The Conservative Party

Question 1

what are the three main political parties in the UK?

Answer 1

The Conservative party

The Labour Party

The Liberal Democrat party

Question 2

traditional conservatism: where can the Conservative party be traced back to?

Answer 2

The Conservative party can trace back its origins to the Tory party of the late 17th century

they were a group of aristocrats that first came together in defence of the historic privileges of the crown and the Church of England as powerful land owning institutions

Question 3

traditional conservatism: what happened by the 1830s?

Answer 3

by the 1830s under the leadership of Sir Robert Peel the party was evolving and became dedicated to the defence of property and traditional authority against the threat of revolution

It stressed the importance of protecting and conserving established institutions hence the name Conservative

Question 4

traditional conservatism: when did the Conservative Party begin to become remarkably successful?

Answer 4

In the late 19th and 20th centuries the party was remarkably successful in broadening its support by appealing to the middle classes and landowning aristocrats

Question 5

one nation conservatism: what is one nation conservatism?

Answer 5

a development of traditional conservatism

A paternalistic approach adopted by the Conservatives under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century

The name came from a passage in one of Disraeli’s books (Sybil) in which he contemplates the growing division between the rich and the poor due to the development of industrial capitalism

Question 6

one nation conservatism: what does one nation conservatism revolve around?

Answer 6

Revolves around the idea that the rich (the natural leaders) have an obligation to help the poor in return for acceptance of their right to rule

Sought to close the gap between the classes caused by industrial capitalism And prevent Britain being divided into what Disraeli called two nations

Wanted to win popular support using patriotically foreign policy and social reform designed to strengthen national unity

Question 7

one nation conservatism: what happened after WW2?

Answer 7

One nation conservatism peaked after World War II

The party broadly accepted the changes introduced by labour between 1945 and 51 including the mixed economy welfare state and government action to maintain high employment

This was known as the postwar consensus — They compromised, undoing few of labours policies if any

One nation conservatives prided themselves on a pragmatic and non-ideological approach, maintaining contest between the two parties but balancing ideas of free enterprise and state intervention

Question 8

one nation conservatism: who has continued this strand of conservatism?

Answer 8

Arguably continued by David Cameron and Theresa May in the 21st-century

Question 9

Thatcherism and the New Right: what did Thatcher give her name to?

Answer 9

Margaret Thatcher gave her name to a sharp ideological form of conservatism known as Thatcherism which was linked to the rise of the new right

Question 10

Thatcherism and the New Right: what is the New Right?

Answer 10

The new right is an approach combining neoconservatism (which seeks a more authoritarian approach to morality and law and order) with neoliberalism (which endorses the free market and the rolling back of the state)

Sought to reduce state intervention in the economy and restore order in the face of rising challenges from trade unions and other left groups

Radical policy agenda that rejected the one nation conservatism compromise and broke the postwar consensus

Question 11

Thatcherism and the New Right:

Answer 11

Thatcherism Involved control of public spending, tax cuts to provide incentives for business leaders and to stimulate economic growth and privatisation of previously state owned industries to promote improvement and wider consumer choice through competition

legal limits on the power of trade unions to deter industrial action, a tough approach to law and order by increasing the powers of the police and the judiciary and protecting national sovereignty against the growth of the European Community (EU)

Roll back the state and encourage people to take responsibility and become independent e.g. through the sale of council houses to their tenants, which attempted to encourage independence

However the popularity of the NHS and the need to maintain state welfare provision made radical reform limited

Question 12

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 12

Thatcher Was dominant but divisive and aroused both admiration and hostility both in and out of the party

After her departure in 1990 the party struggled to develop a new identity independent of her

Question 13

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 13

John Major, her successor, to some extent represented the continuation of Thatcherism in his privatisation of coal and railways but had less of a confrontational and dominant image

Major was a moderate pro-European, he unsuccessfully sought to reconcile the hard line Eurosceptics (Those who wanted strong resistance to what they saw as an overly powerful EU) with a smaller pro EU group (Those who sought to keep British influence over a rapidly integrating continent) within his party

Party divisions over Europe and a series of scandals led to the 1997 election defeat labour then won two more elections after this in 2001 and 2005

