1. Leaving the ECHR and establishing a British Ice
One of Kemi Badenoch’s first announcements of the conference was that the Conservatives would take Britain out of the European convention on human rights if elected to lead the next government.
The announcement was part of the party’s “borders” plan – a somewhat tortured acrostic that also included banning irregular migrants from ever claiming asylum. As part of the plan, the Tories would also repeal the Human Rights Act and leave the Council of Europe convention on action against trafficking. They would also end immigration trials and the right of people to claim legal aid to fight their immigration cases.
The policy would also involve establishing a British version of Ice, the American immigration force that has been raiding communities and businesses across the US in search of illegal immigrants.
2. Nearly £50bn in spending cuts
Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, announced plans for £47bn in annual spending cuts by 2029. The biggest chunk of those savings – £23bn – would come from welfare, which would be cut entirely for anyone who is not a British or EU citizen or who claims a pension.
The shadow chancellor also promised to cut one in four civil servant jobs in the UK, a cull that he said would save £8bn. An additional £3.9bn would come from banning foreigners from accessing social housing, and £3.5bn from closing asylum hotels.
The rest would be due to come from ending the government’s commitment to net zero.
3. Abolishing the Sentencing Council and sacking ‘activist judges’
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, stepped up his attacks on judges on Tuesday, promising to curb the autonomy of the judiciary and give more power to elected politicians.
The first step would be to abolish the Sentencing Council, the independent, judge-led body responsible for giving sentencing guidelines to judges and magistrates in England and Wales. The second would be to give the Judicial Conduct Investigation Office the power to sack any judge who tweets support for what the Tories called “open borders”.
Jenrick told the Telegraph he had identified 35 judges who had previously advised or helped groups including Bail for Immigration Detainees and the Asylum Support Appeals Project, which give legal advice to asylum seekers.
4. Tripling stop and search
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said his party would hire an extra 10,000 police officers and vastly expand the use of stop and search. Under Philp’s plan, police would be able to stop people and search them for things as minor as smelling of cannabis.
In certain pre-identified crime “hotspots”, officers would be allowed to carry out stop and searches without any suspicion at all. The new powers would go even further than the “sus law” that was blamed for stirring up community unrest before the race riots in 1980 and 1981.
5. Repealing the Climate Change Act
Badenoch had already announced that her party would ditch its commitment for Britain to reach net zero by 2050. This week she said it would repeal the Climate Change Act, which was passed under the last Labour government in 2008.
Repealing the Climate Change Act would remove the need to meet five-year carbon budgets that govern how much greenhouse gas can be emitted. A Conservative government would also disband the Climate Change Committee, the watchdog that advises on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint.
The party also says it would make electricity cheaper by ending the requirement of certain sectors to pay for the carbon they emit, and by ending the renewables obligation, which electricity users pay to fund renewables subsidies.
Kemi Badenoch will announce on Wednesday that she wants to put caps on the number of courses offered by universities that lead to “consistently poor student outcomes”. The Conservatives would limit how many people can do degrees that are not likely to boost their pay enough to clear their student loan.
Each year the taxpayer has to cover outstanding sums from loans that have not been fully repaid. Though the actual cost to taxpayers is disputed and depends on expectations of interest rates, the Tories say they can save £3bn a year from cutting unpaid loans, which they would put instead into apprenticeships.
6. Debt trap degrees
Kemi Badenoch will announce on Wednesday that she wants to put caps on the number of courses offered by universities that lead to “consistently poor student outcomes”. The Conservatives would limit how many people can do degrees that are not likely to boost their pay enough to clear their student loan.
Each year the taxpayer has to cover outstanding sums from loans that have not been fully repaid. Though the actual cost to taxpayers is disputed and depends on expectations of interest rates, the Tories say they can save £3bn a year from cutting unpaid loans, which they would put instead into apprenticeships.
