--- election_year: 1992 party_id: conservative party_name: Conservative and Unionist Party party_leader: John Major political_spectrum: centre-right victory: true government_outcome: majority sections: - economy - taxation - education - housing - defence - foreign-policy - law-and-order - welfare - democracy-and-constitution - energy - science-and-technology --- # Conservative Party Manifesto 1992 ## The Best Future for Britain ## Foreword At the end of this Parliament a new Millennium will be in view We must raise our sights high. This Manifesto is about making our country respected and secure, and helping you achieve a better; safer and more prosperous future. For I believe - strongly - that you, and not the Government, should be in charge of your life. That's what Conservatism stands for. That principle underlies all the policies in this Manifesto. I believe in a responsible society Government's duties are clear: to protect Britain in a dangerous world; to look after those who cannot look after themselves; to protect law-abiding people from crime and disorder; and to protect the value of our currency - without which all spending pledges are worthless and all savings at risk. But I believe also in a society in which government doesn't try to take responsibility away from people. Politicians must never make the mistake of thinking the state always knows best, or that it is entitled to the lion's share of people's money I believe in low taxes not just because they ignite enterprise - the spark of economic growth - but because they put power and choice where it belongs: in your hands. So when you compare what the politicians are saying in this election, ask yourself these questions. Whom do you trust to take responsibility for Britain's defence; to keep us safe and strengthen our influence for good? And who, at the same time, wants to give you the opportunity to do your best for yourself and your family? Who will give you the power to choose - to say for yourself what you want? And who will give you the personal prosperity that comes from low taxes - from your own savings, your own pension, your own home? Who will let you build up your own stake in Britain's success - and pass it on to your children? Only Conservatives can truly claim to be the party of opportunity; choice; ownership and responsibility. Socialists like to keep people under the government's thumb. Conservatives want to give them independence. But we also want to put government at your service, giving you what you've paid for - good public services, responsible to you. I do not believe the answer to every problem is simply for government to dig deeper in your pocket. I believe it often lies in changing the way government works; in making it respond to you. Government should look outwards. It should listen. It should put you in the know not keep you in the dark. We have made quite a start, under the seal of the Citizen's Charter People in schools, hospitals, public offices of all kinds are rising to the challenge. I knew they would. They just needed encouragement, incentive and a system that is outward-looking too. It is all part of a revolution in quality in Britain. British goods are once more winning in the toughest markets abroad. There is new vigour in the businesses liberated from state ownership; better management and better industrial relations. These are the firm foundations of economic recovery. We are raising the quality of our education and training. We are raising the standard of our housing, as more people own and improve their own homes. We are concerned for the quality of our environment. And in government, we are leading a drive for quality throughout our public services. That, I believe, is the way we all want to live - a decent life in a civilised community. That is the way we can live: celebrating our achievements, not nurturing old grudges; enjoying our successes, not talking Britain down. We can be free of old prejudices and class bafflers. We can encourage diversity, not division; achievement, not antagonism. We can all make our own contribution to the success of the United Kingdom; and we must keep that kingdom united. You know I believe in choice. And in this election, as always, there is another choice. You can vote for our opponents, and watch them take Britain back to the 1970s. Back to socialism. Back to strikes. Back to strife. Back to the world's pity, or worse still, contempt. I don't believe Britain wants that. I know the world doesn't want that for Britain. I hope you will choose a different path - to go forward, not back; to go for the best, knowing that Britain can be the best and do it best. My belief is clean only the best is good enough for Britain. **John Major** ## Contents **TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR BRITAIN **The need for leadership Our influence for good The risks we face now Our armed forces The European Community **WEALTH AND OWNERSHIP **Britain's opportunity Inflation and Europe The route to lower taxes The right to own Setting the economy free Privatisation Energy, science and innovation Regional policies and small businesses Consumer affairs **CHOICE AND THE CHARTER **The Citizen's Charter The Post Office Whitehall & Westminster **OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL **Schools, pupils &** **parents Teaching After 16 Higher education The training revolution Workers and unions Women and opportunity **FREEDOM UNDER LAW **Police and the community Protectors and victims Penalties and prevention Reforming our prisons Our legal system Pornography, privacy, libel Community relations Immigration and refugees The danger of drugs The threat of terrorism **RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHERS **The NHS - present and future Care services Children Social security Disabled people The voluntary sector Animal welfare **A BRIGHTER BRITAIN **Homes and housing Transport Local government Cities London The countryside Farming, forestry and fishing The environment **TOWARDS THE MILLENNIUM **Millennium Fund Arts Sport Our heritage Broadcasting **A UNITED KINGDOM **The Union Scotland Wales Northern Ireland **YOUR CHOICE AT THIS ELECTION** --- ## Taking Responsibility for Britain The world has been transformed in recent years. Communism has collapsed in Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union has fallen apart. Everywhere Socialism is in retreat and democracy, human rights and market economics are advancing. The authority of the UN has been bolstered and Iraqi aggression seen off. Talks are under way in the Middle East and South Africa. It is a time of great opportunity, but