country has a responsibility to tackle global issues such as the plight of refugees and the humanitarian impact of disasters and emergencies,
and that the UK nations should be a place of safety.
Tragically, the UK Government’s approach has been mired in the ‘hostile environment’ policy that has seen them fail in their most basic humanitarian moral duty.
That is why SNP MPs will demand that an independent body make decisions on asylum applications in place of the Home Office.
This is part of a wider set of reforms supported by the SNP including: the introduction of a fair asylum system
and an end to detention for those claiming asylum
reopening of the Dubs Scheme for unaccompanied children, ending the scandal of children being abandoned by the UK,
the extension of the rules around family reunification to children,
a new scheme to ensure that families retain the right to remain together,
the creation of safe and legal routes for people to find protection in the UK,
and the right to work for asylum seekers, allowing them to contribute to our economy more fully and enabling parents to support their children.
The Syrian resettlement programme has shown how successful and life transforming refugee resettlement can be when properly resourced.
The SNP will call on the UK Government to follow UNHCR recommendations and commit to taking 10,000 people per year under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement programme
and to further commit to long term refugee resettlement beyond 2021.
We will continue to urge the UK Government to fundamentally change their approach to housing asylum seekers.
Accommodation must be safe, suitable and dignified
and accommodation providers need to be held accountable for standards by local authorities, and in Scotland, our housing regulator.
There must be a legal duty on providers that there will be no lock changes in eviction cases.
People cannot be made destitute because of a failed Home Office system.
SNP MPs will push for reform of the detention and asylum system for LGBT+ individuals escaping countries where homosexuality is still criminalised, removing unfair and invasive demands for ‘proof’ of sexuality or gender identity.
CAROL MONAGHAN:
Fighting for Veterans Rights
A career in the armed forces should not only be something that people can take pride in pursuing, but one that receives the best possible care and support.
However, time and time again the UK government has badly let down our veterans, with analysis revealing that homelessness among veterans in the UK could be higher than 13,000. That is simply unacceptable.
In Westminster, the SNP has been at the forefront of demanding that the UK government steps up efforts to safeguard and strengthen the rights of our armed forces and veterans.
Carol Monaghan, the SNP’s Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs spokesperson, has vigorously campaigned for an overhaul of the UK government’s failing approach to our Armed Forces and Veterans community, and to instead seek to promote employment, social inclusion, health and wellbeing for veterans and their families.
With a strong voice in Westminster, SNP MPs will continue to challenge the UK government over its record and pressure the government to tackle homelessness by committing to a key SNP pledge that the Ministry of Defence use vacant MoD homes to house homeless ex-servicemen and to ensure that Commonwealth personnel in the UK armed forces and their families to receive indefinite right to remain during and after service in the UK military.
The SNP will continue to do everything it can to honour the sacrifice of those who risk their lives for the defence and security of our country.
A SAFER WORLD
Taking our place; playing our role
We want Scotland’s people to be better able to engage in a global world,
our businesses to be more globally competitive
and our nation to be strengthened through international co-operation.
We believe in multi-lateral international cooperation to address the challenges the world faces and we want Scotland to play our full part.
We already seek to maximise the role Scotland plays – through action and leadership – in helping tackle global issues such as extreme poverty, injustice and inequality.
The SNP will continue to demand that the Government keeps to the UK’s commitment to spend 0.7% of GDP on overseas development assistance,
and that this money is concentrated in the hands of the Department for International Development and not spent on projects other than humanitarian aid.
The world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries are the least responsible for climate change yet face its biggest impacts.
SNP MPs will call for the UK government to redouble its efforts to tackle the international development challenges stemming from climate change,
and to follow the lead of the Scottish Government by introducing a dedicated Climate Justice Fund.
We will continue to call on the Government, through the Foreign Office, to ensure that those human rights defenders that risk their lives to address injustices and protect others are given as much support as possible, including protections via asylum in serious cases.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are a blueprint for building a better future for all.
SNP MPs will continue to press the UK government to act on these goals so we can tackle global challenges including poverty, injustice and inequality.
Foreign affairs
We place great importance on being a good global citizen, and we expect the UK government to participate fully in international institutions respecting their role
and working with them for international peace.
SNP MPs will press for action on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, supporting women who play crucial roles in peacebuilding.
Women who are disproportionately affected in armed conflict must be protected.
The SNP will continue to work with international partners to progress a lasting peace settlement in the Middle East, pursuing a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
We will press the UK government to remain committed – with EU partners – to the Iran nuclear deal.
The UK has illegally maintained a military base in the Chagos Islands that resulted in the eviction of the entire local population.
The SNP will continue to call on the UK to immediately withdraw from the Chagos Islands, in line with the UN’s resolution that the UK should return control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
We will continue to call on the Government to use all diplomatic channels to protect the Anglo-Sino Agreement that underpins the rights of the people of Hong Kong
and use its influence to de-escalate violence in the region.
SNP MPs will continue to call on the UK government to ensure that it does all that it can to de-escalate the enflamed tensions between India and Pakistan over the status of Kashmir.
We support the right of Kashmiri people to self-determination.
We will call on the UK government to commit to introducing mechanisms to prevent identity based violence and mass atrocities.
The SNP will continue to call on the Government to use all diplomatic channels to secure redress and justice for the Rohingya peoples that have been displaced.
SNP MPs will continue calls for recognition and protection for Kurdish minorities in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
SNP MP Hannah Bardell set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance to improve support for families of those who die in suspicious circumstances abroad.
We will press all relevant UK government departments, agencies, services and third-party organisations to recognise secondary victimisation and adopt a ‘traumainformed’ approach to protect and support families traumatised overseas.
We will also press for all recommendations in the APPG report to be implemented.
A safer Scotland
With new security priorities in the wake of Brexit, and emerging threats in hybrid warfare, SNP MPs will continue to call on the UK government to carry out a new Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).
A review should assess the need for permanent basing of ocean-going conventional patrol vessels in Scotland.
Defence
The Tory government has presided over cuts to the defence estate in Scotland,
while committing billions to a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Scotland’s distinct defence needs are not being met by the current UK government’s defence policy.
SNP MPs will campaign to retain existing Scottish bases and regiments.
We will support our veterans
and we will press for investment in conventional defence.
We will also fight for the delivery of all contracts for Royal Navy Fleet Solid Support Ships to be restricted to UK shipyards.
Scrapping Trident
The SNP has never and will never support the retention or renewal of Trident.
We believe that nuclear weapons are immoral, ineffective and expensive.
We want to see a world free from nuclear weapons,
and with independence, Scotland can be an advocate for disarmament on the global stage.
In times of imposed austerity, the estimated £205 billion to be spent on a Trident replacement over the next 30 years could be far more effectively used to support our public services and build a better future for our children.
At Westminster SNP MPs will build a cross-party coalition to scrap Trident as quickly and as safely as possible.
We will press the UK government to meet their international obligations on nuclear disarmament.
Looking after our service personnel
The duty of care to our service personnel, veterans and their families must always remain a key priority of any UK government.
A career in the armed forces should not only be something that people can take pride in pursuing, but one that receives the best possible care and support.
SNP MPs will continue to press the UK government to give our armed forces a representative staff body to speak up for the interests of members.
A representative body on a statutory footing could help affirm the rights and status of military personnel as employees,
while also assisting in terms of pay and conditions negotiations,
and as an investigative body for widespread concerns or issues.
SNP MPs will continue to call for Commonwealth personnel in the UK armed forces and their families to receive indefinite right to remain during and after service in the UK military.
We believe that veterans are an asset to our society, and we urge the UK government to do everything it can to honour the sacrifice of those who risk their lives for the defence and security of our country.
The SNP will press the Ministry of Defence to use vacant MoD homes to house homeless ex-servicemen.
In 2012, HM Treasury announced that the proceeds from LIBOR fines would be used to support Armed Forces and Emergency Services charities.
Since then, the LIBOR grant scheme has closed, threatening the funding good causes rely on.
SNP MPs will call for the UK Government to make good this funding from other sources.
To provide practical support for veterans requiring social care, the SNP Scottish Government changed the rules to ensure the War Disablement Pension is exempt from the assessment of income, meaning our veterans get the help they need and keep the full value of this pension.
SNP MPs will press the UK government to adopt this approach across all social security benefits.
Munitions
SNP MPs have led the way in challenging the UK Government’s indefensible and unethical arms export policy, which sees billions of pounds worth of weapons being traded with serial human rights violators.
We will continue to urge the UK government to immediately halt all military support and arms sales to regimes guilty of violations of human rights
and international humanitarian law.
SNP MPs will never accept the use of lethal autonomous weapons – this is immoral and must be banned under international law.
And, here at home, the SNP will press the Ministry of Defence to take responsibility for the environmental impact of military munitions as a polluter.
There is no such thing as acceptable environmental damage,
and no department of government should have an environ mental ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’.
Let’s Get the UK Moving AGAIN
MANIFESTO
GENERAL ELECTION 2019
Leader’s Message
The Democratic Unionist Party has set out our 12-point plan to deliver on the people’s priorities on health, education, jobs, childcare and protecting the vulnerable through having a working Assembly back and an All-Party Executive in place.
We are now offering our manifesto for the United Kingdom, the sister document for our plan to get Northern Ireland moving again.
For Northern Ireland to truly flourish then it needs the United Kingdom to succeed and likewise for the UK to truly flourish it needs all its constituent parts and regions to succeed. This can be aided by a strong and unified voice for Northern Ireland in Parliament. The DUP is that voice.
The UK needs to do much more to fulfil its true potential. This should include:
Delivering for Northern Ireland
Helping Family Incomes Grow
National Infrastructure Investment that delivers for the UK
Truly Internationally Competitive
Leaving the European Union as One United Kingdom
A Global UK
Our Green and Pleasant Land
A Long-Term National Defence Approach
Next Generation Unionism
The outcome of this election is not assured. This manifesto and our 12-point plan for a brighter future would be the basis on which we would negotiate with those seeking our support. We will talk to both Conservatives and Labour but we are clear we will not support Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.
Others seek a mandate to do nothing in this election – nothing in the Assembly and nothing in Parliament. The DUP seeks a mandate to turn up, a mandate to work, and a mandate for:
Working with others to get things done for
Northern Ireland.
Our plan to get Northern Ireland
Moving Again.
Protect Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.
No borders in the Irish Sea and protection of the UK single market after Brexit.
Keep Corbyn out of Downing Street.
Take time to read our manifesto and our 12-point plan for Northern Ireland.
Rt Hon Arlene Foster MLA Leader, Democratic Unionist Party
Deputy Leader/Parliamentary
Party Leader’s Message
At the last Westminster election, the votes of people in Northern Ireland helped return the strongest ever team of DUP Members of Parliament.
Working together, the DUP has been able to speak up for Northern Ireland’s interests and had the strength to deliver for people, securing an additional £1.5 billion for Northern Ireland’s hospitals, schools and roads.
This investment has been making a real difference in every community across Northern Ireland. This is what can be delivered when you turn up but the DUP wants to do more.
On 12th December, there is a new opportunity to move Northern Ireland in the right direction; to elect people who believe in Northern Ireland and who will go and do the job they are elected them to do.
At this election we are seeking a positive mandate to send the strongest Unionist team to speak up for Northern Ireland at Westminster;
A mandate
To protect Northern Ireland’s place in the
United Kingdom.
To get Northern Ireland moving again with a re-established Executive and Assembly.
To deliver a strong DUP team which will not support a Corbyn Government.
To support a party that has delivered over £1.5 billion for everyone in Northern Ireland and wants to get more done.
To send a message that there can be no borders in the Irish Sea.
The DUP voted against Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and we will use our votes and our influence to seek to correct that which would endanger the economic and constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.
Unionists cannot afford the luxury of staying
at home, wasting their vote on candidates and parties that cannot win, or voting for those who are at best ambivalent about the Union. The party that has most Members of Parliament elected after this election will be seen as the voice of Northern Ireland.
The DUP has a positive plan for the future of our country, and a track record of working for Northern Ireland. While others talk about delivery, we can stand over what has been achieved as a result of the votes cast for our party.
On 12th December vote for the DUP plan for a Brighter Future; vote to protect Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom; vote to get Northern Ireland Moving Again.
Rt Hon Nigel Dodds
Deputy Leader, Democratic Unionist Party
Manifesto Summary
10 Key Points
Delivering for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland needs represented by a strong team with the record of delivering for all by working with other parties.
Helping Family Incomes Grow
With austerity over, unemployment low and the economy growing it is time to ensure that people feel the benefits in their incomes and in their lives.
National Infrastructure Investment that delivers for the UK
Infrastructure investment that works for the whole of the country and drives a rebalancing of the national economy.
Truly Internationally Competitive
A plan to spread growth across the United Kingdom driven by a business-friendly environment
with workers valued to drive up productivity.
Leaving the European Union as One United Kingdom
The DUP is committed to a deal that works for the whole of the United Kingdom and which does not leave Northern Ireland behind, with no border in the Irish Sea.
A Global UK
A compassionate foreign aid programme to support an effective voice across the world for economic growth, human rights and support for terrorist victims underpinned by a new approach to immigration.
Our Green and Pleasant Land
A renewed approach to agricultural support,
a new UK wide approach to environmental protection
and a just transformation to meet the 2050 Net Zero target.
A Long-Term National Defence Approach
Our national defence has been degraded with a long-term approach needed to reverse this, our anti-terrorism protections upgraded and raising the standards of veteran support.
Next Generation Unionism
Reforming Parliament and politics and reshaping the relationships with the devolved institutions
and pro-active engagement and promotion of the ties that bind us.
12-point plan for Northern Ireland
Action at a national level that helps deliver our 12-point plan to get Northern Ireland moving again in key areas such as health, education and crime.
Reasons to vote DUP
The strongest unionist team to speak up for Northern Ireland at Westminster.
For a strong DUP team who will not support a Corbyn Government.
Protect Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.
Support a party that has delivered over £1.5 billion for everyone in Northern Ireland and wants to get more done.
Send a message that there can be no borders in the Irish Sea.
To get Northern Ireland moving again with a re-established Executive and Assembly taking meaningful decisions on health and education.
Delivering for Northern Ireland
The DUP Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Conservative Party has delivered much for Northern Ireland.
Even our opponents accept that more has been achieved for Northern Ireland as a result of electing ten DUP Members of Parliament who held the balance of power.
With such an unpredictable election it is very possible it could happen again.
Extra resources alone cannot solve every problem, but additional money has been able to provide vital investment.
More and better could have been achieved with a working Assembly but the value of Confidence and Supply funding has been vital in key services like our NHS and our schools.
More for our health service
The injection of funding from the Confidence and Supply Agreement has proved absolutely essential.
As well as allocations for immediate in-year pressures, £200 million was secured for health transformation.
The £100 million in the first year has been invested in a range of transformation initiatives including funding extra capacity to help with waiting lists.
It has permitted progress on multidisciplinary teams in primary care, elective centres and workforce development, with examples including: £30m towards Elective Care Waiting Lists.
£750,000 to Day Case Elective Care Centres for varicose veins in Lagan Valley and Omagh, and cataracts at Mid Ulster, Downpatrick and South Tyrone Hospital.
£2.5m reform of Elective Care pathways.
New HIV prevention clinic in Belfast Health Trust with more patients getting treated.
£6.4m for improving the nursing and midwifery workforce.
A number of mental health projects were funded including: £540k for suicide prevention.
£403k to talking therapies.
£610k for the recovery model.
£190k to prevent substance misuse.
£189k for forensic mental health services.
£165k Mental Capacity Act training.
£274k ‘Think Family’ to improve outcomes where parents have mental health issues.
Multi-Agency Street Triage has been introduced involving two police officers, a mental health nurse and a paramedic working together to respond to people with mental health problems,
and new crisis intervention/ de-escalation services are being trialled in Londonderry and Belfast
The new multi-disciplinary teams in primary care include mental health workers.
The Confidence and Supply Agreement is also providing a further £50 million specifically to mental health over five years.
In the first year this resulted in: £900,000 for Belfast Trust Acute Mental Health Facility.
£2.7 million to sustain and increase access to mental health services.
£1.8 million for additional expenditure on medications.
£4.6 million for psychological therapies.
More for children
Our children and the next generation of Northern Ireland have been supported through Confidence and Supply.
£16.5million received by the Department of Education has benefited local schools in a number of ways including:
38 Sure Start projects received £6.4million, benefiting 39,000 children.
Literacy and numeracy projects have received £700,000, with 40,000 registered users having access to classroom resources.
Nurture Provision received £1.3million, with a number of schools receiving £70,000 per annum to support ongoing programmes.
It is a fact that this scheme would have been under threat of closure but for C&S support.
Early Years Pathway Fund, which supports 5,600 children by aiming to improve the development of those most at risk of not reaching their full potential within the school system, has received £2.3 million.
Extended Schools have received £5.8 million, which has safeguarded the fund for the foreseeable future.
Schools across Northern Ireland benefited from this investment:
Belfast, 126 schools receiving £2,328,726
Londonderry City and Strabane, 71 schools receiving £1,282,867
Fermanagh and Omagh, 40 schools receiving £576,632
Causeway Coast and Glens, 41 schools receiving £679,573
Mid and East Antrim, 22 schools receiving £387,493
Antrim and Newtownabbey, 25 schools receiving £440,988
Mid Ulster, 22 schools receiving £360,896
Lisburn and Castlereagh, 17 schools receiving £318,839
Ards and North Down, 15 schools receiving £292,812
Newry Mourne and Down, 67 schools receiving £1,067,884
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, 27 schools receiving £494,292
The lasting effect of this real investment in real lives will be to help our future generations achieve a better, well-educated and ambitious future for themselves as well as their community.
More Jobs
Many councils and parts of the United Kingdom have made City and Growth Deals with the national government.
These deals represent extra investment from the national government over 10-15 years to further bolster local economic growth and specialisation of economies.
These funds are matched by investment from local councils, devolved institutions and the private sector.
They aim to raise growth to the next level
and help create the jobs of the future our children will need.
Prior to the agreement, no Council in Northern Ireland had ever had such a deal.
No Northern Ireland Council had ever been proposed for one by the national government.
The DUP made such growth deals a priority for Councils in Northern Ireland.
This will be the long-lasting legacy of the Confidence and Supply Agreement.
Helping Family Incomes Grow
The era of austerity is over.
Public spending and tax policy should reflect that.
The DUP believes money is better in your pocket than the government’s.
A successful economy is built upon a strong working population,
an entrepreneurial spirit
and a welcoming financial environment.
People should be as free as possible to enjoy the fruits of their labour
while ensuring the necessary level of public services.
Those that have worked hard all their lives should not be penalised in retirement.
Personal Taxes and Incomes
The gradual increase in the personal tax allowance has been positive for all taxpayers,
but especially for the lowest paid, taking them out of the tax system entirely.
The DUP were to the fore in calling for increases in the personal tax allowance, which has subsequently benefited many people in Northern Ireland.
We want to see new reforms progressed that will benefit the lowest paid the most.
In this Parliament the DUP will support: The Personal Tax allowance should rise in line with inflation each year.
Over the Parliamentary term, National Insurance allowances should be raised until they match personal tax allowances.
The DUP will support a rise in the National Living Wage (NLW) to £10.50 by the end of the Parliamentary term
and reducing the NLW starting age to 21.
Robust action against companies who fail to comply with the National Living Wage.
The freeze on benefits should end, with rises in line with inflation.
The Working Tax Credit should increase by the rate of inflation plus 0.5%.
The two-child limit on Universal credit should be raised to 3 and then 4 in this Parliamentary term.
The People’s Choice
The new and older generations have seen a transformation in how they access and watch their film, television and music entertainment including Netflix, Amazon, Now TV, Spotify, AppleTV etc.
Each person gets to decide which services they want and what they are willing to pay - free to choose what they spend their money on.
This transformation has made the BBC licence fee, a regressive tax on the poorest, an anachronism.
The licence fee should be abolished.
People should be free to choose how they spend this extra £154.50 a year on whatever they want.
The BBC boasts of the quality of what it produces.
However, this is not an argument against change, but for it.
This confidence in its product is surely what can make it flourish as a successful subscription-based service and grow beyond the UK as a high-quality global brand.
Freedom for licence fee payers will also mean freedom for the BBC to grow to something even bigger and better, and create fairer competition for media outlets nationally and locally.
Supporting Older People
The DUP has a strong record as a champion of older people.
We will continue to do so in Parliament by supporting: The restoration of the free BBC licence to all those aged over 75, for as long as it continues to exist.
The pensions ‘triple lock’ protection and retaining winter fuel payments as a universal benefit.
Action on the unfair treatment of women pensioners with a suitable compensatory scheme established.
Family Budgets and Taxes
VAT and other indirect taxes are a key strain on family budgets
and leaving the European Union effectively will give the UK the flexibility it needs to act.
The DUP will support: Zero rating of domestic electricity and gas to reduce bills
and encourage take up of more environmentally friendly heating technologies.
This needs to be complemented by energy efficiency programmes that make these viable alternatives to oil for off gas grid and rural homes.
Zero rating on sanitary products.
Reduce the Insurance Premium Tax by 1% every year of the Parliamentary term.
Zero rating for new Electric Vehicles for domestic use,
reducing VAT rating for new Hybrid cars in addition to existing government support
and increasing the charge point grant up to £750.
Abolish Domestic Air Passenger Duty - it is a faux environmental tax that has a disproportionately negative impact on the peripheral parts of the UK.
Maintaining the freeze in fuel duty.
Pension Changes
The Government was right to ensure people make greater pension provision.
People should have the resources to enjoy a comfortable retirement.
However, there have been a series of changes to the pension system combined with changes to defined benefits schemes which are creating significant disincentives for people to progress in key organisations and operate optimally in the NHS without punitive tax bills.
These often function as stealth taxation.
The pension system must: Scrap the tapered annual allowance
and review the annual allowance for defined benefit schemes.
Within two years establish comprehensive, user-friendly pensions dashboards for self-employed people
with the necessary legislation to compel pension schemes to share data.
Fairness in Public Sector Pay
With the end of austerity, there needs to be a prioritisation of the public sector pay rises
especially in our NHS,
police
and armed forces.
This means pay rises should not only take account of inflation but of the need to uplift rates to restore the full value of public sector pay.
Social Care & the Blood Scandal
The United Kingdom faces a growing ageing population with higher and more complex health needs.
The decline of family and community networks increases the demands on public services.
The costs of social care are a significant burden and fear for older people and their families.
This needs a national solution.
The DUP calls for: A Royal Commission, drawn across parties and constituent parts of the UK, to be appointed to produce proposals for supporting and sustaining a modern Social Care system.
It would report within 18 months of the new Parliament meeting.
Another national health issue needing resolution is those affected by the contaminated blood scandal.
The DUP supports: Establishing a compensation panel for the victims and families of those who suffered from receiving contaminated blood products.
National Infrastructure Investment that delivers for the United Kingdom
Northern Ireland is on the geographic periphery of the Atlantic Ocean, British Isles and Europe.
Even if within Northern Ireland we had a fully upgraded road network, expanding public transport, up to date airports, modern shipping ports and the latest digital infrastructure the networks and connectivity beyond our shores are crucial to us.
What is built or not built in Great Britain matters to Northern Ireland.
Spend Better – Cancel HS2
The economic case for HS2 simply does not stand up.
The scale of investment in one route cannot be justified.
It is about making more of England a suburb of London than rebalancing and expanding the economy of the United Kingdom,
and an unwillingness to stop a poor project simply because money has already been spent.
The money should still be invested and spent better on: Expansion of the public transport bus fleet
and shifting it to alternative energies and away from diesel.
Buses, often overlooked, are the main form of public transport.
For the rail network the priorities should be the Northern Powerhouse Rail (HS3),
overhaul of bottlenecks in the UK rail system
and upgrading of rolling stock.
Investment in the strategic road network
including in more and better lorry park facilities.
If the feasibility study on a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland concludes positively, this should also be pursued with the national government and devolved institutions working together to take it forward.
In the midst of the fevered debate about the likelihood or viability of this connection too many have chosen to ignore the importance of that route for business and people
and the expensiveness of the NI-Scotland crossing currently, costs which are about to increase even more with the Shipping Low Sulphur Surcharge.
The route’s inclusion as a European super-highway is a testament to its importance but also deeply ironic since it is anything but super.
In particular, the A77 to the Central belt of Scotland and the A75 to the North of England are badly maintained, under-invested and not fit for Northern Ireland’s purposes.
With alternative routes for Scottish businesses, the areas being lesser populated and not an SNP stronghold, the likelihood of them being made a priority by the Scottish government is low.
Therefore, the DUP proposes: The national government should make investment in these roads a national infrastructure priority,
especially the A75 as Northern Ireland’s main connection to the Northern Powerhouse.
Build Heathrow’s Third Runway
The UK needs more international air linkages and following extensive research the conclusion is that the third runway at Heathrow represents the best solution for the UK.
Such a positive and strategic intervention must also deliver for the regions of the UK.
The expansion of Heathrow must be on the condition of designated slots for regional interconnection and that this investment has an impact across the UK.
Northern Ireland is well placed to host one of the Heathrow construction hubs due to be set up as part of its airport expansion programme.
If chosen, this project will act as a catalyst for long term economic growth across the Province and further underpin the local reputation for excellence in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
This extra national capacity needs to be complemented by establishing a new Air Routes Task Force.
Digital Infrastructure
Digital network infrastructure, which connects us to the Internet, and to each other, is increasingly recognised as core economic infrastructure, like electricity, gas and water.
They are central to tackling the UK’s productivity problem.
The DUP will support: Full fibre networks for the UK.
5G network rollout.
Energy
Interconnection is central to a future energy strategy especially to those countries with stronger access to renewables.
The DUP supports: The pursuit of a strong interconnection strategy including with Iceland (and examination of Icelandic interconnection making landfall in Northern Ireland).
Representation
The National Infrastructure Commission should aspire to be just that, truly national.
Therefore, in addition to the members appointed by the national government, the devolved institutions should be able to nominate a suitably experienced appointee.
Truly Internationally Competitive
Our economy will be driven forward by investment in strategic infrastructure
in a business-friendly environment,
but equally if not more important will be our people and their skills.
To achieve these goals the DUP will support: A ‘UK’ Growth vision – The central tenet of economic growth should not simply be strong growth in the national GDP
but that growth is spread throughout.
The development of Industrial Strategies across the UK needs to be complementary and co-ordinated.
This should ensure regional specialisations and maximise the opportunities for UK supply chains.
Corporation Tax rates kept under review to ensure they remain competitive against our main economic arrivals.
Increase the Employment Allowance for National Insurance payments to £4,000.
Introduction of time-limited capital allowances for businesses to support capital investment.
Abolish and replace the Apprenticeship Levy – This levy is a stealth tax that is not contributing to our local and national skills shortage and our productivity problem.
It should be replaced by a private sector focused levy co-designed between employers and government with any resources it raises ringfenced for skills.
This will show a clear pathway between their contributions and the provision of apprenticeship services.
Develop a long-term plan between government, industry and universities to increase Research and Development in the UK to 3% of GDP.
Make the UK a partner of choice for international research collaborations both with EU programmes and global opportunities.
Significantly increased funding for the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI)
This has proved a considerable success, both in terms of supporting small business growth and the development of innovative products across a whole range of sectors.
Strengthening the regional identifiers e.g. ‘Made in Northern Ireland’ across the United Kingdom, as a key element of growing global exports promotion and linked to the new Industrial strategies.
No diminution of workers’ rights
The development of a successful and productive workforce is built on a clear framework of respect between employers and employees and maximising certainty for both.
The UK’s workers’ rights are substantially better than most
Boosting productivity by overhauling and expanding post start-up business support, to aid those businesses wanting to scale up in size and expand.
There has long been a gap between start-up and mature business support and this should be urgently addressed across the UK.
A UK wide programme to identify and develop a new generation of entrepreneurial business leaders, those with the ambition to think globally and with the drive to create and lead businesses of the future.
Fair Banking for Small Businesses by taking forward the proposed banking reforms of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking.
Overhaul of corporate governance and audit to restore trust in business and reduce the likelihood of corporate collapses such as Carillion and Thomas Cook
as well as systematic abuses of small businesses by the likes of Lloyds and HBoS.
A UK wide enterprise strategy which harnesses the skills and experience of those in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, engineering and technology to create and lead in the sectors of the future.
These will be the businesses which create future jobs
and the UK has a history of leading in new industries.
That time has come again – to lead, into the future.
Delivery of the Northern Ireland International Trade plan including: a new Trade Advisory Board
the appointment of Northern Ireland Trade Ambassadors
the creation of new trade, investment and innovation hubs in key global markets
a Trade Accelerator Plan including an enhanced range of initiatives to help support both new and existing exporters to explore new markets
Leaving the European Union as One United Kingdom
The DUP is committed to a deal that works for the whole of the United Kingdom and which does not leave Northern Ireland behind.
We have been clear that without change, we would not vote for the Prime Minister’s agreement.
These proposals, as currently framed, are not in Northern Ireland’s longer-term interests, and they are clearly without support within Unionism.
In the last Parliament, it was the votes of the DUP that altered the course of events.
When tested the DUP stood strong.
In our view without change in key areas it would be bad for Northern Ireland economically.
The Articles of Union, the founding document, was not only about a constitutional Union but a trade and economic one as well.
There must be unfettered access for Northern Ireland to and from the Great Britain market.
The customs and consent arrangements must be revisited.
The one-sided approval mechanism for the Assembly takes no account of power sharing.
Furthermore, the East-West checks as proposed would lead to excessively bureaucratic burdens for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
and consequentially higher prices and less choice for consumers as GB businesses opt for ‘not available in Northern Ireland’.
Northern Ireland trades far more with Great Britain than it does with the Republic of Ireland, European Union and rest of the world combined.
Yet the proposals put forward would see our East-West trade subject to the rules of the EU Customs Union, notwithstanding that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK customs territory.
The DUP will continue to work to shape a solution in Northern Ireland’s interests.
The prism through which the DUP will judge each situation and vote is what is best for Northern Ireland economically and constitutionally within the Union.
A Global UK
If the United Kingdom’s goal is a Global UK then it must ensure it has a clear plan and strategy to achieve it.
Foreign Development Aid
The United Kingdom ranks amongst the most generous in the world in its commitment to Foreign Development Aid.
According to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee the UK is the second largest donor in cash terms and sixth largest donor in GNI contribution.
This commitment is also reflected in the public support for many UK charities who work abroad.
The DUP supports: The UK target of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) being dedicated to Foreign Aid.
The target should be on a 5-year rolling basis.
The annual nature of the spending target can mean substantial amounts of money being allocated in short-time frames and poorly spent.
This maintains the commitment and ensures better value for money.
A proportion of this new long-term budget should be assigned for environmental work with a bond scheme considered to provide long-term investment for major initiatives such as reforestation.
Regular reviews of safeguarding practices by agencies supported through foreign aid to prevent a repeat of past abuses by aid workers.
Representing British Interests Effectively
There must be a proactive and positive plan for UK global engagement: Maintaining a diplomatic presence across the world
The UK’s influence on the world stage and ability to be an effective player is dependent on a strong global presence
and a Foreign and Commonwealth Office with first class people and skills.
The next government must ensure that such work is properly funded with clear goals for what the UK wants and needs to achieve.
Commonwealth – The Commonwealth countries represent a global network that we have consistently underappreciated and underutilised especially on issues of trade.
Many Commonwealth members are transforming economically and socially.
The UK must seek to deepen these relationships both on an individual and collective basis.
Defending British Sovereignty The DUP supports the people of the Falklands and Gibraltar.
Their expressed desire to remain linked to the United Kingdom is admirable and must be respected and if necessary defended.
Libyan Assets and Victims
The weaponry supplied by the Libyan government to the PIRA cost so many lives.
The DUP supports:UK victims properly compensated from the Libyan seized assets.
Defending Fundamental Human Rights
The DUP successfully urged the government to take seriously international human rights abuses against Christians and other faith groups.
This work needs to be continued in the next Parliament through: Retaining and strengthening role of the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief with necessary financial and administrative support.
Implementation of the recommendations of the Truro Review.
Prioritising the protection of Freedom of Religion and Belief and other human rights in trade negotiations and trade deals, regardless of the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.
Retaining the Foreign Secretary’s Human Rights Advisory Group,
and ensure that there are at least three representatives from civil society which specialise on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
Immigration system
The United Kingdom should develop a points-based immigration system that will be built around attracting the best of global talent to the United Kingdom and addressing the skills gaps within our labour market.
The system must also address localised labour needs through not only a national skills gap list
but supplementary lists for the constituent parts of the United Kingdom.
Our Green and Pleasant Land
The primary custodians of our rural areas are the farming community.
Their commitment and strength of connection to their farms and businesses are vital to sustaining rural communities, producing high quality food and improving our environment.
Farming and Fisheries support
The DUP has a clear vision for our farmers and is committed to ensuring the necessary policy and financial support to enable all of the different sectors to become more profitable, sustainable and productive.
During the last Parliament through our Confidence and Supply Agreement we secured commitments to the same level of direct support in cash terms as currently received through the Common Agriculture Policy.
We also ensured that the needs of our farmers are reflected in the forthcoming UK Agriculture Bill
and will continue to make changes to the Bill in preparation for the UK leaving the European Union.
Future agriculture policy is best delivered through devolution reflecting the needs of each constituent part of the United Kingdom.
The Agriculture Bill allows this flexibility.
In order to take full advantage of this opportunity and keep our farming and food sector moving forward we want to see devolution restored
and a local minister in charge of developing that new vision for agriculture.
It is regrettable that we do not have willing partners with whom to form an Executive at Stormont.
As we leave the EU we will have the opportunity to shape a new agricultural policy to produce the amounts of food we want,
to the standards we need,
to make our environment better
and deliver on climate change goals.
The DUP believes: Currently direct support for farms under the CAP is linked to land holding.
We believe that this should change and that future government policy needs to reflect the national need for food security and rewarding productive, sustainable farming systems and proven environmental benefit.
Future agriculture support should be outside the Barnett formula – the significance and differences of farming communities across the UK cannot be reflected through a basic formula.
Funding allocations made to agriculture and related areas must be ring fenced in any future budget decisions.
Increase in support UK contributions to CAP are greater than what UK farmers receive.
That additional funding should, in the first instance, be ring fenced for agriculture and be directed at delivering efficiencies,
adapting to changes in markets,
increasing profitability on family farms
and delivering high environmental and animal welfare standards.
A Free and Fair Trade policy – We want to see a trade policy that opens up opportunity for our agri food businesses and farming communities.
At the same time, we recognise that the UK market is lucrative for those seeking trading arrangements in a post Brexit scenario.
We must ensure that sensitive sectors like agriculture are afforded protection in our new trade policy.
The DUP will not support trade agreements that allow the UK market to be flooded with products that do not meet the high standards of food safety, environmental and animal welfare standards that are demanded of our farmers.
While the DUP will work to secure a Free Trade Agreement with the EU in a post Brexit scenario if this is not realised we believe that the UK tariff schedule should ensure reciprocal tariffs are placed on all agri food products which are imported from the EU.
We would also place a much more sustainable Tariff Rate Quota and Tariff Rate on all imports from the rest of the world to ensure UK farmers have a level playing field for competition.
DEFRA in particular must strengthen its ability to open new export markets for British produce across the world we would urge the Government to build upon the work they have done in recent years by employing more staff in this area, greater advertising presence and conduct significantly more trade missions.
Government must also do more in terms of encouraging British people to buy British through more and better advertising campaigns and revisiting Government procurement priorities.
Fairness and transparency in the food supply chain is essential.
Far too often farmers find themselves to be the weakest actors within the chain and are at the mercy of large supermarkets, food processors and the food service sector who dictate price.
This has been especially true for the beef sector in recent months.
The powers of the Supermarket Ombudsman Office needs to be revisited and strengthened so that unfair practices are tackled.
Reform of the tax treatment of Conacre land should be undertaken so that there is a greater incentive for land owners to release land for productive farming.
We believe that animal heath schemes, like the BVD eradication scheme, provide an important vehicle to driving efficiency on farms.
This should be widened out to include Johne’s disease in cattle.
Tackling TB also needs a holistic approach, continuing with the status quo will not solve the problem and is at a massive cost to the taxpayer.
With the importance of reforestation, the new programme must encourage tree-planting and make agro-forestry a realistic and viable option for farmers and landowners
with the necessary re-skilling programmes to enable them to re-focus their land use.
The DUP is committed to an end to the remote management from Brussels and a new beginning for the fishing industry,
to achieve this we will support: a new fisheries bill for the UK which will ensure that we take back control of our territorial waters,
secure fair quota arrangements through annual fisheries agreements,
prioritise access to UK inshore zones to UK fishing vessels
and deliver an environmentally responsible and sustainable fisheries management regime.
In order to grow the opportunity for our fishing industry we will work with national and local government to improve facilities at harbours within Northern Ireland so that greater amounts of our catch can be landed and processed at local ports thereby boasting the local economy and employment prospects in coastal areas.
Protecting Our National Natural Wealth
Our land, our waters and our air are our natural wealth.
It is a common desire that these should be passed on to the next generation in better condition than we found them.
Many of the issues around the environment do not stop at the boundaries of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom nor the borders of the United Kingdom.
The integrated nature of our economy reinforces the need to work together and work well.
Therefore, we believe a national approach to environmental protection is what is needed.
The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department.
This enables it to have: a sufficient degree of independence from government greater and more diverse range of expertise than regional organisations could attract and sustain.
provides proper regional structures and integration into a national framework.
prevents duplication and ‘silo’ mentality.
provides a common framework of enforcement.
This helps maintain a level playing field for businesses across the UK.
The DUP believes this is the appropriate model and supports: An Office of Environmental Protection based on the FSA model.
This will provide the best use of resources, access to highest expertise, best crisis management and a consistency of approach.
Northern Ireland has led the way in the United Kingdom in reducing the use of plastic bags through the levy
but we must do more at every level to reduce our dependence on single use plastic of all kinds
and reduce its pollution of our seas and the ensuing dangers to wildlife.
The UK’s Net Zero Target – Northern Ireland’s Contribution to a Just Transition
The United Kingdom is a world leader on climate action and this was reflected in Parliament’s decision to increase our CO2 target from 80% of 1990 levels to Net Zero.
The significance and scale of this change should not be underestimated.
With the exception of sustaining the NHS,
it is the greatest long-term policy and financial challenge for all levels of government for decades to come.
If poorly planned and implemented, these shifts in all aspects of our lives can have a disproportionately negative impact on poorer sections of the community and poorer regions of the UK.
With higher levels of poverty and presently one of the less well-developed regions of the United Kingdom, this means it is vital for Northern Ireland that: The national commitment is implemented fairly and properly resourced.
The transition and transformation this involves must be a just one for poorer sections of the community and regions.
Same Distance Travelled
Each constituent part of the United Kingdom’s work on climate action must be based on the distinct opportunities and challenges they face.
The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recognises this and has recommended different targets for the four constituent parts of the UK that would still enable the nation to achieve its Net Zero target.
The same distance travelled in each part of the UK will deliver the national target but not require a common local target everywhere.
It must be recognised that Northern Ireland is the UK region with the greatest distance to travel and sectors that will be the most difficult to transform.
