The Kid’s Manifesto: A Guide to Not Voting Conservative

(You can download The Kid’s Manifesto PDF, to read the web format keep scrolling)

       Foreword

The children of the UK, and children all over the world, want a future.

We want a life free from war. We want air free from pollution. We want rivers free from waste. We want to learn. We want to aspire. We want to travel. We want to migrate. We want to love. We want utopia now.

On June 8th, the UK elections will decide who takes power and determines the conditions of future generations, not only in Britain, but on this planet.

We want show you why, unless you are a multi-millionaire (or a billionaire), to vote Conservative is a terrible decision that will have dire consequences on the quality of your life in the UK for generations.

 We want to show you why, even if you are a multi-millionaire (or a billionaire), you should not vote Conservative. Because ultimately; the sanctity of human life and this planet is worth more than any fortune.

We want to demonstrate why if you possess even the slightest ability to empathise with other people and the society we live in; your vote must not be used to support a Conservative government.

We have written ‘The Kid’s Manifesto: A Guide to Not Voting Conservative’ as a simple, digestible way of presenting the truth of Tory government to parents, friends or family who are considering voting for the Conservatives.

This truth is one of serious consequence and one that has already affected the lives of everybody who lives in the UK.

Although we actually believe in the complete reimagining of our current society and its broken political and economic systems, we are also not fools and we understand the necessity of voting in this election.

As such, this is not a pro-Labour document. Nor is it pro-Liberal Democrat. It is not even pro-Green. But it is anti-Tory.

We have written this report as a plea to reason based on fact. It is an appeal from the younger generation to our elders. We hope that it can become a tool of education, dialogue and critical awareness for all those who need it.
With love, The Kid’s Manifesto Collective

 

CONTENTS

NHS/HEALTHCARE

1. Staff
2. Funding
3. Social Care

   HOUSING 

1. Affordable Housing
2. Rent
3. Homelessness

EDUCATION

1. Schools
2. Universities

       WELFARE

1. Poverty
2. Disability

HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Women’s Rights
2. LGBT Rights
3. Surveillance
4. Foreign Policy/Terrorism

ANIMAL RIGHTS

1. Fox Hunting
2. Badgers
3. Ivory

ENVIRONMENT

1. Fracking
2. Renewable Energy

ECONOMY/AUSTERITY

1. Inequality
2. Debt/Deficit
3. Employment
4. Brexit

WHO SUPPORTS THE TORIES?   

 

 

NHS/HEALTHCARE

Assuming you are eligible to vote, you are likely also entitled to free healthcare. It would be hard to argue that universal access to healthcare is a bad thing, right?

By voting Tory, you are ensuring that the attack on the NHS becomes even worse.

Tory healthcare policies of austerity and privatization have already put immense pressure on NHS services and your vote has a huge impact on the real possibility of an eventual collapse of free healthcare in Britain.

Do you wish for a future where if one cannot afford treatment, they are left to suffer and die?

Do you wish for the dismantling of an institution that cares for you and your family?

The likely answer is no.

Yet if you vote Conservative, this is the legacy you are leaving for both yourselves as you grow into old age, for your children and for generations to come.

   Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt avoiding the press after being accused of misleading Parliament over NHS weekend deaths.

 

Do you remember the junior doctor strikes? Thank this man: Jeremy Hunt, the Tory Secretary of Health, his employment has been a disaster for the NHS.

Jeremy Hunt has led the Conservative attack on the NHS in the last years of Tory government. It is easy to see exactly the threat he represents to the future of healthcare in Britain.

• Having co-authored a book, Direct Democracy: An Agenda For A New Model Party, that advocates for the privatization of the NHS. Jeremy Hunt continues to implement an agenda of cuts as justification for privatization.^[1]
• Hunt has made several low-profile trips to the U.S.A, meeting with private healthcare companies and advertising the NHS; alternatively presenting the sponsored meetings as a means of ‘improving service’  .^[2]
• He has already sold off and privatized sectors of the NHS, even those that were making money. Meanwhile, making up to £17 million for himself after selling his own private health company – he continued administrate over public spending cuts to the NHS.^[3]

Medical professionals were outraged when he chose to force through new junior doctor contracts and pressurise the NHS to extend itself – without any consultation or appropriate funding.

To justify this extension, Jeremy Hunt has even gone as far as to mislead Parliament concerning NHS deaths – by misreading/omitting the context of a sentence in a report in order to claim junior doctors were responsible for additional deaths on NHS weekends.^[4]

Voting for Theresa May would likely see his continued employment.

 

1. Staff

According a report, under this Tory government, record numbers of medical professionals are leaving the NHS after completing their foundation courses.^[5]
George Osborne unveiled plans to scrap £6,000-a-year grants for student nurses and midwives in 2015^[6].

This has led several to draw up so-called Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) over spring 2016 that suggest closing down key services^[7].

And with privatisation bringing big costs and more people living longer, health chiefs say we could be looking at the end of the service as we know it.

In fact, up to 2,000 senior doctors have written to Theresa May concerning NHS cuts, requesting more funding and stating that “it is impossible to provide effective efficient patient-led innovative healthcare which is free at the point of contact when we spend less on healthcare than other comparable OECD countries”^[9]

2. Funding

“Let us take this opportunity to show that we, the Conservative Party, truly are the party of the workers. The party of the public servants. The party of the NHS. Because we believe in public service. We believe in investing in and supporting the institutions that make our country great”
 Theresa May at a Conservative party conference in October 2016.

Theresa May has boasted that the Conservatives have achieved record levels of investment in the NHS, however the reality is that “Because the budget increases, as the population increases, as inflation increases, as healthcare costs increase”^[10] every year sees a new record in NHS investment.

The graph below illustrates NHS spending in real terms since Thatcher years.

In reality, the Conservatives have cut public funding to councils and the NHS at an unprecedented level.

Although George Osborne had promised increased spending on the NHS by £8 billion before 2020, in reality he oversaw cuts to the health service by redefining and reducing the services provided by NHS England –  including up to £1.1 billion secretly cut from the repairs fund.^[11]

This has resulted in the reduction of funding for wider public health services, equipment repairs and staff-training.

Such cuts training have exacerbated the staff shortages the NHS is currently experiencing. A 2016 survey from the NHS Employers organisation found that 93% of trusts had a shortage of nurses and that NHS staff lack the adequate support needed to work efficiently.^[12]

3. Social Care

Additionally cuts to social care have increased the pressure on the NHS to provide care for an aging population. The last winter crisis in A&E was the worst one of the worst on record branded a “humanitarian crisis” by the Red Cross^[8].

Experts said more than half the £10bn was being swallowed up by hospital beds filled with vulnerable people with nowhere to go.^[13]

Whilst the Conservative Leadership has argued that parity between mental health and physical health treatment has been achieved in their 2017 manifesto, this is typical Tory lip-service. ^[14]

Promises that increased investment in mental health until 2020 have not been fulfilled. Mental health services were overstretched, badly funded and operating under budget cuts since the Coalition government^[15].