Question 14

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 14

The party had an ageing membership and outdated policies they were unable to appeal to an increasingly diverse society and did not come back into power until 2010 under David Cameron

The leaders after major including William Hague Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard failed to distance themselves from Thatcherism

Question 15

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 15

David Cameron was elected as leader of the Conservative party in 2005 and attempted to ’detoxify’ the Conservative brand — He learned from the way Blair had reinvented the Labour Party to win more support

He was respectful of Thatcher but aware that Britain had changed considerably

he identified himself as a Liberal Conservative he was tolerant to my naughty groups valued public services such as the NHS and was interested in the environment

Question 16

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 16

Both Cameron and May claimed to stand on the side of the ordinary people rather than just the wealthy elite

Cameron emphasised bonds between people rather than individualism through his idea of the big society — Cooperation between the state and voluntary sector in building the big society

He also moved away from Thatcherism by supporting the legalisation of gay marriage

This all seemed like an updated version of one nation conservatism but there were respects in which the party remained close to the ideas of Thatcherism

Question 17

post-Thatcherite party:

Answer 17

Cameron failed to win an outright majority in 2010 so formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats that lasted the full five years

This coalition was successful due to Camerons moderate tone and pragmatism

Although there were tensions over voting system reform and Britain’s nuclear weapons system

Cameron then formed a Conservative government after a win in 2015

Question 18

Conservative leaders since 1975

Answer 18

Margaret Thatcher 1975 to 90

John Major 1990 to 97

William Hague 1997 to 2001

Iain Duncan Smith 2001 to 2003

Michael Howard 2003 to 2005

David Cameron 2005 to 16

Theresa May 2016 to present

Question 19

David Cameron:

Answer 19

In spite of his successes Cameron will always be remembered as the prime minister responsible for Brexit

Firstly he called a referendum when he really did not need to and secondly he led the campaign that could not persuade the electorate to stay in the EU

Until his sudden fall from power Camerons record as a prime minister was decidedly mixed

his government could claim several successes and economically could claim to have left the country in better shape than he found it but there were also failures

but in the end like Blair he left a party who had lost confidence in him

Question 20

David Cameron: political career

Answer 20

Elected Conservative party leader in 2005

After the general election in 2010 he became prime minister leading a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat’s

He was catapulted into power with little senior experience and never having been a minister or a real frontbench spokesperson — He was also very young when he became prime minister at the age of 44 he was the youngest for nearly 200 years

Against the odds he won an overall majority in the 2015 general election and formed a majority government

He resigned in 2016 following defeat in the referendum on UK membership of the EU later he also resigned as an MP and left politics

Question 21

David Cameron: political ideals

traditional conservatism

Answer 21

In many ways David Cameron was a typical Conservative pursuing many of the ideals of his predecessors, including…

• Reduce taxation
• Reduce the role and size of the state
• replace many public sector providers with private sector enterprises (privatisation)
• Pursued an active foreign policy in attempt to maintain Britain’s influence and status in the world
• Strongly defended the forces of Law and order and placed a high priority on the security of the state in the face of international terrorism
• Remain suspicious of reform to the political system and resisted strong demands for significant constitutional reform — for example of the electoral system and the House of Lords

Question 22

David Cameron: political ideals

one nation conservatism

Answer 22

• He was a unionist who strongly defended the unity of the United Kingdom
• Showed a preference for policies that would unite the community rather than divide it
• Despite his resistance to constitutional reform he did accept that society was ready for the liberalisation of laws on gay marriage and the strengthening of laws against race hatred — in other words he accepted the natural organic development of a more tolerant and diverse society

Question 23

David Cameron: other political ideals

Answer 23

A defender of property rights he refused to interfere significantly in property markets and saw the inexorable rise in property prices as a largely positive development

In addition to these Conservative instincts David Cameron sought to define himself in terms of three ideals — the big society one nationism and social liberalism

Question 24

David Cameron: Big Society

Answer 24

David Cameron was inspired by the ideas of Edmund Burke who is often described as the father of traditional conservatism

Burke referred to what he called the little platoons of society — these were local groups of citizens who are politically and economically active maintained social cohesion and gave people a sense of identity which could not be provided by the centralised state