In the recent CCC report on Net Zero, it recommended a target for Northern Ireland of 78-80% reduction in CO2 by 2050.
However, with no Assembly or Executive it has never been asked for a formal recommendation.
The DUP will: Support a Northern Ireland Executive request for a formal recommendation from the CCC on a CO2 2050 target.
Adopt that target and use the Programme for Government and the strategies and plans that flow from it to put it into practical action.
Cleaner Transport and Cleaner Air
The primary challenge of transport and air quality is tackling the pollution from diesel engines and older vehicles.
This can be achieved by: Bringing forward the ban on sale of all new conventionally powered petrol and diesel cars to 2035.
A Diesel Scrappage Scheme targeted at cities and regions adopting Ultra Low Emission Zones or where diesel ownership levels are greater than 30% of domestic vehicles.
Require the installation, checking and cleaning of particulate matter filters on all petrol cars through the annual Ministry of Transport (MOT) test.
This is a very low-cost measure.
The development of a national Compressed National Gas Fuel network for HGVs, buses and coaches.
A New Long-Term National Defence Approach
The DUP does not believe that the current defence arrangements for the United Kingdom are adequate enough to cope with either the existing or the emerging threats of the 21st Century.
It is clear from the decision-making of the Ministry of Defence that they do not have confidence in its own Defence and National Security Reviews.
Part of our Confidence and Supply Agreement was a commitment to the UK maintaining the NATO target of 2% of GDP for the Defence Budget.
However, this was always a minimum target, a floor not a ceiling, and 2% is significantly below the traditional proportion of GDP that the UK has spent on defence.
While the public discussion has focused on the impact of public spending restrictions over the last decade defence has seen a steady reduction over 30 years.
The result is the British military industrial complex is no longer in a position to reconstitute large numbers of manpower or materiel to meet the needs of a national crisis.
Therefore, Defence needs to embark on a medium-term strategy of enhanced investment to restore the size of our Armed Forces to a position that more accurately reflects the threats we face and the strategic ambition
to retain P5 status at the UN and play a leading role in NATO.
We must always retain the capacity to operate independently in the national interest when required
whilst ensuring that we offer credible support to our key strategic ally, the US, and other partners.
Conflicts in the Middle East, instability in Eastern Europe, international terrorism and the proliferation of cyber-attacks illustrate the multiplicity of threats, both conventional and unconventional, and not just from states but also trans-national groups of linked terror movements.
This is further exacerbated by the displacements of large numbers of refugees within which small numbers of those with malevolent intent seek to hide.
This places additional burdens on the defence, security and intelligence apparatus of the country.
There is an ever-greater need to strengthen the ability of our forces to deploy rapidly and to adapt to new threats.
The dissident Republican terrorist threat is a major concern to all our citizens in Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
The intelligence community and our security forces must be given a budget and rules of engagement that enable them not only to gather the intelligence required to deter the threat from Republican splinter groups but also to actively pursue such terrorists and defeat them.
This is the DUP’s Plan to strengthen the UK’s defences and support service personnel and veterans.
1. National strategic defence & security review
Post-Brexit, the UK must reconsider its strategic position in terms of Defence and Security.
Government needs to give a clear strategic vision of the UK’s place in the world and our strategic aims and ambitions.
A Review needs to be conducted, independent of government, in order that we have an honest assessment of our current capability and capacity.
That will generate a clear indication of the ‘gap’ between what we need to do and what we are currently able to do.
Then decisions can be taken about the level of funding required to close the ‘gap’ or the level of risk Government is willing to take on National Security.
2. 2% plus spending target – A new UK target for Defence spending
The National Strategic Defence and Security Review would be the basis to establish a new UK defence spending, a target we call ‘2% plus’ to plan for systematic defence spending increases.
In addition to this new target there should be a long-term (5 year) capital settlement for equipment needs of the Armed Forces.
This will enable better planning, sustainable defence contracts and as a result greater value for money.
3. Full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant across the United Kingdom
Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom with both an immense contribution to, and debt to, our Armed Forces for the protection they provided in the successful execution of Operation Banner.
This is partly why fulfilling the Military Covenant is particularly important for us.
We believe that the Military Covenant should be reviewed and updated.
The DUP supports the introduction of the Office for Veterans Affairs to co-ordinate cross government efforts to ensure the Covenant is fully implemented.
The DUP is conscious how equality legislation in Northern Ireland has been used to hamper the fulfilment of both the spirit and the practical elements of the Covenant here.
It wishes to see this situation ended and veterans in Northern Ireland to be treated equally to veterans right across the United Kingdom.
The DUP also believes that British military veterans living in the Republic of Ireland should also have unfettered access to the benefits of the Covenant.
For serving soldiers the DUP supports the recommendation of the Defence Select Committee to remove Crown Protection to force action to reduce deaths in training.
4. Maintaining our independent nuclear deterrent, and tackling nuclear proliferation
The DUP supports the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent and will continue to support Trident’s renewal.
We believe the UK should use all international forums to completely overhaul the approaches to counter proliferation and prevent the likes of Iran and North Korea developing and further proliferating such capabilities.
We believe that all of the funding of the nuclear deterrent programme should be ring-fenced outside of the Defence budget, recognising the unique nature of this National critical strategic asset.
5. Playing a full role in international military and security relationships
The DUP supports our participation in NATO
but shares the American concerns that other members are consistently failing to fulfil the minimum spending target.
The development of the European Union Defence Force attempts to hide this chronic underinvestment,
and contributes to incoherent responses to threats already dealt with by existing international structures such as NATO and the United Nations.
6. A Cybersecurity leader for the United Kingdom
Cyber activity continues to evolve as a dominant threat to global security.
The knowledge economy in Northern Ireland has developed a cybersecurity specialism and DUP believes this is a critical area where Northern Ireland could contribute to countering the growing threat to national and global security.
We support the expansion of cybersecurity research and the creation of a National Cyber Security ‘hub’ in Northern Ireland.
7. Investing in a success story – Northern Ireland and Reserve Forces
The contribution and role of Reserve Forces is a key element of Defence capability.
Northern Ireland’s contribution to UK reserves is disproportionate to our size and this contribution needs to be matched by the necessary investment in facilities and infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
The DUP wants a £15m investment package to upgrade reserve training facilities at Ballykinler, Enniskillen, Ballymena, Coleraine, Londonderry and Belfast.
As recognition of past service the DUP will support: A new Combined Military Museum for Northern Ireland in partnership with national museums to develop a prestigious tourist attraction.
8. A review of the present terrorism legislation
The DUP believes that considering the multifaceted evolving and insidious nature of the terrorist threat it is time to review whether present arrangements need to be updated or upgraded.
This review should include: An updated legal framework for intelligence led anti-terrorism investigations and operations in the UK
A UK wide definition of a victim which excludes perpetrators.
Changes to the glorification of terrorism offences with an examination of the 20-year time limit.
Consideration of Intelligence and Security Committee membership representing all regions of the UK
9. Legal Protections for Soldiers and Veterans
The fundamental failures of the Iraq Historical Investigations Team (IHAT) and the disproportionate focus upon security personnel in Legacy Investigations demonstrate a clear need to provide better protections for those who saw active service or contributed to the fight against terrorism.
With IHAT veterans hounded on a series of false allegations and in Northern Ireland Legacy Cases almost all security force related deaths are being reinvestigated while only a fraction of paramilitary killings have been.
The Defence Select Committee proposed a Qualified Statute of Limitations.
The DUP recognises the importance of all service personnel upholding the very highest standards in order to maintain the reputation of the forces and the colleagues they serve alongside.
We are supportive in principle of exploring protections for the armed forces where they would not lead to an amnesty or be restricted to operations outside the United Kingdom.
10. Valuing Soldiers’ Service
The condition and maintenance of much Army housing is unacceptable. Decent housing provision for Service personnel and their families should be the minimum not the target.
The DUP supports: A new long-term plan for Army housing and maintenance of stock.
Armed Forces Personnel, born outside the United Kingdom, should be welcomed when they choose to settle in the UK.
The DUP supports: Waiving indefinite leave to remain fees for former service personnel and their families applying to take up their right to settle here.
11. Resisting attempts to rewrite the past.
Ninety percent of those who died during the Troubles were killed by paramilitaries yet the balance of investigations is disproportionately against former police officers and soldiers.
A one-sided approach only serves those who want to re-write the past and glorify terrorism.
It is only natural that the public are outraged to see former soldiers who stood against the brutal terrorism of the seventies and eighties instigated by the IRA, now being hounded while those who hid behind balaclavas to avoid justice are given ‘hero’ status and places on Policing Boards.
Our troubled past can only be dealt with effectively in an honest and holistic manner, not the partial way republicans would wish.
Government needs to ensure terrorists are pursued, with full police powers to conduct effective and comprehensive investigations and arrest suspects.
We will do everything we can to assist innocent victims to obtain a measure of justice.
12. Bringing Armed Forces Day to Northern Ireland
It is unacceptable that Northern Ireland has never hosted the main national event for Armed Forces Day in the UK.
The DUP wish to see Northern Ireland host the main national event at some point in the life of the next Parliament and regularly thereafter.
It would be a welcome addition to a programme of events to celebrate Northern Ireland’s Centenary in 2021.
Next Generation Unionism
With Northern Ireland’s centenary less than two years away, we are seeking to develop a long-term vision for Unionism and Northern Ireland beyond 2021.
The Northern Ireland of today differs markedly to how it was at the founding of the state back in 1921, or compared to 1971, or even since the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements.
The composition of society is different.
Demographics and attitudes have changed.
We have new migrant communities.
The role of women has transformed.
The influence of faith across society is diminishing.
Our world feels much smaller as the result of more accessible travel and greater connectivity.
The UK has changed and continues to change, as does the Republic of Ireland.
The inherent strength of the United Kingdom has been its ability to evolve.
It has consistently achieved the balance between change and abiding by the founding principles of the Acts of Union.
As we leave the European Union,
it is time again to discuss the next steps in how we develop the United Kingdom, strengthen the institutions and traditions that bind us
and protect our democracy.
In terms of political institutions, the DUP supports immediate action to: Repeal the Fixed Term Parliament Act – this legislation has shown itself not to be fit for purpose and should be repealed.
Reform political donations – The differential treatment of donations in Northern Ireland should end.
Parliament should promote openness, transparency and fairness in political donations by implementing the same regime across the UK.
Carry on with practices to reduce the membership of the House of Lords.
Withhold expenses and allowances from Members who fail to represent their constituents fully within the Parliamentary Chamber.
UK cabinet to meet at least once a year in Belfast
and when re-established to meet twice yearly with the Northern Ireland Executive.
By the end of the Parliamentary term: A National Convention for the Union underpinned by a committee comprising representatives from the four constituent parts of the UK to map out a new vision for the Union.
Expand the role and importance of the underutilised British Irish Council based upon the Nordic Council model.
Overhaul the Joint Ministerial Committee, or replace it with a more effective alternative for co-ordination and collaborative working between HMG and devolved governments.
National UK Departments to carry out administrative operations in Northern Ireland.
Legislation to support the democratic process across the UK by reducing the scope for voter fraud.
Legislation to reform the House of Lords making it: Smaller than the House of Commons.
The election of two-thirds of its membership through a list system with seats allocated on the basis of strengthening the regional representation.
Reform its practices and traditions to reflect the changes in its representation.
In terms of cultural wealth and linkages the DUP supports: The establishment of an organisation to promote and encourage interaction, dialogue, and practical collaboration around our British identity and developing deeper relationships between all parts of the UK, be they cultural, business, sporting or any other sphere.
We envisage a new body or structure that would have a wealth of opportunities for research, education, advocacy, media, conferences and exhibitions.
Cultural connections could be a key part of its work.
National Access to our National Cultural Wealth National cultural institutions have become less London centric but they remain too England centric
Access to our national cultural wealth is not enjoyed equally, and what practical barriers do exist do not justify this.
The DUP supports a new National Cultural Wealth Plan to increase touring exhibitions, display artefacts in other national museums and create shared exhibition space across the UK for the likes of the Imperial War Museum, V&A or Tate Gallery to place long and short-term exhibitions.
Our 12 Point Plan To Get Northern Ireland Moving Again
Let’s Get the Assembly Moving Again
Delivery from Westminster is much needed but its impact is impaired by no Assembly.
The DUP want to work with others to secure a balanced deal and we remain willing to set up an Executive immediately.
Let’s Get Our NHS and Mental Health Services Moving Again
Developing next generation healthcare by implementing Bengoa and investing in new services,
GPs and health staff,
tackling waiting lists,
embracing AI and new technology
and prioritising prevention.
A new future for mental health services by boosting prevention,
leading on trauma
and increasing investment to transform services.
Let’s Get Our Schools Moving Again
Ensure the Barnett uplift in education gets to school budgets;
lifting the burden of bureaucracy on principals and teachers;
an action plan on Adverse Childhood Experiences;
and 30 hours for 38 weeks childcare provision for 3-4 year olds.
Let’s Get Our Economy Moving Again
The Assembly and Westminster has helped deliver a jobs revolution in Northern Ireland.
Now it is time to do the same for skills and productivity backed up by infrastructure investment
and a business rates system fit for our modern economy.
We want to see a sensible Brexit deal
but no borders in the Irish Sea.
Let’s Continue Protecting the Vulnerable
The DUP were the first advocates of a mitigations package for Welfare.
We want an Assembly back to produce a new package based on expert advice and end the ‘Cliff Edge’ created by Sinn Fein’s boycott.
Let’s Protect Mothers & Unborn Life Again
The dangerous vacuum of law and guidance created by the Creasy amendment.
This must be matched by promoting a culture of choosing life in Northern Ireland through perinatal services
and valuing children through baby boxes and childcare.
Let’s Protect Our Green and Pleasant Land
The DUP is committed to passing on our natural wealth to the next generation in a better state than we found it with a new Environmental strategy and action on air, land and water pollution.
We will support our farmers and rural communities.
Let’s Protect Our Animals Better
Northern Ireland to lead on animal protection in the United Kingdom with new offences and tougher sentences matched by public education.
Let’s Build Stronger Communities Again
Action to bolster social housing,
new approaches to affordable housing and improving quality in the private let market
while placing economic regeneration at the centre of community regeneration
and programmes with positive social and cultural development.
Let’s Lead the Way on Fighting Crime
Northern Ireland to lead on justice innovation,
tackle paramilitary criminality
and strengthening and improving our police service.
Let’s Make the Assembly Better
The DUP wants an Assembly back today
but any new Assembly will have to undergo far-reaching reform to deliver more and deliver better.
Let’s Get Northern Ireland Celebrating Again
The Centenary of Northern Ireland can become a showcase of what Northern Ireland and all its people have achieved.
Positive celebrations exploring shared values with a physical legacy and commitment to the Northern Ireland we will shape for the Next Generation.
Democratic Unionist Party
91 Dundela Avenue
Belfast BT4 3BU
www.mydup.com
Email: info@mydup.com
A New Covenant with the American People
Two hundred summers ago, this Democratic Party was founded by the man whose burning pen fired the spirit of the American Revolution - who once argued we should overthrow our own government every 20 years to renew our freedom and keep pace with a changing world.
In 1992, the party Thomas Jefferson founded invokes his spirit of revolution anew.
Our land reverberates with a battle cry of frustration that emanates from America's very soul - from the families in our bedrock neighborhoods, from the unsung, workaday heroes of the world's greatest democracy and economy.
America is on the wrong track.
The American people are hurting.
The American Dream of expanding opportunity has faded.
Middle class families are working hard, playing by the rules, but still falling behind.
Poverty has exploded.
Our people are torn by divisions.
The last 12 years have been a nightmare of Republican irresponsibility and neglect.
America's leadership is indifferent at home and uncertain in the world.
Republican mismanagement has disarmed government as an instrument to make our economy work and support the people's most basic values, needs and hopes.
The Republicans brought America a false and fragile prosperity based on borrowing, not income, and so will leave behind a mountain of public debt and a backbreaking annual burden in interest.
It is wrong to borrow to spend on ourselves, leaving our children to pay our debts.
We hear the anguish and the anger of the American people.
We know it is directed not just at the Republican administrations that have had power, but at government itself.
Their anger is justified.
We can no longer afford business as usual -- neither the policies of the last 12 years of tax breaks for the rich, mismanagement, lack of leadership and cuts in services for the middle class and the poor, nor the adoption of new programs and new spending without new thinking.
It is time to listen to the grassroots of America, time to renew the spirit of citizen activism that has always been the touchstone of a free and democratic society.
Therefore we call for a revolution in government - to take power away from entrenched bureaucracies and narrow interests in Washington and put it back in the hands of ordinary people.
We vow to make government more decentralized, more flexible, and more accountable - to reform public institutions and replace public officials who aren't leading with ones who will.
The Revolution of 1992 is about restoring America's economic greatness.
We need to rebuild America by abandoning the something-for-nothing ethic of the last decade and putting people first for a change.
Only a thriving economy, a strong manufacturing base, and growth in creative new enterprise can generate the resources to meet the nation's pressing human and social needs.
An expanding, entrepreneurial economy of high-skill, high-wage jobs is the most important family policy, urban policy, labor policy, minority policy and foreign policy America can have.
The Revolution of 1992 is about putting government back on the side of working men and women - to help those who work hard, pay their bills, play by the rules, don't lobby for tax breaks, do their best to give their kids a good education and to keep them away from drugs, who want a safe neighborhood for their families, the security of decent, productive jobs for themselves, and a dignified life for their parents.
The Revolution of 1992 is about a radical change in the way government operates -
not the Republican proposition that government has no role, nor the old notion that there's a program for every problem, but a shift to a more efficient, flexible and results-oriented government that improves services, expands choices, and empowers citizens and communities to change our country from the bottom up.
We believe in an activist government, but it must work in a different, more responsive way.
The Revolution of 1992 is about facing up to tough choices.
There is no relief for America's frustration in the politics of diversion and evasion, of false choices or of no choices at all.
Instead of everyone in Washington blaming one another for inaction, we will act decisively -- and ask to be held accountable if we don't.
Above all the Revolution of 1992 is about restoring the basic American values that built this country and will always make it great: personal responsibility, individual liberty, tolerance, faith, family and hard work.
We offer the American people not only new ideas, a new course, and a new President, but a return to the enduring principles that set our nation apart: the promise of opportunity, the strength of community, the dignity of work, and a decent life for senior citizens.
To make this revolution, we seek a New Covenant to repair the damaged bond between the American people and their government, that will expand opportunity, insist upon greater individual responsibility in return, restore community, and ensure national security in a profoundly new era.
We welcome the close scrutiny of the American people, including Americans who may have thought the Democratic Party had forgotten its way, as well as all who know us as the champions of those who have been denied a chance.
With this platform we take our case for change to the American people.
I. OPPORTUNITY
Our Party's first priority is opportunity -- broad- based, non-inflationary economic growth and the opportunity that flows from it.
Democrats in 1992 hold nothing more important for America than an economy that offers growth and jobs for all.
President Bush, with no interest in domestic policy, has given America the slowest economic growth, the slowest income growth, and the slowest jobs growth since the Great Depression.
And the American people know the long Bush recession reflects not just a business cycle, but a long-term slide, so that even in a fragile recovery we're sinking.
The ballooning Bush deficits hijacked capital from productive investments.
Savings and loan sharks enriched themselves at their country's expense.
The stock market tripled, but average incomes stalled, and poverty claimed more of our children.
We reject both the do-nothing government of the last twelve years and the big government theory that says we can hamstring business and tax and spend our way to prosperity.
Instead we offer a third way.
Just as we have always viewed working men and women as the bedrock of our economy, we honor business as a noble endeavor, and vow to create a far better climate for firms and independent contractors of all sizes that empower their workers, revolutionize their workplaces, respect the environment, and serve their communities well.
We believe in free enterprise and the power of market forces.
But economic growth will not come without a national economic strategy to invest in people.
For twelve years our country has had no economic vision, leadership or strategy.
It is time to put our people and our country first.
Investing in America.
The only way to lay the foundation for renewed American prosperity is to spur both public and private investment.
We must strive to close both the budget deficit and the investment gap.
Our major competitors invest far more than we do in roads, bridges, and the information networks and technologies of the future.
We will rebuild America by investing more in transportation, environmental technologies, defense conversion, and a national information network.
To begin making our economy grow, the President and Congress should agree that savings from defense must be reinvested productively at home, including research, education and training, and other productive investments.
This will sharply increase the meager nine percent of the national budget now devoted to the future.
We will create a "future budget" for investments that make us richer, to be kept separate from those parts of the budget that pay for the past and present.
For the private sector, instead of a sweeping capital gains windfall to the wealthy and those who speculate, we will create an investment tax credit and a capital gains reduction for patient investors in emerging technologies and new businesses.
Support for Innovation.
We will take back the advantage now ceded to Japan and Germany, which invest in new technologies at higher rates than the U. S.  and have the growth to show for it.
We will make the R&;D tax credit permanent, double basic research in the key technologies for our future, and create a civilian research agency to fast-forward their development.
The deficit.
Addressing the deficit requires fair and shared sacrifice of all Americans for the common good.
In 12 Republican years a national debt that took 200 years to accumulate has been quadrupled.
Rising interest on that debt now swallows one tax dollar in seven.
In place of the Republican supply-side disaster, the Democratic investment, economic conversion and growth strategy will generate more revenues from a growing economy.
We must also tackle spending, by putting everything on the table; eliminate nonproductive programs; achieve defense savings; reform entitlement programs to control soaring health care costs; cut federal administrative costs by 3 percent annually for four years;
limit increases in the "present budget" to the rate of growth in the average American's paycheck; apply a strict "pay as you go" rule to new non-investment spending; and make the rich pay their fair share in taxes.
These choices will be made while protecting senior citizens and without further victimizing the poor.
This deficit reduction effort will encourage private savings, eliminate the budget deficit over time, and permit fiscal policies that can restore America's economic health.
Defense Conversion.
Our economy needs both the people and the funds released from defense at the Cold War's end.
We will help the stalwarts of that struggle -- the men and women who served in our armed forces and who work in our defense industries – make the most of a new era.
We will provide early notice of program changes to give commun ties, businesses and workers enough time to plan.
We will honor and support our veterans.
Departing military personnel, defense workers, and defense support personnel will have access to job retraining, continuing education, placement and relocation assistance, early retirement benefits for military personnel, and incentives to enter teaching, law enforcement and other vital civilian fields.
Redirected national laboratories and a new civilian research agency will put defense scientists, engineers and technicians to work in critical civilian technologies.
Small business defense firms will have technical assistance and transition grants and loans to help convert to civilian markets, and defense dependent communities will have similar aid in planning and implementing conversion.
We will strongly support our civilian space program, particularly environmental missions.
The Cities.
Only a robust economy will revitalize our cities.
It is in all Americans' interest that the cities once again be places where hard-working families can put down roots and find good jobs, quality health care, affordable housing, and decent schools.
Democrats will create a new partnership to rebuild America's cities after 12 years of Republican neglect.
This partnership with the mayors will include consideration of the seven economic growth initiatives set forth by our nation's mayors.
We will create jobs by investing significant resources to put people back to work, beginning with a summer jobs initiative and training programs for inner-city youth.
We support a stronger community development program and targeted fiscal assistance to cities that need it most.
A national public works investment and infrastructure program will provide jobs and strengthen our cities, suburbs, rural communities and country.
We will encourage the flow of investment to inner city development and housing through targeted enterprise zones and incentives for private and public pension funds to invest in urban and rural projects.
While cracking down on redlining and housing discrimination, we also support and will enforce a revitalized Community Reinvestment Act that challenges banks to lend to entrepreneurs and development projects;
a national network of Community Development Banks to invest in urban and rural small businesses; and microenterprise lending for poor people seeking self-employment as an alternative to we fare.
Agriculture and the Rural Community.
All Americans, producers and consumers alike, benefit when our food and fiber are produced by hundreds of thousands of family farmers r ceiving fair prices for their products.
The abundance of our nation's food and fiber system should not be taken for granted.
The revolution that lifted America to the forefront of world agriculture was achieved through a unique partnership of public and private interests.
The inattention and hostility that has characterized Republican food, agricultural and rural development policies of the past twelve years have caused a crisis in rural America.
The cost of Republican farm policy has been staggering and its total failure is demonstrated by the record number of rural bankruptcies.
A sufficient and sustainable agricultural economy can be achieved through fiscally responsible programs.
It is time to reestablish the private/public partnership to ensure that family farmers get a fair return for their labor and investment, so that consumers receive safe and nutritious foods,
and that needed investments are made in basic research, education, rural business development, market development and infrastructure to sustain rural communities.
Workers' Rights.
Our workplaces must be revolutionized to make them more flexible and productive.
We will reform the job safety laws to empower workers with greater rights and to hold employers accountable for dangers on the job.
We will act against sexual ha assment in the workplace.
We will honor the work ethic -- by expanding the earned income tax credit so no one with children at home who works full-time is still in poverty;
by fighting on the side of family farmers to ensure they get a fair price for their hard work; by working to sustain rural communities;
by making work more valuable than welfare;
and by supporting the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively without fear of intimidation or permanent replacement during labor disputes.
Lifelong Learning.
A competitive American economy requires the global market's best educated, best trained, most flexible workforce.
It's not enough to spend more on our schools; we must insist on results.
We oppose the Bush Administration's efforts to bankrupt the public school system - the bedrock of democracy - through private school vouchers.
To help children reach school ready to learn, we will expand child health and nutrition programs and extend Head Start to all eligible children, and guarantee all children access to quality, affordable child care.
We deplore the savage inequalities among public schools across the land, and believe every child deserves an equal chance to a world class education.
Reallocating resources toward this goal must be a priority.
We support education reforms such as site-based decision-making and public school choice, with strong protections against discrimination.
We support the goal of a 90 percent graduation rate, and programs to end dropouts.
We will invest in educational technology, and establish world-class standards in math, science and other core subjects and support effective tests of progress to meet them.
In areas where there are no registered apprenticeship programs, we will adopt a national apprenticeship-style program to ease the transition from school to work for non-college bound students so they can acquire skills that lead to high-wage jobs.
In the new economy, opportunity will depend on lifelong learning.
We will support the goal of literacy for all Americans.
We will ask firms to invest in the training of all workers, not just corporate management.
A Domestic GI Bill.
Over the past twelve years skyrocketing costs and declining middle class incomes have placed higher education out of reach for millions of Americans.
It is time to revolutionize the way student loan programs are run.
We will make college affordable to all students who are qualified to attend, regardless of family income.
A Domestic G.I Bill will enable all Americans to borrow money for college, so long as they are willing to pay it back as a percentage of their income over time or through national service addressing u met community needs.
Affordable Health Care.
All Americans should have universal access to quality, affordable health care -- not as a privilege, but as a right.
That requires tough controls on health costs, which are rising at two to three times the rate of inflation, terrorizing American families and businesses and depriving millions of the care they need.
We will enact a uniquely American reform of the health care system to control costs and make health care affordable; ensure quality and choice of health care providers; cover all Americans regardless of preexisting conditions; squeeze out waste, bureaucracy and abuse;
improve primary and preventive care including child immunization and prevention of diseases like Tuberculosis now becoming rampant in our cities;
provide expanded education on the relationship between diet and health;
expand access to mental health treatment services; provide a safety net through support of public hospitals;
provide for the full range of reproductive choice -- education, counseling, access to contraceptives, and the right to a safe, legal abortion;
expand medical research;
and provide more long term care, including home health care.
We will make ending the epidemic in breast cancer a major priority, and expand research on breast, cervical and ovarian cancer, infertility, reproductive health services and other special health needs of women.
We must be united in declaring war on AIDS and HIV disease, implement the recommendations of the National Commission on AIDS and fully fund the Ryan White Care Act; provide targeted and honest prevention campaigns; combat HIV-related discrimination; make drug treatment available for all addicts who seek it; guarantee access to quality care; expand clinical trials for treatments and vaccines; and speed up the FDA drug approval process.
Fairness.
Growth and equity work in tandem.
People should share in society's common costs according to their ability to pay.
In the last decade, mounting payroll and other taxes have fallen disproportionately on the middle class.
We will relieve the tax burden on middle class Americans by forcing the rich to pay their fair share.
We will provide long-overdue tax relief to families with children.
To broaden opportunity, we will support fair lending practices.
Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development.
We reject the Republican myth that energy efficiency and environmental protection are enemies of economic growth.
We will make our economy more efficient, by using less energy, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and producing less solid and toxic waste.
We will adopt a coordinated transportation policy, with a strong commitment to mass transit;
encourage efficient alternative-fueled vehicles;
increase our reliance on clean natural gas;
promote clean coal technology;
invest in R&;D on renewable energy sources;
strengthen efforts to prevent air and water pollution;
support incentives for domestic oil and gas operations;
and push for revenue-neutral incentives that reward conservation, prevent pollution and encourage recycling.
Civil and Equal Rights.
We don't have an American to waste.
Democrats will continue to lead the fight to ensure that no Americans suffer discrimination or deprivation of rights on the basis of race, gender, language, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other characteristics irrelevant to ability.
We support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; affirmative action; stronger protection of voting rights for racial and ethnic minorities, including language access to voting; and continued resistance to discriminatory English-only pressure groups.
We will reverse the Bush Administration's assault on civil rights enforcement, and instead work to rebuild and vigorously use machinery for civil rights enforcement;
support comparable remedies for women;
aggressively prosecute hate crimes;
strengthen legal services for the poor;
deal with other nations in such a way that Americans of any origin do not become scapegoats or victims of foreign policy disputes;
provide civil rights protection for gay men and lesbians and an end to Defense Department discrimination;
respect Native American culture and our treaty commitments;
require the United States Government to recognize its trustee obligations to the inhabitants of Hawaii generally, and to Native Hawaiians in particular;
and fully enforce the Americans with Dis bility Act to enable people with disabilities to achieve independence and function at their highest possible level.
Commonwealths and Territories.
We recognize the existing status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the strong economic relationship between the people of Puerto Rico and the United States.
We pledge to support the right of the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to choose freely, and in concert with the U.S. Congress, their relationship with the United States, either as an enhanced commonwealth, a state or an independent nation.
We support fair participation for Puerto Rico in federal programs.
We pledge to the people of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands just and fair treatment under federal policies, assisting their economic and social development.
We respect their right and that of the people of Palau to decide freely their future relationship with the United States and to be consulted on issues and policies that directly affect them.
II.RESPONSIBILITY
Sixty years ago, Franklin Roosevelt gave hope to a nation mired in the Great Depression.
While government should promise every American the opportunity to get ahead, it was the people's responsibility, he said, to make the most of that opportunity: "Faith in America demands that we recognize the new terms of the old social contract.
In the strength of great hope we must all shoulder our common load.
For twelve years, the Republicans have expected too little of our public institutions and placed too little faith in our people.
We offer a new social contract based neither on callous, do-nothing Republican neglect, nor on an outdated faith in programs as the solution to every problem.
We favor a third way beyond the old approaches -- to put government back on the side of citizens who play by the rules.
We believe that by what it says and how it conducts its business, government must once again make responsibility an instrument of national purpose.
Our future as a nation depends upon the daily assumption of personal responsibility by millions of Americans from all walks of life - for the religious faiths they follow, the ethics they practice, the values they instill, and the pride they take in their work.
Strengthening The Family.
Governments don't raise children, people do.
People who bring children into this world have a responsibility to care for them and give them values, motivation and discipline.
Children should not have children.
We need a national crackdown on deadbeat parents, an effective system of child support enforcement nationwide, and a systematic effort to establish paternity for every child.
We must also make it easier for parents to build strong families through pay equity.
Family and medical leave will ensure that workers don't have to choose between family and work.
We support a family preservation program to reduce child and spousal abuse by providing preventive services and foster care to families in crisis.
We favor ensuring quality and affordable child care opportunities for working parents, and a fair and healthy start for every child, including essential pre-natal and well baby care.
We support the needs of our senior citizens for productive and healthy lives, including hunger prevention, income adequacy, transportation access and abuse prevention.
Welfare Reform.
Welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life.
We want to break the cycle of welfare by adhering to two simple principles:
no one who is able to work can stay on welfare forever, and no one who works should live in poverty.
We will continue to help those who cannot help themselves.
We will offer people on welfare a new social contract.
We'll invest in education and job training, and provide the child care and health care they need to go to work and achieve long-term self- sufficiency.
We will give them the help they need to make the transition from welfare to work, and require people who can work to go to work within two years in available jobs either in the private sector or in community service to meet unmet needs.
This will restore the covenant that welfare was meant to be: a promise of temporary help for people who have fallen on hard times.
Choice.
Democrats stand behind the right of every woman to choose, consistent with Roe v.Wade, regardless of ability to pay, and support a national law to protect that right.
It is a fundamental constitutional liberty that individual Americans - not government - can best take responsibility for making the most difficult and intensely personal decisions regarding reproduction.
The goal of our nation must be to make abortion less necessary, not more difficult or more dangerous.
We pledge to support contraceptive research, family planning, comprehensive family life education, and policies that support healthy childbearing and enable parents to care most effectively for their children.
Making Schools Work.
Education is a cooperative enterprise that can only succeed if everyone accepts and exercises personal responsibility.
Students must stay in school and do their best;
parents must get involved in their children's education;
teachers must attain, maintain, and demonstrate classroom competency;
school administrators must enforce discipline and high standards of educational attainment;
governments must end the inequalities that create educational ghettos among school districts and provide equal educational opportunity for all;
and ensure that teachers' pay measures up to their decisive role in children's lives;
and the American people should recognize education as the core of our economy, democracy and society.
Labor-Management Responsibilities.
The private sector is the engine of our economy and the main source of national wealth.
But it is not enough for those in the private sector just to make as much money as they can.
The most irresponsible people in all of the 1980s were those at the top of the ladder: the inside traders, quick buck artists, and S&;L kingpins who looked out for themselves and not for the country.
America's corporate leaders have a responsibility to invest in their country.
CEOs, who pay themselves 100 times what they pay the average worker, shouldn't get big raises unrelated to performance.
If a company wants to overpay its executives and underinvest in the future or transfer jobs overseas, it shouldn't get special treatment and tax breaks from the Treasury.
Managers must work with employees to make the workplace safer, more satisfying and more efficient.
Workers must also accept added responsibilities in the new economy.
In return for an I creased voice and a greater stake in the success of their enterprises, workers should be prepared to join in cooperative efforts to increase productivity, flexibility and quality.
Government's neutrality between labor and management cannot mean neutrality about the collective bargaining process, which has been purposely crippled by Republican administrations.
Our economic growth depends on processes, including collective bargaining, that permit labor and management to work together on their common interests, even as they work out their conflicts.
Responsibility for the Environment.
For ourselves and future generations, we must protect our environment.
We will protect our old growth forests, preserve critical habitats, provide a genuine "no net loss" policy on wetlands, reduce our dependence on toxic chemicals, conserve the critical resources of soil, water and air, oppose new offshore oil drilling and mineral exploration and production in our nation's many environmentally critical areas, and address ocean pollution by reducing oil and toxic waste spills at sea.
We believe America's youth can serve its country well through a civilian conservation corps.
To protect the public health, we will clean up the environmental horrors at federal facilities, insist that private polluters clean up their toxic and hazardous wastes, and vigorously prosecute environmental criminals.
We will oppose Republican efforts to gut the Clean Air Act in the guise of competitiveness.
We will reduce the volume of solid waste and encourage the use of recycled materials while discouraging excess packaging.
To avoid the mistakes of the past, we will actively support energy- efficiency, recycling, and pollution prevention strategies.
Responsible Government.
Democrats in 1992 intend to lead a revolution in government, challenging it to act responsibly and be accountable, starting with the hardest and most urgent problems of the deficit and economic growth.
Rather than throw money at obsolete programs, we will eliminate unnecessary layers of management, cut administrative costs,
give people more choices in the service they get, and empower them to make those choices.
To foster greater responsibility in government at every level, we support giving greater flexibility to our cities, counties and states in achieving Federal mandates and carrying out existing programs.
Responsible Officials.
All branches of government must live by the laws the rest of us obey, determine their pay in an open manner that builds public trust, and eliminate special privileges.
People in public office need to be accessible to the people they represent.
It's time to reform the campaign finance system, to get big money out of our politics and let the people back in.
We must limit overall campaign spending and limit the disproportionate and excessive role of PACs.
We need new voter registration laws that expand the electorate, such as universal same-day registration, along with full political rights and protections for public employees and new regulations to ensure that the airwaves truly help citizens make informed choices among candidates and policies.
And we need fair political representation for all sectors of our country - including the District of Columbia, which deserves and must get statehood status.
III. RESTORING COMMUNITY
The success of democracy in America depends substantially on the strength of our community institutions: families and neighborhoods, public schools, religious institutions, charitable organizations, civic groups and other voluntary associations.
In these social networks, the values and character of our citizens are formed, as we learn the habits and skills of self government, and acquire an understanding of our common rights and responsibilities as citizens.
Twelve years of Republican rule have undermined the spirit of mutual dependence and obligation that binds us together.
Republican leaders have urged Americans to turn inward, to pursue private interests without regard to public responsibilities.
By playing racial, ethnic and gender-based politics they have divided us against each other, created an atmosphere of blame, denial and fear, and undone the hard-fought battles for equality and fairness.
Our communities form a vital "third sector" that lies between government and the marke place.
The wisdom, energy and resources required to solve our problems are not concentrated in Washington, but can be found throughout our communities, including America's non-profit sector, which has grown rapidly over the last decade.
Government's best role is to enable people and communities to solve their own problems.
America's special genius has been to forge a community of shared values from people of remarkable and diverse backgrounds.
As the party of inclusion, we take special pride in our country's emergence as the world's largest and most successful multiethnic, multiracial republic.
We condemn antisemitism, racism, homophobia, bigotry and negative stereotyping of all kinds.
We must help all Americans understand the diversity of our cultural heritage.
But it is also essential that we preserve and pass on to our children the common elements that hold this mosaic together as we work to make our country a land of freedom and opportunity for all.
Both Republican neglect and traditional spending programs have proven unequal to these challenges.
Democrats will pursue a new course that stresses work, family and individual responsibility,
and that empowers Americans to liberate themselves from poverty and dependence.
We pledge to bolster the institutions of civil society and place a new emphasis on civic enterprises that seek solutions to our nation's problems.
Through common, cooperative efforts we can rebuild our communities and transform our nation.
Combatting Crime and Drugs.
Crime is a relentless danger to our communities.
Over the last decade, crime has swept through our country at an alarming rate.
During the 1980s, more than 200,000 Americans were murdered, four times the number who died in Vietnam.
Violent crimes rose by more than 16 percent since 1988 and nearly doubled since 1975.
In our country today, a murder is committed every 25 minutes, a rape every six minutes, a burglary every 10 seconds.
The pervasive fear of crime disfigures our public life and diminishes our freedom.
None suffer more than the poor: an explosive mixture of blighted prospects, drugs and exotic weaponry has turned many of our inner city communities into combat zones.
As a result, crime is not only a symptom but also a major cause of the worsening poverty and demoralization that afflicts inner city communities.
To empower America's communities, Democrats pledge to restore government as the upholder of basic law and order for crime-ravaged communities.
The simplest and most direct way to restore order in our cities is to put more police on the streets.
America's police are locked in an unequal struggle with crime: since 1951 the ratio of police officers to reported crimes has reversed, from three-to-one to one-to-three.
