This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/03/the-five-key-themes-of-theresa-may-conference-speech
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| The five key themes of Theresa May's conference speech | The five key themes of Theresa May's conference speech |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Party unity | |
| No mention was made of Boris Johnson in Theresa May’s address but her call for unity in the speech’s Brexit section was clearly aimed at him and his supporters on the right of the Tory party. “There’s another reason why we need to come to together. We are entering the toughest phase of the negotiations,” May said, implying that any leadership or other political challenge at this moment would weaken the country’s position. “If we stick together and hold our nerve I know we can get a deal that delivers for Britain.” | |
| There was a further thinly veiled reference to criticism made by Johnson and others of her Chequers negotiating approach. “The people we serve are not interested in debates about the theory of Brexit – their livelihoods depend on making a success of it in practice,” she said in a section of the speech drafted by her chief of staff Gavin Barwell. But while she effectively restated the Chequers position in remarks, she did not use the descriptive term, and instead, borrowing from the language of the hard Brexiters, said she was proposing “a free trade deal that provides for frictionless trade in goods”. | |
| It was “no surprise that we have had a range of different views expressed this week” May added, referring to the often packed hard Brexit fringe events. “But my job as prime minister is to do what I believe to be in the national interest.” | |
| Labour | Labour |
| The prime minister devoted substantial portions of her speech to attacking Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party, a sign arguably that the Conservatives are worried by the threat they pose following a relatively successful opposition conference at Liverpool. | |
| She tried to magnify divisions within Labour, saying “the heirs of Hugh Gaitskell and Barbara Castle, Denis Healey and John Smith” were not on the frontbench. “Their faces stare blankly from the rows behind while another party occupies prime position: the Jeremy Corbyn party.” | She tried to magnify divisions within Labour, saying “the heirs of Hugh Gaitskell and Barbara Castle, Denis Healey and John Smith” were not on the frontbench. “Their faces stare blankly from the rows behind while another party occupies prime position: the Jeremy Corbyn party.” |
| Name-checking a series of past Labour leaders, she provocatively asked “would Clement Attlee, Churchill’s trusted deputy during the second world war, have told the British Jews they didn’t know the meaning of antisemitism?” in an attempt to her paint her party as occupying “a decent, moderate and patriotic” centre-ground. | Name-checking a series of past Labour leaders, she provocatively asked “would Clement Attlee, Churchill’s trusted deputy during the second world war, have told the British Jews they didn’t know the meaning of antisemitism?” in an attempt to her paint her party as occupying “a decent, moderate and patriotic” centre-ground. |
| On two occasions in the speech, May also stole from Corbyn’s “for the many, not the few” slogan – suggesting that she recognises its power. In her formulation, the Conservatives needed “to be a party not for the few, not even for the many, but for everyone who works hard and plays by the rules” – words used in her anti-Labour passage early in the speech and virtually repeated near the end. | On two occasions in the speech, May also stole from Corbyn’s “for the many, not the few” slogan – suggesting that she recognises its power. In her formulation, the Conservatives needed “to be a party not for the few, not even for the many, but for everyone who works hard and plays by the rules” – words used in her anti-Labour passage early in the speech and virtually repeated near the end. |
| End of austerity | End of austerity |
| It is all very well for Theresa May to declare an end to the Conservative party’s austerity policies – but according to her government’s current plans it’s still full steam ahead. | It is all very well for Theresa May to declare an end to the Conservative party’s austerity policies – but according to her government’s current plans it’s still full steam ahead. |
| Barring a U-turn in the budget later this month, the government will continue to freeze household benefits until at least 2020, while welfare cap restrictions on certain types of support will remain until at least 2023. | Barring a U-turn in the budget later this month, the government will continue to freeze household benefits until at least 2020, while welfare cap restrictions on certain types of support will remain until at least 2023. |
| Universal credit will be introduced in more parts of the country in the coming months to noisy opposition, while there is still a benefit cap on the total amount of support households can receive. | Universal credit will be introduced in more parts of the country in the coming months to noisy opposition, while there is still a benefit cap on the total amount of support households can receive. |
| Though it has yet to factor in the impact of the £20bn increase in NHS spending, the last time the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast the proportion of government spending as a percentage of GDP, state expenditure was expected to fall in every year until 2023. | Though it has yet to factor in the impact of the £20bn increase in NHS spending, the last time the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast the proportion of government spending as a percentage of GDP, state expenditure was expected to fall in every year until 2023. |
| May’s promise makes life difficult for the chancellor, Philip Hammond, who has said he will continue to pursue a “balanced approach” to state spending and tax receipts – with the aim of continuing to cut the deficit. | |
| The public finances have improved in recent years, handing the chancellor the potential headroom to lift spending. Hammond is within the 2% deficit to GDP government target, and would have £77bn to spend by 2022 if he maintains the deficit at this level until 2022. | The public finances have improved in recent years, handing the chancellor the potential headroom to lift spending. Hammond is within the 2% deficit to GDP government target, and would have £77bn to spend by 2022 if he maintains the deficit at this level until 2022. |
