At the recent Conservative Party Conference, Government Ministers announced a wide range of policies that will benefit residents across Wetherby and Easingwold.
Huge investment and reforms - including the Prime Minister’s long-term decision to cancel the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 in favour of increasing local investment - will see more reliable transport and better road maintenance, a £2.5 billion tram system across Leeds and West Yorkshire, more frequent trains between Northern cities, and investment to bring local communities back into the rail network – including a new train station at Haxby.
Additionally, the Government has announced further funding for policing and education, further protections for vulnerable children, and more investment in green energy and our energy security.
Commenting, Alec said, “I know that the recent cancellation of the HS2 leg between Manchester and Birmingham has ruffled feathers. I was once a supporter of the project but withdrew my support in 2019 because of the way in which the project would have bulldozed over wide tracks of our constituency without proper consultation, and the contempt with which the company treated local democracy. I welcome the recent announcement to scrap this blank cheque, and instead to invest these funds in localised schemes that will have more direct benefits for our area”.
Here’s a list of announcements from this year’s Conservative Party Conference:
Healthcare:
- £30 million to fund the roll-out of new technology and scans across the NHS.
- Three new medical schools to double the number of medical places by 2031.
- Commissioning research into tackling loneliness and social isolation.
Policing and crime:
- Extending sentences for the most heinous crimes to ensure that life sentences mean life.
- Implementing Jade’s Law to protect vulnerable children with a criminal parent.
- Committing to changing the law to ensure that banks protect free speech.
- Clamping down on parents refusing to pay child maintenance fees.
- Protecting our national heritage by reforming guidance on protections for monuments.
Economy:
- Increasing the National Living Wage to at least £11 an hour – a £1,000 pay rise for the lowest paid workers.
- Launching a call for evidence to reform regulations to help grow the economy.
- Implementing a Long-Term Plan for Towns worth £1 billion to revitalise our towns.
- Investing £3.5 billion in R&D to make the UK a science and technology superpower, with 74% of this being invested outside of London.
- Launching a £370 million fund to boost high-skilled R&D jobs.
- Capping civil service recruitment to boost efficiency and productivity.
- Helping businesses with their cash flow by extending protections and providing tools to help small businesses can action late payments.
Education:
- Banning mobile phones in schools to boost attentiveness and attainment.
- Launching the £60 million Regional Innovation fund to help 100 universities to spread opportunities to local economies.
- Launching a consultation on Minimum Service Levels in Higher Education, ensuring that students get the most value for their money.
Immigration:
- Securing new agreements with Albania, France and the EU to tackle illegal immigration.
- Changes to student visas to ensure that they are not a route for whole families to travel to the UK.
- Commitment to ending the use of asylum hotels.
Defence:
- Investing £4 billion in new submarines to ensure the UK’s long-term security, providing tens of thousands of jobs across the UK.
- Committing to joint fighter jet training alongside Poland, Spain and Italy.
- Increasing the defence budget by the largest amount since the Cold War – to £50 billion.
- Expanding opportunities for veterans and opening up our diplomatic service to ex-Armed Forces.
Transport:
- Preventing the roll-out of blanket 20mph zones.
- Clamping down on predatory traffic fines.
- £2.5 billion for a mass transit system in Leeds and neighbouring cities.
- Connecting the major Northern cities with more frequent and reliable trains.
- Delivering 21 road upgrade and maintenance schemes across the North.
- Extending the £2 bus fare until 2025.
- Investing a record £8.3 billion to fix potholes.
- £50 million to fund road awareness schemes for two million young people.
- £5 million to support walk to school programmes.
Environment:
- Improving the energy efficiencies of social homes with £80 million of funding.
- Investing in new nuclear projects and small modular reactors, with bidding rounds due to end in spring next year.