In 2015, mental health received just 13% of NHS funding although accounting for 23% of the health burden. Furthermore, the Conservative austerity measures have severely affected the availability of community based mental health services; putting even greater pressure on hospitals^[16][17].

^[1] https://www.thecanary.co/2016/02/11/hunt-trying-dismantle-nhs-heres-evidence/

^[2] https://www.thecanary.co/2017/02/06/jeremy-hunt-caught-secretive-trip-us-looks-like-bad-news-nhs-tweets/

^[3] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunts-company-30-million-lists-homeopathy-courses-promoted-on-the-nhs-a7529671.html

^[4] https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/614822/Jeremy-Hunt-faces-sack-misleading-public-weekend-hospital-deaths

^[5] (The Foundation Programme: Career Destination Report 2016: https://t.co/uCOIZRFJLo)

^[6] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3334382/Fury-Osborne-axes-student-grants-nurses-imposes-apprenticeships-levy-biggest-firms-hit-wages.html

^[7] https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/blog/2016/01/sustainability-and-transformation-fund

^[8] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/09/red-cross-attacked-describing-winter-pressures-ae-humanitarian/

^[9] http://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/an-open-letter-to-theresa-may/

^[10] http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/10/record-investment-nhs-funding-crisis-stats-behind-theresa-mays-spending-boast/

^[11] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-osborne-actually-cut-health-budget-by-20-per-cent-despite-nhs-promises-analysis-finds-a6751311.htm

^[12] http://nhsfunding.info/symptoms/10-effects-of-underfunding/

^[13] http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2016/10/record-investment-nhs-funding-crisis-stats-behind-theresa-mays-spending-boast/

^[14] https://fullfact.org/health/conservative-manifesto-2017-mental-health/

^[15] https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/639515/Mental-health-care-crisis-cuts

^[16] https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/639515/Mental-health-care-crisis-cuts

^[17] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/13/mental-health-cuts-driving-people-edge-mark-winstanley

HOUSING

It is likely that you are reading this from the comfort of your home, or perhaps, the shelter of a given building.

In any case, we all cherish and value the roof over our heads, just as we all appreciate the ability to rent/buy homes to provide space and shelter for ourselves and our families.

Under the Conservative government, the UK has experienced a housing crisis unlike any other in recent memory.

 

WHY?

Conservative housing policy has favoured the rich and allowed private property tycoons, from the UK and abroad, to buy huge swathes of previously council-owned housing in the UK (and especially in London) ^[1]

This is also not surprising considering property developers have contributed upwards of £3.3. million to the Conservative party between 2008-2011 alone.^[2]

This trend of corporate lobbying and donation has created the gentrification^[3] of many spaces throughout the UK, and again, especially in London.

With a lack of tenant rights and unfettered power for landlords, this has meant that private rent is rising much faster than wages^[4] and affordable housing is at record lows.^[5]

Meanwhile, at the same time, the Conservatives’ austerity measures have attacked council housing budgets as well as homelessness relief budgets and household benefit^[6].

 

1.  Affordable Housing

The Conservatives have relentlessly attacked social housing and council housing, specifically with the Housing and Planning Bill.^[7]

With spending cuts to councils already affecting the availability of cheaper, truly affordable council homes – the Tories have ensured that many of the remaining council homes have been sold off to private developers.

In 1979, 42% of British people were living in public council housing. Now, that figure is 8%.

Instead, David Cameron rolled out the national ‘starter homes’ campaign to create what they call ‘affordable housing’.

However, David Cameron believed that £450, 000 for a home in London, or £250, 000 for a home elsewhere in the UK – is affordable to lower-income or middle-income families^[8].

2. Rent

As such, with home-owning at its record lowest in 29 years^[9], more than ever, UK families and citizens are now having to rent – creating what is known as ‘Generation Rent’.

Despite this, the Conservative government have consistently voted against proposed tenant rights; including voting against an amendment ‘requiring private sector landlords to ensure their properties are fit for human habitation.’^[10]

As a result, UK properties are rented in frequently appalling conditions – including homes with toxic mould, unfinished repairs and pest infestations.^[11]

Tenants are also submitted to extortionate rent hikes (with rents having risen by 15% since David Cameron’s election in 2010) and upon any complaint made to local authorities concerning rogue landlords – even ‘revenge evictions’.^[12]

This lack of protection and security for families who rent is perhaps not surprising considering that now almost a third of British MPs are private landlords.^[13]

Sadly, by 2017, the number of families losing their rented property and being forced declaring themselves homeless has tripled.^[14]

 

3. Homelessness

We must remember that a housing crisis becomes a homelessness crisis.

By voting Conservative, you are voting for a greater homeless population.

Homelessness has DOUBLED since David Cameron’s election in 2010.^[15]

Many victims are families. In 2016, over 43,000 families were made homeless. In February 2017 alone, it was estimated that the equivalent of five families an hour were made homeless.^[16]

Because of the Conservatives, jobseekers aged 18 to 21 may no longer get Housing Benefit to help with their rent^[17].

This will likely force thousands of young people on the streets’^[18]and adversely affect children from abusive homes.^[19]

References:

^[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/property-and-architecture/londons-super-rich-property-buyers/

^[2] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/hands-off-our-land/8754027/Conservatives-given-millions-by-property-developers.html

^[3] ‘Gentrification is a process of urbanization that involves the accumulation of land and property by monied classes, often resulting in the displacement of lower-income residents’

^[4] http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/buytolet/article-3050598/Rent-costs-risen-faster-inflation-general-election.html

^[5] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/17/number-of-affordable-homes-built-in-england-slumps-24-year-low

^[6] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/dec/17/councils-face-billions-more-budget-cuts-april-england-local-authorities-funding-settlement

^[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/historic-housing-and-planning-bill-will-transform-generation-rent-into-generation-buy

^[8] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/07/affordable-housing-david-camerons-starter-homes-plan

^[9] https://www.ft.com/content/90fb85a8-ff5d-11e6-8d8e-a5e3738f9ae4

^[10]  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jan/12/tories-reject-move-to-ensure-rented-homes-fit-for-human-habitation

^[11] https://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/aug/22/renters-fight-rogue-landlords-rhiannon-lucy-cosslett

^[12] http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38795177/revenge-eviction-law-not-working

^[13] https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2016/jan/14/mp-landlords-number-risen-quarter-last-parliament-housing-bill

^[14]  http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27940701

^[15] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/homelessness-crisis-doubled-theresa-may-conservatives-a7384476.html

^[16] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/homeless-rough-sleeping-figures-increase-rise-conservatives-housing-shelter-vertical-rush-a7550251.html

^[17] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/25/housing-benefit-cuts-for-young-people-may-be-scaled-back

^[18] http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/welfare/2017/04/why-conservative-housing-benefit-cut-will-make-more-young-people-homeless

^[19] https://centrepoint.org.uk/about-us/news/housing-benefit-cuts-risk-more-homelessness/

EDUCATION

As one of the most valued pillars of any society, education is another fundamental human right.