| However, Brexit could make him reluctant to spend just now, given the dire warnings for the economy and the public finances from a no-deal scenario. | However, Brexit could make him reluctant to spend just now, given the dire warnings for the economy and the public finances from a no-deal scenario. |
| The Tories have also pledged a budget surplus by the mid-2020s, which would make him reluctant to raise spending. | The Tories have also pledged a budget surplus by the mid-2020s, which would make him reluctant to raise spending. |
| The OBR forecasts that, even if spending was allowed to rise to take account of the extra health costs of an ageing population, the deficit would remain roughly flat over the four years to 2025-26 – so something has to give. | The OBR forecasts that, even if spending was allowed to rise to take account of the extra health costs of an ageing population, the deficit would remain roughly flat over the four years to 2025-26 – so something has to give. |
| Cancer care | Cancer care |
| May has unveiled a series of measures to reduce deaths from cancer by dramatically improving Britain’s dismal record in early detection. | May has unveiled a series of measures to reduce deaths from cancer by dramatically improving Britain’s dismal record in early detection. |
| The aim is to increase the proportion of people diagnosed early with the disease from 50% to 75% by 2028. That would mean that by 2028, 55,000 more people would be alive five years after being diagnosed compared with today. | The aim is to increase the proportion of people diagnosed early with the disease from 50% to 75% by 2028. That would mean that by 2028, 55,000 more people would be alive five years after being diagnosed compared with today. |
| This will be achieved by reducing the age at which bowel cancer screening starts in England from 60 to 50, the NHS buying the latest scanners and building more rapid diagnostic centres or “one-stop shops” where patients can have a scan quickly. The plan will be set out more fully in a new cancer strategy, which will be a key element of the NHS’s forthcoming 10-year plan setting out how it will spend its extra £20bn budget by 2023. | This will be achieved by reducing the age at which bowel cancer screening starts in England from 60 to 50, the NHS buying the latest scanners and building more rapid diagnostic centres or “one-stop shops” where patients can have a scan quickly. The plan will be set out more fully in a new cancer strategy, which will be a key element of the NHS’s forthcoming 10-year plan setting out how it will spend its extra £20bn budget by 2023. |
| These are ambitious plans to tackle one of the enduring weaknesses of healthcare in Britain – that cancer diagnosis rates, and thus patients’ chances of survival, are among the worst among OECD countries. | These are ambitious plans to tackle one of the enduring weaknesses of healthcare in Britain – that cancer diagnosis rates, and thus patients’ chances of survival, are among the worst among OECD countries. |
| However, much of what May announced could be undermined by the growing difficulty NHS cancer services are having recruiting and retaining enough doctors and nurses. | However, much of what May announced could be undermined by the growing difficulty NHS cancer services are having recruiting and retaining enough doctors and nurses. |
| Housing | Housing |
| Theresa May knows well that whichever party comes up with the best solution to the housing crisis could hold the keys to the next election. But the government has struggled so far to fix the broken housing market. | Theresa May knows well that whichever party comes up with the best solution to the housing crisis could hold the keys to the next election. But the government has struggled so far to fix the broken housing market. |
| Last year, her chancellor, Philip Hammond, increased the cap on how much councils could borrow against their housing revenue account to £1bn. Town halls welcomed the move but said it didn’t go far enough. | Last year, her chancellor, Philip Hammond, increased the cap on how much councils could borrow against their housing revenue account to £1bn. Town halls welcomed the move but said it didn’t go far enough. |
| Local authorities have long called for the cap to be scrapped in its entirety, arguing that it would free them up to build tens of thousands affordable homes, helping the government meet its target of 300,000 new homes a year. | Local authorities have long called for the cap to be scrapped in its entirety, arguing that it would free them up to build tens of thousands affordable homes, helping the government meet its target of 300,000 new homes a year. |
| However, until now the Treasury held out against several local government secretaries, Sajid Javid notable among them, arguing the debt would have to go on the national balance sheet and would make deficit reduction targets harder to reach. | However, until now the Treasury held out against several local government secretaries, Sajid Javid notable among them, arguing the debt would have to go on the national balance sheet and would make deficit reduction targets harder to reach. |
| But now, according to No 10, the fiscal prudence has paid off – even with the uncertainties of Brexit looming large – creating more room for manoeuvre public spending without impacting too heavily on the nation’s books. | But now, according to No 10, the fiscal prudence has paid off – even with the uncertainties of Brexit looming large – creating more room for manoeuvre public spending without impacting too heavily on the nation’s books. |
| “Solving the housing crisis is the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation,” May told Tory delegates. “It doesn’t make sense to stop councils from playing their part in solving it.” | “Solving the housing crisis is the biggest domestic policy challenge of our generation,” May told Tory delegates. “It doesn’t make sense to stop councils from playing their part in solving it.” |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| Conservative conference 2018 | Conservative conference 2018 |
| Conservative conference | Conservative conference |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Cancer | Cancer |
| NHS | NHS |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |