Conservatives Conference - PM Speech Summary

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06 October 2016 | Updated 01 January 1970

 

Prime Minister Theresa May closed the Conservative Conference on Wednesday 5 by staking a claim for the Party to claim centre political ground and offer jobs, opportunity, fairness and justice to everyone.

So far, most commentators have been of the opinion that the speakers at Conference have yet again offered much but failed to include any idea on delivery.

Below ThisWeekinFM reports, in a series of sound-bites, anything the Prime Minister said that may affect the FM and property market.

 

Training

"Change has got to come because as we leave the European Union and take control of our own destiny, the task of tackling some of Britain’s long-standing challenges - like how to train enough people to do the jobs of the future - becomes ever more urgent."

 

So far

"We’ve brought the deficit down. Got more people into work than ever before. Taken the lowest paid out of income tax. Established a new National Living Wage. Helped nearly a million new business to set up and grow.

Got almost one and a half million more children into good or outstanding schools. Put record investment into the NHS. Created nearly 3 million new apprenticeships. And brought crime down by more than a quarter to its lowest ever level."

 

Working people

"Our society should work for everyone, but if you can’t afford to get onto the property ladder, or your child is stuck in a bad school, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you. Our economy should work for everyone, but if your pay has stagnated for several years in a row and fixed items of spending keep going up, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you. Our democracy should work for everyone, but if you’ve been trying to say things need to change for years and your complaints fall on deaf ears, it doesn’t feel like it’s working for you. And the roots of the revolution run deep. Because it wasn’t the wealthy who made the biggest sacrifices after the financial crash but ordinary, working class families. And if you’re one of those people who lost their job, who stayed in work but on reduced hours, took a pay cut as household bills rocketed, or - and I know a lot of people don’t like to admit this - someone who finds themselves out of work or on lower wages because of low-skilled immigration, life simply doesn’t seem fair. So change has got to come."

 

Fairness

"So if you’re a boss who earns a fortune but doesn’t look after your staff… An international company that treats tax laws as an optional extra…household name that refuses to work with the authorities even to fight terrorism…A director who takes out massive dividends while knowing that the company pension is about to go bust…I’m putting you on warning. This can’t go on anymore.

"That means tackling unfairness and injustice, and shifting the balance of Britain decisively in favour of ordinary working class people."

 

National

"That means acting to tackle some of the economy’s structural problems that hold people back. Things like the shortage of affordable homes. The need to make big decisions on – and invest in - our infrastructure. The need to rebalance the economy across sectors and areas in order to spread wealth and prosperity around the country.

"That’s why Philip Hammond and Greg Clark are working on a new industrial strategy to address those long-term structural challenges and get Britain firing on all cylinders again.

"It’s not about picking winners, propping up failing industries, or bringing old companies back from the dead.

It’s about identifying the industries that are of strategic value to our economy and supporting and promoting them through policies on trade, tax, infrastructure, skills, training, and research and development.

"It’s about doing what every other major and growing economy in the world does. Not just sitting back and seeing what happens - but putting in place a plan and getting on with the job.

"So we will identify the sectors of the economy – financial services, yes, but life sciences, tech, aerospace, car manufacturing, the creative industries and many others – that are of strategic importance to our economy, and do everything we can to encourage, develop and support them.

"And we will identify the places that have the potential to contribute to economic growth and become the homes to millions of new jobs.

"That means inspiring an economic and cultural revival of all of our great regional cities.

We have made a start.

"Thanks to George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse, over the past year, foreign direct investment in the North has increased at double the rate of the rest of the country."

 

Transport & Energy

"We will press ahead with plans for High Speed 2, linking London and Birmingham and, eventually, towns and cities in the North. Why we will shortly announce a decision on expanding Britain’s airport capacity. And why – having reviewed the evidence and added important new national security safeguards – we signed up to Hinkley Point."

 

Workers' rights

"Because we are the party of workers. Of those who put in the effort. Those who contribute and give of their best.

That’s why we announced on Saturday that we’re going to review our laws to make sure that, in our modern and flexible economy, people are properly protected at work.

That’s right. Workers’ rights – not under threat from a Conservative government. Workers’ rights – protected and enhanced by a Conservative governmen"

 

We have summarised the 'security, element of the recent Home Secretary, Amber Rudd's, speech of Tuesday 4.

She said: "The intelligence briefings I read on a daily basis tell me how dangerous the threat from Daesh really is. Our security services have prevented the kind of awful attacks we are seeing too often on the world stage.

"My first statement in Parliament as Home Secretary followed the attack on Nice. A crude and primitive act, where innocent people were murdered by a radicalised individual. Lives ruined. Families broken. France forever scarred. It could have been any of us at a different time in a different place.

"Later this year I will be publishing the next phase of our counter-terrorism strategy. If you think of the state of technology only 10 years ago…There were no smartphones...The internet moved at a fraction of today’s speed...Its abilities were a small percentage of today’s power. And in another ten years, it’s hard to imagine how powerful it will be. We must, therefore, keep changing and updating our approach. And with this in mind, the Investigatory Powers Bill will be crucial. It will ensure that our police and security and intelligence agencies, have the powers they need to keep us safe in an uncertain world.

"We are also making huge investment in our police and security services … both in monetary terms and with the recruitment of nearly two thousand additional staff at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. This is as well as strengthening our vital network of counter-terrorism experts in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa."

 

Sentencing

"We want to tackle those terrorism cases where judges get the sentence wrong. So we are extending the Unduly Lenient Sentencing scheme to cover all terrorism cases heard in the Crown Court"

 

Money

"Let’s talk about money, and the role it plays in funding terrorism and organised crime. In the UK, much of the money originates from anonymous donations - often donated by people unaware of where it is really going. We are, therefore, seeking to expand our work on greater transparency with the Charity Commission and in the financial services sector, to stymie the flow of money to extremists. I cannot exaggerate how crucial it is to turn off the funding tap. To this effect, I will be introducing legislation in Parliament that will tackle criminal finances.

"It is an obvious point – but financial profit is the principal driver for almost all serious and organised crime. Our new legislation will give new powers to law enforcement agencies to track the criminals involved down … criminals who are laundering something in the region $1.6 trillion globally, every year. And at that level, clearly, the services of the financial, legal, and accountancy sectors are in play. Laundering that volume of money seriously undermines the integrity and reputation of our financial markets. It includes the very institutions that hard-working tax payers like you depend on for your pensions and savings."

 

Fire reform

"As we develop our capabilities to tackle modern crime, we must also finish the task of reforming our policing system, and make a reality of the reforms to the fire and rescue service. Police and Crime Commissioners will continue to play an absolutely vital role. Where it makes sense locally to do so, we will enable them to take responsibility for their fire and rescue services."

Picture: Theresa May

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 06 October 2016

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