We all desire to learn and better understand the world around us, to be inspired, to be encouraged and to explore.

Yet Conservative government has led an unprecedented attack on public education in the UK, slashing public budgets across the education sector, freezing spending and leaving such financial pressure on schools that teachers have been quitting in record numbers^[1] and headmasters have been asking parents for donations.^[2]

This attack on public education is an attack on every child’s right to learn.

1. Schools

In 2015, The Tories announced a £3 billion cut to public education funding. Since her premiership, Theresa May has continued with this pledge.

Over 500 headteachers have written to Theresa May stating that “to make ends meet, head teachers will be forced to make staff redundant, cut subjects, increase class size and cut back on extracurricular activity.”^[3]

It is estimated that almost half of Britain’s teachers will be leaving their jobs within the next five years due to stress, workloads and chronic underfunding.^[4]

A consultation unveiled in early 2017 by current Tory education secretary, Justine Greening, planned to slash funding at 5,000 schools in England by a further 3%^[5].

Theresa May plans to scrap free school dinners for over 900,000 children^[6].

Her manifesto states ““We do not believe that giving school lunches to all children free of charge for the first three years of primary school – regardless of the income of their parents – is a sensible use of public money.”

Theresa May claims this will save up to £3.5 million of public money.^[7]

Yet as recently as 2015, politicians were been enjoying five-course meals in luxury restaurants and the Parliament bar at a public cost of £3.7 million a year.^[8]

Which do you feel is a better use of public money?

 

Theresa May toasting the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in 2016.

 

 

2. Universities

Remember in 2010, when the Conservative and Lib-Dem coalition also infamously hiked tuition fees for students to a record £9000 a year?

This price has been raised again after universities won permission to lift the £9,000 cap with inflation.

That is set to raise fees as high as £11,697 by 2025 – tipping the price of a top degree  over £35,000, the price without additional living costs.^[9]

The Conservatives wish for a society where only the richest can be educated and where universities do not exist to teach people, but are markets to be plundered by private profiteers.

They certainly do not want an educated public.

One must wonder why?

^[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/teachers-crisis-education-leaving-profession-jobs-market-droves-who-would-be-one-a7591821.html

^[2] https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/exclusive-cash-strapped-schools-asking-parental-contributions-ps600

^[3] https://schoolsimprovement.net/500-school-headteachers-write-open-letter-theresa-may-warning-education-system-will-collapse-3bn-cuts-plan/

^[4] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/22/teachers-plan-leave-five-years-survey-workload-england

^[5] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/14/england-school-funding-formula-justine-greening-education-secretary

^[6] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/20/theresa-may-school-meals-plan-hits-900000-families

^[7] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/theresa-mays-lunch-snatcher-policy-10464158

^[8] https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/696693/Taxpayers-contribute-millions-subsidising-food-drink-House-Parliament

^[9] https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/higher-fees-under-teaching-excellence-framework-tef-would-put-disadvantaged-students-off-higher-education

 

WELFARE

The modern welfare system is based on the idea that wealth must be distributed for those who need financial support.

This may be because of extra children in a family, or perhaps because a person is disabled and unable to work.

Eventually we will all grow older and be unable to work, when we can no longer work we are entitled to another form of welfare: our pension!

However, unsurprisingly, the benefits system in the UK has also been under attack by the Conservative government.

Yet again the results of these policies have cost human lives.

 

1. Poverty

Since David Cameron’s election in 2010, the number of people using food banks has gone from 41, 000 to a staggering 1.2 million. And this data only accounts for half of the food banks in the UK, run by the Trussell Trust.^[1]

On May 29^th, in response to this information, a Tory politician – Dominic Raab – claimed that people were not using food banks because of poverty. But instead, because of ‘episodic cash flow problems’.^[2]

The Conservative MP, Iain Duncan Smith – after learning that child poverty levels had not fallen since the targets set by Tony Blair – instead chose to try and scrap child poverty targets^[3].

This eventually did not happen. However he made sure that MP’s no longer have to scrutinise the figures in the House of Commons^[4].

Sadly, the Conservatives did manage to erase the term ‘Child Poverty’ from the Child Poverty Act, renaming it the Life Chances Act. They also erased the term ‘child poverty’ from the ‘Child Poverty and Social Mobility Commission’.^[5]

By voting Conservative, you are voting for a party that has consistently neglected, mocked and ignored the issues of poverty in the UK.

This is because Conservative government is a government built for the richest only.

It is a government built on creating poverty and attacking the vulnerable, especially the disabled.

2. Disability

The Tories have led a ruthless attack on the disabled population of the UK.

Because of the Conservatives, people claiming disability benefit Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) now get £29.05 less every week if they’re deemed fit for ‘work-related activity’ (WRAG)^[6].

The Department for Work and Pensions revealed that 2,380 people died between December 2011 and February 2014 after failing controversial government tests and being found “fit to work”^[7].

A further 7,200 people claiming Employment and Support Allowance died after being put in the “work-related activity group”, which meant their benefits were scrapped or reduced after being told their disability does not affect their ability to work^[8].

 Their stories:

• Mark Wood starved to death in David Cameron’s constituency four months after his benefits were cut. He weighed just 5st 8lbs when he was found.^[9]
  

Mark Wood, 1970 – 2014

 

• Ex-nurse Jacqueline Harris, 53, took her own life after she was ruled fit for work despite having slipped disks in her back and suffering severe pain when walking^[10]
  

 

Jacqueline Harris, 1961 – 2017

 

• Elenore Tatton, 39, died of a long-standing brain tumour just weeks after she was ruled ‘fit for work. She was a mother of three. ^[11]

 

These tragic cases are just a glimpse of a world where of disabled people have been told they are not disabled enough to qualify for benefits – and where, as a result, thousands of people have died.

It is a drop in the ocean of suffering caused by the Conservatives in their deprivation of vulnerable and disabled people in Britain.

 

3. Pensions and Social Care

The Conservative Party’s 2017 manifesto will see the end of the pensions triple lock – which guaranteed annual rises of at least 2.5%^[12].

The Conservatives claim that state pensions have seen an increase of £1,250 per year as a result of changes implemented under their leadership. In reality it adds up to around £560 extra a year. This claim also ignores the increase in costs from 2010 to 2017^[13]

One of the changes to social care funding is dubbed the ‘dementia tax’ -people needing social care at home would have to pay for it until the value of their assets reached a floor of £100,000^[14].

However, the policy recently  provoked anger because payments after death could be taken from the inheritance of offspring whose parents were unlucky enough to suffer from a long-term health condition such as dementia.

The backlash this proposal caused led to the Tories making another  infamous U-turn^[15].

Nevertheless, Theresa May maintains that the Conservatives will limit winter fuel allowance to the poorest and take people’s properties into account in the means test for social care at home.^[16]Cutting winter fuel payments would also have only a limited impact on the public finances^[17].