The little platoons could act as a guardian against the excessive power of the state

Question 25

David Cameron: Big Society

Answer 25

The modern equivalent envisaged by David Cameron was to consist of a network of groups such as faith groups community societies private companies parent organisations and charities

In practice the modern platoons would engage in such activities as setting up new free schools building to provide local authority services campaigning for environmental causes establishing conservation groups and setting up a charitable trusts to provide subsidised housing or social care

By taking responsibility for such activities and replacing over reliance on the state the theory of big society is that communities will thrive and opportunity will be spread more widely

Although Camerons ideas for a big society were not ultimately successful

Question 26

David Cameron: one nationism

Answer 26

David Cameron is one nation conservatism has two main aspects

1) A determination that the United Kingdom should remain together as one single family in practice this means resisting the influence of nationalism which flourishes largely in Scotland
2) Prevent the gap in living standards between the prosperous south and the depressed north widening further and perhaps to reduce the differences

The main practical application of this was the creation of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’, promoted also by George Osborne, to improve infrastructure in the north

Question 27

David Cameron: social liberalism

Answer 27

Though clearly a Conservative David Cameron was something of a liberal where social affairs were concerned

He supported the progress in gay-rights exemplified by the introduction of same-sex marriage

He also introduced a significant increase in the provision of nursery care for preschool children

In secondary education he resisted calls for the extension of selective grammar schools, which Theresa May And many others in his party support, preferring to see opportunity spread through all schools

Question 28

David Cameron: how far did Cameron achieve these ideals?

Answer 28

Camerons critics will argue that though he Tried to define himself in terms of these three philosophies, he actually achieved very little in terms of putting them into practice

Within three years the big society idea had withered and Scottish nationalism had risen, threatening the union

the gap in living standards between the wealthy and poor also widened and opportunities for the young continued to narrow

On the other hand his instinct for tolerance and equal rights has led to real action and has been put into practice

Question 29

David Cameron: achievements

Answer 29

Developed a more inclusive vision of Britain than any other Conservative Prime Minister taking up the cause of the gay community women and ethnic minorities and the low paid

Brought the Conservatives back into power after 13 years out of office in 2010 by rebranding the party

Led a coalition government which it was widely believed could not last long but which lasted the full five years and then won an election out right for his party in 2015

Succeeded in introducing gay marriage despite opposition from within his own party, a rainbow flag then flew above Whitehall In March 2014 to mark the introduction of gay marriage

Preserved the commitment that Britain should devote at least 0.7% of its national income to overseas aid again despite fierce opposition from the Conservative right wing

Although he and the Chancellor missed their targets in government debt reduction He did succeed in bringing the nation’s finances more under control

His decision to allow the Scots a referendum on independence in 2014 was a major success as the result kept the United Kingdom together, for the time being at least

Question 30

David Cameron: achievements

Answer 30

Cameron was also able to shield many families on low incomes from the worst effects of the austerity program introduced to bring down government debt

This was done by introducing a much increased minimum wage known as the living wage and adhering to the Liberal Democrat demands to raise the level at which people start paying tax and so take millions of them out of paying tax altogether

Question 31

David Cameron: achievements

Answer 31

In education he presided over a period of steadily improving standards in schools and successfully introduced a free school program to increase diversity in education and to put some power back into the hands of parents

Question 32

David Cameron: failures

Answer 32

Cameron was a risk taker which seem to work when he was confronting opposition from within his own party but sometimes failed when it came to external forces

The apparent failure of his Libya policy and the outcome of the EU referendum are the two key examples

Question 33

David Cameron: failures

Answer 33

Failed to tackle the problem of excessive wealth being retained in the hands of a select few

Question 34

David Cameron: failures

Answer 34

Though he won the Scottish Independence referendum the result has led to greater powers being transferred to Scotland

while the EU referendum has led to renewed demands for Scottish independence, threatening the union

Question 35

David Cameron: failures

Answer 35

His policy in Libya proved to be a disaster almost on a scale with Tony Blairs Iraq adventure

