---
election_year: 2019
party_id: welsh-conservative
party_name: Welsh Conservatives
party_leader: Paul Davies
political_spectrum: centre-right
victory: true
government_outcome: majority
sections:
  - economy
  - taxation
  - health
  - education
  - housing
  - immigration
  - defence
  - foreign-policy
  - environment
  - transport
  - law-and-order
  - welfare
  - democracy-and-constitution
  - agriculture
  - energy
  - science-and-technology
  - local-government
---

# Welsh Conservative Party Manifesto 2019

## My Guarantee

**If there is a majority of Conservative MPs on December 13th, I guarantee I will**

**get our new deal through Parliament. We will get Brexit done in January and**

**unleash the potential of our whole country.**

**I guarantee:**

* Record funding for the Welsh NHS to fund more doctors, nurses and general **practice appointments.**

* 20,000 more police and tougher sentencing for criminals.

* An Australian-style points-based system to control immigration.

* Millions more invested every week in science, schools, apprenticeships and **infrastructure while controlling debt.**

* Hundreds of millions in capital funding for Wales to invest in transport, broadband and improving our communities.

* Reaching net zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.

* We will not raise the rate of Income Tax, Vat or National Insurance.

**If Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour and Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP team up and take control**

**on December 13th, we will have two referendums on Brexit and Scotland in**

**2020.**

**Please support a majority Conservative Government so our country can move**

**on instead of going backwards.**

## Contents

Introduction 2 .......................................................................................................................................

Get Brexit Done 7 ..........................................................................................................................

We Will Focus On Your Priorities 11 ...............................................................

We Will Unleash Wales’ Potential 27 ...........................................................

We Will Strengthen Wales In The World 45 ...................................

We Will Put You First 53 ......................................................................................................

## Foreword

### Foreword from Boris Johnson

For the last three and a half years, this country has felt trapped, like a lion in a cage. We have all shared the same frustration – like some super-green supercar blocked in the traffic. We can see the way ahead. We know where we want to go - and we know why we are stuck.

**We have been paralysed by a broken Parliament that simply refuses to deliver Brexit. And that is why this election is so essential.**

Get Brexit done - and we end the division and deadlock that have been so bad for our politics.

Get Brexit done - and we restore confidence and certainty to businesses and families.

Get Brexit done - and we will see a pent-up tidal wave of investment into our country.

Get Brexit done - and we can focus on the priorities of the British people, funding the NHS and tackling the cost of living.

Get Brexit done - and we can release that lion from its cage and take this amazing country forwards.

And as things stand, there is only one way to get Brexit done - and that is to return a Conservative Government with a working majority on December 12th.

I am very proud of the achievements of this Government in its first 100 days. We have mapped out a fantastic programme Everyone in the UK should have the peace for the years ahead: to unite and level up, of mind and confidence that come from spreading opportunity across the whole world-class health care – and so this new United Kingdom. One Nation Conservative Government is giving the NHS its biggest ever cash boost, The UK has extraordinary advantages. worth £1.9 billion extra for Welsh public We lead the world in 21st-century services. technologies, from batteries to bioscience. We have many of the best universities on If this Conservative Government is earth. There are parts of this country that returned to office, we will have an are more productive and more innovative infrastructure revolution for this country. than anywhere else in Europe. Now is the time to invest in Northern Powerhouse Rail, and the Midlands Rail And yet there are parts of the country Hub, and so many more projects, as well as that feel left behind. Talent and genius a massive programme of improvements are uniformly distributed throughout the for our roads and gigabit broadband for country. Opportunity is not. Now is the every home and business. time to close that gap – not just because it makes such obvious economic sense, but We will invest in technology and for the sake of simple social justice. innovation. And we will invest in Britain’s people by giving them the tools and We Conservatives believe passionately training to flourish in the economy of the that every child should have the same 21st century. opportunity to express their talents and make the most of their lives. We are the only party that can deliver this programme, because we are the only I want everyone to have the fundamental party that understands the balance and security that comes from safe streets and symmetry at the heart of the UK economy. safe neighbourhoods – so we are backing our police, putting 20,000 more officers We believe in superb public services and on the streets, and giving them the powers infrastructure, not just because they are to tackle crime with stop and search. good things in themselves, but because they are the bedrock of a dynamic free market economy.

And there is only one way to pay for world-class health care and outstanding infrastructure – and that is to foster and encourage the millions of British businesses, large and small, that create the wealth of the nation.

Their success is our success. It is thanks to the innovations of British battery-makers and turbine designers that we are able to cut CO2 - and achieve our goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.

It is precisely because we understand the concept of aspiration, and enterprise, that the UK is now leading a new green industrial revolution.

The tragedy of the modern Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn is that they detest the profit motive so viscerally – and would raise taxes so wantonly – that they would destroy the very basis of this country’s prosperity.

If you want to understand the impact of a Corbyn Government on ordinary people, remember that he has voted against tax cuts worth £7,800 for people on modest incomes. He is already committed to putting up corporation tax to one of the highest levels in Europe.

And what will he do for an encore? Embark on a spending and borrowing spree that would cost every taxpayer £2,400, as well as confiscating 10 per cent of the value of our most prominent businesses and putting those assets in the hands of John McDonnell. What madness.