Sir Andrew Dilnot, who chaired a commission into adult social care in 2011, said that “what’s being done on the means test will help some people though many people, the majority of people who are getting care—not in a residential care home but in their own homes—will find themselves worse off.”^[18]

Even the work and pensions secretary, Damian Green is uncertain about who and to what extent the Conservative party’s proposals will affect^[19]. The older generations as well as the youngest are likely to suffer under the Conservatives. Those suffering from long-term illnesses will lose the most from May’s initiative.

The current Tory Work and Pensions Secretary – Damian Green

References:

^[1] https://fullfact.org/economy/how-many-people-use-food-banks/

^[2] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/may/29/tory-mp-dominic-raab-jeered-over-food-bank-comments

^[3] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/01/government-scrap-legal-requirements-child-poverty

^[4] ibid.

^[5] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/01/government-scrap-legal-requirements-child-poverty

^[6] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35749078

^[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mortality-statistics-esa-ib-and-sda-claimants

^[8] ibid.

^[9] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-mark-wood-starved-death-3194250

^[10] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/former-nurse-killed-herself-after-4707741

^[11] http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/mum-of-three-elenore-told-find-job-2074333

^[12] https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/27/pensions-triple-lock-questions-answered

^[13] https://fullfact.org/economy/conservative-manifesto-2017-pensions/

^[14] https://fullfact.org/health/conservative-manifesto-2017-adult-social-care/

^[15] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/22/theresa-may-u-turn-on-dementia-tax-cap-social-care-conservative-manifesto

^[16] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/18/social-care-funding-what-are-the-conservatives-proposing

^[17] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/10551866/Winter-fuel-payments-under-threat-for-wealthy-pensioners.html

^[18] https://fullfact.org/health/conservative-manifesto-2017-adult-social-care/

^[19] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/damian-green-winter-fuel-allowance_uk_59216c9fe4b03b485cb22df4

HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights are the inviolable principles of any society that prides itself on providing a quality of life built in the essence of freedom, diversity and compassion.

These rights include the right to privacy, the right to protest, the right to education, the right to love – as well as many, many more^[1].

The Conservative party represents an attack on all of these rights. 

WHY?

The Tories have repeatedly expressed a desire to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a so-called British Bill of Rights^[2].

This has been in Tory manifestos since 2015 under David Cameron. It would allow them to rewrite the laws of freedom in the UK^[3].

This is hardly surprising when you look at their human rights record.

1.Women’s Rights

The Conservatives have a horrific record on addressing violence against women. The UN has even criticised the consistent failure to deal with these issues.^[4]

In fact, yet again, ruthless austerity measures have impacted the safety of women all over the UK.  Even though domestic violence has been increasing.

• It is estimated that 2 women a week are murdered in the UK by a current or former partner. This is equivalent to a woman every 3 days.
• Across the UK, many women’s refuge centres have had to turn away victims of domestic violence, with as many as two out of every three survivors being turned away in 2015 ^[5]
• Since David Cameron’s election in 2010, councils across London have cut their spending on women’s aid by over 38%^[6].

2.LGBT Rights

“Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay… These children are being cheated of a sound start in life.”^[7]
Margaret Thatcher at the 1987 Conservative Party Conference

Although homophobia is an endemic part of our society, it is the Conservative Party that has often endorsed and passed laws that discriminated against homosexuality, with many members making public attacks and condemnations about being homosexual.

Whilst David Cameron attempted to rebrand the Conservative Party as ‘gay-friendly’ in passing the same sex marriage law, he has repeatedly attacked the Labour government’s plans to repeal Section 28 in 2003^[8] and has even had to stop interviews when questioned about the Tory’s stance on gay rights.^[9]

What is Section 28?

Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 criminalised any school from teaching about the existence of homosexuality. This harmful law meant that teachers were even afraid of dealing with homophobic bullying for fear of being prosecuted and that many LGBT support groups had to shut down. ^[10]

The same-sex marriage act was spearheaded by Liberal democrat MPs such as Lynne Featherstone^[11]. Only 127 of Conservative MPs voted in support of the law with 136 voting against^[12]

Homophobia still plagues the Conservative Party^[13][14][15]. Conservative MP Peter Bruinvels said “I do not agree with homosexuality. I think that Clause 28 will help outlaw it and the rest will be done by AIDS, with a substantial number of homosexuals dying of AIDS. I think that’s probably the best way.”^[16]

What about Theresa May?

Theresa May’s manifesto only even vaguely  mentions ‘protecting people from discrimination…based on sexuality’ – this is interesting when we look at her voting record on LGBT Rights.

Previously, Theresa May has voted against:

• Repealing Section 28
• Equalling the age of consent for gay people
• Same-sex couple adoption
• Same-sex couples using IVF treatment ^[17].

Regardless of what lip service she pays, it easy to guess what her thoughts truly are.

 

2. Surveillance

Article 8 of the Human Rights Act to our private life and our family life.

Under the Conservative government, state surveillance has increased to an unprecedented scale of power and intrusion into our lives.

The Investigatory Powers Bill – dubbed the Snoopers’ Charter – hands the police and security services (as well as local councils and the tax department) wide ranging powers including the ability to hack almost any device and look at your web history and infect your device with malware and spyware^[18].

‘ If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear’

This buzz-phrase is often used by government to justify surveillance and the violation of privacy rights. The phrase has been employed by politicians such as the Conservative foreign secretary William Hague, who used the phrase on ‘The Andrew Marr Show’ in 2013^[19].

The phrase was also recently used by Tory MP Richard Graham when speaking in Parliament and defending the Snoopers Charter. This has caused controversy as the words have also allegedly been attributed to the Nazi Minister of Information, Joseph Goebbels.^[20]

We are told time and time again that this is for our safety. That increased surveillance is for our protection from terrorism. However:

• It has been proven that council workers and authorities will always abuse this power, not only when we look at history, but according to a specific report by Big Brother Watch that documented the breaches of conduct by council workers with access to personal information^[21].
• With almost no oversight or any real way of holding accountability, we are handing over all of our privacy and our intimate lives – to be spied on, gathered, collected, stored and analysed.
• Despite this, the consensus in the scientific and intelligence communities show that mass surveillance does not prevent terrorism or successfully and pre-emptively identify it.^[22][23]
• Moreover, the cost of such data-gathering and surveillance under the Snoopers Charter is estimated at a public cost of £11.1 billion. This is the financial price much citizens of the UK are now paying towards their own surveillance.^[24]Which begs the question, why are the Conservatives – and indeed much of government – so eager for such tight control and access over our information and the Internet?

3. Foreign Policy/Terrorism

Under the Conservatives, foreign policy has been geared towards military intervention and selling weapons, even to countries on the UK’s own human rights watchlist.

After the tragic events of Manchester and London, the history of British military intervention and its facilitation of terrorism has come under further scrutiny.

How safe are we when the UK government is selling weapons and funding countries who endorse international terror?

