Prime minister rejects Mayism in favor of ‘good solid Conservatism’
Print Edition
BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May revealed her core election promises and political vision yesterday, saying she will slash immigration, take Britain out of the EU and build a “great meritocracy” by giving the poor a helping hand and lifting barriers to social mobility.
May’s platform for the June 8 election marks a big shift away from the strongly pro-business, free-market policies of past Conservative governments. She said leaving the EU will build “stronger, fairer, more prosperous Britain” based on “a new contract between government and people.”
The Conservative election manifesto renews a promise to reduce net immigration to below 100,000, a vow the party has made and broken since 2010. The difference between the number of people moving to Britain and those leaving in the year to September 2016 was 273,000 and has not been below 100,000 in 20 years.
After Britain leaves the EU in 2019 the country will have more power to limit those moving to the country. But many economists say the target could prevent companies recruiting workers with essential skills.
Paul Johnson, director of think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said sharply reducing immigration would be “an additional cost on employers and the economy” because it implied losing a source of productive labor.
The Tory platform also says Britain will enter Brexit “in a spirit of sincere cooperation” and will pay an exit bill based on “a fair settlement of the UK’s rights and obligations as a departing member state.”
May’s economic vision outlined in the manifesto she launched in Halifax, yesterday, is more reminiscent of the center-left Labor Party than to usual Conservative policies.
The platform signals that May is willing to let the state intervene in markets. There are promises to strengthen regulators and cap energy prices to ensure consumers aren’t ripped off by utility firms.
The manifesto also gives the government greater flexibility to raise and spend money.
It scraps a guarantee that state pensions will rise by at least 2.5 percent a year, and abandons David Cameron’s promise not to raise income tax. It also eases off on previous promises to eliminate the deficit, moving it a 2025 date.
There are promises to spend at least 8 billion pounds (US$10.4 billion) more on health care by 2022, put more money into education and tackle the cost of elderly care, which risks becoming a social and fiscal crisis as the population ages.
To do that, May said she will remove some financial protections for pensioners. A winter fuel payment will now only go to the poorest in future.
May is often compared to Britain’s only other female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, whose pro-market policies that came to be dubbed “Thatcherism.”
May’s political philosophy appears to be different and rejected suggestions there is a vision that could be labeled “Mayism.”
“There is no Mayism,” she said. “There is good solid Conservatism.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