While his decision to help anti-government rebels with power was successful in the short term and the much reviled dictatorship of Colonel Gaddafi was brought to an end

like Blair and George Bush in Iraq there was no plan for restoring order in the country and the result in both cases has been bloodshed and chaos

Question 36

David Cameron: failures

Answer 36

His decision to allow a referendum on EU membership was an error of judgement, driven not by his own conviction but by desire to gain political dominance over his party’s Eurosceptic wing and to undermine UKIP

He then led the Remain campaign to defeat

Question 37

David Cameron: failures

Answer 37

He also failed to meet the government targets on government debt reduction

The austerity program that has done so much damage to public services failed to achieve its aim possibly as a result of a reluctance to raise taxes

Indeed Cameron will be remembered for the decline in public services such as the NHS and social care as well as the erosion of many welfare benefits and the near collapse in the provision of subsidised housing

Question 38

David Cameron: failures

Answer 38

His flagship philosophy of big society proved to be virtually stillborn

Other than the flourishing free school program little evidence can be found of big society initiatives

It was an attempt by him to carve out a distinct identity he had seen how successful Tony Blair’s Third Way had been in the 1990s and sought to emulate it, without success

Question 39

David Cameron: strengths

Answer 39

Though he was supported by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury it was clear that the Prime Minister was chief economic policy maker — Cameron was determined that the UK would make inroads into public sector debt even if this meant a measure of austerity and he firmly led the government’s strategy

As long as he maintained the support of an inner group of ministers (Osborne May Gove Letwin) he could dominate government

Parliamentary performance was important Cameron learned how to handle Parliament and this gave him great authority

Question 40

David Cameron: weaknesses

Answer 40

Without a decisive Parliamentary majority he was always in a fragile position Cameron was forced into actions he might not have undertaken had he enjoyed more Parliamentary support — the prime example was the calling of an EU referendum, though his actions in Syria and Libya were also constrained by a non-compliant Parliament

The Prime Minister remained vulnerable to events outside his control in particular Brexit was a totally unexpected development he also found it difficult to respond to the overwhelming refugee crisis that emerged in 2014

Ultimately every prime minister stands alone at the apex of government the Prime Minister is responsible for the performance of government so when the UK voted to leave the EU Cameron could not transfer responsibility to anyone else he had to take responsibility and so resigned

Enoch Powell’s assertion about political careers ending in failure has proved to be accurate

Question 41

David Cameron: Big Society

Answer 41

Camerons idea of the big society was never properly defined and failed to take off

It was intended to be a network of groups such as faith groups community societies charities et cetera that would aim to carry out many tasks such as setting up new free schools bidding to provide local authority services and campaigning for environmental causes

These groups would take responsibility so that over reliance on the state would be reduced

Theoretically communities with thrive and opportunity will be spread more widely

Question 42

David Cameron: Big Society

Answer 42

The big society seems to be a continuation of one nation conservatism because both focus on the idea that members within society have obligations towards each other and there is a paternalistic obligation of those who are privileged and wealthy to the poorer parts of society

on the other hand it may be seen as a continuation of Thatcherism because it seeks to strengthen national identity and social stability as well as emphasising idea that we are responsible for ourselves and should not rely on the state for everything, it emphasised increasing personal responsibility and small, minimal government

Question 43

David Cameron: policies aimed to distance conservatism from its image as the ‘nasty party’

Answer 43

Cameron’s policies were very liberal where social affairs were concerned — he supported progress in gay rights and introduced same sex marriage in 2014, he also strengthened the laws against racial hatred

he shielded and protected many families on low incomes from the worst effects of the austerity programme — introduced an increased minimum wage (the living wage) and raised the level at which people needed to start paying tax

He stepped away from Thatcherism with a more liberal approach to law and order, calling for more understanding of young offenders in a speech dubbed ‘hug a hoodie’ by the media

he wanted to reduce the problem of reoffending through rehabilitation (‘rehabilitation revolution’) and rewarded charities and private firms that helped criminals in their rehabilitation

Question 44

David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?