How secure are we when we are involved in war and atrocity in other people’s countries?

The Conservatives and the Arms Trade

David Cameron speaking to staff at BAE Systems, a British arms manufacturer.

Under the Conservatives, as of 2016, Britain has become the second largest arms exporter in the world.^[25]

Having exported £7.7bn of arms in 2015 alone, Conservative leadership has also seen the UK selling weapons to 22 out of the 30 countries on its own human rights watchlist^[26].

• The UK Government continues to sell arms to Bahrain, a – dictatorship that has suppressed protests with live ammunition, often using British arms^[27].
• It has sold weapons to Burundi, which is being investigated by the UN for human rights violations^[28].
• The UK Government has also authorised the sale of massive amounts of arms to Egypt despite the coup against the democratically elected President Mohammad Morsi and the violent crackdown that followed on the Muslim Brotherhood^[29].

Since March 2015, the UK Government has approved £3.3 billion in military sales to Saudi Arabia^[30]. Yet in November, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office concluded that there was no ‘clear risk’ of serious Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen. This is despite the fact that Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen has reached a death toll of 10,000 people and has displaced upwards of 3 million people.^[31]

Indeed, despite the British Government’s declared commitment to ‘universal human rights’, under the Conservatives, and despite the Saudi Arabian war on Yemen – in the the response to 140 Yemeni deaths after an attack on a funeral- Boris Johnson wrote a letter urging the Tory trade secretary, Liam Fox, to continue dealing arms to Saudi Arabia.^[32]

Just as Liam Fox proclaimed his ‘shared values’ with the brutal Filipino leader Rodrigo Duterte (who has eliminated over 7,000 people in his war on drugs) during  a diplomatic visit ^[33]

Theresa May was personally visiting Saudi Arabia; refusing to criticise or even discuss the government’s bombardment of civilians – or their funding of ISIS terrorism.

 

References:

^[1] https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/what-are-human-rights/human-rights-act

^[2] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservative-party-conference-cameron-announces-plans-to-scrap-human-rights-act-9767435.html

^[3] https://fullfact.org/law/conservative-partys-bill-rights/

^[4] http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR/C/GBR/CO/7&Lang=En

^[5] https://www.womensaid.org.uk/womens-aid-releases-annual-survey-2015-statistics/

^[6] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/dec/12/council-cuts-hitting-womens-contraceptive-services-data-shows

^[7] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/margaret-thatcher-anti-gay-speech_n_3071177.html

^[8] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196924/Cameron-apologises-gays-Section-28-Maggies-law-ban-promotion-homosexuality-schools-wrong-says-Tory-leader.html

^[9] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IFz5CTRSnc0jDKGjG7VDtIHKzyBpsLsp4tzOfTmLKbc/edit#

^[10] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/9/pdfs/ukpga_19880009_en.pdf

^[11] https://www.yahoo.com/news/theresa-may-lgbt-voting-record-131600692.html

^[12] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21346694

^[13] http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2014/11/gay-rights-conservatives-are-still-unsurprisingly-conservative

^[14] http://conservativehome.blogs.com/centreright/2009/07/i-dont-apologize-for-section-28.html

^[15] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/anti-homosexual-section-28-was-right-for-schools-says-tory-mp-8398942.html

^[16] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mpmm4

^[17] https://www.yahoo.com/news/theresa-may-lgbt-voting-record-131600692.html

^[18] https://www.bestvpn.com/es/mass-surveillance-and-the-uk-general-election/

^[19] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDSezQHnUWA

^[20] https://www.indy100.com/article/tory-mp-richard-graham-accused-of-quoting-joseph-goebbels-in-defence-of-new-surveillance-bill–bklSCE9nOg

^[21] https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/2015/01/snoopers-charter-summary/

^[22] https://theintercept.com/2015/11/17/u-s-mass-surveillance-has-no-record-of-thwarting-large-terror-attacks-regardless-of-snowden-leaks/

^[23] https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26801-mass-surveillance-not-effective-for-finding-terrorists/

^[24] https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/cost-of-uk-government-surveillance-383

^[25] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-is-now-the-second-biggest-arms-dealer-in-the-world-a7225351.html

^[26] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541330/20160727_-_Official_Statistics_-_UKTI_DSO_Core_Slides_for_2015_-_Final_Version.pdf

^[27] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bahrain-protesters-tortured-while-britain-signs-45m-arms-deal-a6872166.html

^[28] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-arms-sales-to-countries-with-dubious-human-rights-rise-to-3bn-a7055206.html

^[29] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-is-ramping-up-arms-sales-to-egypts-military-dictatorship-figures-show-a6722101.html

^[30] https://www.theguardian.com/world/defence-and-security-blog/2015/jan/15/bahrain-human-rights-arms-military

^[31] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/16/yemen-war-death-toll-has-reached-10000-un-says

^[32] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/10/boris-johnson-urged-uk-to-continue-saudi-arms-sales-after-funeral-bombing

^[33] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/liam-fox-meets-philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte

TERRORISM

Saudi Arabia has been extensively linked to funding jihadist terrorism, especially ISIS. Historically, there is also evidence that echelons of Saudi Arabian government may have been complicit in the funding and training of the 9/11 hijackers.^[1]

With 9/11 came the so-called ‘War on Terror’ initiated and financed largely in the interests of the Western powers such as the U.S and the U.K influence in the Middle East: although the proclaimed objective was to stop international terrorism.

However, far from reducing the threat of terrorism, the War on Terror has exponentially increased and endangered populations all over the world. In fact, the global  incidents of terror have increased by 6500% since the War on Terror began.^[2]

With the tragic events of Manchester and London fresh in British memory, we must explore how complicit the Conservatives are in creating this climate.

For example:

Concerning Libya, Theresa May was the Home Secretary during the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.

During this period, under her jurisdiction, a large number of Libyans were allowed by the UK government to go and fight – even with the knowledge that they would be joining Islamist terror groups.

Manchester has been identified as a major centre of UK islamist fighters connected to Libya. The Financial Times reports that MI5 “facilitated Islamist Mancunians” to travel and that everyone in the Libyan community in Manchester knew someone who went over to fight.^[3]

This included the Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi and his father, who was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which had close links to al-Qaeda. Abedi, who travelled freely back and forth between Manchester and Libya on numerous subsequent occasions from 2011-2017, last returned from Libya only a few days before carrying out the attack in Manchester.^[4]

Why did the security services operate an “open door policy” in relation to known UK terror groups travelling to and from Libya in 2011? Did the Home Office authorise it?

Was May aware that security services were supporting members of known terrorist organisations and UK citizens to travel freely between Libya and the UK, and even encouraging them to participate in the violent overthrow of the Libyan government?

Despite the assumed Conservative hardline stance, this case – an incident in which many children were killed killed and injured – is an indirect result of the policies enacted by Theresa May and the intelligence services of the UK.

It is a prime example of the ‘blowback’ suffered by us – the people –  because of the incompetence, arrogance and outright moral ineptitude of Tory foreign policy.