We will create a Police Corps, in which participants would receive college aid in return for several years of service after graduation in a state or local police department.
As we shift people and resources from defense to the civilian economy, we will create new jobs in law enforcement for those leaving the military.
We will expand drug counselling and treatment for those who need it, intensify efforts to educate our children at the earliest ages to the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, and curb demand from the street corner to the penthouse suite, so that the U.S., with five percent of the world's population, no longer consumes 50 percent of the world's illegal drugs.
Community Policing.
Neighborhoods and police should be partners in the war on crime.
Democrats support more community policing, which uses foot patrols and storefront offices to make police officers visible fixtures in urban neighborhoods.
We will combat street violence and emphasize building trust and solving the problems that breed crime.
Firearms.
It is time to shut down the weapons bazaars in our cities.
We support a reason ble waiting period to permit background checks for purchases of handguns, as well as assault weapons controls to ban the possession, sale, importation and manufacture of the most deadly assault weapons.
We do not support efforts to restrict weapons used for legitimate hunting and sporting purposes.
We will work for swift and certain punishment of all people who violate the country's gun laws and for stronger sentences for criminals who use guns.
We will also seek to shut down the black market for guns and impose severe penalties on people who sell guns to children.
Pursuing All Crime Aggressively.
In contrast to the Republican policy of leniency toward white collar crime -- which breeds cynicism in poor communities about the impartiality of our justice system -- Democrats will redouble efforts to ferret out and punish those who betray the public trust, rig financial markets, misuse their depositors' money or swindle their customers.
Further Initiatives.
Democrats also favor innovative sentencing and punishment options, including community service and boot camps for first time offenders; tougher penalties for rapists; victim-impact statements and restitution to ensure that crime victims will not be lost in the complexities of the criminal justice system; and initiatives to make our schools safe, including alternative schools for disruptive children.
Empowering The Poor and Expanding The Middle Class.
We must further the new direction set in the Family Support Act of 1988, away from subsistence and dependence and toward work, family and personal initiative and responsibility.
We advocate slower phasing out of Medicaid and other benefits to encourage work;
special savings accounts to help low-income families build assets;
fair lending; an indexed minimum wage; an expanded Job Corps; and an end to welfare rules that encourage family breakup and penalize individual initiative, such as the $1,000 limit on personal savings.
Immigration.
Our nation of immigrants has been invigorated repeatedly as new people, ideas and ways of life have become part of the American tapestry.
Democrats support immigration policies that promote fairness, non- discrimination and family reunification, and that reflect our constitutional freedoms of speech, association and travel.
Housing.
Safe, secure housing is essential to the institutions of community and family.
We support homeownership for working families and will honor that commitment through policies that encourage affordable mortgage credit.
We must also confront homelessness by renovating, preserving and expanding the stock of affordable low-income housing.
We support tenant management and ownership, so public housing residents can manage their own affairs and acquire property worth protecting.
National Service.
We will create new opportunities for citizens to serve each other, their communities and their country.
By mobilizing hundreds of thousands of volunteers, national service will enhance the role of ordinary citizens in solving unresolved community problems.
The Arts.
We believe in public support for the Arts,
including a National Endowment for the Arts that is free from political manipulation and firmly rooted in the First Amendment's freedom of expression guarantee.
IV.PRESERVING OUR NATIONAL SECURITY
During the past four years, we have seen the corrosive effect of foreign policies that are rooted in the past, divorced from our values, fearful of change and unable to meet its challenges.
Under President Bush, crises have been managed, rather than prevented; dictators like Saddam Hussein have been wooed, rather than deterred; aggression by the Serbian regime against its neighbors in what was Yugoslavia has been met by American timidity r ther than toughness; human rights abusers have been rewarded, not challenged; the environment has been neglected, not protected; and America's competitive edge in the global economy has been dulled, not honed.
It is time for new American leadership that can meet the challenges of a changing world.
At the end of World War II, American strength had defeated tyranny and American ingenuity had overcome the Depression.
Under President Truman, the United States led the world into a new era, redefining global security with bold approaches to tough challenges: containing communism with the NATO alliance and in Korea; building the peace through organizations such as the United Nations; and advancing global economic security through new multilateral institutions.
Nearly a half century later, we stand at another pivotal point in history.
The collapse of communism does not mean the end of danger or threats to our interests.
But it does pose an unprecedented opportunity to make our future more secure and prosperous.
Once again, we must define a compelling vision for global leadership at the dawn of a new era.
Restructuring Our Military Forces.
We have not seen the end of violence, aggression and the conflicts that can threaten American interests and our hopes for a more peaceful world.
What the United States needs is not the Bush Administration's Cold War thinking on a smaller scale, but a comprehensive restructuring of the American military enterprise to meet the threats that remain.
Military Strength.
America is the world's strongest military power and we must remain so.
A post-Cold War restructuring of American forces will produce substantial savings beyond those promised by the Bush Administration, but that restructuring must be achieved without undermining our ability to meet future threats to our security.
A military structure for the 1990's and beyond must be built on four pillars: First, a survivable nuclear force to deter any conceivable threat, as we reduce our nuclear arsenals through arms control negotiations and other reciprocal action.
Second, conventional forces shifted toward projecting power wherever our vital national interests are threatened.
This means reducing the size of our forces in Europe, while meeting our obligations to NATO,
and strengthening our rapid deployment capabilities to deal with new threats to our security posed by renegade dictators, terrorists, international drug traffickers, and the local armed conflicts that can threaten the peace of entire regions.
Third, maintenance of the two qualities that make America's military the best in the world -- the superiority of our military personnel and of our technology.
These qualities are vital to shortening any conflict and saving American lives.
Fourth, intelligence capabilities redirected to develop far more sophisticated, timely and accurate analyses of the economic and political conditions that can fuel new conflicts.
Use Of Force.
The United States must be prepared to use military force decisively when necessary to defend our vital interests.
The burdens of collective security in a new era must be shared fairly, and we should encourage multilateral peacekeeping through the United Nations and other international efforts.
Preventing And Containing Conflict.
American policy must be focused on averting military threats as well as meeting them.
To halt the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, we must lead a renewed international effort to get tough with companies that peddle nuclear and chemical warfare technologies, strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency, and enforce strong sanctions against governments that violate international restraints.
A Comprehensive Test Ban would strengthen our ability to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to other countries, which may be our greatest future security threat.
We must press for strong international limits on the dangerous and wasteful flow of conventional arms to troubled regions.
A U.S. troop presence should be maintained in South K rea as long as North Korea presents a threat to South Korea.
Restoring America's Economic Leadership
The United States cannot be strong abroad if it is weak at home.
Restoring America's global economic leadership must become a central element of our national security policies.
The strength of nations, once defined in military terms, now is measured also by the skills of their workers, the imagination of their managers and the power of their technologies.
Either we develop and pursue a national plan for restoring our economy through a partnership of government, labor and business, or we slip behind the nations that are competing with us and growing.
At stake are American jobs, our standard of living and the quality of life for ourselves and our children.
Economic strength -- indeed our national security -- is grounded on a healthy domestic economy.
But we cannot be strong at home unless we are part of a vibrant and expanding global economy that recognizes human rights and seeks to improve the living standards of all the world's people.
This is vital to achieving good quality, high paying jobs for Americans.
Trade.
Our government must work to expand trade, while insisting that the conduct of world trade is fair.
It must fight to uphold American interests -- promoting exports, expanding trade in agricultural and other products, opening markets in major product and service sectors with our principal competitors, and achieving reciprocal access.
This should include renewed authority to use America's trading leverage against the most serious problems.
The U.S. government also must firmly enforce U.S. laws against unfair trade.
Trade Agreements.
Multilateral trade agreements can advance our economic interests by expanding the global economy.
Whether negotiating the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) or completing the GATT negotiations, our government must assure that our legitimate concerns about environmental, health and safety, and labor standards are included.
Those American workers whose jobs are affected must have the benefit of effective adjustment assistance.
Promoting Democracy
Brave men and women -- like the hero who stood in front of a tank in Beijing and the leader who stood on a tank in Moscow - are putting their lives on the line for democracy around the world.
But as the tide of democracy rose in the former Soviet Union and in China, in the Baltics and South Africa, only reluctantly did this Administration abandon the status quo and embrace the fight for freedom.
Support for democracy serves our ideals and our interests.
A more democratic world is a world that is more peaceful and more stable.
An American foreign policy of engagement for democracy must effectively address:
Emerging Democracies.
Helping to lead an international effort to assist the emerging - and still fragile - democracies in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union build democratic institutions in free market settings, demilitarize their societies and integrate their econ mies into the world trading system.
Unlike the Bush Administration, which waited too long to recognize the new democratic governments in the Baltic countries and the nations of the former Soviet Union, we must act decisively with our European allies to support freedom, diminish ethnic tensions, and oppose aggression in the former communist countries, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are struggling to make the transition from communism to democracy.
As change sweeps through the Balkans, the United States must be sensitive to the concerns of Greece regarding the use of the name Macedonia.
And in the post-Cold War era, our foreign assistance programs in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and elsewhere should be targeted at helping democracies rather than tyrants.
Democracy Corps.
Promoting democratic institutions by creating a Democracy Corps to send American volunteers to countries that seek legal, financial and political expertise to build democratic institutions, and support groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, the Asia Foundation, and others.
China Trade Terms.
Conditioning of favorable trade terms for China on respect for human rights in China and Tibet, greater market access for U.S. goods, and responsible conduct on weapons proliferation.
South Africa.
Maintenance of state and local sanctions against South Africa in support of an investment code of conduct, existing limits on deductibility of taxes paid to South Africa, and diplomatic pressure until there is an irreversible, full and fair accommodation with the black majority to create a democratic government with full rights for all its citizens.
We deplore the continuing violence, especially in Boipatong Township, and are concerned about the collapse of the negotiations.
The U.S. Government should consider reimposing Federal sanctions.
The Democratic Party supports the creation of a South African/American Enterprise Fund that will provide a new interim government with public and private funds to assist in the development of democracy in South Africa.
Middle East Peace.
Support for the peace process now underway in the Middle East, rooted in the tradition of the Camp David accords.
Direct negotiations between Israel, her Arab neighbors and Palestinians, with no imposed solutions, are the only way to achieve enduring security for Israel and full peace for all parties in the region.
The end of the Cold War does not alter America's deep interest in our longstanding special relationship with Israel, based on shared values, a mutual commitment to democracy, and a strategic alliance that benefits both nations.
The United States must act effectively as an honest broker in the peace process.
It must not, as has been the case with this Administration, encourage one side to believe that it will deliver unilateral concessions from the other.
Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel and should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
Human Rights.
Standing everywhere for the rights of individuals and respect for ethnic minorities against the repressive acts of governments - against torture, political imprisonment, and all attacks on civilized standards of human freedom.
This is a proud tradition of the Democratic Party, which has stood for freedom in South Africa and continues to resist oppression in Cuba.
Our nation should once again promote the principle of sanctuary for politically oppressed people everywhere, be they Haitian refugees, Soviet Jews seeking U.S. help in their successful absorption into Israeli society, or Vietnamese fleeing communism.
Forcible return of anyone fleeing political repression is a betrayal of American values.
Human Needs.
Support for the struggle against poverty and disease in the developing world, including the heartbreaking famine in Africa.
We must not replace the East-West conflict with one between North and South, a growing divide between the industrialized and developing world.
Our development programs must be reexamined and restructured to assure that their benefits truly help those most in need to help themselves.
At stake are the lives of millions of human beings who live in hunger, uprooted from their homes, too often without hope.
The United States should work to establish a specific plan and timetable for the elimination of world hunger.
Cyprus.
A renewed commitment to achieve a Cyprus settlement pursuant to the United Nations resolutions.
This goal must now be restored to the diplomatic agenda of the United States.
Northern Ireland.
In light of America's historic ties to the people of Great Britain and Ireland, and consistent with our country's commitment to peace, democracy and human rights around the world, a more active United States role in promoting peace and political dialogue to bring an end to the violence and achieve a negotiated solution in Northern Ireland.
Preserving The Global Environment
As the threat of nuclear holocaust recedes, the future of the earth is challenged by gathering environmental crises.
As governments around the world have sought the path to concerted action, the Bush Administration -- despite its alleged foreign policy expertise -- has been more of an obstacle to progress than a leader for change, practicing isolationism on an issue that affects us all.
Democrats know we must act now to save the health of the earth, and the health of our children, for generations to come.
Addressing Global Warming.
The United States must become a leader, not an impediment, in the fight against global warming.
We should join our European allies in agreeing to limit carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.
Ozone Depletion.
The United States must be a world leader in finding replacements for CFCs and other ozone depleting substances.
Biodiversity We must work actively to protect the planet's biodiversity and preserve its forests.
At the Rio Earth Summit, the Bush Administration's failure to negotiate a biodiversity treaty it could sign was an abdication of international leadership.
Developing Nations.
We must fashion imaginative ways of engaging governments and business in the effort to encourage developing nations to preserve their environmental heritage.
Population Growth.
Explosive population growth must be controlled by working closely with other industrialized and developing nations and private organizations to fund greater family planning efforts.
As a nation and as a people, we have entered into a new era.
The Republican President and his advisors are rooted in Cold War precepts and cannot think or act anew.
Through almost a half century of sacrifice, constancy and strength, the American people advanced democracy's triumph in the Cold War.
Only new leadership that restores our nation's greatness at home can successfully draw upon these same strengths of the American people to lead the world into a new era of peace and freedom.
In recent years we have seen brave people abroad face down tanks, defy coups, and risk exodus by boat on the high seas for a chance at freedom and the kind of opportunities we call the American Dream.
It is time for Americans to fight against the decline of those same opportunities here at home.
Americans know that, in the end, we will all rise or fall together.
To make our society one again, Democrats will restore America's founding values of family, community and common purpose.
We believe in the American people.
We will challenge all Americans to give something back to their country.
And they will be enriched in return, for when individuals assume responsibility, they acquire dignity.
When people go to work, they rediscover a pride that was lost.
When absent parents pay child support, they restore a connection they and their children need.
When students work harder, they discover they can learn as well as any on earth.
When corporate managers put their workers and long-term success ahead of short-term gain, their companies do well and so do they.
When the leaders we elect assume responsibility for America's problems, we will do what is right to move America forward together.
PREAMBLE
As we come together to declare our vision as Democrats, we are mindful that the challenges of our times are new and profound.
This November, the choice we face as Americans may have more impact on our people and our place in the world than any in our lifetimes.
We approach this task with a seriousness that matches the challenges before us, but also with a profound optimism about our future - an optimism that springs from our great faith in America, and our great pride in what it means to be Americans.
We know the stakes are immeasurably high.
For the first time in generations, we have been attacked on our own shores.
Our brave men and women in uniform are still in harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war against terror.
Our alliances are frayed, our credibility in doubt.
Our great middle class is hard-pressed.
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and millions more are struggling under the mounting burden of life's everyday costs.
In Washington, the President and his allies stubbornly press on, without regard to the needs of our people or the challenges of our times.
It is time for a new direction.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party bring a new vision for America - strong at home, respected abroad.
An America that offers opportunity, rewards responsibility, and rejoices in diversity.
We have a plan to build a strong, respected America: protecting our people, rebuilding our alliances, and leading the way to a more peaceful and prosperous world.
We have a plan to build a strong, growing economy: creating good jobs, rewarding hard work, and restoring fiscal discipline.
We have a plan to help our people build strong, healthy families: securing quality health care, offering world-class education, and ensuring clean air and water.
And we will honor the values of a strong American community: widening the circle of equality, protecting the sanctity of freedom, and deepening our commitment to this country.
In offering this vision, we affirm our faith in the greatness of America.
We recommit to the ideal of a people united in helping one another, an ideal as old as the faiths we follow and as great as the country we love.
To those who are threatened, we pledge protection; to those who are victims, we promise justice; to those who are hopeless, we offer hope.
And to all Americans who seek a better future for themselves, for their loved ones, and for our country, we say: your cause is our own.
That is the America we believe in.
That is the America we are fighting for.
That is the America we will build together - one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
A STRONG, RESPECTED AMERICA
Alone among nations, America was born in pursuit of an idea - that a free people with diverse beliefs could govern themselves in peace.
For more than a century, America has spared no effort to defend and promote that idea around the world.
And over and over, that effort has been marked by the exercise of American leadership to forge powerful alliances based on mutual respect with longtime allies and reluctant friends; with nations already living in the light of democracy and with peoples struggling to join them.
The might of our alliances, coupled with the strength of our democratic ideals, has been a driving force in the survival and success of freedom - in two World Wars, in the Korean War, in the Cold War, in the Gulf War and in Kosovo.
America led instead of going it alone.
We extended a hand, not a fist.
We respected the world - and the world respected us.
As Americans, we respect and honor our veterans.
We are indebted to all those courageous men and women who have answered our country's call to duty.
Their service and sacrifice, their dedication and love of country advance our cause of freedom and uphold our finest traditions as a nation.
That is the America we believe in.
That is the America we are fighting for.
And that is the America we can be.
But the Bush Administration has walked away from more than a hundred years of American leadership in the world to embrace a new - and dangerously ineffective - disregard for the world.
They rush to force before exhausting diplomacy.
They bully rather than persuade.
They act alone when they could assemble a team.
They hope for the best when they should prepare for the worst.
Time and again, this Administration confuses leadership with going it alone and engagement with compromise of principle.
They do not understand that real leadership means standing by your principles and rallying others to join you.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a better, stronger America - an America that is respected, not just feared, and an America that listens and leads.
Our vision has deep roots in our Declaration of Independence and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Four Freedoms,
and in the tough-minded tradition of engagement and leadership-a tradition forged by Wilson and Roosevelt in two world wars, then championed by Truman and Kennedy during the Cold War.
We believe in an America that people around the world admire, because they know we cherish not just our freedom, but theirs.
Not just our democracy, but their hope for it.
Not just our peace and security, but the world's.
We believe in an America that cherishes freedom, safeguards our people, forges alliances, and commands respect.
That is the America we are going to build.
Our overriding goals are the same as ever: to protect our people and our way of life;
and to help build a safer, more peaceful,
more prosperous,
more democratic world.
Today, we face three great challenges above all others - first, to win the global war against terror;
second, to stop the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons;
and third, to promote democracy and freedom around the world, starting with a peaceful and stable Iraq.
To meet these challenges, we need a new national security policy guided by four new imperatives:
First, America must launch and lead a new era of alliances for the post-September 11 world.
Second, we must modernize the world's most powerful military to meet the new threats.
Third, in addition to our military might, we must deploy all that is in America's arsenal -
our diplomacy,
our intelligence system,
our economic power,
and the appeal of our values and ideas.
Fourth and finally, to safeguard our freedom and ensure our nation's future, we must end our dependence on Mideast oil.
DEFEATING TERRORISM
Today, the Bush Administration is waging a war against a global terrorist movement committed to our destruction with insufficient understanding of our enemy or effort to address the underlying factors that can give rise to new recruits.
This war isn't just a manhunt.
We cannot rest until Osama bin Laden is captured or killed, but that day will mark only a victory in the war on terror, not its end.
Terrorists like al Qaeda and its affiliates are unlike any adversary our nation has ever known.
We face a global terrorist movement of many groups, funded from different sources with separate agendas, but all committed to assaulting the United States and free and open societies around the globe.
Despite his tough talk, President Bush's actions against terrorism have fallen far short.
He still has no comprehensive strategy for victory.
After allowing bin Laden to escape from our grasp at Tora Bora, he diverted crucial resources from the effort to destroy al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
His doctrine of unilateral preemption has driven away our allies and cost us the support of other nations.
We must put in place a strategy to win - an approach that recognizes and addresses the many facets of this mortal challenge, from the terrorists themselves to the root causes that give rise to new recruits, and uses all the tools at our disposal.
Agents of terrorism work in the shadows of more than 60 nations, on every continent.
The only possible path to victory will be found in the company of others, not walking alone.
With John Kerry as Commander-in-Chief, we will never wait for a green light from abroad when our safety is at stake,
but we must enlist those whose support we need for ultimate victory.
Victory in the war on terror requires a combination of American determination and international cooperation on all fronts.
It requires the ability and willingness to direct immediate, effective military action when the capture or destruction of terrorist groups and their leaders is possible;
a massive improvement in intelligence gathering and analysis coupled with vigorous law enforcement;
a relentless effort to shut down the flow of terrorist funds;
a global effort to prevent failed or failing states that can become sanctuaries for terrorists;
a sustained effort to deny terrorists any more recruits by conducting effective public diplomacy;
and a sustained political and economic effort to improve education,
work for peace,
support democracy and extend hope.
Improving intelligence to find and stop terrorists.
We will train and equip the military to enhance its capabilities to seek out and destroy terrorists.
We will strengthen the capacity of intelligence and law enforcement around the world by forging stronger international coalitions to provide better information and communication.
We must also improve our intelligence here at home.
From the failure to uncover the September 11th plot to the deeply misguided reports about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction, we have experienced unprecedented intelligence failures in recent years.
We must do what President Bush has refused to do - reform our intelligence system by creating a true Director of National Intelligence with real control of intelligence personnel and budgets.
We must train more analysts in languages spoken by terrorists.
And we must break down the old communications barriers between national intelligence and local law enforcement, taking care to fully preserve our liberties.
Cutting off terrorist funds.
We will move decisively to cut off the flow of terrorist funds.
We will impose tough financial sanctions against nations or banks that engage in money laundering or fail to act against it.
We will strengthen our anti-money laundering laws to prevent terrorists from using hedge funds and unregulated institutions to finance terror.
We will launch a "name and shame" campaign against those that are financing terror.
If nations do not respond, they will be shut out of the U.S. financial system.
And in the specific case of Saudi Arabia, we will put an end to the Bush Administration's kid-glove approach to the supply and laundering of terrorist money.
Preventing Afghanistan and other nations from becoming terrorist havens.
Nowhere is the need for collective endeavor greater than in Afghanistan.
The Bush Administration has badly mishandled the war's aftermath.
Two years ago, President Bush promised a Marshall Plan to rebuild that country.
Instead, he has all but turned away from Afghanistan, allowing it to become again a potential haven for terrorists.
We must expand NATO forces outside Kabul.
We must accelerate training for the Afghan army and police.
The program to disarm and reintegrate warlord militias into society must be expedited and expanded into a mainstream strategy.
We will attack the exploding opium trade ignored by the Bush Administration by doubling our counter-narcotics assistance to the Karzai Government and reinvigorating the regional drug control program.
Beyond Afghanistan, terrorist attacks from Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to Kenya, Morocco, and Turkey point to a widening network of terrorists targeting this country and our friends.
Failed and failing states like Somalia or countries with large areas of limited government control like the Philippines and Indonesia need international help to close down terrorist havens.
Increasing public diplomacy to promote understanding and prevent terrorist recruitment.
At the core of this conflict is a fundamental struggle of ideas: democracy and tolerance against those who would use any means and attack any target to impose their narrow views.
The war on terror is not a clash of civilizations.
It is a clash of civilization against chaos.
America needs a major initiative in public diplomacy to support the many voices of freedom in the Arab and Muslim world.
To improve education for the next generation of Islamic youth, we need a cooperative international effort to compete with radical Madrassas.
And we must support human rights groups,
independent media,
and labor unions dedicated to building a democratic culture from the grassroots up.
Democracy will not blossom overnight, but America should speed its growth by sustaining the forces of democracy against repressive regimes and by rewarding governments that work toward this end.
KEEPING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OUT OF THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS
There is no greater threat to American security than the possibility of terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction.
Preventing terrorists from gaining access to these weapons must be our number one security goal.
Containing this massive threat requires American leadership of the highest order -
leadership that brings our allies, friends, and partners to greater collaboration and participation
- and compels problem states to join and comply with international agreements and abandon their weapons programs.
Unfortunately, this Administration's policies have moved America in the opposite direction.
They have weakened international agreements and efforts to enforce non-proliferation instead of strengthening them.
They have not done nearly enough to secure existing stockpiles and bomb-making materials.
They have failed to take effective steps to stop the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs.
We must change course now.
Defending America against attack at all costs.
First, the world should be on notice that we will take every possible measure to defend ourselves against the possibility of attack by unconventional arms.
If such an attack appears imminent, we will do everything necessary to stop it.
If such a strike does occur, we will respond with overwhelming and devastating force.
But we should never wait to act until we have no other choice but war.
We must build and lead an international consensus for early preventive action to lock up and secure existing weapons of mass destruction and the material to manufacture more.
Locking away existing nuclear weapons and material.
The first step is to safeguard all bomb making material worldwide.
We need to find it, catalog it, and lock it away.
Our approach should be simple: treat the nuclear materials that make bombs like they are bombs.
More than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia still has nearly 20,000 nuclear weapons and enough nuclear material to produce 50,000 more.
For most of these weapons and materials, cooperative security upgrades have not been completed.
The world is relying on whatever measures Russia has taken on its own.
At the current pace, it will take 13 years to secure potential bomb material in the former Soviet Union.
We cannot wait that long.
We will do it in four years.
Stopping the creation of new nuclear material for nuclear weapons.
We will lead an international coalition to put an end to the production of new materials - highly enriched uranium and plutonium - for use in nuclear weapons.
And we will reduce excess stocks of existing nuclear materials and weapons.
We will conduct a global cleanout initiative to remove stockpiles of vulnerable highly enriched uranium at research reactors and facilities in dozens of countries around the world within four years.
Leading international efforts to shut down nuclear efforts in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere.
We must show determined leadership to end the nuclear weapons program in North Korea and prevent the development of nuclear weapons in places like Iran.
North Korea has sold ballistic missiles and technology in the past.
The North Koreans have made it clear to the world - and to the terrorists - that they are open for business and will sell to the highest bidder.
But while this Administration has been fixated on Iraq, the nuclear dangers from North Korea have multiplied.
The North Koreans allegedly have made enough new fuel to make six to nine nuclear bombs.
We should maintain the six-party talks, but we must also be prepared to talk directly with North Korea to negotiate a comprehensive agreement that addresses the full range of issues for ourselves and our allies.
But we should have no illusions about Kim Jong Il.
Any agreement must have rigorous verification and lead to complete and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Even as we have scoured Iraq for signs of weapons of mass destruction, Iran has reportedly been working to develop them next door.
A nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable risk to us and our allies.
The same is true for other countries that may be seeking nuclear weapons.
This is why strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is so critical.
We must close the loophole that lets countries develop nuclear weapons capabilities under the guise of a peaceful, civilian nuclear power program.
We also need to strengthen enforcement and verification and make rigorous inspection protocols mandatory.
We must work with every country to tighten export controls,
stiffen penalties,
and beef up law enforcement and intelligence sharing.
That way we can make absolutely sure that a disaster like the AQ Khan black market network, which grew out of Pakistan's nuclear program, can never happen again.
We must also take steps to reduce tension between India and Pakistan and guard against the possibility of their nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.
PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, PEACE, AND SECURITY
We know that promoting democracy,
human rights,
and the rule of law is vital to our long-term security.
Americans will be safer in a world of democracies.
We will work with people and nongovernmental organizations around the world struggling for freedom,
even as we work with their governments to protect our security from weapons of terror.
We will restore America's credibility and commitment as a force for democracy
and human rights, starting in Iraq.
We believe that upholding international standards for the treatment of prisoners, wherever they may be held, advances America's national security, the security of our troops, and the values of our people.
And we believe torture is unacceptable.
America should abide by its own laws and the treaties it has ratified, including the Geneva Conventions.
We will also support international efforts to address the problem of landmines,
while at the same time ensuring that our troops are protected.
Winning the peace in Iraq.
More than a year ago, President Bush stood on an aircraft carrier under a banner that proclaimed "mission accomplished.
" But today we know that the mission is not finished, hostilities have not ended, and our men and women in uniform fight almost alone with the target squarely on their backs.
People of good will disagree about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq, but this much is clear: this Administration badly exaggerated its case, particularly with respect to weapons of mass destruction and the connection between Saddam's government and al Qaeda.
This Administration did not build a true international coalition.
This Administration disdained the United Nations weapons inspection process and rushed to war without exhausting diplomatic alternatives.
Ignoring the advice of military leaders, this Administration did not send sufficient forces into Iraq to accomplish the mission.
And this Administration went into Iraq without a plan to win the peace.
Now this Administration has been forced to change course in order to correct this fundamental mistake.
They are now taking up the suggestions that many Democrats have been making for over a year.
And they must - because having gone to war, we cannot afford to fail at peace.
We cannot allow a failed state in Iraq that inevitably would become a haven for terrorists and a destabilizing force in the Middle East.
And we must secure more help from an international community that shares a huge stake in helping Iraq become a responsible member of that community, not a breeding ground for terror and intolerance.
As a first step, we must create a stable and secure environment in Iraq.
To do this right, we must truly internationalize both politically and militarily: we cannot depend on a US-only presence.
Other nations have a vital interest in the outcome, and we must bring them in to commit troops and resources.
The Bush Administration has missed three great opportunities to do that.
First, the President broke his promise to build a legitimate coalition in Iraq by exhausting diplomacy before resorting to the use of military force.
Second, when the statue fell in Baghdad, Kofi Annan invited the United States to come to the table to discuss international support - but we rejected his offer.
Third, when the President addressed the United Nations last fall, he once again refused to acknowledge the difficulties we faced in Iraq and failed to elicit support from other nations.
The President has not given our troops the clarity of mission, the equipment or the international support they need and deserve.
We have a different approach based on a simple commitment: Troops come first.
Our helicopter pilots have flown battlefield missions without the best anti-missile systems.
In a Democratic Administration, that will change.
Too many of our nation's finest troops have died in attacks, because tens of thousands were deployed to Iraq without the best bulletproof vests, and there is a shortage of armored vehicles on the ground.
In a Democratic Administration, that will change.
Thousands of National Guardsmen and reservists have been forced to leave their families and jobs for more than a year - with no end in sight - because this Administration ignored the pressing need for a true coalition.
In a Democratic Administration, that will change.
To succeed, America must do the hard work of engaging the world's major political powers in this mission.
We must build a coalition of countries, including the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, to share the political, economic, and military responsibilities of Iraq with the United States.
To win over allies, we must share responsibility with those nations that answer our call, and treat them with respect.
We must lead, but we must listen.
The rewards of respect are enormous.
We must convince NATO to take on a more significant role and contribute additional military forces.
As other countries, including Muslim majority countries, contribute troops, the United States will be able to reduce its military presence in Iraq, and we intend to do this when appropriate so that the military support needed by a sovereign Iraqi government will no longer be seen as the direct continuation of an American military presence.
Second, we need to create an international High Commissioner to serve as the senior international representative working with the Iraqi government.
This Commissioner should be backed by a newly broadened security coalition and charged with overseeing elections, assisting with drafting a constitution, and coordinating reconstruction.
The Commissioner should be highly regarded by the international community, have the credibility to talk to all the Iraqi people, and work directly with Iraq's interim government, the new U.S. Ambassador, and the international community.
At the same time, U.S. and international policies must take into consideration the best interests of the Iraqi people.
The Iraqi people desperately need financial and technical assistance that is not swallowed up by bureaucracy and no-bid contracts, but instead goes directly into grassroots organizations.
They need to see the tangible benefits of reconstruction: jobs, infrastructure, and services.
They should also receive the full benefits of their own oil production as quickly as possible, so as to rebuild their country and help themselves as individuals,
while also reducing the costs of security and reconstruction on the American taxpayer and the cost of gasoline to American consumers.
And they need to be able to communicate their concerns to international authorities without feeling they are being disrespected in their own country.
America also needs a massive training effort to build Iraqi security forces that can actually provide security for the Iraqi people.
It must be done in the field and on the job as well as in the classroom.
Units cannot be put on the street without backup from international security forces.
This is a task we must do in partnership with other nations, not just on our own.
And this is a task in which we must succeed.
If we fail to create viable Iraqi security forces - military and police - there is no successful exit for us and other nations.
The challenges in Iraq are great, but the opportunity is also significant.
Under John Kerry and John Edwards, we will meet those challenges, win the peace in Iraq, and help to create new hope and opportunity for the entire Middle East.
Africa.
U.S. engagement in Africa should reflect its vital significance to U.S. interests and the moral imperative to help a continent struggling with the scourge of HIV/AIDS and under the long shadow of chronic poverty.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern and eastern Africa is a massive human tragedy.
It is also a security risk of the highest order that threatens to plunge nations into chaos.
Chronic and debilitating hunger also threatens the very survival of communities where investment in agriculture has suffered for over a decade.
We are committed to bringing the full weight of American leadership to bear against this crisis.
We must also work with the United Nations and Africa's regional organizations to address Africa's persistent, disproportionate share of the world's weak, failing states and chronic armed conflicts, and to promote effective relief efforts when there is a humanitarian crisis - particularly at this moment in Sudan.
We value our deepening economic ties with Africa, including Central and West Africa's rapidly rising position as a major source of non-Gulf oil.
We recognize Africa's promise as a trade and investment partner and the importance of trade policies that reduce poverty and promote growth in Africa.
We will continue to promote policies to support newly democratic states that have shown a commitment to economic reform and respect for human rights.
Asia.
In Asia, we must better engage with China to secure Chinese adherence to international trade, non-proliferation and human rights standards.
We are committed to a "One China" policy, and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-Straits issues that is consistent with the wishes and best interests of the Taiwanese people.
We must maintain our strong relationship with Japan, and explore new ways to cooperate further.
And we will actively seek to enhance relations with our historic ally South Korea in order to advance our collaborative efforts on economic and security issues.
We must also work with our friends, India and Pakistan, in their efforts to resolve longstanding differences.
Europe.
Throughout the 20th century, America's most trusted and reliable allies were the democracies of Europe; together, the two sides of the Atlantic ensured that democracy and free markets prevailed against all challenges.
The Bush Administration has allowed the Atlantic partnership to erode, leaving the United States dangerously isolated from its indispensable allies.
The Democratic Party is committed to revitalizing the Atlantic partnership.
The international goals that the United States pursues will be easier to attain if Europe and America are working together.
We will ensure that NATO remains strong, continuing to consolidate peace in Europe even as the alliance takes on new tasks in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We look forward to the evolution of the European Union and to a prosperous and unified Europe that joins the United States in meeting today's security challenges and expanding the global economy.
Latin America and the Caribbean.
We believe that it is time to create a new Community of the Americas that reflects our close relationship with our regional neighbors.
We will return U.S. -Latin American relations to a place marked by dialogue, consensus and concerted action to address common concerns.
We understand that our collective security and prosperity are furthered by mutual efforts to promote democracy, generate wealth, reduce income disparities, and provide sound environmental stewardship.
We are committed to strong and steady support for democratic processes and institutions in our hemisphere.
We believe that democratic governments deserve our support, and that we should exercise our considerable diplomatic and moral force in support of democratically elected leaders.
Mexico has made steady progress toward building a mature democracy, and we will make relations with Mexico a priority in order to best address economic, environmental and social issues of concern.
We support effective and peaceful strategies to end the Castro regime as soon as possible and enable the Cuban people to take their rightful place in the democratic Community of the Americas.
We will work with the international community to increase political and diplomatic pressure on the Castro regime to release all political prisoners, support civil society, promote the important work of Cuban dissidents, and begin a process of genuine political reform.
Within this framework the Democratic Party supports a policy of principled travel to Cuba that promotes family unity and people-to-people contacts through educational and cultural exchanges.
We will seek to reinforce democratic values in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean.
We will support economic development to increase employment and economic opportunity, reducing incentives for emigration by dangerous and life-threatening means.
We will increase efforts to combat drug-trafficking throughout the Caribbean and ensure that those involved in bringing drugs into the U.S. are brought to justice.
We will assist in combating corruption so that funds made available for development are used appropriately.
The Middle East.
The Democratic Party is fundamentally committed to the security of our ally Israel
and the creation of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors.
Our special relationship with Israel is based on the unshakable foundation of shared values and a mutual commitment to democracy, and we will ensure that under all circumstances, Israel retains the qualitative edge for its national security and its right to self-defense.
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
Under a Democratic Administration, the United States will demonstrate the kind of resolve to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that President Clinton showed.
We will work to transform the Palestinian Authority by promoting new and responsible leadership, committed to fighting terror and promoting democracy.
We support the creation of a democratic Palestinian state dedicated to living in peace and security side by side with the Jewish State of Israel.
The creation of a Palestinian state should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel.
Furthermore, all understand that it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.
And we understand that all final status negotiations must be mutually agreed.
Northern Ireland.
We are determined to help create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
We support efforts by the Irish and British Governments and the political parties to break the current impasse, and we stand ready to assist in any way to achieve full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Russia.
Democrats will pursue a Russia policy that recognizes that country's importance and
advances the core U.S. security interests at stake in Russia's historic transformation, beginning with cooperative work to secure vulnerable stockpiles of nuclear weapons and materials.
We reiterate that respect for human rights, the rule of law and Russia's fledgling democratic institutions and independent media outlets are essential to Russia's continued integration into international institutions and the global economy.
Global health.
Addressing global health challenges - including the AIDS pandemic - is a humanitarian obligation and a national security imperative.
We are committed to a coordinated effort to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and in all other regions throughout the world.
Epidemics can decimate societies and contribute to failed states which can become bases for terrorists and other criminal elements.
And a strong global public health system is essential to effectively combating bio-terror threats.
Our global health policy will bring the best of our scientific knowledge, financial resources, management skills, and compassion to the challenge of improving health conditions around the world.
And we will restore America's leadership in global health by rejecting policies driven by ideology instead of science.
International development.
We understand that promoting international economic development is a strategic imperative of the United States.
We will use American economic power to extend security and prosperity - which leads to peace - around the world.
And we will work with poor countries to help stabilize and diversify their economies, including through the consideration of sensible debt relief measures where appropriate.
We will support efforts to reach universal basic education and the other Millennium Development Goals.
Supporting America's foreign affairs community.
We are committed to the best training, facilities and support for America's diplomats, the men and women of America's foreign affairs community, who represent our country and work to promote our values around the world.
STRENGTHENING OUR MILITARY
We need a new military to meet the new threats of the 21st Century.
Today's American military is the best in the world, but tomorrow's military must be even better.
It must be stronger, faster, better armed, and never again stretched so thin.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party will send a clear message to every man and woman in our armed forces: We guarantee that you will always be the best-led, best-equipped and most respected fighting force in the world.
You will be armed with the right weapons, schooled in the right skills, and fully prepared to win on the battlefield.
You will never be sent into harm's way without enough troops for the task, and never asked to fight a war without a plan to win the peace.
You will never be given assignments which have not been clearly defined and for which you are not professionally trained.
The Bush Administration was right to call for the "transformation" of the military.
But their version of transformation neglected to consider that the dangers we face have also been transformed.
The Administration was concerned with fighting classic conventional wars, instead of the asymmetrical threats we now face in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war against al Qaeda.
To rise to those challenges, we must strengthen our military, including our Special Forces, improve our technology, and task our National Guard with homeland security.
Expanding active duty personnel.
As a first step, we will expand America's active duty forces.
The war in Iraq has overextended our armed services.
The vast majority of the Army's active duty combat divisions are committed to Iraq-currently there, preparing to go, or recently returned.
That is a dangerous and potentially disastrous strain that limits our capacity to respond to other crises.