economic policy

Answer 44

Prioritised reducing the budget deficit inherited from previous Labour government and accused them of irresponsible overspending which they blamed for the 2008 financial crisis

insisted on a program of public spending cuts known as austerity to prevent Britain’s borrowing costs from rising and to maintain confidence in the financial markets

budgets of Whitehall departments were cut by up to 25% with some exceptions such as health and schools

many viewed the big society as a smokescreen for cutting costs because it seemed to withdraw the state from the provision of public services

Question 45

David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?

welfare policy

Answer 45

Intended to cut costs and encourage people on benefits to be more self-reliant

Osborne distinguished between hard-working ‘strivers’ and undeserving ‘shirkers’ who the government sought to penalise

Introduced universal credit which merges all benefits into one payment (a simplified welfare system)

Wanted to encourage low income people to take up employment

Radical overhaul of the NHS — allowed the private sector to compete with state hospitals

Question 46

David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?

law and order

Answer 46

Supported tough sentencing for certain crimes especially after the 2011 London riots

His approach resembled Blair’s insistence on being “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”

Question 47

David Cameron: how did Cameron remain close to Thatcherism?

foreign policy

Answer 47

Consistent with Thatcherism

Support for airstrikes in Syria and Iraq

held a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU — however he did support the remain campaign and resigned in 2016 after the majority voted to leave the EU

Maintaining strong links with the USA

Question 48

one nation conservatism:

Answer 48

This particular brand of conservatism has its roots with Benjamin Disraeli famous for extending the franchise to some of the working class for the first time in the 1867 great reform act

He rejected the view which was common among the fearful elites at the time that workers would always be naturally inclined towards socialism and instead believed that workers had much in common with Conservatives in particular a patriotic outlook that led them to support institutions such as the monarchy church and Empire

Therefore the Conservative party needed to capitalise on this potential common ground by putting forward a program located to the workers interests therefore he instituted a series of reforms designed to improve the lives of the working class including better factory and housing regulations three primary education of the legalisation of trade unions

Question 49

one nation conservatism:

Answer 49

Since Benjamin Disraeli the term one nation has been used to refer to a paternalistic form of conservatism in which the rich are deemed to have a moral duty to help the poor and vulnerable usually through the implementation of regulations and public services designed to benefit the working-class

It was associated with the Conservative party during the interwar years under the leadership of Stanley Baldwin and during the postwar consensus under Harold McMillan and Edward Heath

Question 50

Theresa May:

Answer 50

Like David Cameron before her Theresa May has repeatedly spoken of herself as a one nation Conservative

Question 51

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 51

In a speech she gave to the 2002 Conservative party conference she argued that the party had lost touch with ordinary people and had come to be seen as representing a privileged and selfish elite with outdated reactionary views

She pointed out that people had begun to see the Conservative party as the nasty party and was effectively calling for a total rebranding of the party

This speech gained traction feeding into David Cameron’s later attempts to soften the parties image under the guise of compassionate conservatism

Question 52

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 52

When the party finally returned to power in 2010 as part of the coalition government Theresa May was made Home Secretary which allowed her to demonstrate what her compassionate conservatism looked like in practice

She vowed to take on the perceived impunity of the police force and demanded that they clean up their act on issues such as police brutality racialised use of stop and search powers and unauthorised surveillance

Question 53

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 53

She set up enquiries into…

• the Hillsborough disaster — where 96 people were killed following poor police operation at a football match
• The illegal surveillance of the Lawrence family — whose teenage son Stephen had been killed in a racist murder which the police failed to investigate properly
• Black deaths in police custody

Theresa May was praised by Britain’s black newspaper The Voice for taking these issues seriously

Question 54

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 54

As prime minister she has consistently sought to bolster this hard-won image as the defender of the downtrodden

Her maiden speech outside Downing Street spoke of the “burning injustices” faced by the poor the black community the working-class and women and cowed to govern in the interests not of the “privileged few” but of all those who are “just about managing”

Question 55

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 55

She appeared to be signalling a renewed era of government interventionism by creating a new Department of industrial strategy

This was reinforced when she wrote in the Telegraph in 2017 that those “just getting by don’t need a government that will get out of the way” but rather an “active government” willing to “step up” and “fix broken markets”

Question 56

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is a one nation conservative

Answer 56

All of this suggests a decisive rejection of the Thatcherite laissez faire orthodoxy that economies work best when governments keep out

while Thatcher did much to roll back trade union rights, May began to speak of having workers represented on company boards

her Chancellor Philip Hammond in his autumn budget statement said the government was ditching Cameron’s commitment to eliminate the budget deficit by 2020

they instead announced new public spending measures in the form of a £23 billion Productivity Investment Fund

Question 57

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative

Answer 57

The idea that Theresa May represented a sharp turn away from the policy of austerity is not entirely accurate

Drastic cuts to public spending and to welfare in particular continued, with Hammond even announcing a new cap on government welfare spending

Question 58

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative

Answer 58

Further Thatcherite measures are evident in several new tax cuts including a promise to slash £6.7 billion from business rates and to reduce corporation tax from 20% to 17%

All this appears to be moving in the opposite direction from the traditional one nation view of taxing the rich to fund quality public services for the poor

Question 59

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative

Answer 59

In a speech to the CBI Theresa May conceded that the plan for having workers on company boards would be voluntary rather the mandatory

Her government is still pushing ahead with plans to restrict trade union powers

Question 60

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative

Answer 60

Even as Home Secretary there were elements of the old nasty party in Theresa May’s policies

In 2014 the Italian Navy ended the highly successful search and rescue operation which had rescued 150,000 migrants in the Mediterranean under pressure from the British government

The British position was that saving migrants only encourages them to flee, while leaving them to drown may act as a deterrent to others seeking a new life in Europe

Question 61

Theresa May: arguments to suggest that May is NOT a one nation conservative

Answer 61

This lack of compassion has also been evident in a number of other international policy announcements made since she came to office

In 2016 it was announced that the governments commitment to meet the UN’s goal of contributing 0.7% of GDP to international development programs was to be watered down following a right-wing press campaign vilifying such programs as a waste of money

Then in 2017 an enquiry into human rights abuses by British soldiers in Iraq was closed down, with hundreds of cases still unheard

in 2017, the government announced that it was no longer willing to take in the 3000 unaccompanied child refugees it had promised to accept only the previous year

Question 62

Theresa May: conclusion

Answer 62

Theresa May has strong one nation rhetorically but her practice is far from compassionate

Economically her policies are more consistent with the Thatcherite ideas of slashing government spending to fund tax cuts

However she does appear to diverge
from the laissez faire approach on the issue of government intervention in the economy

but even here, the departure from free-market principles seems to be not so much to support the poor as to support business, with the productivity investment fund explicitly designed to make industry competitive rather than to improve living standards

In this sense Theresa May’s approach is classic conservatism, driven not by commitment to any particular principle but rather by pragmatic concern for the profitability of British capital

In practice her policies contradict the concept of one nation conservatism

Question 63

current Conservative party stance: economic policy

Answer 63

Eliminate the deficit by “the middle of the next decade” by continuing with fiscal rules

Try to limit borrowing to 2%

By 2020 increase income tax personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate to £50,000

Not increase the level of VAT

Reduce corporation tax to 17% by 2020

A strong economy to support world-class public services, invest for the long term and support growth across the whole country

Question 64

current Conservative party stance: welfare policy

Answer 64

the ban on new selective schools will be lifted

Build at least 100 new free schools a year

Increase school budget by £4 billion by 2022, with free school meals for all infants to be scrapped and replaced with free breakfasts

Increase NHS spending by a minimum of £8 billion over the next five years

Build 1 million homes by the end of 2020 and build more social housing

Question 65

current Conservative party stance: law and order

Answer 65

National infrastructure police force set up to combine the civil nuclear Constabulary, the Ministry of Defence police and the British transport police

Serious fraud office incorporated into the National crime agency

£1 billion made available to modernise the prison estate

Reduce the number of MPs to 600

Question 66

current Conservative party stance: foreign policy

Answer 66

Reduced annual net migration to a sustainable level in the tens of thousands

Control immigration from the EU with new policy

Toughen up requirements for student visas

Retain its commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on International development aid but change how that money is spent

Maintain overall size of the Armed Forces and retain the Trident nuclear deterrent