By voting Conservative, you are voting for the greater likelihood of terrorism. You are voting for police cuts and a failure to respond to terrorism. You are voting for those most responsible for creating the terrorism we face.

References:

^[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/12/911-commission-saudi-arabia-hijackers

^[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-23/war-terror-has-created-6500-more-terrorism

^[3] https://www.ft.com/content/42cabb04-4203-11e7-9d56-25f963e998b2

^[4] http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sorted-mi5-how-uk-government-sent-british-libyans-fight-gaddafi-1219906488

ANIMAL RIGHTS

Just like human animals, other species on this planet are owed respect and kindness.

It is a scientific fact that non-human animals are capable of a wide range of emotions^[1]
and anyone with a pet would be able tell you about their companion’s personality!

Naturally, we all want to live in a society where, like humans, animals can be free from suffering and fear.

Nevertheless, just as the Conservatives have often shown contempt for human rights, they are also the party that represents the greatest attack on animal rights and the greatest threat to conservation efforts.

By voting Conservative, you are also voting for even further disregard of the other species that share this planet with us.

 

1.Fox Hunting

A fox cub about to be thrown to hounds after a hunt.

 

“As it happens, personally, I’ve always been in favour of fox hunting and we maintain our commitment – we had a commitment previously – as a Conservative Party to allow a free vote and that would allow Parliament to take a decision on this” ^[2]
Theresa May

Banned in 2004, fox hunting –  the cruel bloodsport which involves rich landowners chasing foxes until they are exhausted, before tearing them apart with packs of hounds – is opposed by 84% people in the UK^[3] and even 73% of Conservative voters^[4].

So why does Theresa May want to bring it back?

Contrary to myths, foxes are responsible for around 1% of lamb deaths and 2% of chicken deaths – and are not a major threat to farmers. ^[5] In fact the fox population is bigger in cities than in the countryside^[6].

Fox hunting is also cruel for the dogs. Despite the outcry over the ban affecting hound populations, up to between 4,932 and 7,302 dogs die every year due to continued hunts and being deliberately killed by their ‘masters’. These dogs have a life expectancy of 6 years.^[7] The average life expectancy for a foxhound is 10 years.^[8]

This is Lord Mancroft, the chairman of the Council of Hunting Associations. He has mobilised supporters of fox hunting behind the Conservative party. The party gets this support on the basis of a promise to repeal the hunting ban.

Lord Mancroft, Chairman of the Council of Hunting Associations and Tory supporter.

“Simon Hart MP and I have received assurances that such a commitment will be carried forward to the 2017 manifesto,” Lord Mancroft wrote in a leaked email. “I have made it clear that we will only provide support on that basis, and that if the manifesto does not contain an acceptable commitment, we will withdraw our support.”^[9]

Theresa May and the Conservative Party seeks to repeal this law to secure support from the pro-hunt groups who are also potentially wealthy donors.

They do not care about animal welfare just as they do not care about the welfare of humans.

 

2. Badgers

Introduced as a way to combat the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), the control of badger populations was argued to be the most efficient and cost-effective means^[10].

Under the Conservatives, the badger cull has killed many thousands of badgers around the country, even though experts were quoted as saying expansion of the cull “flies in the face of scientific evidence” and that the cull is a “monstrous” waste of time and money.^[11] Even before the cull was implemented, the proposed costs doubled and farmers were expected to shoulder much of the costs.

Even in a survey conducted by a Conservative research group, The Bow Group, 81% of people were against the badger cull, vaccination was seen by fellow Conservative party members as more practical and scientifically effective. ^[12]
Because of the Tories, the first two years of the badger cull cost £6.3 million of public money whilst also failing to combat Bovine Tuberculosis^[13]

 

3. Ivory

According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only 700,000 elephants remaining in the wild.^[14] Yet around 20,000 elephants are killed by poaching in Africa in 2014 alone^[15].

This poaching is carried out in the hunt for ivory – which is laundered and sold on in international black markets for huge sums of money  ^[16]

Yet,  the Conservative politician Lady Victoria Borwick instead she has argued for the preservation of the ivory trade:

“Any ban on antique ivory is cultural vandalism, virtually akin to placing a ban on old books because they may be made from paper that came originally from now-endangered trees or antique furniture made from mahogany.”^[17]

Theresa May and Lady Borwick, the main force behind lobbying against the ban on ivory products

As a result of this lobbying pressure, in Theresa May’s 2017 Conservative manifesto, she has removed David Cameron’s pledge in 2015 to push for a total ban of ivory sales, not just ivory dating after 1947. Even though conservation experts agree that this is the best way to tackle poaching.

 

Instead, in her manifesto Theresa May has made a vague statement about protecting endangered species and the marine environment.^[18]

We cannot trust the Conservatives to prioritise or even consider animal rights in their policies.

They are part of an establishment that is built on human arrogance and privilege; where fox-hunting is an enjoyable sport and the products of illegal poaching offer prime opportunities for profit.

References:

^[1] http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf

^[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39861011

^[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boxing-day-hunts-84-oppose-legalising-fox-hunting-league-against-cruel-sports_uk_585fea38e4b0d590e44d9dd3

^[4] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/fox-hunting-ban-conservative-voters-but-environment-secretary-still-considering-repeal_uk_57ee315be4b0397f73b93d31

^[5] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/theresa-may-fox-hunt–bring-6058333

^[6] ibid.

^[7] http://www.powa.org.uk/id82.html

^[8] http://dogs.petbreeds.com/l/61/English-Foxhound

^[9] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/fox-hunt-masters-secretly-mobilising-10383202

^[10] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/24/badger-culls-will-continue-under-new-tory-government-liz-truss-says

^[11] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/05/bovine-tb-not-passed-on-through-direct-contact-with-badgers-research-shows

^[12] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/26/badger-cull-bovine-tb-cattle-vaccination

^[13] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/24/badger-culls-will-continue-under-new-tory-government-liz-truss-says

^[14] http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/

^[15] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/31/poaching-drives-huge-30-decline-in-africas-savannah-elephants

^[16] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/22/why-would-theresa-may-ditch-pledge-ban-ivory-trading

^[17] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservatives-ivory-trade-ban-2017-manifesto-scrap-pledge-illegal-poaching-a7748581.html

^[18] https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto

ENVIRONMENT

As living organisms, we are reliant on this Earth, its ecosystems and our weather for food, water, energy, and resources.

We should live in respect and appreciation for the gifts of life, and leave a greener and safer ecology for generations to come.

However, human activity is threatening the existence of life as we know it. From mass pollution, to deforestation to poaching – there are many big problems we face.

Yet climate change is the most deadly and disastrous global threat to our world.

Regardless of corporate lies and lobbying – from the fossil fuel industries, as well as meat and dairy industries – man-made climate change is a fact agreed by 97% of the scientists in the world.^[1]

Leading to severe weather disruption and more extreme natural disasters, huge food droughts, flooding and the likelihood of increased conflict due to depleting resources.