also of new dangers. Britain needs firm leadership at this time. We must be represented by a team of quality and experience. A team which can help shape the world for the next century. A Conservative team. Under the Conservatives, Britain has regained her rightful influence in the world. We have stood up for the values our country has always represented. We have defended Britain's interests with vigour and with success. The respect with which Britain is regarded in the world has rarely been higher. We play a central part in world affairs as a member of the European Community, NATO, the Commonwealth and the Group of 7 leading industrial countries, and as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. No other country holds all these positions. We are taking a leading role in recasting all the main international institutions to which we belong: the United Nations, the European Community, NATO, and the Commonwealth. The Prime Minister convened the first ever meeting of the UN Security Council at Heads of Government level. Between now and the end of 1992 there will be seven Summits where issues of critical importance to our future will be determined: two EC Councils, at Lisbon and Edinburgh, the G7 Summit, the CSCE Summit, EC Summits with the US and Japan, and the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro. Britain will be at the centre of these negotiations. ### The Need for Leadership The end of the Cold War has enabled the UN to act with new unity and authority. Under the authority of the UN, British forces played a leading and courageous part in the Gulf War and the liberation of Kuwait. At the Prime Minister's instigation, the UN also backed the operation to protect the Kurds. Britain has led the world in helping the reforms in the former Soviet Union. The Prime Minister gave full and immediate support to President Yeltsin in the August coup attempt, and was the first Western leader to visit Moscow after the coup failed. Britain has led the way in building up relations with the republics of the new Commonwealth of Independent States. We have provided valuable economic and humanitarian aid to ease the transition to a market economy. - **We will support an enhanced role for the UN in peace-keeping and combating state-sponsored terrorism.** - **We are determined that Iraq should comply with the terms of the Guff War cease-fire agreement, and in particular that it should co-operate with the UN in dismantling its weapons of mass destruction.** - **We support early Russian membership of the IMF and World Bank, as well as a stabilisation fund for the rouble.** - **We are co-operating with our partners to provide urgent help to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to upgrade the safety of their nuclear power stations.** - **We strongly support the peace process in the Middle East. The outcome of the talks must safeguard the security of Israel and achieve self-determination for the people of the occupied territories.** - **We will safeguard the prosperity of Hong Kong, nurture democratic institutions and work with the Chinese Government within the terms of the Joint Declaration.** - **We seek a solution to the dispute which has divided Cyprus since 1974. A settlement must recognise that Cyprus is indivisible and that the rights of both communities must be assured. We will support the UN's efforts to secure a fair and lasting solution.** - **The problems of Kashmir cannot be resolved by violence. We urge both India and Pakistan to address and resolve the issue, and we stand ready to help. ### Our Influence for Good All over the world countries are turning to democracy and free markets. Last October in Harare, the Commonwealth took on a new role as a promoter of democracy the rule of law, and respect for individual freedoms. Already the Commonwealth is monitoring elections to ensure that they are free and fair. Britain is taking the lead in encouraging these trends. We give substantial aid to the relief of poverty and to help the struggling economies of the developing world. Our aid programme next year (excluding aid to Eastern Europe and the CIS) will reach £1,800 million. Britain also makes more direct private investment in the developing world than any other EC country - some £2,400 million in 1989. We are urging the international community to take decisive action on debt relief, the liberalisation of world trade and support for good government. We continue to accept the long term UN target for aid of 0.7 per cent of GNP, although we cannot set a timetable for its achievement. The quality of Britain's overseas aid programme is second to none. It is well targeted and highly effective. Eighty per cent of our bilateral aid goes to the poorest countries. New aid to the poorest is given as grants, not loans. We are supporting projects designed to build efficient institutions and accountable government. We are helping to improve public administration and the legal system in a number of countries. The English language is one of our nation's greatest assets - culturally politically and commercially The BBC World Service has unrivalled standing around the globe. The British Council acts as a cultural ambassador for Britain and for the English language. - **We will use overseas aid to promote good government, sensible economic policies, the rooting out of corruption, and - crucially - respect for human rights and the rule of law.** - **We will press creditor countries to accept the Prime Minister's proposal - the 'Trinidad Terms' - for a two-thirds reduction in the official debt of the poorest countries.** - **We will promote the development of multi- party systems through the new Westminster Foundation for Democracy.** - **We will promote the English language by strengthening both the British Council and the BBC World Service. We will encourage both to become more entrepreneurial in order to finance their activities in developing markets.