We will run an ever stronger and more deal through in days. It is oven-ready - and dynamic economy. every single Conservative candidate at this election, all 635 of them, have pledged We will defend and protect our United to vote for this deal as soon as Parliament Kingdom - the awesome foursome that returns. make up the most successful political partnership in history. And what is Jeremy Corbyn’s alternative? A new negotiation, and then a new We are proud of our Armed Forces, and referendum - and he still cannot tell will always fund them properly. us what side he would be on: in or out, Remain or Leave. Jeremy Corbyn is prepared to break up the UK - to disband the Armed Forces, It is a recipe for chaos - compounded by a and even when it comes to cold-blooded second referendum on Scotland. murder on British soil, he cannot stand up for our country and do what is right. This country has had enough of dither and delay, of defeatism and despair. We will stand up for our country and our values around the world. We don’t want to waste 2020 on two acrimonious referendums. Above all, we Conservatives will respect the democratic will of the people. After We want next year to be a year of hope, of three and a half years of procrastination, prosperity and growth. we have a great new deal that is ready to go - so that we will be finally out of the EU We want to move on, with our programme by January 31. of investment in education, infrastructure and technology, to create a high-wage, We are able to deliver all the advantages high-skill, low-tax economy. of leaving the EU: making our own laws, controlling our own borders, taking back We want to get Brexit done so that we can our money, and exercising all kinds of new get on with our work of making Britain the freedoms. greatest place in the world to live, to go to school, to start a family, to own a home, to From freeports to free trade deals, from start a business – with the most ambitious abolishing the cruel live shipment of environmental programme of any country animals to cutting VAT on tampons, we in on earth. the UK will be able to remain close to our European friends and partners; but where Let’s get Brexit done, and take this country we choose, we will be able to do things forward. differently and better.

With a new Parliament and a sensible Prime Minister majority Government, we can get that

### Foreword from Paul Davies

Wales always benefits from a Conservative unemployment fall to record lows, receives more money each year **Under the Conservatives, for every £1 spent on devolved services such as schools, hospitals, and council services in England, Wales receives £1.20 to spend on services here. Hundreds of millions more is also being invested in growth deals across the country helping communities across Wales to thrive.**

In Wales, many policy areas are the responsibility of the Welsh Labour Government. Where this is the case our manifesto sets out the action which would be taken by a Welsh Conservative Government to deliver positive change for the people of Wales.

UK Government. Since 2010, we have seen our economy has grown and the Welsh Government than ever before.

Our plan for the NHS and education in continue to celebrate and champion Wales will reverse the poor performance efforts to increase the number of Welsh we’ve seen under successive Welsh speakers in every corner of the nation. Labour Governments and make our public We will continue to protect and invest services the envy of the world. in Welsh institutions such as S4C, our National Library and Museum, the Urdd We would build more homes, transform and the National Eisteddfod. social care, and invest in infrastructure such as roads, rail and broadband, to This is our Wales, our future; we will make Wales a modern connected nation. change Wales for the better. And our commitments to veterans and the armed forces would ensure that our heroes, and their families, are afforded the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the honour they deserve. National Assembly for Wales Welsh Conservatives are proud of our Welsh language and culture and will

## Get Brexit Done

When the new Government entered Downing Street, the Prime Minister made a simple promise: to get Brexit done. Many said it would be impossible. But he swiftly negotiated a great new deal - despite Parliament’s best efforts to block his progress.

And then, when he put it to MPs, they insisted on yet more delay.

We must move on. No more renegotiations. No more referendums. Every week is costing us. Investment is waiting to come into the country. Families and businesses cannot make vital decisions. The public services cannot get the attention they deserve.

**Our priority as Conservatives is to get Brexit done - so that we can unleash the potential of this great country. So that we can push past the obstacles that other parties have put in our country’s way. So that we can deliver on the people’s decision in 2016 and use our new post-Brexit freedoms to transform the UK for the better by focusing on your priorities.**

**If we elect a majority of Conservative MPs to Parliament, we will start putting our deal through Parliament before Christmas and we will leave the European Union in January.**

Boris Johnson’s new deal takes the whole country out of the EU as one United Kingdom. It takes us out of the customs union, allowing us to set our own tariffs and do our own trade deals. It allows us to pass our own laws and ensures that it is our courts that enforce them.

Our deal is the only one on the table. It We will negotiate a trade agreement next is signed, sealed and ready. It puts the year – one that will strengthen our Union – whole country on a path to a new free and **we will not extend the implementation**

trade agreement with the EU. This will be **period beyond December 2020**

. In parallel, a new relationship based on free trade we will legislate to ensure high standards of and friendly cooperation, not on the EU’s workers’ rights, environmental protection treaties or EU law. There will be no political and consumer rights. alignment with the EU.

**We will keep the UK out of the single market, out of any form The only way to deliver Brexit is with a of customs union, and end the role of the Conservative majority in Parliament**

A **European Court of Justice.**

vote for any other party or candidate is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn – and a vote for This future relationship will be one that more chaos. allows us to: Above all, it is the only way that we can get

* Take back control of our laws. on with the task of transforming Wales

* Take back control of our money. and the whole United Kingdom for the

* Control our own trade policy. better.

* Introduce an Australian-style points-based immigration system.

* Raise standards in areas like workers’ rights, animal welfare, agriculture and the environment.

* Ensure we are in full control of our fishing waters.

**Mohamed Ali**

**Candidate for Cardiff North Youth Engagement Worker**

## Unleash Wales’ Potential

For the past nine years, the Conservatives have been cleaning up Labour’s mess. Because of the tough decisions that our party made and our success in bringing down the deficit, the economy has continued to grow and the public finances have been restored. Thanks to Conservative policies, employment is at a near-record high.

**In Wales, we’ve helped tens of thousands of people into work, halving the unemployment rate in the process. We’ve doubled the personal allowance to £12,500, meaning that every worker gets to keep more of what they earn. We’ve raised the National Living Wage - and will raise it still further.**

The strength of the UK’s balance sheet - the hard work done by all of us in this country - means that we are now in a position to invest properly in our future.

A Conservative UK Government will give the public services the resources they need; we need to see that same level of ambition and vision from the Welsh Government.

For the past 20 years, public services in Wales have been run by the Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff, but ground, with the performance of our This means that **debt will be lower at**

Welsh NHS and education system falling **the end of the Parliament**

– rather than behind those in other parts of the UK.

**spiralling out of control under Labour**

. And we will use this investment prudently Across Britain we will help people and strategically to level up every part of and families throughout their lives by the United Kingdom, while strengthening bringing down the cost of living and the ties that bind it together. making sure that work always pays. We will also **prioritise the environment**

We will keep costs down for small in the next Budget, investing in the businesses - rather than hiking their infrastructure, science and research that taxes and crushing Britain’s prosperity. will deliver economic growth, not just through the 2020s, but for decades to We will **not borrow to fund day-to-day**

come.

**spending**

, but will **invest thoughtfully and responsibly in infrastructure**

right Above all, we will listen to the people across our country in order to increase who have felt left behind by the last few productivity and wages. Our fiscal rules decades of economic growth and want to mean that **public sector net investment**

have more control of their future.

**will not average more than 3 per cent of GDP**

, and that **if debt interest reaches 6**

We will get Brexit done, so we can change **per cent of revenue, we will reassess our**

Britain for the better.

**plans to keep debt under control**

.

**Amanda Jenner**

**Candidate for Ceredigion Qualified Teacher**

## We Will Focus On Your Priorities

### Strengthen the NHS and social care

In his first months, the Prime Minister has shown how he intends to make life better for everyone in Wales. Supporting our police. Delivering record funding for Welsh public services.

We have listened to you, and we have acted. Acted to ensure that we deliver world-class public services so that you can have the help and support you need throughout your life. And we want to take that agenda further.

But none of it will happen without a Conservative majority Government.

**The NHS represents the best of this country. It is there for us when our children are born, when our friends and families fall sick, when our loved ones succumb to old age and ill health.**

It is precious to all of us - especially because it is free at the point of use and there for you on the basis of need, not your ability to pay.

in the NHS. Because we believe that supported by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal everyone deserves the chance to live free Democrats, cut funding for our health of sickness and disease - and to know service. that if they do fall ill, our brilliant doctors and nurses will be there for them. A Conservative UK Government will secure the future of the health service in Under Labour in Wales over the past England. It is important that the Welsh 20 years, the performance of the NHS Government does the same for our NHS has fallen behind other parts of the in Wales. UK and been beset by scandals. The Welsh Labour Government has failed Within the first three months of our to improve failing health boards and new term, we will **enshrine in law our**

patients have suffered as a result.

**fully funded, long-term NHS plan**

in England. This will be the longest, largest While the Conservatives took the cash settlement in NHS history and decision to protect health spending in provides the Welsh Government with record funding to provide increases for the health service year on year . This money can be used to support frontline services so that you and your family get appointments more quickly and experience improved care.

Under the Conservatives, for every £1 spent on the NHS in England, Wales receives £1.20 to spend on the health service here. By the end of the next Parliament we will make available tens of millions extra each and every week for the NHS here in Wales. This will increase the total funding available for the Welsh NHS by £1.9 billion between 2018 and 2023.

A Welsh Conservative Government would use this funding to deliver a new NHS Improvement and Accountability Plan.

#### Our NHS Improvement and Accountability Plan

**Our new funding will:**

* Recruit more doctors, nurses and other health professionals: Increase workforce capacity to improve access to appointments and treatment, and address the recruitment crisis caused by years of poor workforce planning by Welsh Labour.

* Build new Rapid Diagnostic Centres:

* Address the democratic deficit Establish new diagnostic centres and invest in Patient Watchdogs : in North, Mid and South Wales to The system of Welsh Ministerial speed up access to diagnostic tests appointments to health boards will and reduce the need for repeat come to an end with the introduction of appointments and visits to hospitals. elected health commissioners. We will protect the independence and capacity

* Extend access to new treatments: of Wales’ Community Health Councils. Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy so that doctors can use the most

* Ensure that the Welsh NHS learns advanced, life-saving treatments from mistakes: There will be a duty for cancer, rare diseases, and other on all NHS staff to disclose and record conditions such as arthritis. when things go wrong, including providing details to senior managers

* Transform mental health: Treat and reporting them to the healthcare mental health with the same urgency inspectorate. as physical health and legislate to provide extra support for people with

* Eradicate poor NHS leadership: learning disabilities and autism. There will be a Welsh NHS Leadership Council which all senior managers and

* Improve emergency care: executives will be required to register Review ambulance response with. Those found responsible for times and emergency department serious NHS failings will be deemed get rapid access to emergency care register and prevented from working in when they need it. the Welsh health service.

* Prioritise public health and

* Improve NHS safety: There will be prevention: Overhaul NHS screening a radical overhaul of the healthcare and use new technology to prevent ill inspectorate to make it entirely health. Develop a long-term strategy independent of Welsh Government and for lifestyle-related conditions such as give it new powers to intervene quickly obesity and addictions. We will have a when problems are identified. national vaccination reminder system for every GP practice.

#### Improving social care

**It is a basic, compassionate Conservative belief that we should care for those in need - helping those who cannot help themselves.**

Thanks to decades of economic growth and scientific innovation, people are living longer, healthier lives. But this, alongside the rise of dementia and other chronic conditions, means that the pressures on the elderly care system are ever-increasing. There has also been significant growth in the number of working-age people with disabilities who need care at a younger age.

We need to have a system to **give every person the dignity and security that they deserve**

. This is a significant and complex challenge and in order to lay the foundations, we must plan for the infrastructure, workforce growth and healthcare integration that is required for a care system fit for the 21st century.

A Welsh Conservative Government would appoint a Chief Social Care Officer for Wales and support those who care for their loved ones by providing a guarantee for respite for those with caring responsibilities and practical extra support for the silent army of young carers across Wales by reducing the barriers stopping them from accessing education, training and employment.

But we also want to save millions of worst education system in the United people, and their families, from suffering Kingdom and we are the only UK the agony of a slow decline due to nation in the bottom half of the global dementia. We will make **finding a cure**

rankings.

**one of our Government’s biggest collective priorities**

- one of the ‘grand Under the Conservatives, for every challenges’ that will define our future £1 spent on schools in England, Wales along with the impact of climate receives £1.20 to spend on schools here. change or artificial intelligence. This However, funding in Wales has fallen will include **doubling research funding**

behind with teaching union NASUWT **into dementia, doubling funding for**

estimating that pupils in Wales receive **the National Dementia Institute,**

and an average of £645 per year less than **speeding up trials**

for new treatments. their counterparts in England.

We will also **extend the entitlement to**

In his first months in office, Boris **leave for unpaid carers,**

the majority Johnson announced an extra £14 billion of whom are women, and ensure their in funding for schools in England. This pension is protected. will result in a substantial increase in funding to the Welsh Government.

### Invest in our schools

In addition the Welsh Government will receive an extra £35 million in new funding to support children with **Talent is evenly spread across Wales.**

additional educational needs and the **Opportunity is not. As Conservatives,**

implementation of an Autism Act for **we believe absolutely in equality of**

Wales.

**opportunity - the idea that every child, in every part of the country, should**

A Welsh Conservative Government **have a fair chance. It is not only the**

would use this new money to eliminate **most important thing we can do to**

the pupil funding gap between England **unleash the UK’s economic potential, but at the heart of creating a fair and just society.**

Under Labour in Wales over the past 20 years our education system has suffered. The OECD’s international PISA league table ranks Wales as the

**Dr James Davies**

**Candidate for the Vale of Clwyd**

**GP**

### Good discipline, high standards, an enriching experience:

Welsh Conservatives would allow schools to decide how they use the additional money we provide. In addition we would:

* Back teachers on discipline. We would train teachers in managing behaviour and would back teachers to use exclusions, where appropriate. Estyn would have more funding and time to inspect school safety and behaviour policies. We would pilot no-notice

#### Vulnerable children

**Wales has the highest rate of looked after children in the UK. Children who end up in care often end up struggling as adults, too often denied the love and stability most of us take for granted.**

A Welsh Conservative Government would prioritise stable, loving placements for those children - adoption where possible or foster parents recruited by the local authority. We would review the care system to make sure that all care placements and settings are providing children and young adults with the support they need.

After Pupil Premium to support children in care to realise their full potential and set targets for looked after children accessing further inspections. We would help teachers and higher education. tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying.

* Protect parental rights. Respect parents’ views with regards to sex education lessons.

* Make sure pupils are taught the basics. We would introduce checks on reading and maths in primary schools.

and Wales to give every child the opportunity to thrive.

### Invest in the people of Wales

**The 2020s will see a transformation in jobs. Automation and computing will change how businesses function. Our plan to deliver clean energy and**

**kinds of jobs in new industries. And our departure from the European Union means we can tailor our regulations to ensure that we are first in line to develop and benefit from the technologies of the future.**

This requires a dramatic rebooting of our training system - to support public services, existing businesses and the businesses of the future. But above all, to ensure that Welsh workers have the skills they need to flourish - and that every citizen of this country has the opportunity to express their talents to the fullest.

#### Technical education and life-long learning

**University provides a wonderful experience and education, but more than two thirds of young people do not attend university and their education and experience is equally important.**

We want more young people to have of EU funding (which was, of course, only the choice of accessing technical a small part of the billions of pounds we qualifications and apprenticeships. were contributing), and to replace the EU introduce: better tailored to our economy. And we will ensure that **£500 million of the UK**

* More funding for highly skilled Shared Prosperity Fund is used to give apprenticeships in Wales, including disadvantaged people across the United degree apprenticeships. We expect Kingdom the skills they need to make a this to increase numbers by tens of success of life. thousands for large and small employers

#### Universities

works for all employers.

**Wales is home to world-class**

* Apprenticeships for all big new universities which make an important infrastructure projects – including new contribution to our economy. To hospitals, new schools, roads and flood protect and enhance their reputation defences. we will explore ways to tackle the problem of grade inflation and We would also put £20 million into low-quality courses and improve Further Education, upgrade our FE the application and offer system colleges and develop a STEM focused for undergraduate students. Our Institute of Technology in North Wales approach will be underpinned by a which connects high quality teaching to commitment to fairness, quality of business and industry. learning and teaching, and access.

We would create an **adult learning**

A Welsh Conservative Government **allowance**

to use on a degree, technical would **review student support with an**

training, or specific courses. This could **aim of reducing the burden of tuition**

through the apprenticeship levy. while protecting the income of Welsh universities through direct grants and Leaving the EU also means that we can an increase in funding for research. take back control of the money that was being channelled via its Structural Funds. We would also **strengthen academic**

We have already announced a UK Shared **freedom and free speech**

in universities Prosperity Fund, to ensure that no part and continue to focus on raising of the UK loses out from the withdrawal standards.

### Support working families

**Since 2010, the Conservatives have helped more than 1,000 people on average into work every day.**

That is an extraordinary figure. And it has only been possible because of the strong economy we have helped to create; our support for business; and our welfare reforms, which have encouraged more people into the work.

Whoever you are, we want to make it easier for you to get a good and rewarding job - and to be able to combine a rewarding career with raising a family or caring for elderly or disabled relatives, rather than being forced to prioritise between them. We want to make sure that you get to keep more of the money you earn, and that we keep your bills low. And we want to make sure that those who can’t work, or have entered retirement, get the level of support they need.

We have focused, over the past decade, on making sure that work always pays - particularly for those most in need of support. We have raised the minimum wage significantly and introduced and consistently raised the National Living Wage. We have doubled the personal allowance to £12,500, so that everyone gets to earn a decent amount before

* sure the state pension keeps pace with income tax, National Insurance or earnings. VAT . This is a tax guarantee that will protect the incomes of hard-working In our first months, we announced an families across the next Parliament. increase in the National Living Wage to two thirds of average earnings,

* We not only want to freeze taxes, currently forecast at £10.50 an hour , but to cut them too . We will raise and widened its reach to everyone over the National Insurance threshold 21 . That means an average pay rise of to £9,500 next year – representing £4,000 per year for four million people a tax cut for 31 million workers . by 2024 . Our ultimate ambition is to ensure that the first £12,500 you earn is To help young people get a foot on completely free of tax – which would the employment ladder, we abolished put almost £500 per year in people’s employers’ National Insurance pockets . Contributions for under-21s and apprentices under 25 .

* Raising a family should be the most fulfilling experience of your life. But Creating millions more jobs is one of the for too many parents, the costs of Conservatives’ proudest achievements. childcare are a heavy burden. We A Labour Government that makes it want to give parents the freedom, harder for businesses to grow and to hire – support and choice to look after that allows people to sink into dependency their children in the way that works rather than encouraging them to work and best for them. A Welsh Conservative earn – could undo all of this progress. Government would fund more high quality childcare before and after A majority Conservative Government school and during the holidays so will deliver a major package of measures that working parents do not have to designed to ensure that it always pays to choose between their careers and work, while doing everything we can to their children. protect and support those who cannot – and to address the cost of living pressures

* For many families, energy costs are that we all face. a major source of financial pressure. We will keep our existing energy cap and introduce new measures to lower bills . We will also give the Competition and Markets Authority enhanced powers to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad business practices.

* On entering government in 2010, the Conservatives acted decisively to protect the UK’s pensioners. The ‘triple lock’ we introduced has meant that those who have worked hard and put in for decades can be confident that the state will be there to support them when they need it. We will keep the triple lock, the winter fuel payment, and other pensioner benefits, ensuring that older people have the security and dignity they deserve. We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe they should be funded by the BBC. A Welsh Conservative Government would also maintain the older person’s bus pass.

* A number of workers, disproportionately women, who earn between £10,000 and £12,500 have been missing out on pension benefits because of a loophole affecting people with net pay pension schemes. We will conduct a comprehensive review to look at how to fix this issue.

* We will use our freedom from the EU to improve the UK’s tax regime - not least by abolishing the tampon tax .

**Matthew Evans**

**Candidate for Newport West Community Champion**

We as Conservatives believe that everyone who can work, should work - and that it should always pay them to do so. But we also believe that those who truly can’t work must be given the help they need. That is why we will **continue the roll-out of Universal Credit**

, which combines multiple benefits into one while building a clearer pathway from welfare into work. We have already acted to increase work allowances, a move worth £630 to working families with children, and those with disabilities, and we will **do more to make sure that Universal Credit works for the most vulnerable**

. We will also **end the benefit freeze**

, while **making sure it pays to work more hours**

.

* At the same time, we will make sure those who cheat the system by committing benefit fraud are punished. There is no excuse for exploiting others who have worked hard and paid in.

* To help those looking after family members, especially women, we will support the main carer in any household receiving the Universal Credit payment . And we will continue our efforts through the tax and benefits system to reduce poverty, including child poverty. Children should grow up in an environment

### Make Wales safer

with no limits to their potential – which is one of the reasons we are making it a priority to put more **Our first duty as a Government is to**

money in the pockets of low-paid **keep our country safe. One of Boris**

workers. A Welsh Conservative **Johnson’s first promises as Prime**

Government would maintain free **Minister was to start recruiting**

school meals.

**20,000 new police officers, with more than 300 new officers already**

* We will also extend the entitlement being recruited by the four Welsh to leave for unpaid carers , the police forces. These new officers will majority of whom are women, and take violent criminals off the streets ensure their pension is protected. and protect us and our country.

* As part of our efforts to support The Conservatives will always back the the most vulnerable, we will take brave men and women of our police measures to empower and support and security services, which is why disabled people. In particular we will empower the police, backing we will reduce the number of the increased use of stop and search reassessments a disabled person as long as it is fair and proportionate. must go through when a significant And we will provide them with the change in condition is unlikely - equipment they need. because you should not have to provide repeated proof of your We need a fair justice system - one that disability. We will publish a National stands for the law-abiding majority, not Strategy for Disabled People before the criminal minority, and that gives the end of 2020. This will look at the a second chance to those who have benefits system, but also improving served their time and wish to make a opportunities and support and fresh start. access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and

#### Our plan to cut crime

jobs. We will reduce the disability employment gap.

* We will back our police by equipping officers with the powers and tools they need to keep themselves and all of us safe, including tasers and body cameras . We will put the Police Covenant into law to ensure they have the support they need.

**In order to successfully keep our streets safe, crime and end the cycle of reoffending:**

**Youth offending Addiction**

Young people are less likely to Drug addiction fuels get into trouble in a well-crime, violence and disciplined school, which is breakdown - and why we will to dangerous substances **back teachers enforce discipline.**

A Welsh driving an increase Conservative Government from drug abuse. would invest in **youth**

tackle drug related for young people. and a Welsh Conservative **services**

If they endanger others, we Government would will put young people in new improving drug and **alternative provision**

schools. misuse services If they are offenders, we are treatment and help trialling **Secure Schools**

. New the cycle of crime laws will require schools, police, addiction. councils and health authorities to work together through Serious Violence Units to prevent serious crime.

* Police will be empowered by a new court order to target known knife carriers, making it easier for officers to stop and search those convicted of knife crime . Anyone charged with knife possession will appear before magistrates within days not weeks. Those who use a knife as a weapon should go to prison .

* We will introduce tougher sentencing for the worst offenders and end automatic halfway release

### Rob Roberts

**from prison for serious crimes**

. For **Candidate for Delyn**

child murderers, there will be **life Self employed imprisonment without parole**

.

* We will use our new freedoms after Brexit to prevent more foreign we need to turn people away from national offenders entering our country . We will cut the number of foreign nationals in our prisons , Rehabilitation and increase penalties to stop them returning. We will create a prisoner family education service focused

* We will back all those who put their new on work-based training are and skills. We will improve lives on the line to keep us safe in deaths employment opportunities – police and prison officers and We will for ex-offenders, including a emergency service workers . We will crime job coach in each prison. This pass the Police Protection Bill and approach is proven to reduce consult on doubling the maximum invest in reoffending. We are improving sentence for assaulting workers in substance prison security to protect emergency services such as police to improve staff, stop drug smuggling and officers, firefighters and paramedics. break reduce violence. linked to

* We will strengthen the accountability of elected Police and Crime Commissioners and expand **their role**

. People must have an accountable local leader delivering on their crime and justice priorities, who they can vote out.

* We will expand electronic tagging for criminals serving time outside jail, including the use of sobriety fuelled by alcohol.

* We will toughen community sentences , for example by tightening curfews and making those convicted do more hours of community payback to clean up our parks and streets.

* We will embrace new technologies and crack down on online crimes . We will create a new national cyber crime force and empower the police to safely use new technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence, along with the use of DNA, within a strict legal framework. We will also create a world-class National Crime Laboratory .

* We will counter the growing threat of serious and organised crime . We will strengthen the National Crime Agency so it can tackle the threats we face, from fraud, county lines gangs and child sexual abuse to illicit finance, modern slavery and people-trafficking.

* We will add 10,000 more prison

* Welsh Conservatives will continue places , with £2.75 billion already to oppose Labour, Plaid Cymru and committed to refurbishing and Liberal Democrat plans to extend creating modern prisons. voting rights for prisoners. The UK Government will maintain the ban

* We will conduct a root-and-branch on prisoners voting in England and review of the parole system to Wales. improve accountability and public

#### Supporting all victims of crime

attend hearings for the first time, and we will establish **a Royal Commission on the criminal justice process**

.

**Delivering justice does not just mean treating defendants fairly, but doing**

* We will combat extremism and do right by victims. So we will pass all we can to ensure that extremists and implement a Victims’ Law that never receive public money . guarantees victims’ rights and the level of support they can expect.

* We will keep our country safe from terrorism . We will invest in the

* We will support all victims of police and security services and domestic abuse and pass the give them the powers they need to Domestic Abuse Bill. We will increase combat new threats. In the wake of support for refuges and community the terrible events in Manchester in support for victims of rape and 2017, we will improve the safety and sexual abuse . We will pilot integrated security of public venues . domestic abuse courts that address criminal and family matters in parallel.

* We will tackle unauthorised traveller camps. We will give the

* We will continue to fight crime police new powers to arrest and against women and girls , including seize the property and vehicles of rape, Female Genital Mutilation and trespassers who set up unauthorised forced marriage. Our support for the encampments, in order to protect main carer receiving Universal Credit our communities. We will make will help give greater independence intentional trespass a criminal to individuals, most often women, offence , and a Welsh Conservative trapped with coercive partners. Government would also give councils greater powers within the planning

* We will protect people from system. physical attack or harassment whether for their sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion or and protect places of worship. We will **vigorously combat harassment and violence**

against all religious groups, and against LGBT people. We will ensure that **those who work in countering extremism are protected**

from threats and intimidation. We will **ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts**

, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries. These undermine community cohesion.

* We will legislate to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online – protecting children from online abuse and harms, protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content, and ensuring there is no safe space for terrorists to hide online – but at the same time defending freedom of expression and in particular recognising and defending the invaluable role of a free press. Also, given how the online world is moving, the Gambling Act is increasingly becoming an analogue law in a digital age. We will review it, with a particular focus on tackling issues around loot boxes and credit card misuse .

### Fix our immigration system

#### Attracting the best and brightest

**We want the UK to be a magnet for The vote to leave the EU was, among the best and brightest, with special other things, a vote to take back immigration routes for those who control of our borders. will make the biggest contribution. We will create bespoke visa schemes**

That is why a majority Conservative **for new migrants who will fill**

Government will get Brexit done, **shortages in our public services,**

and then introduce **a firmer and build the companies and innovations fairer Australian-style points-based of the future and benefit Britain for immigration system**

, so that we can **years to come. These include:**

decide who comes to this country on the basis of the skills they have and

* The NHS Visa . Qualified doctors, the contribution they can make – not nurses and allied health where they come from. Migrants will professionals with a job offer from contribute to the NHS – and pay in the NHS, who have been trained before they can receive benefits . to a recognised standard, and who have good working English, will be Our new system gives us real control offered fast-track entry, reduced over who is coming in and out. It visa fees and dedicated support to allows us to attract the best and come to the UK with their families. brightest from all over the world .

* Actively recruiting leaders in their Only by establishing immigration field to come to the UK. The small controls and ending freedom of number of the best technology and movement will we be able to attract science graduates from the top the high-skilled workers we need universities in the world and those to contribute to our economy, our who win top scientific prizes will be communities and our public services. offered fast-track entry to the UK – There will be fewer lower-skilled these people can do more than any migrants and overall numbers will come others to drive scientific progress down . And we will ensure that the British and help our NHS and our economy. people are always in control .

**Sajid Javid**

**Candidate for Bromsgrove**

**Chancellor of the Exchequer**

### Our Australian-style points-based system

**We will prioritise people who:**

* Have a good grasp of English and /or Welsh languages

* Have been law-abiding citizens in their own countries

* Have good education and qualifications Most people coming into the country will **need a clear job offer**

. In addition:

**Priti Patel**

**Candidate for Witham**

**Home Secretary**

**We will not allow serious criminals We will treat EU and non-EU citizens into the country**

. If people abuse our **equally**

. Regardless of whether they hospitality, we will remove them as are from Europe or another part of quickly as possible. the world, we welcome people who meet our criteria.

* We will keep track of who is coming in and out of our country .

* We want EU citizens who came to live in the UK before Brexit to stay – and

* We will overhaul the current we have committed absolutely to immigration system, and make it guaranteeing their existing rights and more fair and compassionate – ensuring that they feel a welcomed what happened to the Windrush and valued part of our country and generation was horrific and we will community after Brexit. That is why ensure it never happens again. We we introduced the EU Settlement are committed to the Windrush Scheme. compensation scheme.

**Sadie Vidal**

**Candidate for Ogmore Medical Communications**

**Officer**

* Our student visa will help universities attract talented young people and allow those students to stay on to apply for work here after they graduate.

* Our start-up visa , alongside our new rules for those of exceptional talent, will ensure that we can attract the entrepreneurs of the future who want to start great businesses here in the UK.