By voting Conservative, you are voting for the destruction of British nature and green spaces, you are voting for the pollution of our air and atmosphere and you are voting for the money of the fossil fuel industry.

1. Fracking

Fracking is the process of injecting highly volatile and hazardous chemicals into the ground for the purpose of extracting shale gas.

This destructive practice is incredibly controversial because of the impact it has on human communities as well as the environment.

It has been scientifically proven to cause huge spikes in methane gas emissions^[2], pollution and irradiation of drinking water^[3], instigation of local earthquakes and tremors^[4] and even cause birth defects in local populations^[5]

As a result, it is banned in countries including China, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Bulgaria, and many more^[6][7].

Why is not banned in the UK?

After the manifestos of 2017, the Conservatives are now the only major political party that do not oppose fracking.^[8] In fact, Theresa May’s manifesto encourages it as ‘a revolution’^[9]

The Conservatives and the fossil fuel industries responsible for fracking are notoriously close with many ex-Tories going onto to serve in this industry, and maintaining contact with government.

• British Gas owner Centrica employs three people with links to the Conservative Party in its ‘communications team’^[10]
• Fossil fuel giant Shell also employs the ex-private secretary of Phillip Hammond (the Tory chancellor) and William Hague (ex-Tory Minister of Foreign Affairs) in their department of ‘government relations’^[11]

Indeed, the fossil fuel industries have spent upwards of £39 million lobbying British and European policymakers.^[12] Moreover, The Conservative Party has received over £390,000 in 2017 alone, under the leadership of Theresa May^[13].

We can see what it effect this inevitably has on our laws.

For example, despite the appalling cost of fracking, and despite pledging an ‘”outright ban on fracking in national parks” in 2015. The Conservatives still legalised fracking under national parks and UNESCO world heritage sites in the UK, without allowing the issue to be debated in the House of Commons.^[14]

 2. Renewable Energy

 The alternative to providing energy for countries- in a way that does not contribute to climate change and pollute our atmosphere – lies in renewable energy sources such as wind energy, geothermal energy and solar energy.

However, due to ties to fossil fuel companies with interest against the expansion of ‘green energy’ the Conservatives have led the attack on addressing climate change.

• In 2015 the Tories slashed funding for small household solar panels by 64%^[15].
• A £500m drop in ‘feed-in tariffs’ was confirmed after critics said the scheme had benefited middle-class families^[16].
• BLabour’s shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy said the cuts would “cost jobs, hold back a growing industry and undermine progress on climate change.”^[17]
• New onshore wind farms were also excluded from a subsidy scheme from 2016^[18].
• The sell-off of the Green Investment Bank was announced in April 2017, prompting fears from the Lib Dems and Green Party that its help for the environment could be weakened.

Reliance on fossil fuels has been globally recognised as unsustainable. We have reached a crisis point with the environment. These cataclysmic changes to come will be faced by young people and future generations.

The Conservatives are not concerned with creating an energy industry that will secure the future stability of energy and resources in the UK. They are only thinking about the short-term cash incentive and the comfy job in the fossil fuel industry that awaits after they leave office.

References:

^[1] https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus-intermediate.htm

^[2] http://acmg.seas.harvard.edu/publications/2016/Turner_GRL_2016_Methane.pdf

^[3] https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-final-report-impacts-hydraulic-fracturing-activities-drinking-water

^[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/fracking-earthquakes-fox-creek-canada-a7423706.html

^[5] http://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2015/study-fracking-industry-wells-associated-with-premature-birth.html

^[6] http://www.chron.com/business/article/List-of-places-than-ban-fracking-keeps-growing-6057266.php

^[7] http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/countries-except-united-states-that-have-banned-fracking/

^[8] https://www.desmog.uk/2017/05/18/general-election-2017-conservatives-isolated-only-major-party-back-fracking

^[9] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/election-2017-conservatives-fracking-party-manifesto-tory-gas-shale-domestic-enivronment-a7742496.html

^[10] https://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2016/02/25/revealed-gas-industry-millions-pounds-lobbying-policymakers/

^[11] ibid

^[12] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NanqXWpGaTiT1SVI7mLgc-cDSswrKAwU8gFXu1C7xHw/edit#gid=1715785579

^[13] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/conservatives-oil-bosses-party-donations-fossil-fuels-climate-change-ayman-asfari-petrofac-serious-a7751521.html

^[14] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-quietly-legalised-fracking-under-7021280

^[15] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2015/dec/17/uk-cuts-renewable-energy-make-a-mockery-of-its-pledge-paris-climate-talks

^[16] http://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/601431/Solar-panels-payouts-to-be-sliced-January-2016

^[17] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tories-slash-solar-panel-funding-7026802

^[18] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/18/tories-end-onshore-windfarm-subsidies-2016

ECONOMY/AUSTERITY

Despite its reputation as a party that understands economics,  under the Conservatives, the UK has now become the worst-performing advanced economy in the world, with growth slumping to just 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2017.^[1]

With all the Conservative rhetoric on being ‘strong and stable’ – and even after seeing all the evidence of the terrible human cost of austerity – has the Conservative austerity programme actually worked to decrease the national deficit and address national debt?

The answer is a resounding NO.

Despite the biggest cuts to state spending since the Second World War.^[2]The evidence points to the contrary, and with many economists and politicians agreeing that austerity actually leads to greater economic disaster and increased wealth inequality.^[3]

 

1. Inequality

Despite the violence of austerity, and after all the spending cuts, Britain’s billionaires have seen their net worth more than double since the recession, with the richest 1,000 families now controlling a total of £547bn (as much wealth as the poorest 40% in the UK) .^[4]

In 2015 there were 715,000 millionaires living in Britain compared with 508,000 in 2010, with London having the highest concentration of wealthy individuals^[5].

The UK also has a high level of income inequality compared to other developed countries. Households in the bottom 10% of the population have a net income (including wages, cash benefits and after direct taxes) that is nine times smaller than the top 10%^[6].

The top fifth of society hold 40% of the income in the UK. That means that almost half of the UK’s wealth is held by a minority of the population^[7].

2. Debt/Deficit

A deficit is the difference between the amount the government spends and how much it receives in taxes and other income. However, with the Conservative government selling and privatizing many previously-state run services, what kind of income can be made?

The Coalition government originally set a target to clear the deficit by the 2015 general election.

When that failed, Chancellor George Osborne set another target to reach a surplus by 2020 only for it to be abandoned as it was unachievable.

Now, Chancellor Philip Hammond seeks to balance the books as soon as possible. This is unfeasible with the deficit at 2.6% of GDP at the end of March 2017^[8].

The previous Tory Chancellor,  George Osborne has repeatedly missed his own targets on addressing the deficit and national debt. Even only a month after setting them.^[9]

In 2015, the deficit between government spending and government income  was in the worst state to be  seen in 6 years^[10]. This increased deficit under the Conservatives means that the government has to borrow more and more money, and thereby actually increase the national debt^[11].

The consensus amongst economists is that austerity does not work!^[12] The Guardian reports that three IMF economists argue that:

“The benefits in terms of increased growth seem fairly difficult to establish when looking at a broad group of countries…The costs in terms of increased inequality are prominent. Such costs epitomise the trade-off between the growth and equity effects of some aspects of the neoliberal agenda.­..Increased inequality in turn hurts the level and sustainability of growth. Even if growth is the sole or main purpose of the neoliberal agenda, advocates of that agenda still need to pay attention to the distributional effects.­”^[13]

Theresa May claims that the Conservatives have cut national deficit over the past 7 years. However, the reality is that whilst the amount borrowed each year has reduced from 9.9% of GDP in 2010 to 2.6% of GDP in 2016, the overall debt is still rising. With the government still running deficits each month, the UK’s total debt pile is still increasing, according to the ONS, despite austerity measures, by 2015 the UK still owed more than £1.5tn, equivalent to 80.5% of GDP.^[14]

3. Employment

The Conservative manifesto declares:

“Since 2010, 2.9 million jobs have been created. We see employment at record levels. Employment [is] higher now than since records began. And unemployment lower than it’s been since the mid 1970s.”

Full Fact corrects this statement – there are 2.9 million people in employment. The Conservative leadership did not create these jobs. Additionally this statistic is reached by comparing the first 3 months of 2017 with the first three months after the 2010 election^[15].

“Bad work” has proliferated under the Conservatives. These jobs are low-paying, lacking in security and flexibility and staff engagement. This sort of work is best illustrated by the rise of Uber, Deliveroo and other companies blurs understandings of employment figures. These jobs, zero-hour contracts and the stripping away of workers’ rights has made employment increasingly unstable^[16].

4. Brexit

Theresa May has consistently advocated for a ‘hard Brexit’ at the negotiating table, seeking to leave the EU single market.

The pound slumped to a fresh 31-year low in 2016, with investors again concerned by media reports that the Government is preparing for a hard Brexit from the EU. In March it was trading around 15% lower compared to the dollar and 12% lower compared to the euro than it was before the referendum. Currency strategists say that sterling is likely to remain volatile until there is greater clarity about the UK’s Brexit deal^[17].

Whilst we have not seen the disastrous impact of the forecasted economic performance following the referendum, we must remember as of now, that we are still part of the EU.

72% of young people voted to remain but they will have to live with the consequences of whatever deal Theresa May imposes if the Conservatives win^[18]. The snap election has only intensified uncertainty over what the UK’s future with the EU will look like.

References:

^[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-worst-performing-advanced-economy-world-post-brexit-slump-election-pound-sterling-a7766286.html

^[2] R.Crawford (2010) Public services:serious cuts to come, Institute of Fiscal Studies presentation , October, http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/budgetjune2010/crawford.pdf

^[3] http://novaramedia.com/2017/06/03/austerity-has-been-an-economic-disaster/

^[4] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/26/recession-rich-britains-wealthiest-double-net-worth-since-crisis

^[5] http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uk-millionaire-population-rises-by-41-715000-over-5-years-1517408

^[6] https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/scale-economic-inequality-uk

^[7] ibid.

^[8] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39897498

^[9] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/21/deficit-figures-an-embarrassment-for-george-osborne-as-he-misses/

^[10] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/20/worst-uk-deficit-figures-six-years-george-osborne

^[11] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39255274

^[12] http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/its-official-austerity-economics-doesnt-work

^[13] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/27/austerity-policies-do-more-harm-than-good-imf-study-concludes

^[14] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/20/worst-uk-deficit-figures-six-years-george-osborne

^[15] https://fullfact.org/economy/conservative-manifesto-2017-employment/

^[16] http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/a-bad-job-is-worse-for-your-mental-health-than-unemployment-a7600411.html

^[17] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36956418

^[18] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/young-voters-wanted-brexit-least-8271517

WHO SUPPORTS THE TORIES?

Every political party needs funding. Our current system allows for lobbying by many powerful corporate interests.

With all of this evidence, you might now be asking, who would want to support the Conservatives?

Under the guise of ‘personal donations’, the Conservatives have received funding from some of the wealthiest, and most corrupt, industries in the world. I wonder why?

For example:

• Theresa May received £20,000 between 2003 and 2006 from convicted construction tycoon David Mabey. ^[1]  The Mabey family is one of the richest in the UK. In 2011, David Mabey was convicted of bribing corrupt officials in exchange for lucrative contracts. These included officials in Iraq under the regime of Saddam Hussein, as well as officials in Angola, Bangladesh, Mozambique  Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Ghana^[2]
• Since Theresa May has taken power, the Conservative Party has received a combined sum of £171,000 personally from former and current executives of the world’s largest oil trader, ^[3] The company has been charged and fined for also donating oil to the regime of Saddam Hussein, as well as facing intense controversy for its manipulation of oil contracts in one of the poorest countries in the world, Mozambique, costing the nation an excess of $80 million.^[4] The chief executive, Ian Taylor (also a personal donor to the Tories) was subsequently offered a knighthood by David Cameron. ^[5]
• Up to £90,000 was donated by oil tycoon Ayman Asfari, CEO of Petrofac, who is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office ‘for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering.’^[6]
• Leading donors of the Conservative party also include the Keswick family, who own Astra Agro Lastri, a plantation company inextricably linked to devastating deforestation fires in Indonesia and the manufacture of palm oil. Such deforestation has been linked to the deaths of up to 100,000 people^[7] and is a prime factor in pushing the native orangutan species into being critically endangered^[8].
• In 2009, the Conservatives received a donation of £100,000 from Fouad Makhzoum, a former arms-dealer from Lebanon, who had previously helped broker a massive weapons contract (consisting of rifles, armoured personnel vehicles, and bomb disposal equipment) with disgraced Tory defence minister Jonathan Aitkens.^[9][10]

 

^[1] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/19/theresa-may-donations-david-mabey-maidenhead-saddam-hussein

^[2] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/sep/25/mabey-johnson-foreign-bribery

^[3] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/conservatives-oil-bosses-party-donations-fossil-fuels-climate-change-ayman-asfari-petrofac-serious-a7751521.html

^[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/new-scandal-threatens-worlds-largest-oil-trader-vitol-and-boss-ian-taylor-a7337546.html

^[5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-honours-list-nominee-withdraws-name-from-list-as-cronyism-row-continues-a7169111.html

^[6] https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2017/05/12/sfo-confirms-investigation-petrofac-plc/

^[7] http://www.japantimes.co.jp/article-expired/#.V-pQJPkrKUk

^[8] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bornean-orangutans-whale-sharks-winghead-shark-are-near-extinction-endangered-humans-a7128746.html

^[9] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/dec/23/conservative-arms-dealer-donor-makhzoumi

[10] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/27/tories-call-on-wealthy-donors-to-stump-up-19m-general-election-fund