The Conservatives have been in power for three years, and despite some criticism, they are keeping most of their promises. However, the country is still waiting on a few key projects like universal pharmacare and electoral reform.
The tory cuts to nhs is a question that has been asked many times. It is very hard to answer the question because there are so many different factors.
Reality Check by Tom Edgington and Jennifer Scott
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“Get Brexit done,” as the Conservatives’ 2019 platform put it, was the primary message.
Manchester is hosting the Conservative Party’s annual conference. It comes nearly two years after Boris Johnson was elected in the general election of 2019, only months before the epidemic struck.
Is the party on pace to fulfill the manifesto promises it made in 2019 amidst the turmoil caused by Covid-19?
‘Providing 50,000 more nurses and 6,000 additional physicians’
By March 2025, the Conservatives pledged this for England.
In June 2021, there were 310,251 full-time equivalent NHS nurses and health visitors, according to the most recent statistics. While the number of full-time equivalent positions has increased by 14,158 since December 2019, there are still 35,842 full-time equivalent positions to fill over the next three and a half years.
In July 2021, there were 34,354 full-time equivalents working as general practitioners. Since December 2019, the number has only increased by 108.
GP numbers have actually decreased by 255 since December 2019, when trainees and locums (doctors who temporarily cover a rota gap or are not yet fully certified) are excluded.
By either metric, a 6,000-person rise is a long way off.
‘20,000 extra cops,’ says one source.
By March 2023, the Conservatives pledged this for England and Wales.
According to the most recent statistics, an additional 9,814 police officers were hired between June 30 and June 30, 2021. This is contrasted to the Home Office’s baseline of 31 March 2019, which it uses to monitor the 20,000 goal.
With less than two years before the deadline, the administration seems to be on track to meet this goal.
However, opponents continue to remind out that this does not compensate for the 20,545 officer reductions that occurred during Conservative administrations between March 2010 and March 2019.
‘Brexit must be completed.’
In a literal sense, this pledge was fulfilled when the United Kingdom exited the European Union on January 31, 2020.
After agreeing to a basic free trade agreement with its neighbors, Britain left the EU’s single market and customs union 11 months later.
However, if the phrase suggested that Brexit would be completed quickly, this has obviously not occurred.
A great deal remains unresolved. Northern Ireland and fishing rights are still a source of contention.
Many individuals, from food exporters to artists wishing to visit Europe, are still grappling with the new bureaucracy.
And the decision to break relations with the EU is to blame for acute labor shortages in a number of sectors.
A slew of trade agreements have been struck across the globe to replace the ones the UK had in Europe, but the promised fast agreement with the US has yet to materialize.
Brexit supporters argue that sovereignty has been regained, and that unwelcome restrictions may now be eliminated. However, regaining control is still a work in progress.
‘Immigration control based on a points system similar to that used in Australia.’
EU nationals who want to live and work in the UK must now apply using the same points-based system as residents from other countries.
If an applicant qualifies for a specific amount of points, he or she will be granted a visa. For example, having a job offer from an authorized company for a skilled position and being able to communicate in English earns you 50 points.
These changes were not feasible before Brexit since the UK was a member of the EU single market, which allows people to live and work in any EU country.
The procedure hasn’t been without its bumps. One of the reasons contributing to the HGV driver shortage is the UK’s exit from the EU single market, since EU drivers may no longer come and go as they choose. For this industry, the government had to provide 5,000 temporary visas.
But, as promised, the PBS is in place.
‘We’ll retain the triple lock,’ says the narrator.
Depending on which of these is the largest, this determines how much the state pension rises each year:
- Inflation as assessed by the Consumer Price Index (the rate at which prices are rising as measured by the Consumer Price Index)
- Wages on average
- or 2.5%
It was first established in 2010, and the Conservative Party’s 2019 platform said that it will remain in place for the remainder of current Parliament.
However, on September 7, the administration stated that the triple lock will be suspended for a year. Instead of increasing in line with average earnings, which is the most important of the three, the administration announced that pensions would increase by either inflation or 2.5 percent.
It said that the pandemic’s unique circumstances warranted the action.
Many individuals were put on vacation during the onset of the epidemic, which meant they were earning less.
As individuals wean themselves off it and return to full pay, this has resulted in a significant increase in average wages, which increased by 8.3% between May and July compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics. This would have resulted in a significant increase in the state pension under the triple lock.
‘We will gladly keep our promise to spend 0.7 percent of GNI on development,’ said the government.
This commitment, made in 2015 and put into law, has been violated.
The UK’s yearly assistance budget has been lowered by approximately four billion pounds to 0.5 percent of GNI (gross national income).
The administration once again blamed the epidemic, claiming that it had caused “immense” economic harm and that reducing assistance expenditure would help to restore public finances.
It claims that the 2015 law, which established the 0.7 percent goal, refers to “financial conditions” that countries may use if they don’t achieve it.
The government claims that spending will revert to 0.7 percent, but only when:
- The government does not borrow money on a daily basis.
- As a proportion of national revenue, underlying debt is decreasing.
However, several MPs have raised concerns about when these requirements would be fulfilled.
‘We pledge not to increase income tax, national insurance, or VAT rates.’
The National Insurance (NI) pledge has been violated.
NI is a tax that employees and self-employed people pay on their earnings and profits. Employers are also responsible for paying additional NI payments on behalf of their employees.
From April 2022, these groups will pay 1.25p extra NI in the pound, according to the government’s announcement in September.
According to the government, this will generate £12 billion each year, which will first be used to relieve strain on the NHS.
Over the following three years, a part will be transferred to the social care system.
Mr Johnson defended the NI increase, saying it will assist with “catastrophic [care] expenses faced by millions of people throughout the nation.”
NI will revert to its existing rate in April 2023, however the additional tax will be renamed the Health and Social Care Levy.
‘By achieving our world-leading goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we will lead the worldwide battle against climate change.’
The moment at which the nation is removing as many climate-changing gases from the atmosphere as it is sending into it is known as net zero.
The administration has already taken certain steps, such as accelerating the transition away from coal and toward renewable energy. From 2030, the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be prohibited.
It has also set a goal of decreasing emissions by 78 percent by 2035 (compared to 1990 levels).
The commitments were praised by the independent Climate Change Committee, but their implementation was questioned. The government has “credible plans” in place to achieve just roughly a fifth of the reduction, according to the report.
The nhs funding cuts is a question that has been asked since the Conservatives came into power. They have promised to keep their promises, but it is not clear if they are keeping them.
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