** ### The Risks We Face Now The collapse of the old Soviet Union has dramatically vindicated Conservative defence policy. We have always put the security of our country first. We have kept the peace by staying strong. Today the threat of a massive surprise attack from Eastern Europe has gone. But we still face grave risks to our security. We cannot drop our guard. Under the Conservatives, Britain will never do so. Within the former Soviet Union there remains a huge military force. Democracy and the rule of law are yet to be firmly established. Control over these armed forces and the massive nuclear capability is uncertain. The events in Yugoslavia show what can happen when Communism collapses in disorder. Increasingly threats come from outside Europe - as we saw so clearly in the Gulf. Many more countries are acquiring large stocks of modern arms. Some are trying to obtain nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Britain must be able to respond to any unexpected danger. The Conservatives are the only party who recognise both the opportunities and the threats of the new world. For over forty years, our security has been based firmly on NATO, the most successful defensive alliance ever. We will work with our allies to ensure that NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence. Britain will command a new NATO Rapid Reaction Corps ready to deploy quickly to counter any sudden threat. As Europeans we must accept a greater role in safeguarding the peace in our continent. We will promote arms control and reduction initiatives. On Britain's initiative, the UN is establishing a register of arms transfers in order to monitor any dangerous arsenals of weapons. Britain has always been strongly opposed to nuclear proliferation. We will back an enhanced role for the International Atomic Energy Agency in inspecting nuclear sites and for the UN Security Council in acting against those nations which break their non proliferation obligations. - **We will work to strengthen the Western European Union as the European pillar of NATO. We will press for a European reaction force.** - **We will intensify the co-ordination of security policies within the Twelve.** - **We will work through the CSCE to safeguard the security of Europe.** - **We will support a comprehensive and verifiable ban on chemical weapons, and further controls on the export of items which could be used in making biological weapons.** - **We will help Russia in her efforts to dismantle nuclear weapons.** ### Our Armed Forces Only the Conservatives can be trusted to maintain the quality and capability of our Armed Forces. We are proud of the skill, courage and professionalism which they displayed in the Gulf and which they show daily in Northern Ireland. We are the only party unambiguously committed to the preservation and modernisation of our independent nuclear deterrent. Our defence would be unsafe in the hands of the opposition parties. Labour have opposed our defence policies at every turn. They have twisted and turned in their attitude to our nuclear deterrent. They would devastate our conventional forces by cuts of at least 27 per cent, which would lead to huge job losses in the defence industries. The Liberal Democrats would cause even more damage to Britain's defences. Their aim is to cut our defence spending by half by the end of the decade. We insist that our forces have the modern, effective equipment that they need. The Gulf War showed that the Services must have the latest technology to give them maximum flexibility and mobility. That is why we have ordered the new Challenger II tank for the Army, the Merlin helicopter for the Navy, the ASRAAM air defence missile for the RAF and a wide range of other new equipment for our Forces. Our reappraisal of Britain's defence needs will result an a major restructuring of our Armed Forces to take account of the changing world situation. In future our Forces will be smaller, but better equipped. Our Services deserve the excellent pay and conditions which we have secured for them and will maintain. - **We will complete the deployment of the next generation of Britain's minimum nuclear deterrent. We will order and complete the fourth Trident submarine.** - **We will ensure the Forces have the best and most modern equipment.** - **We will improve the quality and management of service housing and help those in the Forces save towards buying a home of their own.** - **The Reserves will play an even more important role and we will introduce legislation to allow their more flexible use.** ### The European Community The Conservatives have been the party of Britain in Europe for 30 years. We have argued when argument was necessary; but we have not wavered nor changed our views. We have ensured that Britain is at the heart of Europe; a strong and respected partner. We have played a decisive part in the development of the Community over the past decade. It was a British initiative which launched the Single Market programme and our insistence which reformed the Community's finances. Britain has promoted co-operation on foreign policy and in combating terrorism. Britain has also persuaded our partners to welcome new countries who apply for Community membership. The Maastricht Treaty was a success both for Britain and for the rest of Europe. British proposals helped to shape the key provisions of the Treaty including those strengthening the enforcement of Community law defence, subsidiarity and law and order. But Britain refused to accept the damaging Social Chapter proposed by other Europeans, and it was excluded from the Maastricht treaty. All Member States must live up to their obligations under Community law. At Maastricht, we secured agreement that the European Court will be able to fine any Member State which fails to do so. - **We will work closely with our partners in foreign policy and in the war on international crime.** - **We will continue to resist changes to the Treaty of Rome that would damage British business.** - **We will resist Commission initiatives which run counter to the principle that issues should be dealt with on a national basis wherever possible.** - **Britain is a great trading nation. We prosper through the maintenance of an open trading system. We will work for a successful outcome to the GATT negotiations.** - **We will redouble our efforts to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and will stoutly defend the interests of British farmers and consumers.** - **We will insist on more effective control over Community spending and will resist pressure to extend Community competence to new areas.** - **We will work to strengthen the external frontiers of the Community whilst maintaining the checks needed at our own borders against illegal immigration, drugs, terrorism and disease.** #### The British Presidency In the second half of 1992 Britain will take the Chair of the Council of Ministers. The British Presidency comes at a turning point in the Community's history. It gives us the opportunity to shape the direction of the Community and to establish its priorities. We shall use it to promote our vision of an outward looking Community based on free enterprise. Our Presidency will reach its climax at the Edinburgh meeting of the European Council, which we will hold in the historic palace of Holyrood House. While the attention of Europe is focused on Edinburgh, the strength of our Union will be visible to all. **Our priorities will be:** - **To start negotiations with those EFTA countries who want to join the Community so that they can join by 1995.