This conference was the first in two years, after the previous year’s cancellation due to Covid. It was therefore a good opportunity to set out our vision for the future.
During the conference, we talked about what we would do in power with policy proposals the economy, housing, education, health, crime, foreign affairs, devolution and the climate:
We will spend £28b each year until 2030 on investment in green infrastructure and jobs with a £3bn fund to ‘green’ the UK steel industry.
We will scrap unfair business rates and eventually replace them with a system designed to come down harder on online giants – rather than squeezing high street businesses.
We will launch a new Office for Value for Money to monitor how taxpayer money is being spent.
We will cap the amount of property overseas investors can purchase in new developments – giving first-time local buyers priority.
We will change the rules around how large developers contribute towards affordable housing and give councils more powers to buy land for building homes.
We will remove the charitable status from private schools – which allows them to pay less tax than other businesses. The money raised will fund educational reform in state schools.
We will boost arts and digital funding and offer better careers guidance to children – making work experience compulsory and teaching students about pensions, mortgages and contracts.
We will double the current funding for dementia and seek to build a national care service in the image of the NHS.
We will set up a state-run pro bono service t compel firms to offer a certain amount of free legal advice to those who need it and are not eligible for legal aid.
We will speed up rape and sexual assault cases and toughen up on street harassment and misogyny.
We will restore neighbourhood policing through new police hubs and fight of anti-social behaviour.
We will spend £35m to fund to help British veterans and Afghan interpreters – to provide mental health support services and support.
We will place extra controls on the use of British troops and police to train their counterparts abroad to ensure the UK is not offering support to countries abusing human rights.
We will boost devolution to give local councils greater control over the investment and infrastructure their areas.