To pick up the slack, we've called up our Guard and Reserves at historic levels.
Some have been on the ground in Iraq for as many as 15 months, much longer than was expected or promised.
Many of these units are being pushed to the limit and stretched far too thin.
The Administration's answer has just been to stretch further.
They have extended tours of duty, delayed retirements, and prevented enlisted personnel from leaving the service - effectively using a stop-loss policy and recall of Individual Ready Reserve members as a back-door draft.
We will add 40,000 new soldiers - not to increase the number of soldiers in Iraq, but to sustain our overseas deployments and prevent and prepare for other possible conflicts.
This will help relieve the strain on our troops and bring back more of our soldiers, guardsmen and reservists.
We are dedicated to keeping our military operating on a volunteer basis.
We are committed to management reform both to ensure that our defense funding is spent effectively and to help pay for these new forces.
Doubling Special Forces capability.
Next, we need to create a "New Total Force," a military prepared to defeat any enemy, at any time, in any place.
We will double the capacity of our Special Forces, the troops who took the fight to the Taliban with remarkable creativity after September 11th.
These troops conduct counter-terrorism operations, perform reconnaissance missions, and gather intelligence.
They also train local forces and build the relationships that are vital for our victory in the war on terror.
We will increase our civil affairs personnel - those who arrive on the scene after the major conflict ends to work with local leaders and officials to get the schools back in shape, the hospitals reopened, and the banks up and running.
We also need more military police, because public order is critical to establishing the conditions that allow peace to take hold.
State-of-the-art equipment.
Third, we need the best possible equipment.
We can't have a 21st century military unless we're using 21st century technology and preparing our forces for 21st century threats.
That means educating, training, and arming every soldier with state-of-the-art equipment, whether body armor or weapons.
It also means employing the most sophisticated communications to help our troops prevail and protect themselves in battle.
Every soldier in every unit should have access to technology that can mean the difference between life and death.
We will make sure every solider does.
And we will build and train new forces equipped with the most-sophisticated technology to specialize in finding, securing, and destroying weapons of mass destruction and the facilities that build them.
The best training.
Fourth, we must match our commitment to innovation with a commitment to the training, education, and facilities necessary to make the most of it.
Standing up for military families.
Fifth, we will make sure that America's commitment to the men and women of our armed forces (our active duty, our reservists, and our national guard) and their families is ironclad.
We will enact a Military Family Bill of Rights to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families receive the benefits and respect they deserve: competitive pay and quality housing, decent health care and dental care, quality education for their children, and timely deployment information.
And we will ensure that America will care for them and their families if the worst should happen.
Better use of the National Guard.
Finally, we need to make better use of a key asset in homeland defense - our National Guard.
The National Guard has served in every war, and they're serving now.
They were the first ones called to line city streets, guard bridges, and patrol our airports after September 11th.
We will make homeland security one of the Guard's primary missions, and assign Guard units to a standing joint task force commanded by a General from the Guard.
ACHIEVING ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
No strategy for American security is complete without a plan to end America's dependence on Mideast oil.
Today, the American economy depends on oil controlled by some of the world's most repressive regimes.
This leaves our economy dangerously vulnerable to nations that do not share our interests.
America too often is silent about the practices of some governments because we depend on oil they control.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe a strong America must no longer rely on the cooperation of regimes that do not share our values.
We believe a strong America must move toward energy independence.
In the Bush Administration, energy independence doesn't get a thought.
Their energy policy is simple: government by big oil, of big oil, and for big oil.
This Administration let oil industry lobbyists and executives write our nation's energy policy in secret.
They even went to the Supreme Court to stop the public from learning what they were doing.
They've done nothing as gas prices have soared to record levels.
Even the Administration's own economists have found that their energy plan will do nothing to reduce gas prices.
This President's approach to energy policy leaves America shackled to foreign oil, dependent, vulnerable, and exposed.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a better, stronger, more independent America.
We are committed to achieving energy independence, and we know we can do it.
Our ingenuity and determination built the cars we drive and the bridges we use.
It electrified rural America in the 1930s, and took us to the moon in the 1960s.
Our resolve helped conquer polio.
It's this simple: When we see a problem, we roll up our sleeves and solve it.
And that's what we pledge to do now.
Achieving energy independence will improve our ability to protect our values and interests in the world.
It will reduce energy costs for our families.
It will create high-paying new jobs.
And it will improve our environment and make our people healthier.
Harnessing American ingenuity to create renewable energy.
Our plan begins with commonsense investments to harness the natural world around us-the sun, wind, water, geothermal and biomass sources, and a rich array of crops-to create a new generation of affordable energy for the 21st century.
By mobilizing the amazing productivity of America's farmers, we can grow our own cleanerburning fuel.
We support tax credits for private sector investment in clean, renewable sources of energy, and we will make ethanol credits work better for farmers.
And we will ensure that billions of gallons of renewable fuel are part of America's energy supply while striving for strong, national renewable energy goals.
Creating the energy-efficient vehicles of tomorrow.
We support creating more energy-efficient vehicles, from today's hybrid cars to tomorrow's hydrogen cars.
We support the American people's freedom to choose whatever cars, SUVs, minivans, and trucks they choose, but we also believe American ingenuity is equal to the task of improving efficiency.
We support improving fuel standards, and because of the challenges this poses, we will offer needed incentives for consumers to buy efficient vehicles, and for manufacturers to build them.
We are also committed to developing hydrogen as a clean, reliable domestic source of energy.
Our economy cannot convert to hydrogen overnight, so we will fund research to overcome the obstacles to hydrogen fuel and continue our other efforts to achieve energy independence.
Moving beyond OPEC.
We can improve our energy security in other ways.
We will seek more diverse sources of oil around the world and here at home.
We support balanced development of domestic oil supplies in areas already open for exploration, like the western and central Gulf of Mexico.
We support the expansion of new infrastructure to develop supplies from non-OPEC nations like Russia, Canada, and nations in Africa.
We will increase efficiency of natural gas use, develop the Alaska natural gas pipeline, and enhance our nation's infrastructure to help supply natural gas more effectively.
Electricity.
We will work to create new technology for producing electricity in a better, more efficient manner.
Coal accounts for more than one-half of America's electric power generation capacity today.
We believe coal must continue its important role in a new energy economy, while achieving high environmental standards.
Working with the coal industry, we will invest billions to develop and implement new, cleaner coal technology and to produce electric and hydrogen power.
We will also work to make sure that our people have access to an affordable, secure, and reliable supply of electricity at all times.
We support mandatory, enforceable reliability standards.
We also support public-private partnerships to make our power systems more flexible, resilient, and self-healing
-and more environmentally friendly than ever before.
Government as a role model.
The federal government is the largest single consumer of energy in the world.
We will cut the federal government's energy use and challenge local governments, corporations, universities, small businesses and hospitals to do the same.
Our commitment to conservation.
A balanced energy policy must create real incentives for energy conservation in our homes, our offices, our factories, and our infrastructure, saving money and improving security even as it creates good jobs and rebuilds our communities.
With sixty-five percent of the world's oil reserves in the Middle East, we cannot drill our way to energy independence.
But we can create, think, imagine, and invent our way there.
And we will create jobs, help our environment, and build a stronger country as we do.
STRENGTHENING HOMELAND SECURITY
The first and foremost responsibility of government is to protect its citizens from harm.
Unfortunately, Washington today is not doing enough to make America safe.
We have made some progress since the terrible attacks of September 11th.
We have taken steps to secure our airports.
After resisting Democratic efforts for months, the Administration finally agreed to create the Department of Homeland Security.
But we have not done nearly enough.
Our intelligence services remain fragmented and lack coordination.
Millions of massive shipping containers arrive at American ports every year without being searched and without even a reliable list of their contents.
Our borders are full of holes.
Our chemical plants are vulnerable to attack.
Across America, police officers, firefighters, and other first responders still lack the information, protective gear, and communications equipment to do their jobs safely and successfully.
The Bush Administration, full of tough talk about terror, has no coherent plan for domestic defense.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe America can do better.
We believe America must do better.
We believe America will do better.
A comprehensive strategy to protect America.
We need a new strategy for homeland security that addresses five major challenges.
We need to improve our ability to gather, analyze, and share information so we can track down terrorists and stop them before they cause harm.
We need to do a better job securing our airports, seaports, and borders.
We need to harden likely terrorist targets.
We need to improve domestic readiness.
Finally, we must win the war on terror without losing the values of freedom and justice for all that make us so proud to be Americans.
Better intelligence.
The war on terror begins with good intelligence.
Shockingly, many of the same flaws in intelligence-sharing that allowed terrorists to slip in and out of America before September 11th still exist.
The government has missed its own deadlines for upgrading and integrating security databases, and still fails to share information with the state and local law enforcement agencies on the frontlines.
This must change.
We will ensure that our watch lists are accessible when and where they are needed.
We will also give security clearances to appropriate state and local officials so they can get critical information at the critical times.
Our intelligence apparatus needs significant reform, and so creating a true Director of National Intelligence is critical.
More secure borders.
We will improve security at our borders and entry-points to block the individuals and weapons that would harm us.
We will strengthen container security rules, improve the detection equipment in our shipping systems, ensure that private companies are providing adequate information about the goods they are shipping, and work with other nations to increase inspection levels abroad.
We will put an end to political delays in adopting tighter controls on air cargo, tons of which goes uninspected every day.
We will increase perimeter inspections at U.S airports and work with international aviation authorities to make sure the same standards are in place overseas.
Working with our Northern and Southern neighbors, we will strengthen controls at border crossings, and use modern technology and better staffing to improve the quality of border inspections while enhancing commerce.
Hardened targets.
We will launch a major effort to harden our most vulnerable targets - from chemical and nuclear plants to rails and tunnels - and better protect them from attack.
Security upgrades at some nuclear weapons facilities are a shocking three years behind.
That is unacceptable, and we will fix it.
We must better protect nuclear facilities and waste sites which today are too vulnerable to attack.
We will improve transit rail and subway security, by adding chemical release detectors to deter attacks like we saw in Tokyo, and taking other steps.
There are more than 100 chemical plants where an attack could endanger more than one million people, and the FBI has warned that al Qaeda may target our chemical industry.
The Bush Administration was actually moving toward a commonsense solution that would set minimum standards for safety at chemical plants.
But dangerously true to form, after heavy lobbying by the chemical industry, they backed down.
We will make these plants secure; by requiring more guards, more fencing, and the use of less dangerous chemicals when possible.
Domestic readiness.
We need to improve domestic readiness so people on the frontlines have the training and equipment to respond to any attack with all the speed, skill, and strength required.
Our first responders are the first ones up the stairs in the event of the emergency, and it is wrong that today they are last in line when it comes to this administration's budgets.
Under the Bush Administration, police departments in small cities have lost more than 15 percent of their full-time paid police and employees.
And today, two-thirds of our nation's fire departments are not fully staffed.
We can do more for the heroes of 9/11 and we can do more for our fellow citizens.
And we will.
We will provide direct assistance to our police officers and firefighters on the frontlines.
They'll have the equipment and manpower they need to protect us.
We will also ensure that front line workers throughout our transportation system receive the security training necessary to respond to terrorist threats.
We also need to modernize our emergency warning system to provide localized warnings, treat the fighters on the frontlines as partners, and give families all the information they need.
This Administration may think that homeland security is about changing the alert from yellow to orange.
They're wrong; the colors of safety are firefighter red, EMT white, and police officer blue.
We will dramatically improve our ability to respond to a biological attack.
We will appoint one individual to oversee all bioterrorism programs, budgets and strategic priorities.
We will set national benchmarks for state and local preparedness so community leaders aren't flying blind.
We will harness America's bioscience genius to increase drug and vaccine development.
We will revitalize our public health system, improving monitoring capabilities and coordination.
And we will strengthen hospitals, which today cannot prepare for a bio-terrorism emergency because they are overwhelmed by the everyday emergencies of people without insurance.
We also will encourage all Americans to do their part to make America safer.
We support the development of a new community defense service grounded in neighborhoods and comprised of ordinary Americans from across the country.
Like a 21st Century Neighborhood Watch, members would work within their communities to make a contribution-helping health professionals, assisting with evacuation plans, and standing ready in emergency.
Crime and violence.
While terrorism poses an especially menacing threat to our nation, a strong America must remain vigilant against the scourge of homegrown crime as well.
We are proud that Democrats led the fight to put more than 100,000 cops on the beat through the COPS program, and we will continue our steadfast support for COPS and community policing.
To keep our streets safe for our families, we support tough punishment of violent crime and smart efforts to reintegrate former prisoners into our communities as productive citizens.
We will crack down on the gang violence and drug crime that devastate so many communities, and we will increase drug treatment, including mandatory drug courts and mandatory drug testing for parolees and probationers, so fewer crimes are committed in the first place.
We support the rights of victims to be respected, to be heard, and to be compensated.
We will help break the cycle of domestic violence by punishing offenders and standing with victims.
We will protect Americans' Second Amendment right to own firearms, and we will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists by fighting gun crime, reauthorizing the assault weapons ban, and closing the gun show loophole, as President Bush proposed and failed to do.
Guarding liberty.
We must always remember that terrorists do not just target our lives; they target our way of life.
And so we must be on constant guard not to sacrifice the freedom we are fighting to protect.
We will strengthen some provisions of the Patriot Act, like the restrictions on money laundering.
And we will change the portions of the Patriot Act that threaten individual rights, such as the library provisions, while still allowing government to take all needed steps to fight terror.
Our government should never round up innocent people only because of their religion or ethnicity, and we should never stifle free expression.
We believe in an America where freedom is what we fight for - not what we give up.
Together, we can make America safer, stronger, and more respected.
We can do it in a way that safeguards all the greatness of America by protecting our people, securing our homeland, and reinforcing our values
- faith and family, duty and service, individual freedom
and a common purpose to build one nation under God.
We can do it in a way that keeps faith with the best measures of American leadership around the world - the builder of alliances, the defender of freedom, the champion of human rights.
We can do it, and we will.
A STRONG, GROWING ECONOMY
The great promise of America is simple: a better life for all who work for it.
No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe, as an American, you live in a land that offers you all the possibilities your hard work and God-given talent can bring.
The opportunity to build a better future starts with a good job.
It has always been that way.
From the time when most people worked in the fields, through the Industrial Revolution and into the Information Age, the opportunity for work, the rewards from work, and the dignity of work have made Americans successful and America strong.
CREATING GOOD JOBS
We offer America a new economic plan that will put jobs first.
We will renew American competitiveness, make honest budget choices, and invest in our future.
A strong America keeps the promise of opportunity for all and heeds the warning of special privileges for none.
That's the America we believe in.
That's the America we're fighting for.
And that's the America we can build together.
In President George Bush's America, unfortunately, too often you need special privileges if you want opportunity.
This White House values wealth over hard work, lavishes special treatment upon a fortunate few at the expense of most businesses and working people, and defends policies that weaken America's competitive position and destroy American jobs.
Instead of meeting the challenge of globalization by strengthening our workers' ability to compete and win, this Administration uses globalization as an excuse not to fight for American jobs.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a better America-a strong America.
We believe that a strong America begins at home, with good jobs that support families and an equal chance for all our people.
We believe in progress that brings prosperity for all Americans, not just for those who are already successful.
We believe that good jobs will help strengthen and expand the strongest middle class the world has ever known.
We believe the private sector, not government, is the engine of economic growth and job creation.
Government's responsibility is to create an environment that will promote private sector investment, foster vigorous competition, and strengthen the foundations of an innovative economy.
We believe Americans are the smartest, toughest competitors in the world.
Our products and ideas can compete and win anywhere, as long as we're given a fair chance.
And our companies can keep and create jobs in America without sacrificing competitiveness.
We will fight for American jobs and we will fight for American workers.
Under John Kerry and John Edwards, we will revive America's manufacturing sector, create new jobs and protect existing ones by ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and cutting taxes for companies that create jobs here at home; by fighting for free, fair and balanced trade; by encouraging investment in small businesses and helping companies deal with rising health care costs;
by promoting new technologies, like energy, that will lead to the companies and jobs of tomorrow;
and by ensuring that people of every age learn the skills to succeed in today's economy.
Tax reform to create jobs.
Today's tax law provides big breaks for companies that send American jobs overseas.
Current "deferral" policies allow American companies to avoid paying American taxes on the income earned by their foreign subsidiaries.
John Kerry and John Edwards will end deferral that encourages companies to ship jobs overseas, and they will close other loopholes to make the tax code work for the American worker.
They'll use the savings to offer tax cuts for companies that produce goods and create jobs here at home.
Under John Kerry and John Edwards, 99 percent of American businesses will pay lower taxes than today.
A plan to reinvigorate manufacturing.
Manufacturing has lost 2. 5 million jobs under President Bush in its worst jobs crisis since the Depression.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democrats will launch a concerted effort to revitalize American manufacturing.
The measures outlined above are important components of our overall strategy.
In addition, based on the model that has helped launch some of America's most successful companies, we will establish new investment corporations to give small and medium-sized businesses access to capital.
And we will support the growth of hightechnology "clusters" that invest in new industries around research institutions.
Free and fair trade that creates American jobs.
Exports sustain about 1 in 5 American factory jobs.
Open markets spur innovation, speed the growth of new industries, and make our businesses more competitive.
We will make it a priority to knock down barriers to free, fair and balanced trade so other nation's markets are as open as our own.
We will stand up for American workers and consumers by building on President Clinton's progress in including enforceable, internationally recognized labor and environmental standards in trade agreements.
We will aggressively enforce our trade agreements with a real plan that includes a complete review of all existing agreements;
immediate investigation into China's workers' rights abuses and currency manipulation;
increased funding for efforts to protect workers' rights and stop child labor abuse;
new reforms to protect the innovations of high-tech companies; and vigorous enforcement of U. S. trade laws.
We will use all the tools we have to create new opportunities for American workers, farmers, and businesses, and break down barriers in key export markets, like the Japanese auto market and the Chinese high-technology market.
We will effectively enforce our trade laws protecting against dumping, illegal subsidies, and import surges that threaten American jobs.
New trade agreements must protect internationally recognized workers' rights
and environmental standards as vigorously as they now protect commercial concerns.
We will build on and strengthen the progress made in the Jordan agreement to include strong and enforceable labor and environmental standards in the core of new free trade agreements.
And no trade agreement should stop government from protecting the environment, food safety or the health of its citizens.
Nor should an agreement give greater rights to foreign investors than to U.S investors, require the privatization of our vital public services, or limit our government's ability to create good jobs in our communities.
Investing in technology to create good jobs.
We will invest in the technologies of the future, from renewable energy to nanotechnology to biomedicine, and will work to make permanent the research and development tax credit.
We will achieve universal access to broadband services, which could add $500 billion to our economy, generate 1. 2 million jobs, and transform the way we learn and work.
And we will put science ahead of ideology in research and policymaking.
Enhancing Our Transportation System.
Our nation's transportation network is an integral part of our economy and an engine for economic expansion that must be strengthened.
We are committed to vigorous federal highway and transit initiatives that put Americans to work, relieve traffic congestion, and foster long-term projects at state and local levels.
Free markets and honest competition.
Economic growth and job creation depend on free markets and competition, but competition and free markets depend on trust, transparency, and integrity.
We are committed to requiring honesty in corporate accounting effective corporate governance, a fair shake for small investors and worker pension funds, a level playing field and competitive bidding practices for those who wish to transact business with the government, and vigorous prosecution of criminal conduct in executive suites.
Promoting small businesses.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy.
We will encourage small business growth with a plan to make it easier for small businesses to secure capital and loans.
We support tax credits and energy investments that slash overall operating costs for small businesses and encourage them to grow and expand here in America.
For America's 350,000 small manufacturers, which account for over half the total value of U.S. industrial production and employ 11 million people in high-skill, high-wage jobs, we will double funding to use technology to grow.
We will help businesses cope with the skyrocketing cost of health care by reforming our health care system and cutting taxes to help small businesses pay for health insurance.
Retiree health costs impose major burdens on many employers, particularly manufacturers, and we will push for reform so that companies are not forced to choose among retirees, current workers, and their own ability to compete.
Fiscal Relief in an economic downturn.
When states are the thrust into a fiscal crisis due to a national economic downturn, we should support Federal fiscal relief to states as an effective tool to jumpstart growth and job creation, and to prevent harmful tuition and tax increases, as well as painful cuts to vital education, health, homeland security, and other critical services; and to prevent underfunded mandates.
Standing up for workers.
We will ensure that the right to organize a union exists in the real world, not just on paper, because that's how we create more jobs that can support families.
That means reforming our labor laws to protect the rights of workers (including public employees) to bargain contracts and organize on a level playing field without interference.
It also means barring the permanent replacement of legal strikers.
And we will of course reverse this Administration's cuts in wages for working people by restoring overtime protections for hard-working Americans.
We will strengthen health and safety protections as well.
Lifelong learning.
We will make sure that Americans are the best-skilled, best-trained workers in the world.
In addition to reforming K-12 education, we will expand training and opportunities for Americans of all ages.
We will support regional skills alliances, workforce development conducted at community colleges, and other initiatives that prepare workers for high-skills jobs that offer familysustaining wages and benefits.
And we will support high-quality distance learning so that Americans everywhere can use a keyboard to learn from experts anywhere.
Unlike the Bush administration, we will always stand by workers who lose their jobs as the economy changes.
We will require companies to give employees at least three months notice before a planned shutdown.
We will expand efforts to help manufacturers, workers, the long-term unemployed, and communities hurt by imports, including extending trade adjustment assistance to workers in the service sectors and making health insurance more affordable for workers who lose their jobs due to trade.
Through our jobs plan, we will bring hope and jobs back to the cities and small towns devastated by the shuttering of factories.
STANDING UP FOR THE GREAT AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS
The heart of the American promise has always been the middle class, the greatest engine of economic growth the world has ever known.
When the middle class grows in size and security, our country gets stronger.
And when more American families save and invest in their children's future, America grows stronger still.
But in President George Bush's America, where everyday costs are soaring and ordinary incomes are sinking, the middle class is struggling, and our economy is suffering.
Today, the average American family is earning $1,500 less than in 2000.
At the same time, health care costs are up by nearly one-half, college tuition has increased by more than one-third, gas and oil prices have gone through the roof, and housing costs have soared.
Life literally costs more than ever before - and our families have less money to pay for it.
Three million more Americans have fallen into poverty since 2000.
Average family debt is higher than ever.
And as they lose the struggle to make ends meet, one out of every seven middle class families may be bankrupt by the end of the decade.
President Bush and the Republicans in Congress have ignored the middle class since day one of this Administration.
They have catered to the wealth of the richest instead of honoring the work of the rest of us.
They have promised almost everything and paid for almost nothing.
And the middle class is shouldering more taxes, earning less money, and bearing higher costs.
The bottom line for the middle class under President Bush and the Republican Party is this: Instead of working hard to get ahead, the middle class is working hard just to get by.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a stronger, more prosperous America for all our people.
We believe in an America where the great American promise of upward mobility is alive and well.
We believe in an America where the middle class is growing, our economy is thriving, and America is strong.
And we have a plan to build that America.
Cutting taxes for middle class Americans.
First, we must restore our values to our tax code.
We want a tax code that rewards work and creates wealth for more people, not a tax code that hoards wealth for those who already have it.
With the middle class under assault like never before, we simply cannot afford the massive Bush tax cuts for the very wealthiest.
We should set taxes for families making more than $200,000 a year at the same level as in the late 1990s, a period of great prosperity when the wealthiest Americans thrived without special treatment.
We will cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans and help families meet the economic challenges of their everyday lives.
And we will oppose tax increases on middle class families, including those living abroad.
Helping families cope with rising costs.
We must help Americans deal with the staggering increase in everyday costs of living, from insurance premiums to child care to the price of gas.
Today, thousands of businesses that would otherwise provide raises are using that money to pay climbing health care premiums.
That is cutting wages for working people.
Reforming health care, offering tax credits to pay for it, and cutting health costs will raise wages for working people.
College tuitions rose by 35 percent between 2000 and 2003, and this year, 220,000 Americans were priced out of college by its high costs.
We will make college affordable for every qualified student with a tax credit for four years of college.
Child care costs are rising twice as fast as inflation, and millions of working parents worry desperately how to care for their children between 3 p.m and 6 p.m. each day.
Other families must care not only for their children, but also for loved ones who are older or have disabilities.
We will increase tax credits to pay for child care and eldercare, and make sure those credits are available to lower-income families and stay-at-home parents.
We will expand after-school opportunities, help schools stay open until 6 p.m, and offer good transportation so young people can take advantage of it.
We support expanding family and medical leave to help parents meet the growing challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities.
The price of gas is at an all time-high, placing an enormous burden on millions of Americans who have no choice but to drive to work.
We will help cut costs in the short-run by halting additional stockpiling of oil reserves and working more effectively to ensure that OPEC increases production.
For the long-run, we offer a detailed plan for energy independence.
Protecting retirement security.
We must protect the retirement security of America's workers and their families.
Workers should never lose all their savings because their employer locked those savings into the company's own stock.
We will bar that practice.
We need to require honest information and full disclosure, and protect older workers from unfair treatment when their benefits are converted to cash balance plans.
At the same time, we will strengthen and promote both defined-contribution and defined-benefit pension plans, and increase the portability of retirement savings and help all families save.
We are absolutely committed to preserving Social Security.
It is a compact across the generations that has helped tens of millions of Americans live their retirement years in dignity instead of poverty.
Democrats believe in the progressive, guaranteed benefit that has ensured that seniors and people with disabilities receive a benefit not subject to the whims of the market or the economy.
We oppose privatizing Social Security or raising the retirement age.
We oppose reducing the benefits earned by workers just because they have also earned a benefit from certain public retirement plans.
We will repeal discriminatory laws that penalize some retired workers and their families while allowing others to receive full benefits.
Because the massive deficits under the Bush Administration have raided hundreds of billions of dollars from Social Security, the most important step we can take to strengthen Social Security is to restore fiscal responsibility.
Social Security matters to all Americans, Democrats and Republicans, and strengthening Social Security should be a common cause.
Expanding the middle class.
The dream of the middle class should belong to all Americans willing to work for it.
We still have work to do as long as millions of Americans work full-time, fulfill their responsibilities, and continue to live in poverty.
We will offer these Americans a ladder to the middle class.
That means raising the minimum wage to $7. 00, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit and extending child credits so that parents who work full-time don't have to raise their children in poverty.
It means working to eliminate hunger in our rural and urban communities.
It means using our tax code and savings incentives to help families build their savings, become homeowners, and start businesses.
And it means continuing on the path of welfare reform.
We must match parents' responsibility to work with the real opportunity to do so, by making sure parents can get the health care, child care, and transportation they need.
And we must expect increased responsibility from fathers as well as mothers by increasing child support enforcement and promoting responsible fatherhood together with religious and civic organizations.
Strengthening our cities.
We will invest in the businesses, schools, and hospitals that metropolitan areas need to thrive.
We will support quality housing opportunities and a balanced housing policy for all Americans, defending good rental housing and extending the American Dream of homeownership to more families.
At a time when so many families are losing their homes and life savings to unscrupulous lenders, we will rein in predatory lending and expand access to mainstream financial services for urban families.
And we will redouble our nation's commitment to closing the "digital divide.
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Revitalizing rural and small-town America.
Small towns are at the heart of America, but today, they are often losing people, jobs, and hope.
We will use new technologies like distance learning and telemedicine to link our towns with cutting-edge advances and bring back investment to our small towns.
We will ensure that American farmers have a strong safety net and can achieve profitability in the marketplace, and we will support incentives for farmers to use conservation practices and sustainable farming methods.
Americans should be able to make the choice to raise their children in the towns and rural communities where they grew up.
Fiscal discipline.
We must restore responsibility to our budget, or we will strangle opportunity for the next generation of middle class Americans.
Over the last three years, record surpluses have turned into record deficits.
Not once has this Administration tried to balance new spending with new savings or pay for new initiatives - including its enormous tax breaks for the wealthy.
Today, we face unsustainable foreign borrowing and rising interest rates.
Fiscal discipline helped create 23 million new jobs in the 1990s.
Fiscal discipline frees up money for productive investment.
And over time, fiscal discipline saves families thousands of dollars on their mortgages and credit cards.
We will roll back the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $200,000.
We will restore commonsense budget rules that this Administration has abandoned, like "Pay-As-You-Go" rules that require the government to pay for new initiatives.
We will commit to living within tough budget caps-real and enforceable limits on what the government can spend.
We will enact a Constitutional version of the line-item veto to make it easier to root out pork-barrel spending.
And we will make our government more efficient by cutting the waste of taxpayer dollars in the federal budget, from unneeded travel budgets to crony contracting.
We are committed to cutting the deficit in half over the next four years.
Ending corporate welfare.
Many American corporations today pay less than ever in taxes because of tax loopholes secured by powerful lobbyists.
We will end corporate welfare as we know it.
We will eliminate the indefensible loopholes in our tax code- from tax deals that have no purpose but avoiding taxes to the very shelters that Enron used to drive so many lives toward financial ruin.
And we will eliminate the corporate subsidies that waste taxpayer dollars and undermine fair competition.
The Democratic Party understands that working people built modern America.
We understand that today's global economy requires new rules, new skills, and new approaches, and we believe that the time-honored values of equal opportunity, fair play, and good rewards for hard work still apply.
That's how we give all our people the chance to succeed.
That's how we keep on building the America we believe in.
That's how we keep the promise of America.
STRONG, HEALTHY FAMILIES
Family is the center of everyday American life.
Our parents are our first protectors, first teachers, first role models, and first friends.
Parents know that America's great reward is the quiet but incomparable satisfaction that comes from building their families a better life.
Strong families, blessed with opportunity, guided by faith, and filled with dreams are the heart of a strong America.
REFORMING HEALTH CARE
We believe not just that a strong America begins at home, but that a strong America begins in the home.
And just as government's first responsibility is the health and safety of its people, parents' first responsibility is the health and safety of their children.
We believe that health care is a right and not a privilege.
Today, a family's ability to ensure that all its members get the quality health care they deserve is challenged like never before.
For the most fortunate, America offers the best health care in the world.
But tens of millions of Americans pay too much and get too little from our health care system, and tens of millions more have no health insurance at all.
Skyrocketing health care costs not only hurt our families; they hurt our economy.
American businesses pay more than their competitors for health care, reducing their competitiveness.
American incomes suffer because raises are stifled by rising insurance premiums.
We will attack the health care crisis with a comprehensive approach.
Our goal is straightforward: quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans to keep our families healthy, our businesses competitive, and our country strong.
In President George Bush's America, drug company and HMO profits count for more than family and small business health costs.
Health care costs increased four times as fast as wages in the last year alone.
Prescription drug spending has more than doubled during the past five years.
Nearly 82 million Americans went without health care coverage at some point in the last two years.
And the President has done nothing to bring costs down or lift these burdens.
The few small proposals he has offered would further divide our health system between one that is affordable for the healthy and wealthy, and one that is unaffordable for the elderly, the sick, and increasingly, for America's broad middle class.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a better, stronger, healthier America.
Our resolve to fix the health crisis is stronger than ever.
In the wealthiest country in the world, every expectant mother should get quality prenatal care; every child should get regular check-ups; every senior should be able to get safe, affordable prescription drugs; and no hard-working family should ever lose everything because illness strikes a loved one.
Ensuring health care for children.
The job begins with our children.
It is a disgrace that nearly 8. 5 million children still lack health insurance.
We will strengthen Medicaid for our families and expand the children's health program created under President Clinton so no child goes without medical care.
Expanding coverage.
Under the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, we will offer individuals and businesses tax credits to make quality, reliable health coverage more affordable.
We will provide tax credits to Americans who are approaching retirement age and those who are between jobs so they can afford quality, reliable coverage.
We will expand coverage for low income adults through existing federal-state health care programs.
And we will provide all Americans with access to the same coverage that members of Congress give themselves.
Cutting health care costs.
At the center of our efforts will be a plan to reduce health costs.
We will lift a financial burden on families, businesses, and the self-employed by picking up the tab for the highest-cost medical cases.
That will save America's families up to $1,000 on their premiums.
We will improve the quality of care and the efficiency of the medical system by using American technological know-how to cut billions of dollars wasted in administrative processing and paperwork.
Today, about a quarter of all health-related spending is not even medical.
We can do better.
We will ensure that all Americans have secure, private electronic medical records by 2008, and we will give medical providers incentives and resources to simplify their paperwork so patients spend more time with doctors and less time filling out forms.
We recognize that our health care system is substantially strengthened by the daily efforts of the men and women in a variety of health professions and we support fair treatment for all health professionals.
We will enact a real Patient's Bill of Rights to put doctors and nurses back in charge of making medical decisions with their patients - instead of allowing HMO bureaucrats to decide what a patient needs.
Helping seniors by protecting Medicare and cutting prescription costs.
We oppose privatizing Medicare.
We will not allow Republicans to destroy a commitment that has done so much good for so many seniors and people with disabilities over the past 39 years.
Instead, we want to strengthen Medicare and make it more efficient.
We will ensure that seniors across the country, particularly in small-town and rural America, no longer suffer from geographic discrimination.
We will end the disgrace of seniors being forced to choose between meals and medication.
Today, our seniors are paying too much for prescription drugs, while options abroad are far cheaper and just as safe.
We will allow the safe reimportation of drugs from other countries.
The current Medicare drug program serves drug companies more than seniors.
It allows these companies to change the price of prescriptions more frequently than seniors can change their plans.
It does virtually nothing to bring down prescription drug costs.
It forces seniors into HMOs.
Elderly Americans deserve a real prescription drug benefit - one that uses the government's purchasing power to lower costs and ensures access to new therapies for their illnesses.
We will cut the waste and abuse that cost Medicare billions each year, using competitive bidding to lower the costs of buying medical equipment, educating providers to file claims more efficiently, and increasing penalties for those who bilk the system.
Dignity for all.
We will ensure that elderly Americans and people with disabilities can live in dignity, with quality options for long-term care.
We need to expand alternative care options and provide better assistance for those who give care.
No one should be kept in a nursing home or institution if they prefer living in dignity elsewhere and can do so.
And we will ensure that no person with a disability has to choose between quality health care and the dignity of work.
We will also work to ensure that people with HIV and AIDS have the care they need, and we will support the community-based prevention programs, built on experience with real life, that President Bush has cut.
We are committed to passing the Wellstone mental health parity legislation, ending discrimination against Americans with mental illnesses, and ensuring equal treatment for mental illness in our health system.
Eliminating health disparities.
Millions of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and American Indians continue to live sicker and die younger in America.
Cultural and language barriers remain a particular problem for immigrant communities.
We will fight racial and ethnic health care disparities by increasing research and training in the medical profession, breaking down language barriers, and ensuring good health care for all Americans.
We will encourage and support enabling more minority students to enter the sciences.
We will also work to ensure that women have access to the best medicines and state-of-the-art prevention and detection techniques to stop diseases early.
We will also support prevention of illness through better nutrition and exercise.
Investing in science to battle disease.
We will push the boundaries of science in search of new medical therapies and cures.
The Bush Administration has put ideology over science, skewing information about everything from women's health to scientific research.
Americans deserve access to the best evidence available about illnesses, therapies, and cures.
From new therapies to prolong life for people with AIDS, to new openings in the battle to cure cancer, the possibilities of medical research fill us with hope.
We will secure more funding for aggressive biomedical research seeking affordable and effective therapies based on real science.
President Bush has rejected the calls from Nancy Reagan, Christopher Reeve and Americans across the land for assistance with embryonic stem cell research.
We will reverse his wrongheaded policy.
Stem cell therapy offers hope to more than 100 million Americans who have serious illnesses - from Alzheimer's to heart disease to juvenile diabetes to Parkinson's.
We will pursue this research under the strictest ethical guidelines, but we will not walk away from the chance to save lives and reduce human suffering.
Honoring our veterans.
Finally, we will never forget the debt America owes our veterans.
Patriotism means keeping faith with those who have worn the uniform of the United States.
This Administration has broken its promises to our veterans - raising their health costs and reducing their access to care.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democrats will keep faith with our veterans.
We will continue the fight for mandatory funding for veterans' health care and we will make sure that disabled veterans and military retirees are not penalized with reductions in their pension benefits.
And we will aggressively address the inexcusable backlogs in veterans' compensation and pension claims.
We believe in an America where health care is available and affordable.
Where every family looks to the future with hope and excitement, without worry that the cost of health care is becoming too great to bear.
Where strong, healthy families build a stronger America.
IMPROVING EDUCATION
The simple bargain at the heart of the American Dream offers opportunity to every American who takes the responsibility to make the most of it.
That bargain is the great source of American strength, because it unleashes the amazing talent and determination of our people.
And as our people seize the opportunity to build a better life, they build a stronger country.
Today, our people compete with workers on every continent.
Information flows across oceans.
High-wage jobs are more dependent than ever on high-level skills.
Now, as never before, education is the key to opportunity, essential to a strong America.
So we believe in an America that offers the best education to all our children - wherever they live, whatever their background.
Period.
We believe in an America where every child comes to school ready to learn.
Where every student is held to high standards, and every school has the resources and responsibility to meet those standards.
Where every classroom has a great teacher, and every student gets enough personal attention to foster a talent or overcome a difficulty.
We believe in an America where every teenager completes a rigorous high school curriculum.
Where every qualified young person who wants to go to college can afford it.
And where every adult who needs additional job training can get it.
In President George Bush's America, our government ignores the shameful truth that the quality of a child's education depends on the wealth of that child's neighborhood.
Our best public schools are the best schools in the world, but too many children go to schools that just don't work.
Too many children who beat the odds and succeed in school can't afford to go on to college.
And too many adults who need added training aren't able to get it.
For this White House, education is an easy promise - easy come, and easy go.
When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, he said the right things - asking more from our schools and pledging to give them the resources to get the job done.
And then he promptly broke his word, providing schools $27 billion less than he had promised, literally leaving millions of children behind.
The President also gets a failing grade for higher education.
Over the last three years, college tuitions have risen by 35 percent, pricing 220,000 students out of college.
Yet while then-Governor Bush promised to increase college aid, President Bush tried to charge more for student loans and eliminate Pell Grants for 84,000 students.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe that a strong America begins at home with strong families, and that strong families need the best schools.
We believe schools must teach fundamental skills like math and science, and fundamental values like citizenship and responsibility.
We believe providing resources without reform is a waste of money, and reform without resources is a waste of time.
And we believe politicians who expect students to learn responsibility should start by keeping their own promises.
Meeting our responsibilities.
Under John Kerry and John Edwards, we will offer high quality early learning opportunities, smaller classes, more after school activities, and more individualized attention for our students, particularly students with special needs, gifts, and talents.
The federal government will meet its financial obligations for elementary and secondary education and for special education.
A great teacher in every classroom.
Continuing the fight for reform, we will make an intensive effort to put a great teacher in every classroom.
Nothing has a bigger impact than a teacher on the quality of a child's education.
We need to do more to attract and retain teachers, more to encourage their excellence, and more to ensure that all teachers are offering high-quality teaching.
We must raise pay for teachers, especially in the schools and subjects where great teachers are in the shortest supply.
We must improve mentoring, professional development, and new technology training for teachers, instead of leaving them to sink or swim.