** - **To build on the EC's Association Agreements with Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland so that we can welcome them to full membership by the year 2000.** - **To conclude EC trade and co-operation agreements with the main republics of the former Soviet Union.** - **To complete the single market and extend it to the seven countries of EFTA - Over half our trade is with the rest of the Community. The single market will create an open market of *350* million customers for British goods and services. To complete the single market we shall aim to:** - **open up the market for life insurance to free competition;** - **liberalise air travel to bring down air fares in Europe closer to those in America;** - **free up the shipping and road transport markets so that British operators can carry freely within the EC;** - **increase competition in the European energy sector.** - **We will provide guidance and help to any British company encountering a trade barrier illegal under European law.** - **We will press for progress on the environment, including the Fifth Environment Action Programme.** - **We will chair the negotiations on the future spending priorities of the Community to ensure value for money. We will safeguard the abatement negotiated by Mrs Thatcher which has so far brought some £12,000 million in budget rebates to Britain.** ## Wealth and Ownership The 1990s present a great economic opportunity for Britain. We have got the scourge of inflation under control. We have cut direct tax rates. And a stable currency gives industry a chance to realise the potential released by the reforms of the 1980s. We have extended ownership more widely - of homes, savings and shares - with millions more sharing directly in Britain's success. We will promote enterprise through low taxes, sound money and a stable currency. When the Exchange Rate Mechanism was being created, during the final days of the last Labour Government, the then Prime Minister decided Britain could not take part. It was easy to see why The economy was too weak. Inflation was too high. In 1974-79, the inflation rate averaged over 15 per cent. It peaked at 27 per cent. Public borrowing rose to nearly 10 per cent of national income - equivalent to £55,000 million today Penal taxes blunted enterprise. Britain was a byword for strikes. The Conservatives have changed all that. Since 1979, our inflation rate has averaged 7½ per cent. Now it is only just over 4 per cent - below the average for the European Community In the 1960s and 1970s, Britain had the slowest growth rate in the European Community. But in the 1980s, we grew faster than either France or Germany Industrial disputes became rare events. And in 1990, a Conservative Government joined the ERM. Penal taxes have been abolished. A man on average earnings, with a wife and two children, has an income today which after tax and inflation is 39 per cent higher than it was in Labour's last year. That great advance in the standard of living is at risk in this election. Since the war, living standards have always risen faster under Conservative Governments than under Labour. Now we are pledged to cut tax rates again - and have made a start on the road to 20p Income Tax. Corporate tax rates have been cut, too. Our business investment has increased more rapidly than in any other major economy except Japan. Britain attracts by far the biggest share of Japanese and American investment in Europe. That, too, is at risk in this election. ### Britain's Opportunity We are now members of: - The biggest free market in the world. British industry is again respected in Europe. - A zone of low inflation, in which we can compete with the best. Britain must not throw this opportunity away by electing a Labour government. The world recession has been tough for all of us, at home and abroad. Unemployment has risen. But in Britain we have laid the foundations for recovery What is needed to trigger confidence and growth is a Conservative victory with a decisive majority. What would postpone recovery, and turn this promise of growth into the certainty of hard times, is the election of our opponents whose policies would mean higher taxes, higher inflation, higher interest rates, more bureaucratic regulation and more strikes. **In the 1990s, the Government's task will be to provide an economic environment which encourages enterprise - the mainspring of prosperity. Our aims must be:** - **To achieve price stability.** - **To keep firm control over public spending.** - **To continue to reduce taxes as fast as we prudently can.** - **To make sure that market mechanisms and incentives are allowed to do their job.** Price stability does not mean a frozen economy in which no price ever moves. But we must drive inflation down so low that it no longer affects the decisions made by ordinary people, businesses and government. When inflation rises, so do bankruptcies. When inflation falls, industry can plan again for a profitable future. Inflation creates strife, as different groups in society struggle to restore their living standards. It destroys jobs. It erodes savings and social benefits and threatens our currency. ### Inflation and Europe Membership of the ERM is now central to our counter-inflation discipline. But the ERM is not a magic wand. It would not protect Labour; it would merely expose the folly of Labour policies. Some Labour politicians know that all too well - others simply don't. They - and some of the unions - would put irresistible spending pressure on a Labour government. Some members of the European Community are anxious to hurry on from the ERM to Economic and Monetary Union. Others have doubts. Quite apart from the constitutional issues, they do not want to take risks with what is being achieved in the ERM. The Treaty negotiated at Maastricht laid down the process under which the Community can, if its members meet certain economic conditions, create a monetary union with a single currency for some or all of them. Together with Germany we fought for tough criteria. We believe a monetary union would collapse, with damaging consequences, if it were imposed on economies that were too diverse. A union will only come about by 1997 if a substantial majority of Community members agree it should. It would only include those members who were judged to have met specified conditions. And it would only come about if a majority of members were judged to have done so. But the Treaty goes on to say that monetary union will come about automatically in 1999, for all who meet the conditions. We did not want to exclude ourselves from membership; but we could not accept such an automatic commitment. By the end of this decade the EC's membership will have changed; the economic performance of man of its members may have changed. We cannot tell who the members of such a union might be. We therefore secured the freedom to make a proper judgement on events. We are as free to join if we wish as an other member. We would have to meet the same conditions - no more, no less. We will play our full part in the discussions of the monetary institutions Europe may create in the 1990s. But we are not obliged to join in a single currency if we do not want to. - **In due course, we will move to the narrow bands of the ERM.