A British Ice and more stop and search: Badenoch’s Tories set out new policies | Conservatives
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 included banning irregular migrants from seeking asylum. As part of the plan, the Tories would also repeal the Human Rights Act and leave the Anti-Trafficking Council Convention. They would also end immigration hearings and the right of people to seek legal aid to fight immigration cases.
The policy would also include establishing a British version of ICE, the American immigration force that raids communities and businesses across the U.S. in search of illegal immigrants.
2. Nearly £50bn in spending cuts
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has announced plans for £47bn in annual spending cuts by 2029. The biggest chunk of those savings – £23bn – would come from welfare being cut entirely for anyone who is not a British or EU citizen or who claims a pension.
The Shadow Chancellor has also promised to cut one in four civil servant jobs in England, which he says will save a lawyer £8bn. An additional £3.9bn would come from banning foreigners from accessing social housing and an additional £3.5bn from closing asylum hotels.
The rest would come from ending the government’s commitment to net zero.
3. Abolition of Prisoner Council and dismissal of ‘activist judges’
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick 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 Office of Judicial Conduct Inquiry the power to sack any judiciary who supports what the Tories call “open borders”.
Jenrick He told the Telegraph It identified 35 judges who had previously advised or assisted groups, including the asylum appeals project, which provides bail for immigration detainees and legal advice to asylum seekers.
4. Triple stop and search
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said his party would recruit 10,000 police officers and greatly expand the use of stop and search. Under Philp’s plan, police could stop people and search for things as small as the smell of marijuana.
In certain previously defined crime “hot spots,” officers would be allowed to make stops and searches without any suspicion. The new forces would go even further than the “Sus Act,” who were blamed for stirring up community unrest before the race riots in 1980 and 1981.
5. Repeal the Climate Change Act
Badenoch has already announced that his party will abandon its commitment to have the UK reach net zero by 2050. This week he said he would repeal the Climate Change Act, passed under the last Labor Government in 2008.
Repealing the Climate Change Act would eliminate the need to meet five-year carbon budgets that govern how much greenhouse gases can be emitted. A Conservative government would also disband the Climate Change Committee, which makes recommendations on how policies affect the UK’s carbon footprint.
The party also says it will make electricity cheaper by ending the requirement for some sectors to pay for the carbon they emit and by ending renewable liabilities that electricity users pay to finance renewable sources.
Kemi Badenoch will announce on Wednesday that she wants to put limits on the number of courses offered by universities that lead to “persistently poor student outcomes”. The Conservatives would limit how many people can get degrees that are unlikely to increase their wages enough to clear their student loans.
Each year the taxpayer must cover outstanding amounts from loans that have not been fully repaid. While the real cost to taxpayers is debatable and depends on interest rate expectations, the Tories say they could save £3bn a year by cutting outstanding loans they would put on apprenticeships instead.
6. Debt trap degrees
Kemi Badenoch will announce on Wednesday that she wants to put limits on the number of courses offered by universities that lead to “persistently poor student outcomes”. The Conservatives would limit how many people can get degrees that are unlikely to increase their wages enough to clear their student loans.
Each year the taxpayer must cover outstanding amounts from loans that have not been fully repaid. While the real cost to taxpayers is debatable and depends on interest rate expectations, the Tories say they could save £3bn a year from cutting outstanding loans they would put on apprenticeships instead.