At the same time, we must create rigorous new incentives and tests for new teachers.
We need new rewards for teachers who go the extra mile and excel in helping children learn.
And teachers deserve due process protection from arbitrary dismissal, but we must have fast, fair procedures for improving or removing teachers who do not perform on the job.
Parents are our children's first and most important teachers, and they have a responsibility to participate in their children's education.
We will help them do so by offering information and resources to better teach their children, whether reminding them about homework or attending a parent-teacher conference.
Securing high achievement for all.
Vast achievement gaps persist in America.
Nearly half of African-American, Latino, and American Indian youth don't graduate high school.
We believe in the potential of every child and we will not accept this loss of talent.
Because education in the earliest years of a child's life is critical, we will expand and improve preschool and Head Start initiatives with the goal of offering these opportunities to all children.
Because children need safe, loving, and disciplined homes in order to learn, we will work on a bipartisan basis to reform foster care.
And we will undertake a national campaign to raise graduation rates by raising student achievement, expecting more from schools, reaching out to troubled youth with mentoring and tutoring, and strengthening the basic high school curriculum.
We will meet these challenges together-parents, teachers, principals, educational support professionals and paraprofessionals, along with universities, community-based and faith-based organizations.
Making schools work for children.
We will use testing to advance real learning, not undermine it, by developing high-quality assessments that measure the complex skills students need to develop.
We will make sure that federal law operates with high standards and common sense, not just bureaucratic rigidity.
Instead of pushing private school vouchers that funnel scarce dollars away from the public schools, we will support public school choice, including charter schools and magnet schools that meet the same high standards as other schools.
And at a time when so many schools charged with our future are relics of the past, we will build new schools and offer the technology and equipment for a 21st century education.
Making college affordable.
With the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, we will make college more affordable, so that more young people get higher education, and more of those who graduate get relief from the crushing burden of debt.
We will make student aid faster and simpler to get so students aren't scared off by the complicated process.
We will offer generous tax credits to reduce the price of four years of college for all students, including those who pay their own way and can least afford college now.
We will strengthen our aid programs for students while eliminating wasteful subsidies for lenders.
At a time when all good jobs increasingly depend on advanced skills, we will strengthen technical training for those who do not attend college.
Finally, we must place a special emphasis on expanding achievement in math and science.
These are subjects where America has always led the world and must continue to lead in the 21st century.
Teaching good citizenship and good values.
We must remain committed to the moral and civic dimensions of education.
Education requires the engagement of the whole community in order to teach the whole child.
Students should learn responsibility in our schools, and students who are irresponsible-using drugs or bringing violence into schools-must face strict discipline.
We should support character education in our elementary and secondary schools and community service as a condition of graduation from high schools.
We should also give back to those who give to America, in the tradition of the G.I Bill and AmeriCorps.
The promise of America is the promise of opportunity.
If we are going to keep that promise, every child should have a great teacher and every high school graduate should have the chance to go to college.
Nothing less is good enough for America.
PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
For generations, Americans of all political beliefs have understood that the protection of our environment and the stewardship of our land are vital to the strength of our nation.
God gave America extraordinary natural gifts; it is our responsibility to protect them.
The health of our families, the strength of our economy, and the well-being of our world all depend upon a clean environment.
But in President George Bush's government, where polluters actually write environmental laws and oil company profits matter more than hard science and cold facts, protecting the environment doesn't matter at all.
Even though 133 million Americans already live with unhealthy air, the Bush Administration bowed to energy industry lobbying and rewrote rules to allow 20,000 facilities to spew more smog, soot, and mercury into the air.
Even though public water systems in many cities are polluted, they have taken environmental cops off the beat and pushed to allow more arsenic in our water.
Even though the President promised more than five billion dollars for our national parks, he has delivered a fraction of that, leaving trails closed, historic structures collapsing, and our parks losing luster.
And even though overwhelming scientific evidence shows that global climate change is a scientific fact, this administration has rewritten government reports to hide that fact.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a stronger, safer, healthier America.
A strong America depends on healthy families, and healthy families depend on fresh air, pure water, and clean neighborhoods.
These are our commitments: we will make our air cleaner and our water purer.
We will ensure our children can safely play in our neighborhoods, our families can enjoy our national parks, and our sportsmen can hunt and fish in our lakes and forests.
We will foster a healthy economy and a healthy environment by promoting new technologies that create good jobs and improve our world.
And we will work with our allies to achieve these goals and to protect the global environment, for this generation and future generations.
We reject the false choice between a healthy economy and a healthy environment.
We know instead that farming, fishing, tourism, and other industries require a healthy environment.
We know new technologies that protect the environment can create new high-paying jobs.
We know a cleaner environment means a stronger economy.
Cleaner air.
We will strengthen protection for our air by making our government and our markets work together.
We will strengthen the Clean Air Act, by controlling all of the top pollutants and offering new flexibility to industries that commit to cleaning up within that framework.
We will reduce mercury emissions, smog and acid rain, and will address the challenge of climate change with the seriousness of purpose this great challenge demands.
Rather than looking at American industries only as polluters, we will work with the private sector to create partnerships that make a profit and a cleaner world for us all.
At the same time, we will plug Republican-created legal loopholes and renew public enforcement of the law.
Cleaner water and healthier communities.
We will work with communities to reduce water pollution-not only from factories, but also from large corporate farms, storm water runoff, and sewer overflows.
We will bring environmental justice to low-income, rural, and minority communities, using federal resources to improve public health and spur economic development by cleaning up polluted sites.
We will restore the "polluter pays" principle to fund the cleanup of the most polluted sites, so that those who cause environmental problems pay to fix them.
We will protect Nevada and its communities from the high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca mountain which has not been proven to be safe by sound science.
Protecting public lands.
We will use our natural resources to fuel our economy, but end Republican giveaways to special interests that exploit public lands without regard for environmental consequences.
We will require companies to restore leased lands to their original state after their work is done.
And we will make sure our government treats our national parks with the same respect and care that millions of families show each year when they visit.
Honoring our hunting and fishing heritage.
We are committed to protecting the lands used by hunters and anglers, and we will open millions of new acres of land to public hunting and fishing.
We will conserve and restore the habitats where wildlife flourish, expanding use of voluntary, incentivebased programs that target private landowners.
International leadership to protect the global environment.
We know that America's fight for a healthy environment cannot be waged within our borders alone.
Environmental hazards from around the globe reach America through the oceans and the jet streams encircling our planet.
And climate change is a major international challenge that requires global leadership from the United States, not abdication.
We must restore American leadership on this issue as well as others such as hazardous waste emissions and depleted fisheries
This great land has been placed in our hands for safekeeping.
It is our responsibility to protect it.
We will exercise that responsibility with the courage to take on special interests, the creativity to promote new technologies, the determination to reassert our global leadership, and the commitment to achieve real results.
That is how we will ensure that God's gifts of nature bless all of God's children for generations to come.
A STRONG AMERICAN COMMUNITY
American history is the story of a diverse people striving - sometimes fitfully, but in the end, faithfully - to realize our ideals: a common dream of equality, and opportunity, freedom and community.
Each step along that path has made us stronger.
This year we recall two of our country's greatest steps toward equality and inclusion - fifty years ago, Brown v. Board of Education, and forty years ago, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Those great achievements of the civil rights movement strengthened America immeasurably-by breaking down the legal barriers to equal citizenship for African-Americans and expanding the circle of equal opportunity for all.
This year, as we celebrate these anniversaries, we recommit to the spirit of service that secured these breakthroughs and the values they embody: all of our people should have the opportunity to fulfill all of their potential, and each of us should be as equal in the eyes of the law as we are in the eyes of God.
That is the America we believe in.
That is the America we are fighting for.
That is the America we will build together.
President Bush has a different vision - instead of searching for common ground to bring our people together, he has sought political advantage in driving our people apart.
He has neglected the opportunity of most Americans, choosing instead to lavish resources on those who need them least.
He has rejected the American vision of greater equality, appointing judges more interested in rolling back rights than protecting them.
Perhaps most striking of all, in a time of war, he has abandoned our great tradition of asking Americans to meet shared challenges in a spirit of shared sacrifice.
This President has regularly governed for the benefit of special interests, not the public interest.
John Kerry, John Edwards and the Democratic Party believe in a better America, more equal, more free - more American.
We believe in common service to our commonwealth.
And we will restore the commitment to ethics in government.
Our commitment to civil rights is ironclad.
We will restore vigorous federal enforcement of our civil rights laws for all our people, from fair housing to equal employment opportunity, from Title IX to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
We support affirmative action to redress discrimination and to achieve the diversity from which all Americans benefit.
We believe a day's work is worth a day's pay, and at a time when women still earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, we need stronger equal pay laws and stronger enforcement of them.
We will enact the bipartisan legislation barring workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
We are committed to equal treatment of all service members and believe all patriotic Americans should be allowed to serve our country without discrimination, persecution, or violence.
We support the appointment of judges who will uphold our laws and constitutional rights, not their own narrow agendas.
Voting is the foundation of democracy, a central act of civic engagement, and an expression of equal citizenship.
Voting rights are important precisely because they are protective of all other rights.
We will call for legislative action that will fully protect and enforce the fundamental Constitutional right of every American to vote -- to ensure that the Constitution's promise is fully realized and that, in disputed elections, every vote is counted fully and fairly.
To advance these goals, and to guarantee the integrity of our elections and to increase voter confidence, we will seek action to ensure that voting systems are accessible, independently auditable, accurate, and secure.
We will support the full funding of programs to realize this goal.
Finally, it is the priority of the Democratic Party to fulfill the promise of election reform, reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and vigorously enforce all our voting rights laws.
Our voting procedures are observed by people and nations around the world.
Every vote must count and every vote must be counted, including absentee ballots.
To achieve all of our goals, we support moving toward a census that duly counts every American.
And we support the election of candidates who express the many voices of America.
Because our democracy thrives on public access to diverse sources of information from multiple sources, we support measures to ensure diversity, competition, and localism in media ownership.
We will defend the dignity of all Americans against those who would undermine it.
Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay.
We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right.
At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption incentives.
Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.
Racial and religious profiling is wrong and we will work to stamp it out.
Hate crimes desecrate sacred spaces and demean good people, and we support a strong national law to punish them.
We will extend the promise of citizenship to those still struggling for freedom.
Today's immigration laws do not reflect our values or serve our security, and we will work for real reform.
The solution is not to establish a massive new status of second-class workers; that betrays our values and hurts all working people.
Undocumented immigrants within our borders who clear a background check, work hard and pay taxes should have a path to earn full participation in America.
We will hasten family reunification for parents and children, husbands and wives, and offer more English-language and civic education classes so immigrants can assume all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
As we undertake these steps, we will work with our neighbors to strengthen our security so we are safer from those who would come here to harm us.
We are a nation of immigrants, and from Arab-Americans in California to Latinos in Florida, we share the dream of a better life in the country we love.
We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families.
In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there.
We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a "Federal Marriage Amendment.
" Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart.
We will honor our nation's tradition of equal justice under law.
President Bush and Attorney General Ashcroft believe they can claim powers above and beyond the law of the land.
As Democrats and Americans, we yield to no one in our commitment to do everything necessary to win the war on terror.
But we can and must win that war without sacrificing the values we are defending.
America must be strong and free.
As we encourage democracy around the world, we must extend democracy here at home.
We support equal rights to democratic self-government and Congressional representation for the citizens of our nation's capital.
We believe that four million disenfranchised American citizens residing in Puerto Rico have the right to the permanent and fully democratic status of their choice.
The White House and Congress will clarify the realistic status options for Puerto Rico and enable Puerto Ricans to choose among them.
We support full self-government for the people of Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, and their right to decide their future status.
For all those who live under our flag, we support strong economic development and fair and equitable treatment under federal programs.
We honor the sovereignty of American Indians and reaffirm our commitment to respectful and meaningful government-to-government relations.
We must renew the trust obligations that this Administration has disregarded, and must improve the education, health, and job opportunities for American Indians who too often face terrible poverty.
We honor the central place of faith in the lives of our people.
Like our Founders, we believe that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith and the countless acts of justice and mercy it inspires.
We will strengthen the role of faith-based organizations in meeting challenges like homelessness, youth violence, and other social problems.
At the same time, we will honor First Amendment protections and not allow public funds to be used to proselytize or discriminate.
Throughout history, communities of faith have brought comfort to the afflicted and shaped great movements for justice.
We know they will continue to do so, and we will always protect all Americans' freedom to worship.
We pledge to stand up for our beliefs and rally Americans to our cause.
But we recognize that disagreements will remain, and we believe disagreement should not mean disrespect.
Members of our party have deeply held and differing views on some matters of conscience and faith.
We view diversity of views as a source of strength, and we welcome into our ranks all Americans who seek to build a stronger America.
We are committed to resolving our differences in a spirit of civility, hope and mutual respect.
That's the America we believe in.
INTRODUCTION AND PREAMBLE
One hundred and fifty years ago, Americans who had gathered to protest the expansion of slavery gave birth to a political Party that would save the Union - the Republican Party.
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois carried the Republican banner in the Presidential election and was elected the Party's first President.
He became our nation's greatest leader … and one of our Party's greatest heroes.
Every day, we strive to fulfill Lincoln's vision: a country united and free, in which all people are guaranteed equal rights and the opportunity to pursue their dreams.
His legacy goes beyond the borders of America.
It can be seen in free governments all over the world.
Lincoln's successors have been united by a common purpose - defending freedom at home and promoting it abroad.
Today, the Republican Party gathers to renominate a man who carries on the best traditions of our Party by carrying the banner of freedom.
When America was struck by terrorists on September 11, 2001, President Bush immediately realized that it was an act of war, not just a crime.
Working with Congress, the President drew up plans to take the fight to the enemy, vowing to bring the terrorists to justice, or bring justice to the terrorists.
And together, the President and Congress took steps to help the wounded, honor the dead, and secure our homeland.
Thanks to President Bush's leadership, the skill of the American military, and the commitment of our allies, today there are more than 50 million newly free people in the nations of Afghanistan and Iraq - and America is safer.
The President's leadership has also been bold and visionary at home.
When the President came to office, our economy was faltering, seniors were having trouble paying for their prescription drugs, and schools were stuck in a pattern of low expectations and poor results.
President Bush worked with Congress to lower taxes, so Americans can keep more of their own hard-earned money to spend, save, or invest, thereby growing our economy and putting people back to work.
He worked with Congress to strengthen Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit and giving seniors more choices to meet their individual health care needs.
And the President worked with Congress to pass historic education reforms to ensure that every child can read.
Today, higher standards and stronger accountability are getting results in classrooms across America.
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We are proud of the record we offer to the American people.
We have helped America overcome extraordinary challenges.
We are re-shaping our government to meet the demands of the modern world and better serve our citizens.
We are also proud of our agenda for America's future.
President George W. Bush will lead this nation with courage, hope, and resolve over the next four years.
Republicans have always been the Party of fresh ideas and new thinking.
We encourage debate on the major issues of our day, and we will consistently act in accord with the greatest values of our country - freedom and opportunity for all.
Our plans focus on ensuring that America remains safe, terrorists are defeated, and democracy flourishes in the world …
on expanding opportunities for ownership and investment …
on making tax relief permanent and ensuring greater energy independence …
on increasing the affordability and accessibility of health care …
on promoting works of compassion and strengthening our greatest values …
on preparing students for success in life by bringing the benefits of education reform to high schools …
and on helping workers adjust to a changing economy by offering flexible training options that meet their individual needs.
Our Party's 2004 platform addresses the major issues facing America in the first decade of the 21st century:
Winning the War on Terror …
because our government's most solemn duty is to keep its citizens safe.
Ushering in an Ownership Era …
because a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit will keep our economy strong and provide more opportunities for workers and families.
Building an Innovative Economy to Compete in the World …
because America can compete with anyone, anywhere, thanks to our entrepreneurs and risk-takers who keep us on the cutting edge of technology and commerce.
Strengthening Our Communities …
because our children deserve to grow up in an America in which all their hopes and dreams can come true.
Protecting Our Families …
because we respect the family's role as a touchstone of stability and strength in an everchanging world.
This platform makes clear that the American people will have a choice on November 2nd.
A choice between strength and uncertainty.
A choice between results and rhetoric.
A choice between optimism and pessimism.
A choice between opportunity and dependence.
A choice between freedom and fear.
And a choice between moving forward and turning back.
The 2004 Republican Party Platform makes clear: We choose strength.
We choose results.
We choose optimism.
We choose opportunity.
We choose freedom.
And we choose moving forward with President Bush.
A man of courage and compassion, of integrity and action.
One hundred and fifty years after our founding, we Republicans proudly carry forward our time-honored banner of freedom.
And we endorse the bold and visionary leadership of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Winning the War on Terror 1
Ushering in an Ownership Era39
Building an Innovative, Globally Competitive Economy 45
Strengthening Our Communities67
Protecting Our Families87
Summary and Call to Action 93
WINNING THE WAR ON TERROR
"Our nation's cause has always been larger than our nation's defense.
We fight, as we always fight, for a just peace - a peace that favors liberty.
We will defend the peace against the threats from terrorists and tyrants.
We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers.
And we will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent.”
- President George W. Bush
President Bush has confronted unprecedented challenges, including a world scarred by terrorism.
The President and the American people have risen to the occasion by acting on a bold new statement of America's place and purpose in the world.
Today, we are filled with hope for the most dramatic advance of liberty in 60 years.
President Bush's leadership is rooted in the timeless values that have made America a unique and exalted nation: respect for individual rights; a deep commitment to freedom; a desire to serve as a living example of the power of democracy.
The President's leadership has achieved successes once deemed impossible to realize in so short a period of time.
His forward-looking strategy for freedom and peace is making progress in every part of the world.
The President and Republicans in Congress recognize that new threats demand new tools and new methods for defending America and promoting our goals in the world.
They have responded swiftly to the challenges of a new era, rather than remaining wedded to outdated theories and fighting battles that ended long ago.
Their accomplishments are the foundation upon which future progress will be built.
A Comprehensive Strategy to Win the War on Terror, Promote Peace, and Build a Better World
The world changed on September 11, 2001, and since that day, under the strong, steady, and visionary leadership of President George W. Bush, Americans have helped make the world not only safer, but better.
The President continues to lead a steady, confident, systematic campaign to defend America against the dangers of our time.
We are going after terrorists wherever they plot and plan and hide, changing the old course of pinprick strikes that did little to get at the root of terrorism.
We eliminated many of al Qaeda's key leaders and put the world on notice that nations that train, harbor, or finance terrorists are just as guilty as the terrorists themselves.
We will not allow the world's most dangerous regimes to possess the world's most dangerous weapons.
Our message is getting through, as indicated by Libya's leader, who decided to turn over his weapons of mass destruction and cooperate with the international community.
Today, because America has acted, and because America has led, the forces of terror and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer.
On September 11, 2001, we saw the cruelty of the terrorists, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us.
They intend to strike the United States to the limits of their power.
They seek weapons of mass destruction to kill Americans on an even greater scale.
This danger is increased when outlaw regimes build or acquire weapons of mass destruction and maintain ties to terrorist groups.
On September 11, 2001, we saw the spirit of courage and optimism of the American people - that greatest assurance of the ultimate triumph of our cause.
Courage and optimism led colleagues to help each other in escaping from collapsing buildings.
Courage and optimism led policemen, firefighters, emergency medical professionals, public works employees, our men and women in uniform, and selfless volunteers to run into burning buildings to save others and undertake a mammoth rescue and recovery effort.
Courage and optimism led the passengers on Flight 93 to rush their murderers to save lives on the ground.
Courage and optimism led America's parents and teachers to battle their own fears to keep children calm and safe.
In those and countless other acts of heroism on that day, and many times since, terrorists have learned that Americans will not be intimidated.
We will fight them with everything we have - and we will prevail.
President Bush answered the challenge of September 11, 2001, not only with steadfast resolve, but also with vision, optimism, and unshakable confidence in the will and faith of the American people.
That is what we all saw on September 14, 2001, when our President stood with the brave workers at Ground Zero and resolutely assured our nation amidst our shock, anger, and grief that while the terrorists had struck first, America would have the last word.
The President's most solemn duty is to protect our country.
George W. Bush has kept that charge.
To protect our people, President Bush is leading America, staying on the offensive against threats within our own country.
He worked with Congress to establish the Department of Homeland Security in the most significant reorganization of the federal government since 1947.
The PATRIOT Act is being used to track terrorist activity and to break up terror cells.
Now, the FBI can use tools that have been long available to fight organized crime and drug trafficking, but could not be used in the past to fight terrorism.
Intelligence and law enforcement officials are sharing information as never before.
The President transformed the mission of the FBI to focus first and foremost on preventing terrorism.
Every element of America's homeland security plan is critical, because the terrorists are ruthless and resourceful - and we know they are preparing to attack us again.
It is not possible to guarantee perfect security in our vast, free nation.
But the President and Vice President, along with many fine professionals in intelligence, homeland security, law enforcement, and the military are working tirelessly to protect the country.
We are grateful to them all.
President Bush recognized that to overcome the dangers of our time, America would have to take a new approach in the world.
That approach is marked by a determination to challenge new threats, not ignore them, or simply wait for future tragedy - and by a renewed commitment to building a hopeful future in hopeless places, instead of allowing troubled regions to remain in despair and explode in violence.
Before entering office, President Bush recognized that our age is a time of opportunity for America - opportunity to translate this moment of influence into decades of peace, prosperity, and liberty.
That conviction is in the finest traditions of the Republican Party.
As our platform said in 1984, during the height of Cold War confrontation: "The supreme purpose of our foreign policy must be to maintain our freedom in a peaceful international environment in which the United States and our allies and friends are secure against military threats, and democratic governments are flourishing in a world of increasing prosperity.”
The reality of 9/11 does not diminish our generation's opportunity to advance the cause of freedom but in fact makes it all the more important that we take up that challenge.
President Bush has rallied America to its calling - to make the world safer and better.
This calling is answered by a distinctly American internationalism that reflects the union of our values and our national interests.
Americans everywhere are remaining faithful to that duty.
By keeping our word and holding firm to our values, this generation is showing the world the power of liberty once again.
Republicans support President Bush's steadfast commitment to the goal of a lasting, democratic peace, in which all nations are free from the threat of sudden terror.
We affirm the three commitments of the President's strategy for peace:
• Terrorists long ago declared war on America, and now America has declared war against terrorists.
We are defending the peace by taking the fight to the enemy.
We are confronting terrorists overseas so we do not have to confront them here at home.
We are destroying the leadership of terrorist networks in sudden raids, disrupting their planning and financing, and keeping them on the run.
Month by month, we are shrinking the space in which they can freely operate, by denying them territory and the support of governments.
•Nations that support terrorism are just as dangerous, and just as guilty, as the perpetrators of terrorism.
Every nation must make a choice to support terror or to support America and our coalition to defeat terror.
We are preserving the peace by working with more than 80 allied nations, as well as international institutions, to isolate and confront terrorists and outlaw regimes.
America is leading a broad coalition of nations to disrupt proliferation.
We are working with the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and other international organizations to take action in our common security.
The global threat of terrorism requires a global response.
To be effective, that global response requires leadership - and America is leading.
•There is no negotiation with terrorists.
No form of therapy or coercion will turn them from their murderous ways.
Only total and complete destruction of terrorism will allow freedom to flourish.
We will extend the peace by supporting the rise of democracy, and the hope and progress that democracy brings, as the alternative to hatred and terror in the broader Middle East.
In democratic societies, men and women do not swear allegiance to malcontents and murderers; they turn their hearts and labor to building better lives.
Democratic governments do not shelter terrorist camps or attack their neighbors.
When justice and democracy advance, so does the hope of lasting peace.
We are proud of the President's steady leadership in executing this strategy.
We are dealing with terrorist threats as they gather, rather than waiting for them to become imminent dangers.
The results are clear to see.
•Three years ago, our nation was not on a war footing against al Qaeda - even though Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States in 1996 and again in 1998.
The al Qaeda leadership believed itself to be impervious to any American response, continued to raise funds practically without restriction, and operated in a world in which there was no cohesive global approach to fighting terror.
Today, al Qaeda has been wounded, having lost many of its known leaders and most of its important sanctuaries.
America and its allies and friends have broken al Qaeda cells here in the United States and overseas.
A global coalition, led by the United States, has dried up sources of terrorist financing.
Thousands of very skilled and determined military personnel remain on the manhunt, going after the remaining killers who hide in cities and caves.
Today, because of the solidarity of the international coalition in the War on Terror, we are bringing these terrorists to justice, and the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, al Qaeda's secure home base was in Afghanistan, a country ruled by the Taliban, one of the most backward and brutal regimes of modern history.
Schooling was denied to girls.
Women were whipped and executed in public.
Millions lived in fear.
With protection from the Taliban, al Qaeda and its associates trained, indoctrinated, and sent forth thousands of killers to set up terror cells in dozens of countries, including our own.
Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban.
Twentyeight million people are free.
That country has a good and just president.
Boys and girls are being educated.
Women are respected.
Many refugees have returned home to rebuild their country, and a presidential election is scheduled for this fall.
The terror camps are closed and the Afghan government is helping us to hunt the Taliban and terrorists in remote regions.
Today, because we acted to liberate Afghanistan, a threat has been removed, and the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime.
Al Qaeda was active and recruiting in Pakistan.
Pakistan served as a transit point for al Qaeda terrorists leaving Afghanistan on missions of murder.
The United States could not count on the support of Pakistan's military and civilian leaders - the very people we would need to help shut down al Qaeda operations in that part of the world.
Today, the governments of the United States and Pakistan are working closely in the fight against terror.
Pakistan has helped capture Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the operational planner behind the September 11 attacks, and other terrorists.
Pakistani forces are rounding up terrorists along their nation's western border.
Today, because we are working with Pakistani leaders, Pakistan is an ally in the War on Terror, and the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, terrorists were well-established in Saudi Arabia.
Inside that country, fundraisers and other facilitators gave al Qaeda financial and logistical help with little scrutiny or opposition.
Today, after the attacks in Riyadh and elsewhere, the Saudi government knows that al Qaeda is its enemy.
Saudi Arabia is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of terrorism.
The government has captured or killed many first-tier leaders of the al Qaeda organization in Saudi Arabia.
Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and has joined the War on Terror, the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America who provided safe haven for terrorists, used weapons of mass destruction, and turned his nation into a prison.
Saddam Hussein was not just a dictator; he was a proven mass murderer who refused to account for weapons of mass murder.
He defied the international community and seventeen United Nations resolutions over the course of twelve years, giving no indication that Iraq would ever disarm and comply with the just demands of the world.
In 2002 - in Resolution 1441 - the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted that Saddam Hussein had one final chance to comply with his obligations to the international community, or there would be serious consequences.
As he had for over a decade, he refused to comply.
Every responsible nation recognized this threat, and knew it could not go on forever.
Today, the dictator who caused decades of death and turmoil, who twice invaded his neighbors, who harbored terrorist leaders, who used chemical weapons on innocent men, women, and children, finally stands before the bar of justice.
Iraq, which once had the worst government in the Middle East, is now becoming an example of reform to the region.
Iraqi security forces are fighting beside coalition troops to defeat the terrorists and foreign fighters who threaten their nation and the world.
Today, because America and our coalition helped to end the violent regime of Saddam Hussein, and because we are helping to raise a peaceful democracy in its place, 25 million Iraqis are free and the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, the nation of Libya, a longtime supporter of terror, was spending millions to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons.
Today, thousands of Libya's chemical munitions have been destroyed.
Libya's nuclear equipment that could ultimately have threatened the lives of hundreds of thousands is stored away in the United States.
Today, because the Libyan government saw the seriousness of the civilized world, and correctly judged its own interests, the American people are safer.
•Three years ago, a private weapons proliferation network was doing business around the world.
This network, operated by the Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, was selling nuclear plans and equipment to the highest bidder, and found willing buyers in places like Libya, Iran, and North Korea.
Today, the A.Q. Khan network is out of business.
We have ended one of the most dangerous sources of proliferation in the world, and the American people are safer.
Republicans applaud President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and those who have supported them in the Congress for the steady leadership that led to these successes.
America must stay the course.
Consolidating Gains in the War on Terror
In Afghanistan and Iraq, our enemies have seen the results of what civilized nations can, and will, do against regimes that harbor, support, and use terrorism to achieve their political goals.
Republicans believe that America and the world must keep our commitments to the people of those countries, who are building the world's newest democracies and counting on the world to help.
Delivering these nations from tyranny has required sacrifice and loss.
We must honor that sacrifice by finishing the great work we have begun.
Republicans appreciate the military, financial, and technical assistance provided by the dozens of nations contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The success of free and stable governments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere will further shrink the space in which terrorists can operate.
As the entire region sees the promise of freedom in its midst, the terrorist ideology will become more and more irrelevant, until that day when it is viewed with contempt or ignored altogether.
The forces of many nations are working with Afghans to find and defeat Taliban remnants and eliminate al Qaeda terrorists.
We applaud the work of American forces and coalition partners in helping to build the new Afghan national army and to train new Afghan police and border patrol.
Together, Afghan and international forces will maintain the peace, secure Afghanistan's borders, and deny terrorists any foothold in that country.
We applaud President Bush's announcement of U.S. support for five new initiatives that will help the Afghan people achieve the peace, stability, and prosperity they deserve - through support for the development of democracy, educational assistance, cultural exchanges, enhanced bilateral economic ties, and increased economic opportunity for women.
The road ahead for Afghanistan is still long and difficult.
Yet the Afghan people can know that their country will never be abandoned to terrorists and killers.
The world and the United States look forward to elections this year in Afghanistan and stand with the Afghan people as partners in their quest for peace and prosperity, stability, and democracy.
As Republicans, we do not equivocate, as others have done, about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq.
The best intelligence available at the time indicated that Saddam Hussein was a threat.
On that point, President Bush, members of both parties in Congress, and the United Nations agreed.
While the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction we expected to find in Iraq have not yet materialized, we have confirmed that Saddam Hussein had the capability to reconstitute his weapons programs and the desire to do so.
Our nation did the right thing, and the American people are now safer because we and our allies ended the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, halting his decades-long pursuit of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
President Bush had a choice to make: Trust a madman or defend America.
He chose defending America.
Supported by brave coalition allies such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Poland, and Denmark,
and displaying courage, skill, and resourcefulness on the battlefield, the men and women of our Armed Forces removed the dictator of Iraq, a declared enemy of America who had the capability and intent to produce weapons of mass murder, and could have passed that capability to terrorists bent on killing Americans.
That was a risk we could not take.
America's men and women in uniform have been unrelenting in the performance of their duty.
Our nation has asked much of our military, and there is still much hard work ahead.
We are proud of the sacrifice made by all who have served and are serving, and we are immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by their families and loved ones.
Further, we honor the memories of those who have died in combat serving the cause of freedom.
Defending our homeland with their ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all Americans merits our prayers and our thanksgiving.
We also commit to continued honor and care for our wounded veterans, and support for all who return home from service.
Together, we look forward to that day when the War on Terror is won and our military can return home, no longer at risk, our world and our country safer.
We also salute our coalition allies.
Their efforts with us to shape a world where freedom is honored and liberty is cherished deserves respect and admiration; their sacrifice, too, does not go without notice and appreciation.
We are ever mindful that American troops remain on the ground in Iraq, working steadfastly to help the Iraqi people achieve stability and democracy.
We therefore welcome declarations from responsible political leaders of both parties that our nation will persevere in our mission there, not cut and run.
The American people need to hear this message.
People in Baghdad and beyond need to hear it.
The enemy needs to hear it.
Most importantly, American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines risking their lives in Iraq need to hear it.
We condemn inconsistent, ambiguous, and politically expedient statements on that point.
To the extent such wavering encourages our adversaries to fight harder, our men and women in uniform suffer the consequences.
Their mission is difficult enough.
Uncertainty about America's commitment to that mission makes it immeasurably more difficult.
In Iraq, America is serving the cause of liberty, peace, and our own security.
America accepted a difficult task in Iraq.
We know that for all these reasons, we will finish that task.
We also know that Iraqi sovereignty is a tribute to the will of the Iraqi people and the courage of Iraqi leaders.
It is a proud moral achievement for members of our coalition.
We have full confidence in the plan for Iraqi self-government that is currently being implemented by Iraq's interim government.
That government has gained broad international support, and has been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.
The United States and our coalition partners are helping prepare Iraqis for the defense of their own country, including through the work of the NATO mission to train Iraqi security forces.
We are helping Iraqis rebuild their country's infrastructure, and Iraq is continuing to move toward free elections, with important assistance from the United Nations.
We applaud President Bush for establishing a visionary and resolute policy - a Forward Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East - to stand with the people of that region as they seek their future in freedom.
Republicans support President Bush's policy of working with every government in the Middle East dedicated to destroying the terrorist networks, while in the longer term expecting a higher standard of reform and democracy from our friends in the region.
We believe that democracy and reform will make those nations stronger and more stable, and make the world more secure by undermining terrorism at its source.
As a result of President Bush's leadership, G-8 members adopted the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative at this year's Sea Island Summit.
We applaud the commitment of the world's leading industrial nations to this historic initiative to support political, economic, and social reform throughout the region.
Halting the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Republicans agree with the Bush Administration that there is no greater danger to our people than the nexus of terrorists and weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
That judgment is shared by leading allies and friends.
As President Bush and his fellow G-8 leaders declared in 2003, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and international terrorism constitute "the pre-eminent threat to international security.”
The risks posed by this dangerous relationship cannot be contained or deterred by traditional means.
We applaud President Bush for pursuing from the beginning of his Administration a comprehensive strategy through which the United States works with its allies to:
•ensure that international agreements against the proliferation of WMD are observed and enforced;
• detect, disrupt, and block the spread of dangerous weapons and technology;
•confront emerging threats from any person or state before those threats have fully materialized;/ and
•improve our capabilities to respond to the use of WMD and minimize the consequences of an attack.
Over the last two years, under President Bush's leadership and working with likeminded nations, America has:
•ended Saddam Hussein's decades-long pursuit of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons;
• achieved the elimination of Libya's WMD and ballistic missile programs;
• shut down the A.Q Khan nuclear proliferation network;
•led the Proliferation Security Initiative to interdict dangerous WMD and their means of delivery;
•strengthened efforts to secure weapons-usable materials and sensitive technologies in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere;
•insisted on confronting the threat from North Korea through Six-Party Talks involving the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and Russia;
•supported the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency to hold the Iranian regime to its treaty obligations;
• strengthened international non-proliferation export control and treaty regimes;
•secured unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, which requires states to enact legislation that criminalizes proliferation activities; and
•achieved agreement among the G-8 nations to refrain for one year from initiating new transfers of uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology to additional states.
Republicans applaud these achievements, as well as the successes of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, backed by the Republican Congress, here at home to make America safer from the threat of weapons of mass destruction - including:
•creating Biodefense for the 21st Century, a national strategy for meeting the full range of biological threats;
•signing into law Project BioShield, which provides new tools to improve medical countermeasures protecting Americans against a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack;
• putting in place major new biodefense capabilities;
•creating the Container Security Initiative to screen cargo destined for the United States; and
• deploying missile defenses to defend the United States and its friends and allies.
Libya's decision to disclose and dismantle its WMD programs is a product of the President's strategy that gives regimes a choice.
They can choose to pursue WMD at great peril and cost, including international isolation.
Or they can choose to renounce these weapons, take steps to rejoin the international community, and have its help in creating a better future for their citizens.
The Libya case also demonstrates the President's success in forging increased international cooperation to prevent the spread of WMD technology through his groundbreaking Proliferation Security Initiative, a broad international partnership to coordinate actions to interdict proliferation shipments of WMD and related materials and shut down proliferation networks and entities.
Republicans applaud the support of more than 60 nations in this crucial multilateral effort to stop the trade in weapons of mass destruction and their related components.
We commend the President's leadership in expanding greatly the resources to prevent proliferation, including record-level U.S. and multilateral resources devoted to the Nunn-Lugar programs and other nonproliferation assistance, including that made available through the creation of the G-8 Global Partnership, which will provide $20 billion to this effort over 10 years.
We hail the commitment of the other G-8 nations (the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Canada, Germany, France, and Russia) to this vital initiative, as well as commitments by other countries, including Poland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Australia.
Republicans share President Bush's understanding that in an age in which the enemies of civilization openly and actively seek the world's most destructive technologies, the United States cannot remain idle while dangers gather.
We therefore believe that to forestall or prevent hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States must, if necessary, act preemptively.
Strengthening Alliances to Win the War on Terror, Promote Peace, and Build a Better World
Republicans recognize that our progress in the War on Terror has been achieved with the help of other responsible nations.
We hail the strong and broad-based cooperation of America's allies in the War on Terror.
We are grateful to the more than 30 nations with forces serving in Iraq, and the nearly 40 nations with forces serving in Afghanistan.
In the fight against terror, America has asked our allies to do hard things.
They have taken up these responsibilities in a spirit of solidarity that America should never forget.
We applaud President Bush for his success in mobilizing such international cooperation in the War on Terror, which the 9/11 Commission judges to be "on a vastly enlarged scale" and to have expanded dramatically since September 11, 2001.
We also question the credibility of our opponents, who claim to support global alliances while nominating a candidate who has insulted our allies by calling the nations fighting in Iraq "window-dressing" and referring to them as a "coalition of the coerced and the bribed.
" Directing ugly rhetoric at America's allies in a time of war is irresponsible.
It does not represent the gratitude and respect the vast majority of Americans have for the men and women from other nations who are risking their lives to make the world safer.
Republicans welcome the enlargement of NATO, which has strengthened history's most successful Alliance.
The Atlantic Alliance has widened the circle of its friends, while also creating a new chapter in our relationship with Russia.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States is working with responsible governments and international institutions to convince the leaders of North Korea and Iran that their nuclear weapons ambitions are deeply contrary to their own interests.
With allies, America has launched the Broader Middle East Initiative, to encourage reform and democracy throughout the region, a project that will shape the history of our times for the better.
Our nation is helping governments fight poverty and disease, so they do not become failed states and future havens for terror.
Strengthening America's National Security Institutions
The major institutions of American national security were designed in a different era to meet different requirements.
All of them are being transformed to meet the challenge of defending America in a new era.
In this endeavor, America will rely - as always - on the character and skill of our citizens, especially the bravery, pride, and hard work of America's men and women in the military, our first responders, our diplomats, and our law enforcement and intelligence agents.
Homeland Security
The freedom we enjoy also makes us vulnerable to attack.
Since September 11, 2001, President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the Congress, and governors across the nation have taken significant steps to:
•streamline the federal government to make it more effective at combating terrorism;
• tighten security at entry points like ports, airports, and borders;
•strengthen protections at critical infrastructure landmarks such as power and water plants; and
• reduce the threats of bioterrorism and cyberterrorism.
Through all their actions, President Bush and Congress have been careful to protect the rights and liberties that make America a beacon of freedom and justice.
The President and Congress have also provided unprecedented resources to support local first responders.
The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, and the first responders at the state and local level with whom they have partnered, vigilantly safeguard the security of America each and every day.
They have moved swiftly but thoughtfully to direct enhanced resources to counter the dangers of the new and shifting threats we face, and they have proved themselves equal to the task.
The Republican Party salutes the work of the:
• Coast Guard in protecting our shores;
• Customs and Border Patrol who police our borders;
•Air marshals and baggage screeners of the Transportation Security Administration in safeguarding our airports and our skies;
•Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in ensuring that the identity of foreign citizens who enter our borders is known;
•Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and the Secret Service for partnering with private industry to protect millions of Americans by enhancing security at chemical plants and other critical infrastructure;
•Federal Bureau of Investigation in applying enhanced law enforcement tools provided by the PATRIOT Act to track down terrorists and thwart their plots before they can be executed to murderous effect;
•Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health for their work in safeguarding the nation from biological attacks; and
•Law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, and other first responders in state and local jurisdictions throughout the country who have diligently employed increased federal resources to train and prepare for the prevention and mitigation of future terrorist attacks.
These dedicated men and women, the nation's last line of defense and first hope in response, give their utmost every day to keep us safe.
Department of Homeland Security
Just as the Cold War prompted a massive reorganization of the federal government's foreign policy apparatus, the War on Terror demanded a thorough reorganization of America's domestic preparedness agencies.
President Bush led this effort with a plan to merge 22 separate government entities into the new Department of Homeland Security, a cohesive department with the primary mission of keeping America safe.
After the American people returned control of the Senate to Republicans in the 2002 mid-term elections, Congress passed legislation enacting the President's plan.
Further, to ensure that America's law enforcement, intelligence, and first responders have the resources they need to protect America, President Bush and Congress have nearly tripled homeland security funding since 2001.
Waging War against Terrorists on Every Front
We endorse the efforts of President Bush and Republicans in Congress to keep our homeland safe by taking action on multiple fronts, all aimed at stopping terrorists before they strike.
• The FBI has been refocused to track down terrorists before they attack.
• The Treasury Department is now leading the effort to find and eliminate sources of terrorist financing around the world.
Since September 11, 2001, the United States and our allies have designated 345 terrorist-related entities and frozen more than $139 million in terrorist assets in more than 1,400 accounts worldwide.
•The President signed into law the PATRIOT Act, which gives law enforcement and intelligence agents the same tools to fight terror that have long been available to fight organized crime and drug trafficking.
The PATRIOT Act also made it possible for law enforcement and intelligence agents to share information and coordinate efforts to prevent terrorism.
The 9/11 Commission rightly praised the PATRIOT Act's role in improving information sharing.
•Since the PATRIOT Act was passed, four terrorist cells have been broken up inside the United States and more than 189 individuals have been convicted or pled guilty to terrorism-related offenses.
First Responders
President Bush knows that America's firefighters, local law enforcement, and other first responders play a critical role in protecting the homeland.
Hundreds of firefighters and police officers gave their lives to help their fellow citizens on September 11, 2001, and should another attack ever come, they will be first at the scene again.
They must have the tools they need to perform their jobs as safely and effectively as possible.
To this end, the President and Congress have massively increased spending for our nation's first responders.
They have worked with governors, mayors, and tribal and local leaders to implement an integrated and federally supported approach to protecting communities.
• States and localities have received more than $13 billion since 2001.
• Assistance to Firefighter Grants are up 400 percent since 2001.
•State Domestic Preparedness funding is up more than 2,600 percent since 2001.
President Bush has taken steps to send money to the areas that are most at risk of terrorist attack, and instituted measures to speed the money to the first responders on the ground.
Airports
President Bush has overhauled and greatly enhanced security at the nation's airports.
Our infrastructure to protect airplanes, passengers, crews, and cargo from terrorist acts has never been stronger than it is today.
Cockpit doors have been hardened, more than 5,000 air marshals and 45,000 federal screeners have been hired, new screening technology has been developed, and 100 percent of commercial air passengers and checked bags are now screened.
As tagging and tracking citizens is inconsistent with American freedom, we oppose the creation of a national identification card or system.
Ports
Proposed funding for port security in 2005 represents a 600 percent increase since President Bush came to office.
In addition, the Container Security Initiative ensures that:
• all cargo is now screened by customs agents;
•screening takes place in foreign ports, well before potentially dangerous cargo ever reaches our shores; and
• all high-risk cargo is physically inspected.
Border Security
Our nation has been enriched by immigrants seeking a better life.
In many cases, immigrants of the past fled violence and oppression searching for peace and freedom.
All suffered and sacrificed but hoped for a better future for their children in America.
Our nation has been enriched by their determination, energy, and diversity.
Ensuring the integrity of our borders is vital to ensuring the safety of our citizens.
We must know the identity of all visitors who enter the United States, and we must know when they leave.
The US-VISIT system, which uses biometric data to better track the entry and exit of foreign travelers, has been implemented at more than 115 airports and is presently being implemented at land border crossings.
Reconnaissance cameras, border patrol agents, and unmanned aerial flights have all been increased at our borders.
We must strengthen our Border Patrol to stop illegal crossings, and we will equip the Border Patrol with the tools, technologies, structures, and sufficient force necessary to secure the border.
We will seek stiff penalties for those who smuggle illegal aliens into the country and for those who sell fraudulent documents.
We urge continued support for state, local, and federal law enforcement to work in a cohesive manner in securing our borders to prevent illegal entry.
Critical Infrastructure
Most critical infrastructure is not federally owned or operated, requiring cooperation from all levels of government and private industry for effective protection.
As part of a nationwide review of critical infrastructure initiated by President Bush, due to be completed by December 2004, the Department of Homeland Security has already identified the highest-risk chemical sites and partnered with industry to enhance protections at those sites.
We endorse the President's request to have the Department of Homeland Security establish minimum safety requirements at chemical plants and enforce compliance when voluntary measures are deemed inadequate.
Bioterrorism
It is no secret that the enemies of the United States are determined to acquire and use biological and chemical weapons.
The potential exists for terrorists to use genetically engineered bioweapons that incorporate some of the deadliest diseases known to man, such as anthrax, ebola, smallpox, sarin, or ricin.
Such weapons are capable of inflicting grievous harm on any nation caught unprepared.
For this reason, President George W. Bush has long made bolstering the nation's defenses against bioterrorism a central focus of his Administration.
President Bush has worked with the Congress to:
•increase the federal bioterrorism budget by more than 1,600 percent, from $294 million in 2001 to $5. 2 billion in 2004;
•expand bioterror research by an even greater margin, from $53 million in 2001 to $1. 7 billion in 2005, an increase of more than 3,100 percent;
•increase the size of the Strategic National Stockpile of vaccines and countermeasures by 50 percent since 2001; and
•further secure more than $5.5 billion to enhance the stockpile and to encourage the development of new vaccines and countermeasures.
Although there is no such thing as perfect safety from biological attacks, President Bush's historic commitment to building up the biological defenses of the United States has made us far less vulnerable to the threat of bioterrorism than we were just three years ago.
The President's continuing commitment to implement further biodefense projects holds the promise of an even more secure future.
Coast Guard
Republicans recognize the critical new role played by the U.S. Coast Guard in upholding America's maritime security against terrorist threats.
Our nation saw the dedication and the versatility of the Coast Guard in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 - a performance that demonstrated the Coast Guard's vital contribution to homeland security.
We applaud the men and women of the Coast Guard for rising to meet new challenges, even as they continue to accomplish traditional missions such as search and rescue, navigation assistance, drug interdiction, fisheries enforcement, and environmental protection.
We also applaud the Coast Guard men and women who serve and have served in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Under the leadership of President Bush and the Republican Congress, our nation has significantly increased budget support for the Coast Guard to achieve its expanded mission.
We affirm the importance of continued strong support, including for efforts to recapitalize and enlarge the Coast Guard's fleet, a critical component of our overall national fleet.
This should not be done at the expense of or by in any way reducing the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program.
Our nation asks much of the men and women of the Coast Guard - uniformed warfighters who serve on the front line of the War on Terror.
We applaud the President and the Republican Congress for ensuring that the service has the resources needed to accomplish its expanded mission.
Diplomacy
Republicans believe that just as our nation relies on our men and women in uniform to fight and win the War on Terror, we also depend on America's diplomats, who serve in the vanguard of our present struggle.
Defeating terrorism requires the United States to:
•help establish stable and democratic governments in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq that once supported terrorism;
• support front-line states and coalition partners;
•deepen counterterrorism, intelligence, and law enforcement cooperation with allies and friends; and
• energetically promote democracy, especially in the Broader Middle East.
In all of these areas and more, the professionals of America's foreign affairs agencies serve at the front line of advancing U.S. national interests and values.
We salute their strong record of achievement during this consequential era of American foreign policy and support the efforts of President Bush and the Republican Congress to provide the Department of State funding sufficient to ensure the continued success of American diplomacy.
Intelligence
Republicans believe that intelligence - and how we use it - is our first line of defense against terrorists and the threat posed by hostile states.
The dedicated, hardworking men and women of our intelligence community are laboring every day to keep our country safe.
Republicans are proud of their work and grateful for their service.
America's intelligence professionals have been pivotal to the major successes in the War on Terror - disrupting multiple planned terrorist attacks around the world, continuing to expand our insight into terrorist organizations and plans, and greatly enhancing working relationships with foreign partners.
Working together, the President and the Republican Congress have steadfastly advanced toward the goal of an integrated, unified national intelligence effort.
They have taken important steps to expand and strengthen America's intelligence system and capabilities, including reversing devastating cuts in the intelligence community budget and closing dangerous gaps between counterterrorism intelligence collected abroad and at home by creating the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and consolidating all U.S. government watchlist information on suspected terrorists in the new Terrorist Screening Center.
They have also broken down the unnecessary "wall" between intelligence and law enforcement with the PATRIOT Act.
Because it has proved to be instrumental in helping to break up terror cells and plots and seizing terrorist assets, Republicans believe that Congress needs to reauthorize this important law.
We applaud President Bush's continued strong leadership in intelligence reform.
We share the guiding principles for reform that President Bush has laid out, including:
•increasing both the quality and quantity of human intelligence collection to disrupt terrorist attacks;
•investing more in our technical intelligence capabilities so that we stay ahead of our enemies' changing communications technology and tactics; and
• ensuring the most effective and coordinated use of these resources and personnel.
It is essential that the people in government responsible for defending America and countering terrorism have the best possible information to make the best decisions about the safety of our country.
We therefore support President Bush's request to Congress to create the position of a National Intelligence Director to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The National Intelligence Director will serve as the President's principal intelligence advisor and will oversee the foreign and domestic activities of the intelligence community.
We also support President Bush's plan to establish a National Counterterrorism Center that will build on the analytical work of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and become our government's knowledge bank for information about known and suspected terrorists.
The new center will coordinate and monitor counterterrorism plans and activities of all government agencies and departments to ensure effective joint action, and to ensure that our efforts are unified in priority and purpose.
The center will also be responsible for preparing the daily terrorism threat report for the President and senior officials.
We also support President Bush's judgment that legislative oversight of intelligence and homeland security must be restructured and made more effective.
Currently there are too many committees with overlapping jurisdiction, which wastes time and makes it difficult for meaningful oversight and reform.
Honoring and Supporting Our Armed Forces
America's men and women in uniform are currently on the front lines of the War on Terror.
In the midst of a global struggle, the armed services continue to meet their goals for new recruits and retentions, and every American is grateful for the patriotism and honor of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.
Republicans hail their historic achievements since September 11, 2001 - especially the removal of the repressive regimes of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.
Their victories on the battlefield have not only made America safer but are making way for new governments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They are paving the way for societies that are free.
With the support of the Republican Congress, President Bush has consistently built defense strength.
Defense spending has only been higher twice since World War II - during the Korean War and at the peak of the Cold War buildup.
These long-overdue budget increases help fulfill the President's commitments and ensure a fighting force that is second to none.
In 2000, the President promised to provide members of the Armed Forces "better pay, better treatment, and better training.
" He has fulfilled that promise to our troops.
Supported by the Republican Congress, President Bush has increased basic pay by nearly 21 percent.
Many servicemembers have seen much more than that.
The increase in basic salary and payments for food and housing has reached nearly 30 percent.
We hail those much-deserved increases, as well as the action of the President and the Republican Congress in this year's Defense Appropriations Act to fund permanent increases for the Family Separation Allowance and Imminent Danger Pay.
Until the mid-1990s, servicemembers who lived off-base were expected to pay for 15 percent of their housing costs.
In reality, this cost grew to almost 20 percent.
Republicans applaud the leadership of the President and the Republican Congress for making sure that by the end of 2005, out-of-pocket expenses will be eliminated, meaning that the average servicemember who lives off-base will have all basic housing costs covered.
President Bush and the Republican Congress have also increased funds for defense health programs, including improving medical services for Ready Reserve members and their families.
The men and women of the National Guard and Reserve are an important part of the nation's military readiness, and we will maintain their strength in the states.
Their role as citizen soldiers must continue to be a proud tradition that links every community in the country with the cause of national security.
We affirm traditional military culture, and we affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with military service.
The Republican Party created the all-volunteer force and opposes reinstitution of the draft, whether directly or through compulsory national service.
We support the advancement of women in the military, support their exemption from ground combat units, and support the implementation of the recommendations of the Kassebaum Commission, which unanimously recommended that co-ed basic training be ended.
We support sound priorities in the making of personnel policies, and candid analysis of the consequences of unprecedented social changes in the military.
As the traditional advocate of America's veterans, the Republican Party has continued to fulfill America's obligations to them.
When President Bush took office, many of the programs designed to assist veterans cried out for modernization and reform.
President Bush and Congress have increased funding for VA health care by more than 40 percent since 2001.
This additional funding has made it possible for the VA to improve health care access for veterans who need it most, including low-income veterans, those with service-related disabilities, and those who need VA's specialized services.
President Bush signed into law authorization for the concurrent receipt of both military retired pay and VA disability compensation for combat-injured and highly-disabled veterans.
We support these actions to keep faith with America's veterans and applaud President Bush and the Republican Congress for attending to the solemn duty of maintaining and expanding our national cemeteries.
In promising "better training," the President committed to strengthen the military readiness of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines.
Since taking office, the President has added billions to operations and maintenance accounts to make good on this promise.
This investment is paying off as critical readiness indicators are improving.
However, the real proof of military readiness is combat performance.
Our combined military forces have demonstrated overwhelming combat effectiveness in Afghanistan, Iraq, and in other operations around the world.
The readiness of U.S. Armed Forces to carry out combat operations anywhere in the world is now unparalleled.
The vast majority of Americans agree that when our troops are engaged in battle, we have a responsibility to provide everything they need to complete their mission.
It is irresponsible for public officials to support sending Americans into battle and then reject the funding they need for such things as ammunition, body armor, and better health care for their dependents.
We call to account the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President, both of whom voted to authorize war in Iraq then later rejected legislation to provide $87 billion in critical supplies and benefits for servicemembers and their families.
Earlier this year, Senator Kerry claimed to have "voted for the $87 billion before [he] voted against it.
" Recently he said he was "proud" of his vote against supporting our troops.
And in yet another attempt to explain his irresponsible vote, Senator Kerry claimed his decision was "complicated.
" Republicans affirm that there is nothing complicated about supporting soldiers in battle.
America's Commander in Chief must always support the men and women on the frontlines, and we applaud President Bush for his steadfast support of our military.
President Bush also fulfilled his promise to begin transforming how our nation organizes and equips itself to fight 21st Century adversaries.
Leveraging rapidly changing technology with flexible organizations and adaptable doctrine, the President and the Republican Congress have led the transformation of the U.S. military to become lighter, faster, and more lethal.
To support the President's transformational goals, the Administration has worked with the Republican Congress to:
•double investment in missile defense systems to put America on track to field an operational system in 2004;
• dramatically increase R&D investments;
• commit a significant amount of the procurement budget to transformation; and
• pursue transformational programs across the services such as the Army's Future Combat System, the Navy's conversion of ballistic missile submarines to guided missile submarines, and the Air Force's unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
In December 2002, President Bush directed the deployment of a missile defense system to protect the United States from the threat of long-range missiles with the ability to deliver weapons of mass destruction.
The 2005 Defense Appropriations Act provides $10 billion for systems to defend against the threat from ballistic missiles.
Later this year, the first components of America's missile defense system will become operational.
This will fulfill a pledge that President Bush made to the American people more than four years ago.
America and our allies face a deadly threat from ballistic missiles armed with the world's most dangerous weapons.
Republicans affirm that America must deploy the technologies necessary to protect our people.
Republicans applaud President Bush's announcement of the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. military forces overseas since the end of the Korean War.
By closing bases overseas that are no longer needed to meet Cold War threats that have ended, his new initiative will bring home many Cold War-era forces while deploying more flexible and rapidly deployable capabilities in strategic locations around the world.
The plan will make America safer by better preparing our military to address the new dangers associated with rogue nations, global terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction.
It will also give our servicemembers more time on the home front and fewer moves over a career.
It will give military spouses fewer job changes and offer greater stability for their families.
It will save the taxpayers money by closing hundreds of unneeded facilities around the world.
Republicans know that workers in the defense industry and broader civilian sector - including manufacturing workers, engineers, scientists, and farmers - who supply our Armed Forces with cutting-edge weapons, combat materiel, and sustenance are also vital to the success of our troops on the battlefield.
We hail their indispensable contributions to victory in the War on Terror.
Building a Better World Based on Democratic Governments, Free Markets, and International Compassion
Republicans applaud President Bush for launching groundbreaking efforts to address the needs and hopes of the world's poor, cutting across traditional boundaries to focus on what works.
We agree with President Bush that the United States must use this moment of opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom across the globe - by actively working to bring the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade to every corner of the world.
The events of September 11, 2001, taught us that weak states, like Afghanistan, can pose as great a danger to our national interests as strong states.
Poverty does not make poor people into terrorists and murderers.
Yet poverty, weak institutions, and corruption can make weak states vulnerable to terrorist networks and drug cartels within their borders.
Republicans believe that a world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 a day, is neither just nor stable.
We applaud President Bush and the Republican Congress for their leadership and moral clarity in making the inclusion of all of the world's poor in an expanding circle of development - and opportunity - one of the top priorities of U.S. international policy.
Decades of massive development assistance have failed to spur economic growth in the poorest countries.
Worse, development aid has often served to prop up failed policies, relieving the pressure for reform and perpetuating misery.
Results of aid are typically measured in dollars spent by donors, not in the rates of growth and poverty reduction achieved by recipients.
These are the indicators of a failed strategy.
Working with other nations, and under the leadership of President Bush and the Republican Congress, the United States has confronted this failure.
President Bush helped to forge a new consensus at the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey that the objectives of assistance - and the strategies to achieve those objectives - must change.
Republicans support the President's goal to help unleash the productive potential of individuals in all nations.
Sustained growth and poverty reduction are impossible without the right national policies.
Where governments have implemented real policy changes, we will provide significant new levels of assistance.
The United States and other developed countries should set an ambitious and specific target: to double the size of the world's poorest economies within a decade.
We endorse the strategies that the United States is pursuing to achieve this goal, including:
•providing resources through the Millennium Challenge Account to aid countries that have met the challenge of reform;
•improving the effectiveness of the World Bank and other development banks in raising living standards;
•insisting upon measurable results to ensure that development assistance is actually making a difference in the lives of the world's poor;
•increasing the amount of development assistance that is provided in the form of grants instead of loans;
• opening societies to commerce and investment;
•enhancing public health in countries afflicted by epidemics and pandemics like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis;
•emphasizing education, literacy, and learning as the foundation of democracy and development; and
• continuing to aid agricultural development.
Republicans know that a strong world economy enhances our national security by advancing prosperity and freedom in the rest of the world.
Economic growth supported by free trade and free markets creates new jobs and higher incomes.
It allows people to lift their lives out of poverty, spurs economic and legal reform, enhances the fight against corruption, and reinforces the habits of liberty.
Under Republican leadership, the United States has fostered an environment of economic openness to capitalize on our country's greatest asset in the information age: a vital, innovative society that welcomes creative ideas and adapts to them.
American companies continue to show the world innovative ways to improve productivity and redraw traditional business models.
Upon this extraordinary foundation, President Bush and the Republican Congress have rebuilt an effective American trade policy.
Rooted in America's political and economic ideals, the Republican blueprint they have implemented promotes open markets and open societies, free trade and the free flow of information, and the development of new ideas and private sectors.
This self-sustaining economic and commercial progress has nurtured the human spirit, the middle class, law, and liberty.
Republicans applaud the renewal of the executive-Congressional partnership on trade matters under Republican leadership.
After a gap of eight years, the Administration reestablished majority support in the Congress for free and fair trade by passing Trade Promotion Authority and the other market-opening measures for developing countries in the Trade Act of 2002.
We commend the strong record of President Bush and the Republican Congress in using their authority to promote economic growth and economic freedom beyond America's shores, especially through free trade initiatives.
We support the Administration's comprehensive strategy to promote free trade, exemplified by the launch of the Doha negotiation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional and sub-regional initiatives such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the Middle East Free Trade Area, extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements with nations such as Australia, Morocco, Chile, and Singapore.
We hail the strong record of President Bush and the Republican Congress in:
•completing agreements with 12 countries, and currently negotiating with 10 other nations, to reduce trade barriers - together, these 22 nations represent America's third largest export market, with economies totaling $2. 5 trillion in purchasing power;
•enforcing trade agreements and laws against unfair practices, including staunch opposition to regulations that impede farm exports and improved agriculture;
• opposing unfair manipulation of currency rates by U.S. trading partners; and
•taking timely action to help domestic industries and workers adjust to foreign competition, including through safeguard actions in support of America's manufacturing sector and trade adjustment assistance for workers;
• incorporating appropriate labor and environmental concerns into U.S. trade negotiations, promoting mutually supportive trade and environmental policies and agreements; and
•using the International Labor Organization, trade preference programs, and trade talks to improve working conditions in conjunction with freer trade.
We recognize that there is a fundamental connection between trade and development.
Trade policies can help developing countries strengthen property rights, competition, the rule of law, investment, the spread of knowledge, open societies, the efficient allocation of resources, and regional integration - all leading to growth, opportunity, and confidence in developing countries.
We therefore welcome the Republican-led reauthorization in the Trade Act of 2002 of preference programs with the nations of the Caribbean and Andean regions.
Steady American Leadership in the World
We affirm America's role in leading the world toward greater freedom, opportunity, and prosperity.
Our efforts to expand the reach of economic and political freedom are complemented by our work in fostering religious liberty.
Republicans will continue to make the protection and promotion of religious freedom abroad a cardinal principle of our foreign policy.
This reflects our national values and protects our national interests, and renders our actions in the world consistent with our ideals as a people.
America is a working example of religious liberty, home to millions of Christians, Jews, Muslims, and people of many other faiths who live in harmony and contribute to our culture.
In the President's words, "It is not an accident that freedom of religion is one of the central freedoms in our Bill of Rights.
It is the first freedom of the human soul…
We must stand for that freedom in our country.
We must speak for that freedom in the world.”
We applaud President Bush's record of accomplishment in broadening the realm of liberty and promoting prosperity and opportunity in the world, and we endorse his vision for the future.
International Institutions
Republicans are guided by the conviction that no nation can build a safer, better world alone.
In addition to NATO, the Organization of American States, and other longstanding alliances, the United States is committed to lasting institutions like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
While international organizations can serve the cause of peace, Republicans believe they can never serve as a substitute for, or exercise a veto over, principled American leadership.
The United Nations was not designed to summon or lead armies in the field and, as a matter of U.S. sovereignty, American troops must never serve under United Nations command.
The United Nations can provide a valuable forum for nations to peacefully resolve their differences, and it can help monitor international agreements and organize international humanitarian assistance.
Under Republican leadership, the United States will pay a fair, not disproportionate, share of dues to the United Nations, which must continue to reform its management and take steps to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
All funds that the U.S. contributes for operations, conferences, and peacekeeping should count against these dues.
We hail the actions of President Bush and the Republican Congress to ensure that our nation's efforts to meet our global security commitments and protect Americans arenot impaired by the potential for investigations, inquiry, or prosecution by the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction we do not accept as extending to Americans.
We support full implementation of the American Servicemembers Protection Act, whose provisions are intended to ensure and enhance the protection of U.S. personnel and officials.
We applaud President Bush and the Republican Congress for working to end the unacceptable discrimination against Israel at the United Nations, by that institution's denying committee assignments to Israel.
We welcome Israel's membership in the Western European and Others Group at the United Nations headquarters and urge its full acceptance at other United Nations venues.
We support adoption of bipartisan legislation to withhold the annual headquarters contribution made by the U.S. Department of State to the International Committee of the Red Cross if Magen David Adom is not given the opportunity to participate fully in the activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
Republicans continue to oppose the ideological campaign against participation by the Vatican in United Nations conferences and other activities.
The United Nations was created to benefit all peoples and nations, not to promote a radical agenda of social engineering.
Any effort to address global social problems must be firmly placed within a context of respect for the fundamental social institutions of marriage and family.
We reject any treaty or convention that would contradict these values.
For that reason, we support protecting the rights of families in international programs and oppose funding organizations involved in abortion.
Republicans support the leadership of President Bush and Vice President Cheney in speaking out honestly about violations of the nonnegotiable demands of human dignity using our voice and vote in international institutions to advance freedom.
Worldwide, at least 600,000 to 800,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year.
Of those, it is believed that more than 80 percent are women and girls, and that 70 percent of them were forced into sexual servitude.
We applaud the President for his efforts to rally the international community, including at the United Nations, in combating human trafficking, for his call to the nations of the world to pass laws criminalizing these abhorrent practices, and for working with Republicans in Congress to provide the funds necessary to combat trafficking on the international level.
We also praise President Bush for his efforts at home, where he has tripled the number of traffickers criminally charged and doubled the number of convictions, while supporting the good work of organizations that are rescuing women and children from exploitation.
Neighborhood of the Americas
Republicans believe that sound American foreign policy starts in our own neighborhood.
Family and faith, culture and commerce, are enduring bonds among all the peoples of the Americas.
Our nation's future is fundamentally linked to our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.
Republicans share President Bush's vision of the Americas as a fully democratic hemisphere, working together to achieve representative democracy, security, and market-based development.
We also applaud his proven track record in advancing trade liberalization in the Americas in order to promote economic development and democratic governance.
We praise President Bush's strong record of serious and sustained attention to the American neighborhood and coalition-building with countries such as Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia that share our democratic priorities.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States and Mexico have developed a historic level of trust and mutual respect.
Strengthened by common values and purposes, this relationship has provided an unprecedented degree of bilateral cooperation.
Republicans believe that it is a high national priority for America to continue building on that cooperation with Mexico over the coming years to ensure safe, orderly, and legal migration flows; further reduce the cost of remittances; expand access to credit for small business entrepreneurs; and further strengthen bilateral ties in education, civil society, housing, agriculture, infrastructure, communications, and information technologies.
Republicans also recognize that as a respected voice in the region, Mexico will continue to be a vital partner in supporting democracy throughout the hemisphere, as demonstrated by Mexico's contributions to regional and multilateral approaches in Bolivia and Venezuela.
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the United States has received excellent cooperation from our hemispheric partners to combat terror in North America.
In particular, our longstanding allies Canada and Mexico have been steadfast partners in joint efforts to enhance border security, while ensuring that the swift pace of legal movement of people and goods along our land borders is maintained.
Republicans applaud Canada's contributions to the War on Terror, not only as a partner in the Americas but as a steadfast transatlantic ally, including in deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom and in the current NATO-led operation in Afghanistan.
We also appreciate the continuing participation of El Salvador in the multinational force in Iraq, as well as the past contributions of the Dominican Republic and Honduras in support of the goal of stability and democracy for the Iraqi people.
Republicans support the leadership of the President and the Republican Congress to advance prosperity throughout the Americas through free trade.
We applaud the U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreement implemented by the Bush Administration - the first such agreement with a South American nation in U.S. history.
We also applaud President Bush's conclusion of a free trade agreement with six countries in our neighborhood - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
We support the President's goal of negotiating free trade agreements with Panama and the Andean nations.
These initiatives complement the goal of achieving a genuine, comprehensive free trade area in the hemisphere.
As Republicans, we believe that the Free Trade Area of the Americas is the best route to achieving that goal.
Our Party believes that the United States must continue to support the democracies of South America with strong economic and security assistance.
We therefore endorse the increased support that the President and the Republican Congress have provided to Colombia in the fight against narco-terrorists, in the eradication of coca and poppy crops, and in the interdiction of illicit drugs and the extradition of criminals.
We also support the Bush Administration's active strategy to help the Andean nations adjust their economies, enforce their laws, defeat terrorist organizations, and cut off the supply of illegal drugs.
We share President Bush's commitment to strengthening the region's democratic institutions by working with leaders in the region to promote good governance and combat corruption.
We applaud the Administration's work with regional institutions, such as the Summit of the Americas process, the Organization of American States, and the Defense Ministerial of the Americas.
Republicans support the Bush Administration's efforts to achieve a peaceful, democratic, constitutional, and electoral solution to Venezuela's political crisis.
The Castro regime is an anachronism in a region where democracy and open markets prevail.
The current political and economic crisis in Cuba reflects four decades of Castro's failed policies.
The Cuban government rightfully remains on the State Department's Terrorist List due to its continued support for terrorism, including the harboring of fugitives from justice wanted in the United States for terrorism-related offenses.
The Castro regime continues to pursue policies of Marxist-Leninist dictatorship, police state tactics, and total economic control.
Because of these policies, the Castro regime remains hostile to America's interests and values.
As Republicans, we support President Bush's principled position that the current embargo on trade with, and restrictions on travel to, Cuba must remain in place as along as the Cuban government refuses to hold free and fair elections, ease its stranglehold on private enterprise, and allow the Cuban people to organize, assemble, and speak freely.
Republicans understand that the Castro regime will not change by its own choice.
But Cuba must change.
That is why we support President Bush's decision to provide additional resources for:
•democracy-building activities in Cuba, support for the family members of the political opposition, and support for efforts to help youth, women, and Afro-Cubans take their rightful place in the pro-democracy movement;
•regular airborne broadcasts to Cuba and the purchase of a dedicated airborne platform for the transmission of Radio and Television Martí into Cuba; and
•public diplomacy efforts to disseminate information abroad about Castro's record of abusing human rights, harboring terrorists, committing espionage against other countries, and fomenting subversion of democratically elected governments in Latin America.
Republicans applaud the work of the President's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, which identified measures to help the Cuban people bring to an end the Castro dictatorship and provided a plan for agile, effective, and decisive assistance to the people of Cuba when they have finally achieved freedom and democracy.
We support the Commission's recommendations, which include:
•denying resources and legitimacy to the Castro regime by eliminating abuses of educational travel programs;
•countering the regime's manipulation of our humanitarian policies by limiting recipients of remittances and gift parcels to immediate family members; and
• limiting family visits to Cuba to immediate family.
Republicans also support efforts to increase the number of new migrants admitted from Cuba through a safe, legal, and orderly process and believe that the United States should adhere to the principles established by the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which recognizes the rights of Cuban refugees fleeing communist tyranny.
Republicans applaud the strong support President Bush has demonstrated for the people of Haiti and agree that it is essential that Haiti have a hopeful future.
We support the President's leadership of multilateral efforts to bring order and stability to Haiti and assist the Haitian people in achieving a democratic and constitutional government.
American troops and their partners in the initial stabilization force from France, Canada, and Chile responded swiftly and humanely to the needs of the Haitian people.
We applaud the contributions of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Canada, Spain, and other nations to the current peacekeeping force, as well as financial pledges from the international community to provide economic and humanitarian assistance to the Haitian people.
Africa
Republicans believe that because Africans and Americans share a belief in the values of liberty and dignity, we must share in the labor of advancing those values.
We endorse President Bush's conviction that in a time of growing commerce across the globe, America must work to ensure that the nations of Africa are full partners in the trade and prosperity of the world.
Under the leadership of President Bush and the Republican Congress, our nation is standing together with leaders in Africa against the tragic violence of civil war and against the merciless terrorists who threaten every nation.
We are answering the challenge of desperate hunger with human compassion and the tools of human technology.
In the face of spreading disease, we are joining with courageous people throughout the continent who are turning the tide against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
We applaud the President's leadership in establishing an unprecedented level of engagement with Africa, exemplified by the high priority placed on dialogue between the President and his African counterparts and supported by historic initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the African Education Initiative.
We further commend President Bush for visiting South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Botswana, and Uganda last year - the first Republican President to do so.
Republicans believe that South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia are leaders for regional engagement and require focused attention.
We applaud the President and the Republican Congress for deepening American engagement with those nations.
Republicans also applaud increased support for African nations that have chosen the path of economic, political, and social reform and are therefore eligible for funding from the MCA: Senegal, Ghana, Benin, Cape Verde, Mali, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Lesotho.
We believe that to be effective, development aid requires pro-growth policies and strong reforms in the nations that receive aid.
We endorse the MCA's direction of resources to countries with governments that rule justly, root out corruption, encourage entrepreneurship, and invest in the health and education of their people.
Republicans also applaud the strong record of President Bush and the Republican Congress in promoting development and economic growth in Africa as a means to eradicating poverty and encouraging the habits of freedom and enterprise.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is bringing hundreds of thousands of jobs and investment opportunity to sub-Saharan Africa.
Under President Bush's leadership, Congress has extended AGOA beyond 2008 - an achievement that will help give businesses the confidence to make long-term investments in Africa.
Republicans believe that the United States must continue to work to complete a free trade agreement with the nations of the Southern African Customs Union to create new opportunities for farmers and workers and entrepreneurs all across Africa.
We also applaud the efforts of the Bush Administration to strengthen and broaden capital markets on the continent.
With the ability to borrow money to buy homes and to start businesses, more Africans will have the tools to achieve their dreams.
Republicans also commend President Bush and the Republican Congress for helping to provide Africa's children with the advantages of literacy and basic education through the Africa Education Initiative.
This important initiative will provide teacher training, textbooks, and scholarships for girls to improve primary education on the continent.
Many of Africa's leaders are committed to the spread of democratic institutions and democratic values throughout their continent.
Yet those institutions and values are threatened in some parts of Africa by terrorism, chaos, and civil war.
To extend liberty in Africa, we must help African leaders who seek to achieve security and peace on the continent.
Republicans believe that together with our allies and friends, America must help strengthen Africa's fragile states, help build indigenous capability to secure porous borders, and help build up the law enforcement and intelligence infrastructures to deny havens for terrorists.
An ever more lethal environment exists in Africa as local civil wars spread beyond borders to create regional war zones.
Forming coalitions and cooperative security arrangements is key to confronting these emerging transnational threats.
We welcome President Bush's leadership in the establishment of a consensus among the G-8 nations to support peacekeeping capabilities among the nations of Africa, so that they may more effectively prevent and resolve violent conflict on the continent.
Republicans applaud President Bush's strong record of promoting regional peace and stability and helping to end conflict and war on the continent.
Working in concert with allies, friends, and international institutions, the Bush Administration has helped achieve progress toward resolving conflicts in Liberia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
We applaud the efforts of the Bush Administration in working closely with the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement to bring peace to Sudan.
Sudan's civil war is one of the worst humanitarian tragedies of our time, responsible for the deaths of two million people over two decades.
Achieving peace, and concluding a just and comprehensive agreement, must be an urgent priority for both sides in Sudan.
President Bush has made peace in Sudan a top priority of his foreign policy, including the appointment of a Special Envoy to facilitate discussions and the signing of the Sudan Peace Act.
The President's commitment has paved the way for significant progress and we welcome continued movement this year toward a comprehensive peace agreement that will put an end to 20 years of conflict in southern Sudan.
We commend the efforts of the President and the Republican Congress to help the people of Darfur, in western Sudan.
Brutal militias there are causing human suffering on an immense scale.
American assistance has been provided for famine relief, assistance for refugees, and other humanitarian aid.
Yet no amount of aid can substitute for true and lasting peace.
The Government of Sudan must stop the violence of Janjaweed militias, and all parties must respect the cease-fire and allow the free movement of humanitarian workers and supplies.
We continue to hope for peace for the people of Sudan and for normalization of relations between Sudan and the United States.
However, the Government of Sudan must not remain complicit in the brutalization of Darfur.
Republicans deplore the Government of Zimbabwe's refusal to adhere to the rule of law.
The Bush Administration has rightly condemned the Government of Zimbabwe's assaults against human rights.
We support the President's decision to suspend nonhumanitarian aid and impose targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwean regime and its supporters.
Republicans recognize that several African governments face particular dangers from terrorists, including in East Africa.
The Bush Administration is working closely with those nations to fight terror, and the Republican Congress has expanded efforts to help governments in East Africa protect their people and to fight terrorist networks.
We will not allow terrorists to threaten African peoples, or to use Africa as a base to threaten the world.
We hail the continuing cooperation of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, and other African nations in the War on Terror.
Republicans are proud of President Bush's historic leadership that has placed America at the forefront of helping the people of Africa, their governments, and private groups combat the catastrophic HIV/AIDS pandemic.
We hail the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion initiative, strongly backed by the Congress, to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.
By undertaking a comprehensive approach to the pandemic that involves education, abstinence, prevention, testing, treatment, and care - including advanced antiretroviral drugs - the President's groundbreaking initiative follows in the finest American tradition of harnessing the power of human technology in the service of human compassion.
We also applaud other major steps by President Bush and the Republican Congress to make fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic a priority of U.S. foreign policy, including America's contribution to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and other initiatives.
The United States is leading the world by example and the global community can - and must - do more to halt the advance of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
We applaud the numerous African, American, and other international private organizations - including faith-based groups, hospitals, medical schools, corporations, and philanthropies - that are helping the people of Africa as they fight HIV/AIDS with courage.
The progress we are already seeing in parts of Africa is proof that HIV/AIDS can be defeated.
Across the Pacific
Republicans believe that, as in every region of the world, America's foreign policy in Asia starts with its allies: Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, and the Philippines.
In the Asia-Pacific region, these alliances are bolstered by strong relationships with American friends such as Singapore, India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and New Zealand.
President Bush has demonstrated a clear commitment to the region, and Republicans recognize that under his leadership, alliance relations in Asia have never been better.
In every major security issue of our time - including counterterrorism, nonproliferation, Iraq, and North Korea - our allies in Asia are providing unprecedented cooperation.
The Republican Party hails the brave and energetic response of America's allies in the Asia-Pacific region in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
•Australia invoked the ANZUS Treaty to declare that the September 11th attacks were attacks on Australia itself, following that historic decision with the dispatch of some of the world's finest combat forces for Operation Enduring Freedom.
•Japan and the Republic of Korea provided unprecedented levels of military logistical support within weeks of the terrorist attacks.
• America has deepened cooperation on counterterrorism with our alliance partners in Thailand and the Philippines and received invaluable assistance from close friends like Singapore and New Zealand.
Republicans also applaud Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other nations in the Asia-Pacific region for their contributions to the multinational effort to achieve security and democracy for the Iraqi people.
Japan is a key partner of the United States and the U.S. -Japan alliance is an important foundation of peace, stability, security, and prosperity in Asia.
America supports an economically vibrant and open Japan that serves as an engine of expanding prosperity and trade in the Asia-Pacific region.
Republicans support an American policy in the Asia-Pacific region that looks to Japan to continue forging a leading role in regional and global affairs based on our common interests, our common values, and our close defense and diplomatic cooperation.
The Republic of Korea is a valued democratic ally of the United States.
Our two nations are maintaining vigilance toward North Korea while preparing our alliance to make contributions to the broader stability of the region over the longer term.
In concert with America's allies South Korea and Japan, and supported by China and Russia, our nation is leading the international community to speak with one voice to demand the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear programs.
Republicans support the Bush Administration's efforts to protect the peace on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea lies outside of the international system.
Americans have shed their blood to stop North Korean aggression before and remain prepared to resist aggression today.
After fighting together in both world wars, the United States forged a formal alliance with Australia.
Australians have stood shoulder to shoulder with Americans in every major conflict since - Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War, and now Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Republicans hail the signing into law of the U.S. Australia Free Trade Agreement and look forward to building on more than 50 years of alliance cooperation to resolve regional and global problems.
American ties to the Philippines have been close for more than a hundred years.
We Republicans have supported the victory of Filipino democracy and cherish our continuing friendship with this great nation and its people who have been by our side in war and in peace.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States has undertaken an historic transformation in its bilateral relationship with India, based upon his conviction that U.S. interests require a strong relationship between the world's largest democracies.
Since 2001, the United States has started with a view of India as a growing world power with which we have common security interests and a shared, fundamental commitment to political freedom and representative government.
Through a strong partnership with India, we can best address any differences and shape a dynamic future.
The prospects for that partnership were further enhanced by the announcement this January of the "Next Steps in Strategic Partnership" between the United States and India, a new effort to further deepen and accelerate cooperation between our two nations.
Republicans applaud India's move toward greater economic freedom.
We hold a common interest in the free flow of commerce, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.
Bilateral trade between the U.S. and India increased from $15. 9 billion in 2002 to nearly $18 billion in 2003, with U.S. exports to India increasing by 22 percent, the largest increase ever.
Finally, we share the commitment to fighting terrorism and creating a strategically stable Asia.
Republicans support President Bush's view that America must maintain forces in the Asia-Pacific region that reflect our commitments to our allies, our security requirements, our technological advances, and the strategic environment.
America will also build on stability provided by our Asian alliances, as well as with institutions such as ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, to develop a mix of regional and bilateral strategies to advance progress and deepen our ties to the peoples of this region.
Republicans applaud President Bush for his leadership in dramatically refashioning America's relationship with Pakistan.
The United States and Pakistan are working closely in the fight against terror.
We endorse continued American support for Pakistan's security, economic, and social programs.
Republicans believe that America's relationship with China is an important part of our strategy to promote a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.
We welcome the emergence of a strong, peaceful, and prosperous China.
The democratic development of China is crucial to that future.
Yet, a quarter-century after beginning the process of shedding the worst features of the Communist legacy, China's leaders have not yet made the next series of fundamental choices about the character of their state.
In pursuing advanced military capabilities that can threaten its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region, China is following an outdated path that, in the end, will hamper its own pursuit of national greatness.
In time, China will find that social and political freedoms are the only source of that greatness.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States has sought a constructive relationship with a changing China.
Our two nations have cooperated well where our interests overlap, including the current War on Terror and in promoting stability on the Korean peninsula.
Likewise, we have coordinated on the future of Afghanistan and have initiated a comprehensive dialogue on counterterrorism.
Shared health and environmental threats, such as the threat of HIV/AIDS, SARS, and other infectious diseases, challenge us to promote jointly the welfare of our citizens.
Addressing these transnational threats will challenge China to become more open with information, promote the development of civil society, enhance individual human rights, and end suppression of the media.
To make that nation accountable to its citizens' needs and aspirations, much work remains to be done.
Only by allowing the Chinese people to think, speak, assemble, and worship freely can China reach its full potential.
China has discovered that economic freedom leads to national wealth.
China's leaders will also discover that freedom is indivisible - that social and religious freedoms are also essential to national greatness and national dignity.
Eventually, men and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will insist on controlling their own lives and their own country.
Our important bilateral trade relationship has benefited from China's entry into the World Trade Organization, creating export opportunities and jobs for American farmers, workers, and companies.
The power of market principles and the WTO's requirements for transparency and accountability have bolstered openness and the rule of law in China.
Republicans support the commitment of President Bush and Republicans in Congress to ensure that China fulfills its WTO obligations.
There are, however, other areas in which we have profound disagreements, including human rights, China's observance of its nonproliferation commitments, and America's commitment to the self-defense of Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act.
We support President Bush's efforts to narrow differences where they exist but not to allow them to preclude cooperation where there is agreement.
The United States government's policy is that there is one China, as reflected in the three communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act.
America opposes any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo.
Republicans recognize that America's policy is based on the principle that there must be no use of force by China against Taiwan.
We deny the right of Beijing to impose its rule on the free Taiwanese people.
All issues regarding Taiwan's future must be resolved peacefully and must be agreeable to the people of Taiwan.
If China violates these principles and attacks Taiwan, then the United States will respond appropriately in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act.
America will help Taiwan defend itself.
Republicans applaud President Bush and the Republican Congress for honoring our nation's promises to the people of Taiwan, a longstanding friend of the United States and a genuine democracy.
Taiwan deserves America's strong support, including the timely sale of defensive arms to enhance Taiwan's security.
In recognition of its growing importance in the global economy, Republicans applaud Taiwan's membership in the World Trade Organization and support its participation in the World Health Organization and other multilateral institutions.
America's relations with Vietnam are still overshadowed by two grave concerns.
The first is uncertainty concerning the Americans who became prisoners of war or were missing in action.
Republicans commend President Bush for enhancing efforts to obtain the fullest possible accounting for those still missing and for the repatriation of the remains of those who died in the cause of freedom.
The second is continued retribution by the government of Vietnam against its ethnic minorities and others who fought alongside our forces there.
The United States owes those individuals a debt of honor and will not be blind to their suffering.
The Republican Party is committed to democracy in Burma, and to Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders whose election in 1990 was brutally suppressed and who have been arrested and imprisoned for their belief in freedom and democracy.
Republicans share with her the view that the basic principles of human freedom and dignity are universal.
We are committed to working with our allies in Europe and Asia to maintain a firm and resolute opposition to the military junta in Rangoon.
Because of the strategic location and historical ties of the Pacific island nations to the United States, Republicans will continue to work closely with the countries of this region on a wide variety of issues of common concern.
Europe
Republicans applaud President Bush for the visionary agenda he set forth at the beginning of his Administration: the establishment of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.
That agenda is in the finest tradition of America's historical commitment to the freedom and security of Europe.
It builds on the legacy of the courageous and resolute leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, through which the Cold War was won.
We hail the President's success in achieving unprecedented cooperation with Europe - at NATO, through the European Union, and with individual nations - in combating terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, building peace and democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, and advancing the cause of freedom, democracy, and opportunity throughout the broader Middle East and North Africa.
In particular, we are grateful for the close friendship and strong partnership with the United Kingdom, upholding the tradition of a special relationship between our two nations.
Together and with strong U.S. leadership, America and Europe are decisively confronting the greatest challenges and boldly seizing the historic opportunities of our time.
We believe that the security of the United States is inseparable from the security of Europe.
This enduring truth was reaffirmed by our European allies after the attacks of September 11, 2001, when NATO invoked its Article V self-defense clause for the first time in the history of the Alliance, recognizing that the attack on America was also an attack on the Alliance as a whole.
Republicans know that a strong NATO is the foundation of peace in Europe and beyond.
We commend NATO's leadership of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan - a mission that has been led in the past by the United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, and the Netherlands and is being supported by European partners such as Ireland, Albania, and Croatia.
We applaud the establishment of a NATO operation to train Iraqi security forces.
We hail those NATO nations and NATO partners that are contributing forces to Iraq, including the Polish-led division for which the Alliance has provided technical support.
Republicans remain steadfast supporters of NATO enlargement.
We recall that the leadership of a Republican Senate helped Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary return to the Euro-Atlantic Community through membership in the Alliance.
We hail the President's leadership in NATO's decision to welcome seven new democracies into the Alliance this year - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Republicans support the continued enlargement of NATO to include other democratic nations willing and able to share the burden of defending and advancing our common interests.
Republicans recognize and applaud the fact that especially since September 11, 2001, some of America's strongest allies and friends have been the democracies of Central and Eastern Europe - many of whom inspired the world during the Cold War by assaulting the Iron Curtain again and again until it finally crashed down forever.
Republicans hail the participation in the multinational coalition in Iraq of NATO members that joined the Alliance in 1999 and 2004 - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia - as well as the contributions of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Albania, and Macedonia.
Through their dedication to the cause of security and freedom in Iraq, these nations - together with the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, and Norway - are demonstrating their commitment to the values shared by members of the transatlantic community.
We also applaud the contribution of forces in Iraq by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and support strengthening NATO's partnerships with these nations and their neighbors in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
President Bush is forging a new relationship with Russia based on the central reality that the United States and Russia are no longer strategic adversaries.
We hail the President's visionary leadership in reassessing the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which was a relic of the Cold War and treated Russia as an enemy.
The President has strengthened this new relationship by concluding the historic Moscow Treaty on Strategic Reductions, which will reduce the nuclear arsenals of our two nations to their lowest levels in decades.
President Bush is rightly refocusing the relationship on emerging and potential common interests and challenges, especially broadening our already extensive cooperation in the War on Terror and promoting beneficial bilateral trade and investment relations.
At the same time, Republicans believe that Russia's uneven commitment to the basic values of democracy remains a matter of great concern.
We continue to support the independence and stability of the states of the former Soviet Union in the belief that a prosperous and stable neighborhood will reinforce Russia's integration into the EuroAtlantic community.
Republicans recognize and hail President Bush's use of the prestige and influence of the United States to support the efforts of leaders in Ireland and the United Kingdom and the many other people of goodwill who are working to achieve a lasting and peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland.
We endorse President Bush's personal reaffirmation of America's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and to its full and complete implementation, as expressed during his visit to Northern Ireland in April 2003.
We applaud the President's appointment of a Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, who is participating in the peace process and supporting efforts of Ireland and the United Kingdom to restore the democratic process in Northern Ireland.
We share the President's commitment that America's support for this vital work will continue.
Republicans support America's commitment to Northern Ireland's economic development, including our nation's contributions to the International Fund for Ireland and private U.S. investment in the North, with care to ensure fair employment and better opportunities for all.
Though the burdens of history weigh heavily upon that land, we cheer its people for taking the lead in building for themselves and for their children a future of peace and understanding.
Our Party continues to support a peaceful settlement for Cyprus and respect by all parties for the wishes of the Cypriot people.
A fair and lasting Cyprus settlement will benefit the people of Cyprus, as well as serve the interests of America and our allies, Greece and Turkey.
The Broader Middle East and North Africa
Republicans share President Bush's understanding that just as events in Europe determined the outcome of the Cold War, events in the broader Middle East will set the course for the victory of free nations in the War on Terror.
It is important to reaffirm that the war we wage against terrorists is not a battle of faiths.
As the home to millions of Muslim believers, America welcomes the valuable role of Muslim leaders in promoting peace.
We recognize that acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith.
We know that in this struggle against terrorism free nations have strong allies, of every faith, including millions of people in the Middle East who want to live in freedom.
As Republicans, we share the President's conviction that if that region grows in democracy, prosperity, and hope, the terrorist movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits, and lose the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business.
We affirm our support for President Bush's Forward Strategy of Freedom in the Middle East, as well as the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative adopted at the G-8 Summit this year.
Republicans support efforts by the President, Vice President, and Republican Congress to ensure that America takes the side of reformers who are committed to democratic change.
We support doubling the budget for the National Endowment for Democracy and focusing its new work on bringing free elections, free markets, free speech, and free labor unions to the Middle East.
We support the President's expansion of America's public diplomacy efforts, including the use of radio and television to broadcast uncensored information and a message of tolerance in Arabic and Persian to tens of millions of people.
We applaud the commitment represented by the President's Middle East Partnership Initiative, which funds economic, political, and educational reform efforts in the Middle East and champions opportunity for all people of the region, especially women and youth.
We are pleased that the momentum of freedom in the Middle East is beginning to benefit women.
In Afghanistan, women are preparing to vote in free elections, having participated in the drafting of a new constitution and taken on key responsibilities in a liberated nation.
Under the ruthless grip of the Taliban regime, Afghan girls were barred from getting an education, and women were banned from holding jobs and were publicly whipped when they did not follow the Taliban's rules.
Afghanistan's new constitution affords equal rights to all Afghan citizens, and Afghan women are now being integrated into the economic, social, and political life of their liberated country.
In Iraq, the systematic use of rape by Saddam Hussein's regime to dishonor families has ended, and the country's interim constitution guarantees all Iraqis the right to vote and makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or religion.
As a fundamental element of the President's strategy, Republicans support the expansion of economic opportunities for the peoples of the Middle East, including through free trade.
We applaud the enactment of free trade agreements with Jordan and Morocco, and the completion of negotiations toward such an agreement with Bahrain.
We support the President's goal of a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013 and highlight the conclusion of Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Tunisia, among others.
Republicans endorse continued assistance and support for countries that have made peace with Israel - led by Egypt and Jordan.
We applaud the actions of President Bush and the Republican Congress to provide both nations with new grants and loan guarantees to promote economic reform measures.
The Republican Party shares President Bush's commitment to the security of America's democratic ally Israel and the safety of the Israeli people.
We remain committed to ensuring that Israel maintains a qualitative edge in defensive technology over any potential adversaries.
We believe that terror attacks against Israelis are part of the same evil as the September 11, 2001, attacks against America.
We recognize Israel's right to defend itself in the face of homicide bombings and other attacks against the people of Israel.
We are very concerned about the escalation of anti-Semitic violence worldwide, including in Europe.
This violence has included physical assaults, use of weapons, arson of synagogues, and desecration of Jewish cemeteries and statues.
We are proud of President Bush's outspoken condemnation of anti-Semitism.
We share his conviction that anti-Semitism poisons public debates within democratic nations and that mankind must come together to fight such dark impulses.
We support President Bush's vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.
However, as he observed in his remarks of June 24, 2002, for such a vision to become a reality, Palestinians need a new leadership, not compromised by terror.
Like all other people, Palestinians deserve a government that serves their interests and listens to their voices.
If Palestinians embrace democracy and the rule of law, confront corruption, and firmly reject terror, they can count on American support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
The Bush Administration has been clear about the obligations of Arab nations in achieving peace in the Middle East.
Republicans agree with President Bush that Israel's plan to remove all settlements from Gaza and several settlements from the West Bank is a courageous step toward peace in the face of continuing terrorist violence.
This initiative can stimulate progress toward peace as laid out in the Road Map launched by President Bush.
Republicans commend the government of Israel for its desire to pursue peace, even in the face of continuing terrorist attacks.
This is demonstrated by steps Israel has taken, such as removing unauthorized outposts and improving the humanitarian situation by easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians not engaged in terrorist activities.
Republicans agree with President Bush's assessment that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue, as part of any final status agreement, will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel.
We also share the President's view that as part of a final peace settlement, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.
All previous efforts to negotiate a two-state solution have reached the same conclusion.
It is realistic to expect that any final status agreement will only be achieved on the basis of mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities.
Republicans continue to support moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital, Jerusalem.
In Iran, we continue to see a government that represses its people, pursues weapons of mass destruction, and supports terror.
We also see Iranian citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for liberty, human rights, and democracy.
The Iranian people have a right to choose their own government and determine their own destiny.
We applaud President Bush's leadership in ensuring them that the United States supports their aspirations to live in freedom, including by broadcasting uncensored information to the Iranian people nearly 24 hours a day.
We also support the President's practice of forming policy toward Iran based on Iranian actions, not words, and applaud his Administration's progress in convincing America's friends and allies, most importantly in Europe, to join us in a firm, common approach to ending Iran's nuclear weapons programs.
Under President Bush's leadership, the United States and our European allies are speaking as plainly as possible to the Iranians, making it absolutely clear that the development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable to the international community.
USHERING IN AN OWNERSHIP ERA
"The role of government is not to control or dominate the lives of our citizens.
The role of government is to help our citizens gain the time and the tools to make their
own choices and improve their own lives.
That's why I will continue to work to usher in a
new era of ownership and opportunity in America.
"
- President George W.
Bush
Ownership gives citizens a vital stake in their communities and their country.
By expanding ownership, we will help turn economic growth into lasting prosperity.
As Republicans, we trust people to make decisions about how to spend, save, and invest their own money.
We want individuals to own and control their income.
We want people to have a tangible asset that they can build and rely on, making their own choices and directing their own future.
Ownership should not be the preserve of the wealthy or the privileged.
As Republicans who believe in the power of ownership to create better lives, we want more people to own a home.
We want more people to own and build small businesses.
We want more people to own and control their health care.
We want more people to own personal retirement accounts.
With President Bush's leadership we have taken great strides in making the dream of ownership available to millions of Americans, and in the next four years the President and Republicans in Congress will unlock the door to ownership for many more.
Tax Relief: Making it Happen, Making it Permanent
George W. Bush ran for President on a promise of lower taxes, so that people could keep more of the income they earn.
He fulfilled that pledge.
The fundamental premise of tax relief is that everyone who pays income taxes should see their income taxes reduced.
The President offered a plan to lower all tax rates.
Republicans in Congress strongly supported the President's plan.
In 2001, President Bush signed historic tax relief into law.
This year, 43 million families with children are receiving an average tax cut of over $2,000.
The 2001 law:
• Created a new, low 10 percent income tax bracket;
• Lowered individual income tax rates for all Americans who pay income taxes;
• Doubled the child tax credit to $1,000;
• Reduced the marriage penalty for 33 million married couples;
•Expanded education IRAs, made pre-paid tuition plans tax-free, and created a deduction for higher education expenses;
• Phased-out the death tax that penalizes family-owned small businesses and farms;
•Simplified and expanded IRAs and 401(k)s so workers can save more for their retirement; and
• Increased the adoption tax credit and the child care tax credit.
President Bush and the Republican Congress built on the reforms of 2001 by passing the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003.
This legislation assisted our economic recovery by accelerating the 2001 tax relief and encouraging investment.
The tax rates on capital gains and dividend income were reduced to the same, lower rate of 15 percent to encourage saving and investment.
Seven million senior citizens who rely on dividend income are benefiting from this tax relief.
The law also quadrupled small business expensing so entrepreneurs can deduct from their taxes the first $100,000 of investment.
Because of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, 111 million families are receiving an average tax cut of over $1,500 and the overall tax burden on working Americans is the lowest it has been in 37 years.
We believe that good government is based on a system of limited taxes and spending.
Furthermore, we believe that the federal government should be limited and restricted to the functions mandated by the United States Constitution.
The taxation system should not be used to redistribute wealth or fund ever-increasing entitlements and social programs.
Many Democrats, however, believe the government has a right to claim the money earned by working Americans.
They fight any attempt to return the balance of power from Washington to individual families and businesses.
Furthermore, the slim majority held by Republicans in the Senate and the rules of the Senate make it difficult to pass permanent tax relief.
All of the tax relief provided over the last four years will be eliminated in the next six years if Congress does not take action to make the relief permanent.
Our Party endorses the President's proposals to make tax relief permanent, so that families and businesses can plan for the future with confidence.
Anything less will result in a significant tax increase on Americans.
Making the tax cuts permanent is a crucial first step toward expanding ownership and ensuring that America turns economic growth into lasting prosperity.
The only way to accomplish this goal is to elect a solid Republican majority to both houses of Congress.
We look forward to a new Congress with larger Republican majorities working with President Bush to ensure that taxes do not go back up on American families.
Increasing Saving
More than half of all Americans save and invest in private markets.
We want even more people to build assets that they own and can use to meet a variety of needs over the course of their lives.
In the past few years President Bush and Congressional Republicans have passed into law a variety of measures to improve, simplify, expand, and protect retirement savings in IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans.
Their actions:
• Increased the amount you can save each year tax-free.
• Made it easier to take your retirement plan from one job to the next.
•Allowed women who take time off from work to start a family to catch up on their missed retirement plan contributions.
•Required more disclosure for employer sponsored retirement plans and required that rules apply to both executives and rank-and-file employees.
Republicans will not rest on this success.
We will build upon it by promoting policies that encourage workers to save.
We support the President's proposal to create a new Lifetime Savings Account (LSA) so workers can save for a variety of needs, to consolidate the three types of current law IRAs into a single Retirement Savings Account (RSA), and to consolidate numerous employer-based retirement plans into a single Employer Retirement Savings Account (ERSA).
These account options will promote personal saving, which opens up more opportunities for the saver and increases private capital that is available to entrepreneurs for investing, growing the economy, and creating jobs.
Strengthening Social Security with Ownership
Social Security needs to be strengthened and enhanced for our children and grandchildren.
Republicans remain committed to the principles the President outlined:
•Anyone now receiving Social Security, or close to being eligible for it, is guaranteed that their benefits will not be cut and their taxes will not be raised.
Social Security is a promise made by this country to its citizens and Republicans will keep that promise.
•Key changes to Social Security should merit bipartisan agreement so all improvements are a win for the American people rather than a political victory for any one party.
•Personal retirement accounts must be the cornerstone of strengthening and enhancing Social Security.
Each of today's workers should be free to direct a portion of their payroll taxes to personal investments for their retirement.
It is crucial that individuals be offered a variety of investment alternatives and that detailed information be provided to each participant to help them judge the risks and benefits of each plan.
Today's financial markets offer a variety of investment options, including some that guarantee a rate of return higher than the current Social Security system with no risk to the investor.
• Young people deserve to know their Social Security will in fact be there when they retire, just as we have guaranteed it to their grandparents and parents today.
This new generation of American workers deserves to have ownership of their future.
They must have choices.
•Assets in personal accounts should belong to each individual.
Every American should have the opportunity to build a nest egg for the future and pass along that money to their children or grandchildren, who could use the funds to pay for college, buy a home, start a small business, or begin saving for their own retirement.
•Choice is the key.
Any new options for retirement security should be voluntary, so workers can choose to remain in the current system or opt for something different.
This is a challenge that demands leadership.
President Bush has shown this leadership by proposing a bold alternative to the collapse of Social Security.
Along with Americans everywhere, we pledge to join him in this endeavor of a lifetime.
Individual ownership of voluntary personal retirement accounts for today's workers will make Social Security more equitable, but, just as importantly, will put the system on sure financial footing.
Fifty years ago there were 16 workers to support every one beneficiary of Social Security.
Today there are just 3. 3 workers for each beneficiary.
By the time young men and women who are entering the workforce today turn 65, there will be only two workers for each beneficiary.
Doing nothing is not an option.
We must keep faith with both the past and the future by strengthening and enhancing Social Security.
We believe that everyone who participates in the Social Security program should use legal and accurate identification.
President Bush formed a bipartisan commission that recommended three models for reform and many Republicans in Congress have exhibited leadership in sponsoring six different bills.
Non-partisan analysis of these proposals shows that each strengthens Social Security and that each shares a common characteristic: giving workers the option of supplementing Social Security with personal retirement accounts that they own.
Our Party supports the efforts of President Bush and Congressional Republicans to enact legislation during the next term.
Homeownership
Homeownership is central to the American dream, and Republicans want to make it a reality for everyone.
That starts with access to capital for entrepreneurs and access to credit for consumers.
Both have improved immensely in the past four years, resulting in record levels of homeownership.
For the first time, more than half of all minorities own their home.
We support the President's goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by at least 5. 5 million families by the end of the decade.
Since President Bush announced his initiative in 2002, an additional 1. 6 million minorities have become homeowners.
The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunities Program helps low-income families purchase a home.
The most significant barrier to homeownership is the down payment.
We support efforts to reduce that barrier, like the American Dream Downpayment Act and Zero Downpayment Mortgages.
The President and Congress have taken action to provide counseling and education to help first-time homebuyers navigate the process of buying a home.
The Administration has also taken steps to alert people to the dangers of predatory lending, in an effort to help Americans maintain a positive credit history.
Affordable housing is in the national interest.
That is why the mortgage interest deduction for primary residences was put into the federal tax code and why tax reform of any kind should continue to encourage homeownership.
We support efforts to enact the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit.
At the same time, a balanced national housing policy must recognize that decent housing includes apartments, and addresses the needs of all citizens, including renters.
In many areas, housing prices are higher than they need to be because of regulations that drive up building costs.
Some regulation is of course necessary, and so is sensible zoning.
We urge states and localities to work with local builders and lenders to eliminate unnecessary burdens that price many families out of the market.
We see no role for any federal regulation of homebuilding.
We do foresee a larger role for state and local governments in controlling the federally assisted housing that has been so poorly managed from Washington.
We also encourage the modification of restrictions that inhibit the rehabilitation of existing distressed properties.
Small Business
Small businesses are the most potent force of economic growth and job creation in America.
They generate more than half of our nation's gross domestic product and create seven out of ten new private-sector jobs in America.
Small businesses have been the primary vehicles of economic advance for American women.
Republicans pledged in 2000 to lower tax rates for small business owners and entrepreneurs, end the death tax, cut red tape, reform our liability system, and aggressively expand overseas markets for our goods and services.
Though more work remains to be done, including reauthorizing the Small Business Administration, President Bush and Congressional Republicans have made good on each of those commitments.
They have:
•Reduced taxes on 25 million small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Much of the tax relief came from reductions in individual income tax rates.
Ninety percent of businesses pay income taxes at individual rates, not corporate rates.
This includes hundreds of thousands of successful small business owners and entrepreneurs who pay taxes in the top tax rates and whose taxes would increase considerably under John Kerry's economic plan.
• Lowered the tax burden on investment in new equipment by quadrupling the limit on small business expensing from $25,000 to $100,000 and allowing additional first-year depreciation of that equipment.
•Phased-out the death tax that punishes family-owned small businesses and family farms.
•Increased federal contracts to small businesses.
In 2003, small businesses received the largest percentage ever of all federal contracts.
In addition, President Bush developed a strategy to reverse the trend toward bundling of contracts, a practice that has denied small businesses the ability to compete for billions of procurement dollars.
•Reduced paperwork.
For example, 22. 4 million small business taxpayers now have fewer lines to fill out on tax forms, freeing up an estimated 9. 5 million hours previously used for paperwork every year.
• Enacted Health Savings Accounts, which allow individuals to save and pay for their health care tax-free.
Combined with a catastrophic health plan, they are an easier and less costly way for small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees.
• Enacted common sense liability protections in the Terrorism Risk Insurance and SAFETY Acts.
•Negotiated agreements to reduce trade barriers and expand access to foreign markets.
An area in special need of more work is liability reform.
Frivolous lawsuits put more money in the pockets of trial lawyers and leave businesses with less money to create jobs.
They raise health care costs on small businesses, often preventing them from offering health insurance to their employees.
We support efforts by President Bush, Congressional Republicans, and Republican governors to curb the burden of frivolous lawsuits.
We recognize that the Democrats' nominees, one of whom made his fortune as a trial lawyer, are beholden to the interests of the trial lawyer lobby and offer no hope for reform of this badly broken system.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Health Savings Accounts allow people to own and control their health care.
They are an important step toward creating a system of consumer-driven health care that puts patients and doctors at the center of decision-making - not government bureaucrats.
When consumers make decisions about health care, individuals control their health care dollars and health care decisions.
Health Savings Accounts allow people to save, earn interest, and spend tax free on their health care needs.
HSAs are combined with a lowpremium, high-deductible health insurance plan to offer flexible, affordable insurance options for small businesses and individuals.
Health Savings Accounts are now available to all Americans thanks to the efforts of President Bush and the Republican Congress.
The next step, which our Party endorses, is to extend tax deductibility to the insurance premiums associated with HSAs.
We also support efforts to expand the use of Health Savings Accounts to help control health care costs and give individuals more power in making important medical decisions.
Private Property Rights
The core of ownership in America has always been ownership of private property that a citizen can call his or her own.
Republicans respect this tradition.
For reasons both Constitutional and environmental, therefore, President Bush and the Republican Congress will safeguard private property rights by enforcing the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and by providing just compensation whenever private property is needed to achieve a compelling public purpose.
We oppose efforts to diminish the rights of private citizens to the land they own.
BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE, GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE ECONOMY
"By leading the world when it comes to innovation and change, we'll make America a hopeful place for those who want to work, and those who want to dream, and those who want to start their own business.”
- President George W.
Bush
America's economy is the strongest in the world, and it is getting stronger thanks to lower taxes, fewer burdensome regulations, and a focus on encouraging investment.
Our goal is to make sure America remains the strongest economy in a dynamic world and to make it possible for every American who wants a job to find one.
We must ensure that workers are equipped with the education and training to succeed in the best jobs of the 21st century, and we must encourage the strong spirit of innovation that has put America at the forefront of new technology industries.
Future prosperity demands that we have affordable, cleaner, more independent energy supplies and affordable, high-quality health care.
We must maintain our commitment to free and fair trade, lower taxes, limited regulation, and a limited, efficient government that keeps up with the new realities of a changing world.
By keeping the costs of running a business low and ensuring that our workers have the skills to compete in a dynamic global economy, President Bush and the Republican Congress will continue to ensure that America is the best nation in the world in which to create jobs.
Lower Taxes and Economic Growth
In 2001, President Bush and the Republican Congress worked together to pass the most sweeping tax relief in a generation.
By letting families, workers, and small business owners keep more of the money they earn, they helped bring America from recession to a steadily expanding economy.
Despite enduring the after-effects of the stock market's irrational exuberance in the late 1990s, terrorist attacks on our nation, and corporate scandals that bubbled to the surface after years of inattention, the U.S. economy has now grown for 33 straight months.
And unlike four years ago, there are no signs of an end to the current economic growth.
The proof is in the numbers, and the numbers prove our economy is strong and growing stronger.
•Over the past year, gross domestic product (GDP) grew at one of the fastest rates in two decades.
•Without the President's tax relief, real GDP would have been more than 3 percent lower and 2 million fewer Americans would have been working at the end of last year.
• Since last August, 1. 5 million new jobs have been created.
•The unemployment rate has fallen from 6. 3 to 5. 5 percent, which is below the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
• Employment over the last year is up in 46 of the 50 states, and the unemployment rate is down in 49 of the 50 states.
In addition to the official figures, household surveys show that hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, unreported, through selfemployment and by small businesses.
• Real after-tax incomes are up by 9. 6 percent since December 2000.
•Homeownership rates are at record levels - seven out of ten American families own their own home today.
• Consumer confidence is up from the levels seen at this time last year.
• Inflation remains low by historical standards, as do mortgage rates.
We know what brought us this success - the hard work of the American people and the Republican commitment to low taxes.
Now we must keep our economy on the right path by preventing taxes on families from going up next year, making the tax relief of the last four years permanent, and reforming the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more growth-oriented.
Tax Reform
In 2000 we rightly declared: "The federal tax code is dysfunctional.
It penalizes hard work, marriage, thrift, and success - the very factors that are the foundations for lasting prosperity.
" As noted earlier, from reducing marginal income tax rates to phasing out the death tax, President Bush and the Republican Congress have made great strides in addressing each of these problems.
However, it is equally obvious that much more remains to be done to reform the federal tax code.
Instead of being simple, the current tax system is needlessly complex, making it susceptible to abusive tax avoidance schemes.
Instead of being efficient, it punishes hard work, discourages savings and investment, and hinders the international competitiveness of U.S. firms.
Instead of being fair, it is out of line with our basic values and undermines our sense of fairness.
Instead of being predictable, it is highly unpredictable and uncertain.
Tax reform is necessary to achieve the simplicity, efficiency, fairness, and predictability that the American people deserve, and to give all Americans the freedom to determine their own spending priorities.
In particular, we must:
•Make the tax relief of 2001 and 2003 permanent.
The various expiring tax relief provisions, ranging from 2005 to 2011, make the tax code confusing for everybody and limits the ability of workers, families, and businesses to plan for the future with confidence.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with the death tax, which is reduced now, disappears in 2010, and then comes fully back to life in 2011.
• Build on efforts to develop a tax code that does not punish taxpayers for saving.
• Replace the tax code with a system that is simpler, provides more freedom to our citizens, is pro-growth, boosts the economy, and encourages savings and investment.
A code that provides several definitions of a child is a code that needs to be reformed.
We support legislation requiring a super-majority vote in both houses of Congress to raise taxes.
We will prohibit retroactive taxation and will not tolerate attempts by federal judges to impose taxes.
We oppose all attempts by the United Nations to impose a global tax and reject any claims of authority by United Nations to do so.
Because of the vital role of religious and fraternal benevolent societies in fostering charity and patriotism, they should not be subject to taxation.
Alternative Minimum Tax
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) represents a second tax system for individuals.
Its stated goal is to insure that high-income taxpayers pay some amount of income tax.
But due to the lack of indexing, the broad base and reach of the current AMT will make it apply increasingly to middle-income taxpayers.
Millions of additional taxpayers must complete AMT forms just to determine that they are not subject to the tax.
As we look at the broader issue of tax reform, we call upon Congress to address this increasingly unfair second tax system on hardworking Americans.
Fiscal Discipline and Government Reform
To make sure the private sector has the capital it needs to invest, grow the economy, and expand prosperity, our leaders must make sure that the growth of the federal government remains in check.
The challenges America has faced over the last four years have created an unwelcome but manageable budget deficit.
These deficits are due to a number of factors: the stock market downturn that began in 2000 and the subsequent recession that President Bush inherited when he took office; the terrorist attacks on America and the necessary spending for homeland security and the War on Terror those attacks precipitated; and the crisis in confidence produced by corporate scandals that were years in the making.
It is important to view the size of the deficit in relation to the size of the nation's economy.
By that measure, today's deficit, although unwelcome, is well within historical ranges.
A deficit that is 3. 8 percent of GDP, as is now projected for this year, would be smaller than the deficits in nine of the last 25 years, and far below the peak deficit figure of 6 percent of GDP reached in 1983.
This deficit is also in line with what other industrialized nations are facing today.
The U. S. deficit matches the average deficit within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and is below the levels of France, Germany, and Japan.
Much more importantly, because the President and Congress enacted pro-growth economic policies, the deficit is headed strongly in the right direction.
Next year's projected deficit, at 2. 7 percent of GDP, would be smaller than those in 14 of the last 25 years.
As Republicans in Congress work with the President to restrain spending and strengthen economic growth, the federal deficit will fall to 1. 5 percent of the nation's economic output in 2009 - well below the 2. 2 percent average of the last 40 years.
The events that brought us into deficit are not completely behind us.
The War on Terror goes on.
The recession has passed, but some industries and workers are still feeling its effects.
Republicans are committed to winning the War on Terror and will continue to implement policies that promote jobs, investment, and growth in every region of the country and every sector of our economy.
Let us be clear: If government is to meet the most pressing needs of our time and still maintain fiscal discipline, government leaders must set priorities and stick with them.
President Bush has shown genuine leadership in doing just that.
Time and again, he has made difficult decisions and followed through with clear determination.
He has made it plain that his top budgetary priority is to protect America and win the War on Terror.
He also remains committed to the education reforms he spearheaded in 2001.
All discretionary spending must be kept in check and taxes must remain low to stimulate economic growth.
We endorse the President's pro-growth economic policies and his disciplined approach to spending taxpayers' dollars.
And we applaud the efforts of President Bush and Republicans in Congress to meet our nation's priorities and cut the deficit by more than half within five years.
PAYGO
Tax cuts and spending are not the same.
They do not have the same effect on the economy or on the federal budget.
Tax cuts allow American workers, families, business owners, and investors to keep more of their own money.
New spending requires the government to take control of a bigger slice of the economy.
We recognize that the problem is not that the American people are taxed too little but that the federal government spends too much.
To ensure that the federal government respects the burdens on taxpayers and spends only as much as is necessary to accomplish our common goals, we support extending the pay-as-you-go requirement for mandatory spending only.
Limiting Spending Growth
Spending limits will help Congress restrain the growth of government.
We support a cap on discretionary spending that will limit the growth of overall spending while ensuring that priorities such as our nation's security will continue to be met.
We applaud President Bush for submitting a budget for 2005 that provides significant increases in funding to win the War on Terror and protect the homeland, while limiting the growth in all other non-security related discretionary spending to less than one percent.
Line-Item Veto
To further the goal of respecting taxpayers' dollars and restraining spending, we endorse the creation of a line-item veto, which the President could use consistent with the Constitution to reject new appropriations, new mandatory spending, or limited grants of tax benefits (to 100 or fewer beneficiaries) whenever he determines the spending or tax benefits are not essential priorities.
Under this approach, all savings from the line-item veto would be used for deficit reduction, and could not be applied to other spending.
Governors across the nation already have and use this tool to reduce unnecessary spending.
The President should have the same option.
Sunset Commission
It is often said that a government program is the closest man has come to achieving immortality.
Government programs are designed with specific purposes, and they ought to be assessed to determine whether they are meeting their goals.
We endorse creating a commission to evaluate discretionary spending on federal agencies and programs to ensure that taxpayer funds are being used for the best, most efficient purposes.
Such a commission would determine whether certain programs are duplicative, wasteful or inefficient, outdated or irrelevant, or failed.
It would recommend to Congress programs that could be terminated, moved, or restructured to make the government more efficient.
Management Agenda
New government programs are frequently created with little review of programs that already exist to address the same perceived problem.
Over time, numerous programs with overlapping missions and competing agendas grow up alongside one another - wasting money and baffling citizens.
We support President Bush's vision for government reform, which is guided by three principles.
Government should be: citizen-centered, not bureaucracy-centered; results-oriented; and market-based, actively promoting rather than stifling innovation through competition.
The President's management agenda is an effective tool for making sure government is active but limited, focusing on results and obtaining them efficiently.
Corporate Accountability
The Republican Party respects and appreciates the private sector as the primary creator of jobs, economic growth, opportunity, and prosperity in our society.
The private sector functions most effectively when laws are transparent and people respect them - this includes people in positions of power.
When corporate leaders break the law, they should be punished.
After fraudulent corporate practices rooted in the irrational exuberance of the late 1990s began to surface in the closing months of 2001, President Bush worked with the Congress to take decisive action to restore honesty and integrity to America's corporate boardrooms.
In July 2002, President Bush signed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the most farreaching reform of American business practices since the 1940s.
Under this new law, CEOs and Chief Financial Officers are required to personally vouch for the truth and fairness of their companies' disclosures; for the first time, an independent board has been established to oversee the accounting profession; investigators have been given new tools to root out corporate fraud; and enhanced penalties are ensuring that dishonest corporate officials do hard time.
We applaud President Bush for vigorously enforcing the law to deter and punish further corporate abuses.
He established an interagency Corporate Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute financial crimes; to recover the proceeds of those crimes; and to hold corporate criminals to account.
Since the Task Force was established two years ago, over 700 violators have been charged and over 300 convictions or guilty pleas secured, including more than 25 former CEOs.
More than $1 billion in forfeited funds has also been recovered from corporate wrongdoers for return to defrauded creditors and investors.
Separately, the enforcement budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has more than doubled, and the SEC has issued new rules to ban latetrading and other fraudulent practices engaged in by certain mutual funds.
Thanks to swift and decisive action by President Bush and the Congress, Americans can trust that corporate executives who operate outside the law will be prosecuted.
Enforcing Trade Agreements and Opening New Markets
International trade has become the world's most powerful economic force, and Americans are seeing great benefits from free and fair trade.