** - **We will play our full part in the design and discussion of monetary institutions for Europe.** - **When or if other members of the EC move to a monetary union with a single currency, we will take our own unfettered decision on whether to join. That decision will be taken by the United Kingdom Parliament.** ### The Route of Lower Taxes Economic growth is created by people's hard work, ingenuity thrift and willingness to take risks. An enterprise economy rewards the industrious and thrifty We believe that government should not gobble up all the proceeds of growth, and that those who create prosperity should enjoy it, through lower taxes and more opportunity to build up personal wealth. Our policy is therefore to reduce the share of national income taken by the public sector. In the mid-1970s, public spending peaked at over 49 per cent of our gross national product. In the early 1980s, it peaked at over 47 per cent. In this recession, it is peaking at only 43 per cent. We aim to reduce this steadily as the recovery gets under way. Keeping control of public spending will enable us to cut taxes while bringing the Government's Budget back towards balance in the years ahead. Excessive government borrowing can lead to inflation. Government should always be on guard against that danger. However, when demand in the economy is weak, public borrowing will tend to rise. Because companies pay taxes according to how well they did the previous year, the deficit tends to be deepest just as we come out of recession. We must make sure that as the economy grows, borrowing slows. By bringing tax and spending decisions together in a unified Budget from next year, we will make the choices clearer. But lower taxes and a prudent approach to borrowing do not mean public spending must fall; quite the reverse. A lightly-taxed economy generates more economic growth, and more revenue. High taxes kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In the course of its last five years in office, Labour was forced to cut public spending, in real terms. By contrast, the Conservatives have been able to raise public spending by nearly a quarter in real terms. Higher tax rates do not always bring in more money In practice, they can bring in less. The Conservative Government has more than halved the top rate of tax. Yet top rate taxpayers today provide a bigger share of our tax revenues than they did before. Lower taxes have encouraged more people to work harder - not to spend their time working out how to avoid penal taxes. During the past 13 years we have cut, simplified or abolished a whole range of direct taxes. - We have cut the basic rate of Income Tax from 33p to 25p, and the top rate from 83p to 40p. - We have now announced a new starting Income Tax rate of 20p. - We have raised the basic single person's tax allowance by 27 per cent more than would be needed to keep pace with inflation. - We have simplified and reduced the burden of taxation on capital. - We have cut Corporation Tax from 52* *per cent to 33 per cent (and from 42 per cent to 25 per cent for small companies). - We have reduced the burden of National Insurance on low earners. - We have introduced independent taxation of husbands and wives, giving married women full eligibility for tax allowances. - We have introduced new tax incentives for savings. - We have abolished several taxes completely including the surcharge on income from savings, the National Insurance Surcharge, Development Land Tax, and Capital Transfer Tax. We are the only party that understands the need for low taxation. Labour and the Liberals openly advocate increased taxation. Yet lower taxes clearly create a more productive economy. They also achieve another prime objective of Conservative Governments, which is to transfer power from the state to the people. Labour would: - Reverse our cut in the starting rate of Income Tax to 20p. - Raise the top rate. - Abolish the National Insurance ceiling. - Introduce a new savings surcharge. - **We announced in the Budget an important first step towards a basic Income Tax rate of 20p. By applying a 20p rate to the first £2,000 of taxable income, we have cut taxes for all 25 million taxpayers, and taken the four million on lowest incomes out of 25p tax altogether.** - **We will make further progress towards a basic Income Tax rate of 20p.** - **We will reduce the share of national income taken by the public sector. We will see the budget return towards balance as the economy recovers.** ### The Right To Own Since 1979, wealth has been spread more widely through the community Home ownership, share ownership and the build-up of personal pensions have all contributed. Over two-thirds of people live in homes that they own, 10 million people own shares, 6 million of them in newly-privatised industries. About 2.5 million have benefited from tax incentives to encourage employee share schemes. And over 4½ million people are now building up their own personal pensions. But these freedoms are at risk. Labour would: - Halt the privatisation programme and threaten the value of shares in privatised industries with renationalisation and new Government controls. - Bring back credit rationing, leading to mortgage queues. - Turn the pensions market on its head, making pension provision costly and difficult. These changes would drive savings overseas and make wealth again the prerogative of the few. By contrast, we want to do more to encourage the wider distribution of wealth throughout society Sustaining not just a home-owning but a capital owning democracy is crucial to our vision for the 1990s. We intend to spread the ownership of shares, homes, pensions and savings. We will do so through future privatisations, help for would-be home owners in council tenancies and further encouragement for the spread of personal pensions. We intend to lighten the burden of capital taxes and reform the taxation of savings. We believe Inheritance Tax is particularly inequitable. It falls only on those who do not dispose of their assets seven years or more before their death. It is inevitably the case that these tend to be people who are not rich enough to engage in high-powered tax planning, or who, for lack of knowledge or advice, fail to take the necessary precautionary action. In the Budget, we announced that we would take most family businesses out of Inheritance Tax altogether. During the new Parliament, we will aim to lessen the burden on families to whom home ownership has brought the threat of this erratic tax. - **As detailed later in this Manifesto, we will aim to bring home ownership, share ownership and personal pensions within the reach of more families.** - **We will continue to reform the taxation of savings, building on the success of PEPs and TESSAs.** - **We will raise the tax threshold for Inheritance Tax so that the homes and savings of an increasing number of our citizens can pass unencumbered from one generation to another.** - **Whenever possible, we will ensure that future privatisations offer opportunities to employees to secure a stake in the ownership of their business.** - **We will encourage companies to make dealing in their own shares easier, especially for small shareholders, and encourage wider share ownership, through, for example, the establishment of 'Share Shops'.** - **We will abolish Stamp Duty on share transactions.** ### Setting the Economy Free Starting with the abolition of exchange controls in 1979, the Government has created new incentives for every part of our economy. Manufacturing industry suffered particularly badly from the harm inflicted on the British economy by Labour Governments in the 1960s and 1970s. To a far greater extent than service industries, it was the victim of militant trades unionism, restrictive practices, nationalisation, state intervention, tax distortion, planning controls and over-regulation. We believe strongly that a vigorous manufacturing sector is essential to a healthy British economy Over the past 13 years, we have steadily dismantled barriers to its growth. The competitiveness and performance of British manufacturing have been transformed. Its impressive recovery was recognised by the Confederation of British Industry, in its report aptly titled Competing with the World's Best'. Manufacturing productivity has risen by more than half since 1979 - faster than in any other major industrial country. Over the past 10 years, British manufactured exports have grown faster than those of France, Germany the United States or even Japan. The British motor industry has achieved an astonishing revival. By 1996, Britain should again be exporting more cars than we import - for the first time since 1974. We have given the industry yet more encouragement in the Budget, by halving the special tax paid on new cars. The British Standard for Quality management has effectively become the international standard. But that is only the beginning. We have set up a team of senior business people to pursue the idea of a new British Quality Award. The City is Europe's greatest financial centre. It contributes £11,000 million net to our balance of payments. Financial services employ 12 per cent of our workforce. London's capital markets and financial services have grown vigorously because they are innovative and highly competitive. We will continue our efforts to break down the barriers that prevent them from competing freely throughout Europe and in the wider world. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is now based in London. It puts us in the forefront of encouraging investment in the developing markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Service industries make a vital contribution to our economy and to our balance of payments. Tourism, for example, today employs *1.5* million people, 20% more than in 1980. It is an industry which boasts many famous companies - but it is also driven by the dynamism of many small firms. We will continue to help them by simplifying rules and regulations on business and through the DTI Enterprise Initiative and a range of other schemes. - **We will continue to reduce tax burdens on business, as we have done this year for the motor industry, whenever it is possible to do so.** - **We will abolish unnecessary licences and reduce the need for specific approvals for product design.** - **We will back British companies encountering any discrimination, trade barriers or state subsidies that should no longer exist within the Single Market.** - **We will back the regulators of the financial services industry in their efforts to achieve high standards while keeping the rule books down to manageable size.** ### Privitisation Competition and private ownership are the most powerful engines of economic efficiency, innovation and choice. They lead to the creation of world-class companies. We have returned to private enterprise two-thirds of the companies once owned by the state: 46 businesses employing about 900,000 people. This programme has been the model for governments across the whole world. The work of liberalising markets which were once monopolised goes on. In 1984 we privatised British Telecom but only Mercury was given a licence to carry services over fixed links. In 1991 we decided to end this duopoly The UK now has one of the most open and dynamic telecommunications markets in the world. But much greater economic efficiency is not the only gain. Employees have been able to take a direct stake in the newly privatised companies. Millions of people have been given the same chance to own a real share in the nation's assets. Companies which looked inwards to Whitehall are now listening to their customers and shareholders. Some activities of government must always be provided in the public sector. But in central government, Next Steps Agencies and local government, management is increasingly buying-in services from the private sector. Our proposals for developing this policy have been set out in the White Papers on 'Competing for Quality' in central and local government. - **We will continue our privatisation programme. British Coal will be returned to the private sector. So will local authority bus companies. We will encourage local authorities to sell their airports. We will end British Rail's monopoly. We will sell certain rail services and franchise others. These proposals are set out later in this Manifesto.** - **The Ports Act 1991 has paved the way for the privatisation of the Trust Ports by competitive tender. Tees and Hartlepool, Tilbury, Medway, Forth and Clyde have already been privatised.** - **We are privatising Northern Ireland Electricity and will privatise the Northern Ireland water and sewage services. We will look for ways of bringing private sector skills into the management of Northern Ireland Railways.** - **We will bring private sector enterprise into the public services by encouraging contracting out and competitive tendering throughout government.** - **We will require all government departments to report annually on their plans for market-testing, and progress in achieving it, in their own services and in those of their associated agencies.** - **We will maintain our programme of compulsory competitive tendering of local authority services. We will ensure that unfair terms are excluded and will discourage investment to protect in-house services when better, more cost effective services are available through the private sector.** - **We will ensure that competitive tendering is extended to white collar local authority services, such as those offered by lawyers, accountants, architects and surveyors.** - **We will tackle all anti-competitive and restrictive practices with vigour. We will introduce new legislation giving stronger powers to deal with cartels.** ### Deregulation We are concerned that at every level of government - in Europe, in Whitehall and in local authorities - some regulations may have been adopted in answer to legitimate concerns, but without proper regard to their overall impact on businesses and individuals. A proper balance needs to be struck between essential protection for the public, and over-zealous and intrusive controls aimed at the elimination of all conceivable risk. It is wrong that new regulations, designed to deal with isolated problems, should interfere with the private arrangements of citizens or with reasonable commercial practices that have earned broad public acceptance. - **The compliance costs of new UK and EC regulations must be assessed properly. Existing regulations which are outmoded and burdensome must be simplified or removed. We will give priority to the work of the DTI Deregulation Unit in these areas.** - **We will examine ways in which the uniform scope of regulation could be eased to safeguard traditional local products or practices.** - **We will examine whether certain regulations affecting individual citizens within their own homes could be made advisory, rather than mandatory.** ### Energy Our energy policies have brought the consumer both lower prices and better service. We have privatised British Gas and the electricity industry in a way that has opened these markets to competition. These policies are now being seized upon in Europe as essential extensions of the Single Market. Domestic customers are now protected by a price formula, and high standards of service are enforced by the independent regulators. For instance, electricity disconnections for debt have fallen by 43 per cent since the launch of privatisation. We have ensured that the safety of employees comes first, and have given thousands the opportunity of acquiring a stake in their industry. The future of the coal industry depends crucially on the competitiveness of coal as a fuel for electricity generation. British Coal has made enormous progress in increasing productivity since the end of the 1985 strike - but there is still further to go. We will support the efforts of British Coal and its workforce to improve the industry's performance. The long term future of the industry lies in the private sector. We have invested in clean coal technology to safeguard the environment. Renewable energy projects have received unprecedented support. North Sea oil and gas are enjoying a record expansion thanks to our policies of deregulation and low taxation. - **Safety will remain our highest priority throughout the energy sector.** - **We will continue to encourage competition in energy markets. We will progressively reduce British Gas' monopoly of the retail gas market, to give small users the same rights as big firms.** - **We will privatise British Coal in a way that enables employees to enjoy a stake in the industry.** - **We will increase our support for British Coal Enterprise which promotes economic regeneration in areas affected by the closure of mines, and has successfully assisted 76,000 people in finding new jobs.** - **We will review the future of the nuclear industry in 1994. We are committed to safe and economical nuclear power. The existing strict arrangements for nuclear waste will be maintained.** - **We will maintain a guaranteed market for renewable energy projects and fluid research in this area.** - **We will consult on new building regulations to improve energy use. Together with British Gas and some of the Regional Electricity Companies, we will establish an independent Energy Savings Trust to promote energy efficiency. Our grants scheme for low income households will receive record funding next year.** ### Science and Innovation British science has an unrivalled reputation for ground-breaking research. We believe in investing in scientific research because it enriches the quality of our lives and provides the feedstock of industrial innovation. The science budget has grown by 24 per cent in real terms since 1978-9. Increasingly funding will reflect the quality of the research output so that the best centres can truly be world leaders. The Government spends nearly £3,000 million a year on civil research and development - at least as high a proportion of national income as the Japanese or Americans. And since 1978, British industry's spending on R&D has increased by 37 per cent in real terms. - **We will continue to support our science base to maintain the excellence of our science and to ensure that we produce the skilled technical people we need.** - **We will encourage the transfer of people and technology from universities to businesses and upgrade the LINK scheme, which funds joint research.** - **We will encourage the establishment of centres of technological excellence linking industrial research organisations with universities and polytechnics.** - **We will continue to develop new innovation schemes for small and medium-sized businesses, including the highly-regarded SPUR programme to provide help with the development of new products and processes.