Exports accounted for about 25 percent of the economic growth in the 1990s and supported about 12 million jobs.
An additional 6 million jobs are made possible by companies based in foreign countries investing here in the United States.
Consumers have benefited - recent trade agreements save the average family of four $2000 per year by lowering regulatory barriers, eliminating tariffs, and providing more consumer choices.
Free trade must be fair trade that advances America's economic goals and protects American jobs.
To achieve this goal, we must act globally, regionally, and bilaterally to negotiate new trade agreements and enforce existing trade commitments.
We must be at the table when trade agreements are negotiated, make the interests of American workers and farmers paramount, and ensure that the drive to open new markets is successful.
We reject moves toward economic isolationism.
America is the best place in the world to do business, and our workers and products are the best in the world.
On a level playing field we can outmatch any other nation.
We applaud the President's actions to open foreign markets to American manufacturing products, agricultural goods, services, and intellectual property, while ensuring enforcement of trade agreements so that other nations live up to their promises.
In 2000 we resolved to renew Trade Promotion Authority so the President could more easily negotiate trade agreements.
In 2002 President Bush and Republicans in Congress did exactly that.
After lapsing for eight years, the law now allows President Bush to work with other countries to reduce barriers to our products and services.
And he is using the new authority:
• The Bush Administration has negotiated trade agreements with 12 countries.
• They have made progress on agreements with another 10 countries.
•These free trade partners represent $2. 5 trillion in purchasing power - the equivalent of America's third-largest export market.
•The agreements include high levels of protection and strong enforcement measures for intellectual property.
•The Administration has also made significant progress in negotiating multi-lateral trade agreements, having just last month revived World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations for the final phase of the Doha round.
• The revival of these negotiations opens the door to lower tariffs on consumer and industrial goods, reductions in tariffs and trade-distorting export subsidies on agricultural products, and market access and lower regulatory barriers for services.
The vitality of the U.S. trade agenda depends upon the vigorous enforcement of U.S. trade laws against unfair competition.
We will not tolerate foreign practices, rules, and subsidization that put our exports and manufacturers on an unequal footing.
It is not enough to secure signatures on a piece of paper; our trading partners must follow through on the promises they make.
As part of its trade enforcement efforts, the Bush Administration has imposed more anti-dumping orders on average each year than the previous Administration.
The United States was the first country in the world to impose a safeguard action against Chinese textile and apparel imports and to file a case against China in the WTO.
China settled that case, agreeing to repeal its subsidy of semiconductors that was penalizing U.S. manufacturers.
Also this year, through bilateral consultations with China, the United States resolved seven other potential trade disputes over high technology products, agriculture, and intellectual property protection.
We strongly endorse the Bush Administration's unprecedented effort to persuade and encourage China to desist in its policy of manipulating its currency to give Chinese manufacturers an artificial advantage in global markets.
Reforming the Litigation System
America's litigation system is broken.
Junk and frivolous lawsuits are driving up the cost of doing business in America by forcing companies to pay excessive legal expenses to fight off or settle often baseless lawsuits.
Those costs are being paid by small business owners, manufacturers, their employees, and consumers.
A typical small business with $10 million in annual revenue pays about $150,000 a year in tort liability costs.
That is money that could be used to invest and hire new employees.
Inefficiency and waste in the legal system is costing the average American family of four $1,800 every year, equivalent to an extra 3 percent tax on wages.
And the bulk of jury awards to plaintiffs don't even go to the people who deserve it.
Injured persons on average collect less than 50 cents of every dollar that the legal system costs.
Trial lawyers get rich from the misfortune of others.
If small business is America's economic engine, trial lawyers are the brakes: They cost hundreds of thousands of good jobs, drive honest employers out of business, deprive women of critical medical care - then skip out with fat wallets and nary a thought for the economic havoc and human misery they leave in their wake.
We praise President Bush and Republicans in Congress for their efforts to reform the legal system by passing meaningful class action reform, asbestos reform, and medical liability reform.
And we call to account Senate Democrats and the powerful trial lawyer lobby, who have shown no shame in utilizing obstructionist tactics to thwart the efforts of majorities in Congress to provide meaningful relief to all Americans.
The Republican Party reaffirms its support for meaningful reform of the legal system, and will continue its fight to guarantee the rights of all plaintiffs to swift and speedy justice.
Transportation
A safe and efficient transportation system is essential to keeping people and goods moving and cities and communities prosperous.
Congestion and delay not only waste our time as individuals, they also burden businesses and our entire economy with inefficiency and higher costs.
Republicans strongly support a comprehensive transportation policy agenda that enhances safety, reduces congestion, modernizes infrastructure, and promotes economic growth.
Our national railroad network is a crucial component of our public transportation system.
Railroads helped build our country, and our national passenger railroad network plays a key role in transportation and economic growth.
Republicans support, where economically viable, the development of a high-speed passenger railroad system as an instrument of economic development and enhanced mobility.
Republicans support a healthy intercity passenger rail system.
Amtrak provides a valuable service to passengers, especially in the Northeast corridor.
But we recognize that the goal of establishing a national passenger rail system with modest federal support has failed to materialize.
Clearly the financial problems plaguing Amtrak cannot be solved simply by continued infusions of taxpayer dollars.
Fundamental reforms should be enacted to transition Amtrak into operational self-sufficiency.
Ensuring an Affordable, Reliable, More Independent Energy Supply
A stable, affordable, more independent energy supply is vital to fueling America's economic growth, increasing prosperity, helping families afford prices at the pump, and making America more secure.
President Bush and Republicans in Congress recognize the need for a balanced energy policy that increases both energy production and conservation.
We need a comprehensive energy policy so that we will no longer lurch from one energy crisis to the next.
Recent electricity blackouts, the California energy crisis, natural gas and oil price spikes, and high gasoline prices remind us that only a comprehensive energy policy will produce energy stability for America's families and businesses.
As one of his first acts in office, President Bush released the National Energy Policy (NEP) report, a comprehensive plan to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of energy by increasing domestic energy production and supporting conservation and alternative and renewable energy.
The President's proposal would make America more energy independent while creating jobs and promoting economic growth.
It includes over 100 recommendations, nearly half of which addressed renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation.
President Bush has implemented nearly every nonlegislative recommendation outlined in the NEP report.
Republicans in the House and Senate have stood solidly with the President.
We endorse the President's policy, appreciate the hard work of Congressional Republicans in the face of intractable partisan opposition, and urge final passage of a bill to secure America's energy future.
•Republicans support developing new technologies for more efficient generation and use of power.
New technologies will allow us to create new job-producing industries and save jobs in industries that have long been staples of America's economy.
For instance, working with Congressional Republicans, the President has already committed $2 billion over 10 years for clean coal research and development - which helps keep America's coal industry strong and reduces the emissions associated with coal use.
As part of that commitment, we support FutureGen, an international, public-private initiative to build the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen research power plant that would burn coal more cleanly.
President Bush's Clear Skies Initiative would create a $50 billion private market to deploy these clean coal technologies.
•The Republican Party supports research and investment designed to realize the enormous benefits of a hydrogen economy and put the United States on the cutting edge of energy technology.
The FreedomCar Partnership and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative include $1. 7 billion over five years to begin building hydrogen cars and the infrastructure to support them.
•Using the most sophisticated technologies, we can explore and develop oil resources here at home with minimal environmental impact.
Our Party continues to support energy development in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, holds as much as 16 billion barrels of oil - enough to replace oil imports from Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years.
The drilling footprint can be confined to just 2,000 acres (the entire refuge contains 19 million acres), about the size of Washington's Dulles Airport, on ice roads that melt away in the summer, leaving little trace of human intervention.
We have already wasted precious time.
If the previous Administration had not vetoed the ANWR proposal passed by the Republican Congress in 1995, at this moment ANWR would be producing up to one million barrels of oil a day.
• Republicans strongly support removing unnecessary barriers to domestic natural gas production and expanding environmentally sound production in new areas, such as Alaska and the Rocky Mountains.
Increasing supply, including the construction of a new natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48, will bring needed relief to consumers and make America's businesses more competitive in the global marketplace.
•Last summer, the largest blackout in North American history affected 8 states, leaving more than 50 million Americans without power.
Republicans support measures to modernize the nation's electricity grid to prevent future blackouts and provide American consumers and businesses with more affordable, reliable power.
We will work to unleash innovation so entrepreneurs can develop technologies for a more advanced and robust transmission system that meets our growing energy demands.
We also support the establishment of mandatory, enforceable reliability rules for electric utilities to reduce the likelihood of future blackouts.
•Republicans will continue to support renewable energy through extension of the production tax credit for wind and biomass, as well as efforts to expand the use of biodiesel and ethanol, which can reduce America's dependence on foreign oil while increasing revenues to farmers.
•Nuclear power provides America with affordable, emissions-free energy.
We believe nuclear power can help reduce our dependence on foreign energy and play an invaluable role in addressing global climate change.
President Bush supports construction of new nuclear power plants through the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, and continues to move forward on creating an environmentally sound nuclear waste repository.
Education: No Child Left Behind
Public education, access for every child to an excellent education, is a foundation of a free, civil society.
The children who enter schools today will leave as young adults, full of dreams for the future.
They will soon become the scientists and researchers who make great discoveries, the engineers and mathematicians who build our communities, the doctors and nurses who heal and comfort the sick, the teachers who will educate the next generation, the leaders who transform government, the poets, artists, and writers who entertain and inspire.
Every child deserves a first-rate education, because every child holds infinite potential, and we should give them every opportunity to reach it.
We believe there is an inseparable link between a vibrant economy and a highquality education system.
It takes a vibrant economy to provide the tax base necessary to fund a high-quality education system.
Equally, it takes a quality education system to provide the highly skilled labor force necessary to meet the demands of a growing, vibrant economy.
Strong schools will also produce a workforce with the skills to compete in the 21st century economy.
We must have citizens capable of conceiving the next generation of new technologies and innovations, mastering the art of analyzing problems and crafting their solutions.
Education is the key to prosperity and fulfillment - the foundation on which all other success is built.
On just his fourth day in office, President Bush presented the No Child Left Behind initiative to Congress.
Less than a year later, he secured an overwhelming bipartisan majority to pass the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
It was the most significant overhaul of federal education policy since 1965.
And it became a promise kept to parents, students, teachers, and every American.
The law is based on four fundamental pillars:
• Ensuring stronger accountability for student achievement, for all children
• Encouraging education methods that work
• Providing flexibility and control to states and local communities
•Giving parents more information about the quality of their children's schools and offering them choices and resources for their children's education
Results are now measured on the basis of student achievement rather than simply dollars spent.
Students are benefiting from education reforms that set high academic standards, encourage strong parental involvement, recognize the role of excellent teachers, foster safe and orderly classrooms, and establish a commitment to teaching the basics of reading and math.
With this success, Republicans have transformed the debate on education.
We are the Party parents can trust to improve schools and provide opportunity for all children, in every neighborhood, regardless of background or income.
We are the party willing to embrace new ideas and put them to the test.
Americans agree that the status quo in education is no longer acceptable.
We have challenged low expectations and poor achievement, and we are seeing results.
Now is the time to extend the progress we've made.
The No Child Left Behind Act is already showing gains in elementary school, as student achievement scores for fourth- and eighth-graders have increased in classrooms across America.
Our next mission is to take the reforms that we know are working in elementary schools and apply them up and down the education ladder - starting in early childhood education, so that children enter school ready to learn, and finishing in high school, so that every young adult who graduates has the skills he or she needs to succeed in the 21st century economy.
For too long, the value of a high school diploma has declined as students leave school without even basic skills like reading and math, let alone the advanced math and science skills the modern workforce demands.
We pledge to bring real reform to high schools.
Thanks to President Bush's vision and the success of the No Child Left Behind Act, we have a track record worthy of Americans' trust.
Local Control
We recognize that under the American Constitutional system, education is a state, local, and family responsibility, not a federal obligation.
Since over 90 percent of public school funding is state and local, not federal, it is obvious that state and local governments must assume most of the responsibility to improve the schools, and the role of the federal government must be limited as we return control to parents, teachers, and local school boards.
Historic Levels of Funding
President Bush and Congressional Republicans have provided the largest increase in federal education funding in history and the highest percentage gain since the 1960s.
Support for elementary and secondary education has had the largest increase in any single Presidential term since the 1960s - an increase of nearly 50 percent since 2001.
The President and Congress are particularly focused on programs for America's neediest students, including minorities and children with special needs.
With this increased funding comes a new focus on achievement and results.
High Standards and Accountability
The President and Republicans in Congress recognize that states and local communities are most directly responsible for the quality of education in their schools.
That is why the No Child Left Behind Act stipulates that the states, not the federal government, develop an accountability plan that will work best for them.
Since President Bush signed NCLB into law, all states have developed an accountability plan of assessments, graduation rates, and other key indicators of student achievement for all individual students and groups of students.
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, every child counts.
No child will be hidden in a maze of numbers.
If some children are struggling while others succeed, we will praise success and deliver help to students who need it.
Reading
Our Party believes, as does the President, that reading is the new civil right.
Every child must be able to read by the end of the third grade.
The President and Congressional Republicans have taken important steps to help every student achieve that goal.
The Reading First initiative brings scientifically based reading instruction, including phonics, to children in the early grades.
Over $1. 4 billion in funding for reading programs provides training for teachers and materials for children.
In addition, since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, states have received additional funds for early childhood reading efforts.
Options for Parents
The Republican Party strongly supports school choice, because choice creates competition and competition puts the focus on quality.
President Bush, Republican governors, and members of Congress have worked to expand parental choice and encourage competition by providing parents with information on their child's school, increasing the number of charter schools, and expanding education savings accounts for use from kindergarten through college.
Under NCLB, states and school districts publish report cards showing how well students are achieving so communities and parents can know how well their schools are doing.
Parents of children in schools identified as needing improvement can choose another public school or get tutoring or other help for their child.
President Bush and the Republican Congress enacted the D.C. School Choice initiative - the first federally funded school choice demonstration program.
We commend the President and Congress for making DC's schoolchildren the most important special interest in education improvement.
And we support state efforts to expand school choice, as well as the President's call to provide funding for new and existing charter schools, including assistance for school facilities.
We believe that competition between schools is an effective option to improve the educational benefits for our children.
The Republican Party supports the efforts of parents who choose faith-based and other nonpublic school options for their children.
High School Education
We are beginning to see success as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act at the elementary level, and now we must improve our high schools so that every graduate is prepared for the rigors of college, for the best jobs of the 21st century economy, or for military service.
President Bush has proposed a number of initiatives to improve math and science education, help striving readers, and raise standards for high schools.
Supporting Teachers
Research confirms what every parent knows to be true through commonsense and experience - a good teacher makes all the difference in a child's education.
The No Child Left Behind Act set the goal of having a highly qualified teacher in every classroom by the 2005-2006 school year.
States have been provided flexibility and resources to make sure teachers have the skills and tools to be successful with all children.
These needed reforms are backed by historic levels of funding for teacher quality initiatives and support for teachers, including training, recruitment incentives, loan forgiveness, and tax relief.
We must also work to reduce the barriers that are keeping qualified professionals from entering the classroom by expanding alternative pathways to teacher certification - programs like Troops to Teachers, which helps former military personnel become classroom teachers; and Transition to Teaching, which provides training for people who want to become teachers and encourages states to develop and expand alternative routes to teacher licensure and certification.
Every teacher and every student deserves a safe classroom in which to work and learn.
The No Child Left Behind Act ensures that teachers and other school professionals can undertake reasonable actions to maintain order and discipline in the classroom without the fear of litigation.
The law provides civil immunity in any state court and limits the financial liability of teachers, instructors, principals, administrators, and other education professionals for actions taken to maintain discipline, order, or control in the school or classroom.
Head Start and Early Childhood Education
We support the President's "Good Start, Grow Smart" initiative, which strengthens Head Start by increasing accountability in the program so that students start kindergarten with the early skills they need.
It also includes the Early Reading First initiative, designed to improve existing early education programs to prepare young children to succeed in school, especially those from low-income families.
States should be able to coordinate preschool programs with Head Start programs in exchange for meeting certain accountability requirements.
Community Colleges
Community colleges play a vital role in not only cultivating citizens for the 21st century, but also equipping them with the essential skills and training needed for jobs in the new economy.
Because they are so adaptable and accessible, community colleges are increasingly critical providers of job training, both for degree-seekers and for workers seeking to retool, refine, and broaden their skills.
We support the President's HighGrowth Job Training Initiative, which has provided seed money to fund job training partnerships between community colleges and local high-growth industries.
Higher Education Affordability
Republicans are working to ensure that college is affordable and accessible for America's low- and middle-income families through increased funding of grants, lowinterest student loans, and tax breaks for working families.
As a result of Republican leadership, total student aid for higher education has increased to a historic $73 billion proposed for 2005.
Next year, almost 10 million students and parents will receive one or more grants, loans, or work-study awards.
The President has requested record levels of Pell Grant funding.
These grants will help an estimated 5. 3 million low-income students pay for higher education - one million more students than when President Bush and Vice President Cheney came to office.
Under a new Enhanced Pell Grant proposal, low-income students who take a rigorous high school curriculum - the kind of curriculum that will best prepare them for success in college - will be eligible to receive an additional $1,000 per year.
To ensure that America remains the world leader in the innovation economy - and to ensure that America's graduates have the training they need to compete for the best jobs of the 21st century - President Bush proposes to expand opportunities for math and science education in colleges and universities.
Needy students studying math and science will be eligible to receive additional college aid.
Republicans have made Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) a priority.
For more than a century, HBCUs and HSIs have played a vital role in providing opportunities for excellence in higher education to millions of African American and Hispanic students.
Today, their mission continues, and it deserves our support.
We applaud President Bush for fulfilling his pledge to increase funding for HBCUs and HSIs by 30 percent since 2001.
Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families.
We support legislation prohibiting gambling over the Internet or in student athletics by student athletes who are participating in competitive sports.
Training Our 21st Century Workforce
As the dynamic global economy forces many workers to consider changing fields or adding new skills, the President and Republican Congress want to make training for new jobs easier to come by and more flexible in providing individualized assistance.
Ensuring that workers have the tools they need to succeed in the 21st Century Economy is a critical step in helping Americans be self-sufficient and successful.
It is also critical to maintaining our position as the most productive and strongest economy in the world.
We support effective and enhanced job training programs that offer states additional flexibility and individuals more choice to design their own workforce training programs.
The President's Personal Reemployment Accounts would provide unemployed workers flexible support and incentives in finding a job.
And President Bush and Congressional Republicans are also providing unprecedented assistance for workers adversely affected by foreign trade - including additional training, income support, and health care assistance.
With English as our nation's common language, people from every corner of the world have come together to build this great nation.
English empowers.
For newcomers, it is the fastest route to mainstream American life, better paying jobs, and owning a piece of the American Dream.
Furthermore, fluency in English should be the goal of bilingual education.
At the same time, mastery of other languages is important for America's competitiveness in the world market.
We advocate foreign language training in our schools and fostering respect for other languages and cultures throughout society.
Protecting the Rights of Workers
We affirm the time-honored right of individuals to voluntarily participate in labor organizations and tobargain collectively.
We also believe that no American should be coerced into an association they do not wish to join.
And no one should be kept out of a job for which they are qualified simply because they choose to remain independent of labor unions.
We therefore support the right of states to enact Right-to-Work laws.
Republicans respect the enormous sacrifices and commitment of the workers, including building tradesmen, who responded to the attacks of September 11th.
Thanks to their skill, courage, and patriotism, the very dangerous work at the World Trade Center and Pentagon was done remarkably quickly and without a single fatality.
We will always remember and honor the efforts of the rescue and recovery workers who dedicated countless hours to helping America recover.
All American workers deserve workplaces that are safe, healthy, and fair.
The President and Republican Congress have supported efforts to improve workplace safety without burdening businesses with costly and unnecessary regulations.
And these efforts are showing results - overall workplace fatalities and injuries are at record low levels.
American workers deserve fair wages for hours spent working overtime.
We are proud of the fact that 1. 3 million additional workers now have guaranteed overtime protections as a result of Republican efforts to modernize labor laws left untouched since 1949.
For the first time ever, the regulations explicitly guarantee overtime protection to blue collar workers, police, firefighters, EMTs, factory workers, construction workers, and licensed practical nurses, among others.
With clearly defined overtime rules that recognize the realities of the modern workforce, employees and employers will have a greater understanding of their rights and responsibilities.
Workers who pay dues through their workplace deserve to know how their dues are being used - especially when the money is being used to support political activity.
Republicans have enhanced financial disclosure requirements for political campaigns, corporations, and pension funds in order to bring about more transparency and accountability in the political system.
And the Bush Administration improved union financial disclosure forms to offer union members more information about how their dues money is spent.
We encourage management and unions to find common ground thereby ensuring economic viability for both.
Men and women who retire after decades spent in the workforce are entitled to the pensions they and their employers have contributed to throughout their careers.
As part of the 2001 economic growth and tax relief bill, workers' pension payments are now calculated on the basis of their best three years of earnings rather than their last three.
This protects workers whose earnings decline with their age.
In addition, criminal prosecutions against employers and plan trustees who abuse pension and health plans have increased by more than 50 percent since 2001.
More than $3 billion has been secured through court judgments, settlements, and fines covering 150 million workers and their dependents by holding those who manage benefit plans accountable for their legal obligations to protect plan participants.
Thanks to Republican efforts to enforce the law, the word is getting out that benefits managers should invest and manage employees' retirement funds as carefully as they would handle their own.
Republicans recognize the historical federal health care promise made to coal industry retirees.
The Party will seek to ensure that health care needs of "orphan retirees" in the coal industry will be covered and will seek to ensure the continuation of those benefits.
True Solutions for Affordable, High-Quality Health Care
The cost of providing health care for employees is a major burden for American businesses.
Health insurance costs for employers have been rising every year since 1996, causing businesses to hire fewer new employees and too many families to go without insurance.
Studies show that 60 percent of uninsured Americans either work for a small business or are dependent upon someone who does.
The way to alleviate that burden is to bring down the cost of health care in America.
Shifting the cost-burden onto the federal or state governments - costs that will ultimately be borne by the taxpayers - is not an effective solution to the problem.
We must attack the root causes of high health care costs by: aiding small businesses in offering health care to their employees; empowering the self-employed through access to affordable coverage; putting patients and doctors in charge of medical decisions; reducing junk lawsuits and limiting punitive damage awards that raise the cost of health care; and seizing the cost-saving and quality-enhancing potential of emerging health technologies.
It is also important that we reaffirm our Party's firm rejection of any measure aimed at making health care a government-run enterprise.
Association Health Plans (AHPs)
We support legislation to enable small employers to pool together to offer health insurance options to their employees.
The legislation, already passed by the House, gives small businesses the same purchasing power currently enjoyed by large employers and labor unions.
This will go a long way toward providing health care coverage for America's uninsured, 60 percent of whom are estimated to work for or be dependent on someone who works for a small business.
Medical Liability Reform
The medical liability system is harming our medical delivery system.
Doctors are afraid to practice medicine.
Frequent, unwarranted, lawsuits force doctors out of certain specialty areas and geographic regions.
The most dangerous result of this is the declining availability of emergency trauma care and women's health services.
In many cases, costs are so prohibitive that many obstetrics/gynecology practices are scaling back service or choosing not to practice altogether.
Junk lawsuits add at least $60 billion to health care costs in America because doctors are forced to practice defensive medicine, ordering extensive, unnecessary, and expensive tests and procedures to keep trial lawyers at bay.
The President has proposed, and the Republican House of Representatives has passed, reforms that would speed compensation to injured patients, reduce health care costs, and improve Americans' access to quality health care.
Shamefully driven by the powerful trial lawyer lobby, Democrat Senators have repeatedly thwarted the efforts of the Republican majority to deliver meaningful medical liability reform.
They have employed their obstructionist tactics three times in the current Congress alone.
The Republican Party reaffirms its commitment to putting patients and doctors ahead of trial lawyers.
We will continue to battle for litigation reforms that help keep doctors in practice, adopt reasonable caps on non-economic awards in medical malpractice suits, and ensure that Americans have access to quality affordable health care.
Health Information Technology
Estimates indicate that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors, while as much as $300 billion is spent each year on health care that does not help patients - unnecessary, inappropriate, inefficient, or ineffective treatments.
This is absolutely unacceptable.
High costs, medical errors, administrative inefficiencies, and poor coordination are all closely connected to our failure to use health information technology as an integral part of medical care.
Republicans support President Bush's goal of ensuring that most Americans have electronic health records within the next 10 years.
He has requested funding for demonstration projects for broader adoption of health IT systems in communities and states.
Already, the use of health IT in the Veterans Administration has shown improvements in the quality of care and reductions in the cost.
The Administration is working with private sector innovators to develop reliable, secure methods of storing personal medical information that will broaden the benefits of health IT.
Privacy is paramount, and participation by patients will be voluntary.
These electronic health records will be designed to share information among and between health care providers only when authorized by a patient.
Advances at the nexus of science and technology raise serious moral and legal questions.
For example, although medical conditions have been linked to certain genetic markers, there is no certainty that many of these diseases will actually develop.
There is growing concern that employers and insurance companies will use genetic information to discriminate by denying jobs or insurance coverage to individuals who have predictive genetic markers for certain diseases.
We support efforts to enact genetic discrimination legislation that is fair, reasonable, and consistent with existing laws to prevent discrimination.
In addition, we must take action to allow doctors and hospitals to review best practices without fear of litigation.
By sharing information, health professionals can determine ways to avoid errors and complications.
These efforts are blocked, however, because good-faith efforts to improve quality and safety are targets for lawsuits based on new information that is made public in the review process.
We support the work of the President and Republicans in Congress on legislation to make it possible for health professionals to work together more effectively to provide the best possible care for all patients.
Investing in Science, Technology, and Telecommunications
Republicans recognize that the role of government in the 21st century economy is to foster an environment in which innovation can flourish.
The Information Revolution is the product of the creative efforts and hard work of men and women in the private sector who have had the freedom to innovate.
At the same time, we recognize the magnitude and pace of change require vigilance by government to make the most of the opportunities, mitigate the possible downsides of rapid technological advancement, and protect the technology industry from modern day pirates at home and abroad - both those who violate copyrights and those who loot by litigation.
The technological innovation we have experienced thus far is surely only the beginning of almost unimaginable growth and change.
We will seize this historic opportunity.
Manufacturing
The United States remains the largest producer and exporter of manufactured goods in the world, despite enduring significant challenges during the economic downturn.
The U.S. needs a national minerals strategy to supply the country with minerals and metals vital to national and economic security and to the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing.
The continued primacy of U.S. manufacturing is due in large part to the Administration's manufacturing initiative, which represents the first time in modern history that an Administration has made U.S. manufacturing a top priority.
We support the Administration's efforts in this regard as a recognition of the critical role of manufacturing to job creation, national security, and the economy.
Research and Development
America's economy is undergoing a fundamental transition from one based primarily on manufacturing to one based on innovation, services, and ideas.
Two-thirds of America's economic growth in the 1990s resulted from the introduction of new technology and 60 percent of the new jobs of the 21st century require post-secondary education, yet only one-third of America's workforce has achieved that level.
In order to maintain America's global leadership, Republicans have provided unprecedented support for federal research and development to help spur innovation.
Federal R&D funding is up 44 percent from 2001 to $132 billion in 2005, which includes a 26 percent increase in support for basic research.
The President has doubled the budget for the National Institutes of Health and increased the National Science Foundation budget by 30 percent.
President Bush and the Republican Party also support making the R&D tax credit permanent.
The rapid pace of technological development demands that we remain on the leading edge of innovation and science.
Republicans are committed to providing the investment and incentives needed to foster next generation technologies.
The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, passed by a Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, increased funding for nanotechnology research.
In addition, the President has dedicated $1. 7 billion over five years to develop hydrogen fuel cells and related next-generation energy technologies.
The President's support for NASA and vision for space exploration will also enhance scientific development and technological breakthroughs.
Telecommunications
Broadband provides Americans with high-speed Internet access connections that improve the nation's economic productivity and offer life-enhancing applications, such as distance learning, remote medical diagnostics, and the ability to work from home more effectively.
Broadband technology will enhance our nation's economic competitiveness and will help improve education and health care for all Americans.
Republicans have implemented a wide range of policies to create economic incentives, remove regulatory barriers, and promote new technologies, all of which are essential to making broadband competitively available and affordable.
President Bush established the goal of providing every American with access to affordable broadband by 2007.
We recognize that taxing broadband access would increase its cost to consumers and stifle the extension of broadband service.
The President has signed into law a two-year extension of the Internet Access Tax moratorium and is working with Congressional Republicans to pass legislation that would explicitly extend the moratorium to broadband and make it permanent.
Republicans are working to reduce burdensome regulations that discourage broadband investment.
High-speed Internet access should not be governed by regulations established decades ago for the telephone.
Consumers should have more options for affordable broadband access.
The promise of broadband over power lines and wireless Internet access provide new opportunities to connect households, schools, and businesses to the Internet.
Under the President's leadership, the Administration has nearly doubled the amount of spectrum available for innovative wireless broadband applications such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max.
Republican policies are working:
•Broadband adoption has grown 300 percent from December 2000 to December 2003 - from 7 million to 28 million lines.
• Over 93 percent of zip codes have broadband access.
• Ninety-four percent of public schools have broadband access to the Internet.
By applying 21st century policy to 21st century technology, we will encourage new investment that will bring broadband to even more homes in more areas of America.
STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITIES
"The measure of compassion is more than good intentions, it is good results.
By being involved and by taking responsibility upon ourselves, we gain something….
We contribute to the life of our country.
We become more than taxpayers and occasional voters, we become citizens.
Citizens, not spectators.
Citizens who hear the call of duty, who stand up for their beliefs, who care for their families, who control their lives, and who treat their neighbors with respect and compassion.”
- President George W. Bush
Community is more than just a set of streets and sidewalks and homes.
The strength of communities is the people who inhabit them, the American citizens who spend their days working, striving, and caring for their families, and advancing toward the realization of their dreams.
To ensure that all Americans have an opportunity to build better lives, we must provide the framework in which communities can flourish.
That requires access to affordable and accessible health care, protection of America's environment and natural resources, the maintenance of public safety and prosecution of people who violate the peace of communities, guaranteed rights and equal opportunities for all members of society, and compassionate help for our fellow citizens who are trapped in unhealthy or harmful situations.
Republicans know that the heart and soul of America are found in communities across the nation.
We honor the individual character and diversity of communities throughout America, and we seek to help citizens strengthen the places they call home.
Promoting Affordable, Accessible Health Care
Republicans recognize that health care is intrinsic to every family's economic comfort.
Americans must have the security to know that the next illness will not wipe out their savings or drive them into debt.
We appreciate the fact that market-based health care has given America the most advanced medical system in the world.
Proposals discussed earlier, such as Health Savings Accounts and Association Health Plans, provide economic benefits while also making health care more consumer-driven and increasing access to high-quality, affordable health care.
We reject any notion of government-run universal health care because we have seen evidence from around the world that government-run health care leads to inefficiencies, long waiting periods, and often substandard health care.
And we applaud efforts by President Bush and the Republican Congress to reform the broken medical liability system that is raising health care costs and limiting patients' access to doctors - doctors who are being driven out of their practices by excessive medical liability costs.
We support continued efforts to make health care more affordable, more accessible, and more consumer-driven.
Strengthening Medicare
In 2003, the Congress passed and President Bush signed historic legislation that strengthens and adds a prescription drug benefit to Medicare.
The new prescription drug benefit will be available to 40 million seniors and people with disabilities on January 1, 2006.
Until that time, beneficiaries have access to immediate and significant savings on prescription drugs through Medicare-approved prescription drug discount cards.
Since drug discount cards became available on June 1, four million Medicare beneficiaries have enrolled in the program and 100,000 more enroll each week.
Seniors are saving up to 30 percent off the retail price of brand name drugs and up to 60 percent off the price of generic drugs.
In addition, more help is available for those who need it most.
Lowincome seniors receive $600 this year and next year to assist them with the costs of their prescriptions.
Under the new drug benefit, seniors who like the coverage they have today can keep it.
The new law will encourage employers to continue their retiree health benefits by offering them subsidies for their current plans and giving them the option to supplement the new Medicare drug benefit in the same way they supplement current Medicare doctor and hospital benefits.
The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act improves many facets of the Medicare program.
It increases funding for doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, especially in rural areas where reimbursement levels are far below what is paid in other regions of the country.
The new law will also transform Medicare into a program that not only enables the treatment of disease, but helps people stay healthy.
In addition to a new "Welcome to Medicare" physical, the program will contain new services and screenings to help detect and prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other major illnesses.
We also applaud the addition of income relation for the Medicare Part B premium to further protect the Medicare program for the future and to protect low income seniors from increased costs.
We applaud the President and Republicans in Congress for their determination to follow through on this promise to America's seniors.
While others spent many years talking about adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, this President and this Congress got it done.
Community Health Centers
To improve access for the underserved, the Republican Congress and the White House have championed the largest expansion in the history of the community health centers program.
Community health centers are locally-controlled, private providers of primary and preventive care services in the most underserved communities in the country.
Health centers are not federal providers.
Funds are awarded competitively to underserved communities through the federal grant program.
Community health centers provide access to doctors and nurses regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
One in four children from low-income families receives health care at community health centers.
The President and Congress have already made it possible for community health centers to serve an additional 3 million Americans - a total of 13 million - as part of the President's five-year plan to fund 1,200 new or expanded sites to serve an additional 6.1 million people.
Today, there are more than 600 new or expanded health centers delivering preventive and primary care to patients in medically underserved communities across America.
We endorse plans to continue increasing access to community health centers, so that uninsured and low-income Americans have reliable options for receiving high-quality medical care.
Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
The President has worked to help states develop new approaches to expand coverage in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
Waivers and state plan amendments approved by the Department of Health and Human Services have expanded eligibility under these programs to more than 2. 6 million children and improved benefits for more than 8 million children and adults since 2001.
By working with governors of both parties, the Bush Administration is fostering the creation of innovative approaches to health care access and delivery by the states.
We support enhancing efforts to reach the parents of children who are eligible for SCHIP so that more children receive health coverage.
Health Insurance Tax Relief
We applaud the President's commitment to increasing health coverage for all Americans.
He proposed a refundable tax credit that will make health insurance more affordable to millions of Americans who do not have employer-provided insurance or public insurance.
The Treasury Department estimates the tax credit will extend insurance to between four and five million Americans.
The Trade Promotion Authority bill, supported by the Republican Congress and signed by President Bush, provides a tax credit to help workers obtain health insurance coverage if they have lost their jobs due to international trade.
The tax credit has helped thousands of displaced workers get insurance coverage.
Women's Health
As Republicans, we hold dear the health and vitality of our families.
Our efforts to build healthier families must begin with women - our mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and granddaughters.
Women have unique health care needs.
They are underrepresented in medical research and often do not have access to the appropriate level of medical care and treatment.
Across this country, and at all levels of government, Republicans are aggressively developing health care initiatives targeted specifically at the needs of women - through expanded research, treatment, disease management, prevention, and screening initiatives.
The enormous increases in the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) brought about by the Republican Congress and President Bush are making possible groundbreaking clinical trials and new research into diseases and health issues that disproportionately affect women.
This new research also has yielded important discoveries pertaining to conditions that affect the elderly, the majority of whom are women, and should promote future benefit.
The increasing focus upon health care for the elderly holds promise for advances in the treatment of osteoporosis, heart disease, and other ailments that should no longer be considered the inevitable price of old age.
We also are leading efforts to reach out to underserved and minority female populations, where disparities persist in life expectancy, infant mortality, and death rates from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Moreover, we favor increased efforts - both through expanded research and expanded care - to improve maternal and child health care, as well as health care services for women before, during, and after pregnancy.
Republicans are dedicated to pursuing women's health care initiatives that include access to state-of-the-art medical advances and technology; equality for women in the delivery of health care services; medical research that focuses specifically on women; appropriate representation of women in clinical trials; expanded access to prevention, screening, health promotion, chronic care, and disease management services; and direct access to women's health providers.
Eliminating Health Care Disparities
Disparities in health and health care based upon race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or geography are unacceptable.
Historically, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives have experienced poorer health outcomes and received lower-quality care than the majority of Americans.
For example, infant mortality rates are twice as high among African Americans as whites, and African American children are twice as likely to have asthma and six times as likely to die from asthma as white children.
The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Latino populations is four times higher than among whites while the prevalence among African Americans is nine times higher than that of whites.
In addition, Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to die from diabetes as whites, and African American adults are almost twice as likely to die from heart disease as whites.
There is also strong evidence that people living in rural and other non-metropolitan areas, regardless of their race or ethnicity, are more likely to experience access problems and poorer health outcomes.
Republicans are committed to addressing these health and health care disparities.
Progress has been made in recent years in a number of areas, including enhancement of federal research on health disparities, identification of barriers to care for our increasingly diverse population, expansion of the number of health professionals who are committed to serving minority and underserved patients and their communities, and improvement in the quality of care for uninsured and underserved populations.
Republicans believe we must build on this success and increase these efforts.
We strongly support initiatives to improve the quality of care delivered to all Americans.
We applaud President Bush for supporting treatment of mental illness.
Mental and physical illness should be treated equitably and fairly.
In addition, we support improved training for health providers, including efforts to improve communication, collaboration, and understanding between patients and doctors.
We are funding research to find cures and treatments for illnesses that disproportionately affect minority populations, as well as targeted, well-coordinated programs to prevent, manage, and treat these diseases.
We support efforts to encourage qualified minorities to enter the fields of science and medicine.
Investing in Cutting Edge Medical Research
America is the world's leader in developing the medical and pharmaceutical breakthroughs that have revolutionized health care.
President Bush and the Republican Congress recognize and strongly support scientific advancement, especially in the area of biomedical research.
Working together with President Bush, the Republican Congress has fulfilled its pledge to double funding for the National Institutes of Health.
With increased funding, the NIH is now supporting nearly 40,000 projects, an all-time high.
Government investment in biomedical research yields tangible benefits, resulting in decreased death rates, better access to health care, and a better quality of life for all Americans - especially for underserved and minority populations.
Quality research provides benefits including disease prevention, early detection, and new, more effective treatments for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's, and HIV/AIDS.
Republicans continue to be active leaders in setting sound biomedical research policy and remain committed to placing a high priority on continued world leadership in research, while maintaining accountability for the use of resources and a responsibility to uphold the highest ethical standards.
Stem Cell Research
Republicans have supported, and will continue to support, important scientific research without undermining the fundamental ethical principles that have guided medical research in this country for decades.
We especially welcome and encourage a stronger emphasis on adult stem cell and cord blood stem cell research, which has already provided benefits to hundreds of patients and provides real promise for treatments to help millions of Americans.
We recognize that President Bush made a carefully considered decision to allow federal funding for stem cell research for the first time, and did not affect stem cell research in the private sector.
We strongly support the President's policy that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to encourage the future destruction of human embryos.
In addition, we applaud the President's call for a comprehensive ban on human cloning and on the creation of human embryos solely for experimentation.
In August 2001, President Bush stated: "[T]he hope [it] offers is amazing….
Yet the ethics of medicine are not infinitely adaptable.
There is at least one bright line: We do not end some lives for the medical benefit of others.”