** ### Regional Policies In recent years, the United Kingdom has attracted five times as much Japanese investment as Germany or France, which powerfully demonstrates that we have created the most attractive environment in Europe for investors. Our positive policy towards inward investment will be maintained, in contrast to that of the TUC and the Labour Party. The Government will continue to invest in a strong infrastructure, and boost technology expertise in the regions. - **We will ensure that regional policy is well targeted.** - **We will continue to support all parts of the United Kingdom in their campaigns to attract inward investment.** - **We will give additional emphasis to upgrading skills and technology when allocating funds.** ### Small Businesses Small businesses are the seedcorn of the economy Their numbers have grown by more than a third since 1979, while the number of self-employed people has grown to over 12 per cent of the workforce. We will continue to recognise the special needs of small and medium-sized companies, and to ensure that Government delivers useful services to them. Our tax regime for small businesses is one of the most favourable in Europe. We have raised the VAT threshold every year since 1979 and reduced the small companies rate of Corporation Tax from 42 per cent to 25 per cent. Training and Enterprise Councils (and Local Enterprise Companies in Scotland) have developed a wide range of services for business and enterprise which assist over 150,000 small companies each year. We have developed the popular Enterprise Initiative, under which 40,000 companies have been helped to buy in outside expertise offering key management skills. We now propose to develop this initiative further. We also propose to help businesses by easing the transfer of commercial tenancies. - **We announced in the Budget new measures to help small businesses, including full relief against Inheritance Tax on most business assets, reductions in business rates and proposals to speed up the payment of outstanding bills.** - **During the new Parliament, we will develop a new Enterprise Service to give small and medium-sized companies help in diagnosing their most important strategic needs. A new Consultancy Brokerage Service will supply information to small companies. We will also develop a Technology Audit which will provide small firms with a plan for change. And we will continue to support Total Quality Management consultancies.** - **TECs and LECs will be closely involved in developing and implementing this new initiative.** The independent Law Commission has recommended that a commercial tenant should in general be freed from any future liability under a lease when he assigns away his interest under it. We will consider how this principle could be put into effect for new commercial leases. ### Consumer Affairs Consumers want choice, quality and value for money Competition only works effectively if consumers have the information they need to make sensible decisions. Our food safety policy promotes consumer choice and consumer safety. We introduced the 1990 Food Safety Act to ensure the highest standards of food hygiene. - **We will introduce legislation designed to give consumers confidence that what they purchase is properly described - and that adequate compensation is offered where these requirements are not met.** - **We will enable the courts to override unfair terms in contracts and improve our powers to deal with rogue traders.** - **We will ensure that guarantees mean what they say, and that manufacturers or importers share responsibility with the people who sell their goods.** - **We will tighten up the rules on holiday brochures and contracts, and introduce a 'cooling-off' period into timeshare contracts.** - **We will introduce legislation to simplify trade mark registration and extend the rights they confer.** - **We will enforce science-based controls on the use of chemicals in food production, and will maintain our policy of open access to information on pesticide safety.** - **We will improve standards of food labelling in close consultation with consumer representatives.** ## Choice and The Charter The Citizen's Charter is the most far-reaching programme ever devised to improve quality in public services. It addresses the needs of those who use public services, extends people's rights, requires services to set clear standards - and to tell the public how far those standards are met. The Citizen's Charter: - widens popular choice; - helps people to exercise that choice in a properly informed way; - expects all public services to put the customer first; - promotes the challenge of competition within the public sector; - requires clear performance standards to be set and for services to be measured against them; - insists on a proper response to complaints and on action to set right the problems behind them. The Charter will be at the centre of government's decision-making throughout the 1990s. No one doubts the professionalism of the vast majority of public servants. But too often the system's outdated working methods and attitudes prevent them from giving their best. The Charter's commitment to modern, open services will help them to win the respect that good service deserves. In less than a year since the White Paper, 18 detailed Charters have been published. Each sets out tough new standards and gives new information and rights to the public. Each will be revised regularly to check on progress, and raise standards higher. But, already results are clear. - In hospitals, from April, every out-patient will have a fixed appointment time and our guarantee of maximum waiting times for operations will be steadily improved. - On council estates every tenant will have the right to call in a private contractor if the council fails to do a minor repair. - In schools, all parents will have the right to a report on their child's performance and details on that of the school. Rights such as these should not have been denied to the public. The Citizen's Charter, steadily but surely, is changing all that. - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - **** - **** - **** - - - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - - - - - ** - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - - - - - - ** - - - - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - **** - **** - ** - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - ****** - ****** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - ****** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - - - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - ****** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** - **** ## ---