#### Integration and openness

**We want our party, and our Government, to represent modern Britain – a diverse and tolerant country with confidence in its own identity and values. We believe the enduring beliefs that unite us are far more important than our differences.**

Our society has been enriched by immigration and we will always recognise the contribution of those who have helped build our public services, businesses, culture and communities.

We will ensure **no matter where in the world you or your family come from, your rights will be respected and you will be treated with fairness and dignity**

.

**We will tackle prejudice, racism and discrimination**

and address the complex reasons why some groups do less well at school, earn less at work, crime. We will act to improve the lives of all and reject the politics of division. Our priority is to focus on practical solutions that make a real difference to people’s lives.

* We will boost English and Welsh language teaching to empower existing migrants and help promote integration into society.

* We will improve the quality of evidence and data within Government about the types of barriers different groups face, ensuring that fairness is at the heart of everything we do.

* We will continue to grant asylum and support to refugees fleeing persecution , with the ultimate aim of helping them to return home if it is safe to do so.

* We will champion freedom of expression and tolerance , both in the UK and overseas.

* We will ensure that the historic contribution of migrant groups is recognised. We will maintain our support for a memorial recognising the contribution of the Windrush Generation in a prominent site in London.

#### Contributing to our country

* A Welsh Conservative Government in Wales to **ensure that new GP and It is a basic point of principle – and school places will be built first with natural justice – that you should not new housing developments,**

and we **be able to take out before you have put**

will invest in technical skills and work **in. Of course we should help those in**

incentives so Welsh workers take up **genuine need – especially those who**

as many jobs as possible.

**have fled from persecution. But at the same time, it is both right and fair that,**

This is a package of measures that is **as in other countries, people making**

fair, firm and compassionate - that **the UK their home should pay into the**

brings the immigration system, after **tax system for a reasonable period of**

so many years, into line with the British **time before they can access welfare.**

people’s own sense of what is right. But **Our new immigration system will mean:**

we cannot do any of it unless we have a strong Conservative Government that

* People coming into the country from can get Brexit done. the EU will only be able to access unemployment, housing, and child benefit after five years , in the way non-EEA migrants currently do.

* We will no longer allow people to claim child benefit for children living overseas .

* We will require new arrivals to contribute to the funding of the NHS and will increase the health surcharge to ensure it covers the full cost of use. We will also enforce charges on those who come to our country and use our health services without contributing, doubling the budget for our health tourism enforcement unit . We will continue to offer free emergency care to anyone who needs it.

## We Will Unleash Wales’ Potential

Getting Brexit done allows us to focus on making this the best possible place to live and work - to use our post-Brexit freedoms to build prosperity and strengthen and level up every part of the country.

Because it is not just Wales’ potential that we want to unleash, it is that of the Welsh and British people.

**Our plan means making sure people have access to world-class public services, that they feel safe on the streets, that working families get to keep more of their own money,and that we help with cost of living pressures.**

But it also means making sure that we share prosperity across the UK, addressing the longstanding economic challenges in parts of the country. We will invest responsibly and prudently in the infrastructure that can make a difference, and ensure communities in every corner of the United Kingdom are pleasant, safe and prosperous. And we will invest far more in helping workers train and retrain for the jobs and industries of the future.

Investing in people, restoring the fabric We stand for the people working every of our towns and cities, building the hour they can, those taking a risk on homes we need, supporting our great a new idea, those challenging existing science and industry, strengthening markets. Their success is our success. the great Union between the United Kingdom’s four nations - that is how we And we stand for those who give their will unleash our country’s full potential. time to help others - the charities, community groups and volunteers who We are the only party that can deliver already do so much to make our country this programme, because we are a better place. the only party that understands the symmetry at the heart of the We believe, in other words, that Britain UK economy. That the only way to is a great country - the greatest place fund world-class public services on earth. But together, we can make it and outstanding infrastructure is greater still. to encourage the millions of British businesses that create the wealth of the nation - especially small businesses, family firms and the self-employed.

### A new deal for communities

**Our funding will help to support communities which are safe to walk in and a pleasure to be in. Where there are things to do, places to shop, eat, experience, where transport is easy and people feel well connected, and where a community’s future is in the hands of the people who live there.**

We are delivering growth deals for every region in Wales, providing £790 million in extra funding to support economic growth and create well paid employment opportunities for people in every corner of the country.

**A Welsh Conservative Government’s priorities would include:**

* Regenerating towns. A Seaside Town Fund and a Market Town Fund would be established to help seaside and market towns to improve their local economy. How that money is spent would be up to the community, but it could pay for free wifi, support for links.

* Safer streets, safer towns . A new Safer Streets Fund will invest in preventative measures like new CCTV or community wardens. Police will also have more power to break up travellers’ camps and make arrests where appropriate.

* New civic infrastructure . We would invest in a Cultural Capital **Programme**

to support the development of local libraries and museums. We will also work with

### Restore our communities

local universities to do more for the education, health and prosperity of their local area.

* Community ownership . People are rightly proud of where they We would establish a Community come from and their local areas. But Ownership Fund to encourage local too many communities across Wales takeovers of civic organisations or feel let down. Violent crime and anti-community assets that are under social behaviour are ignored amid a threat - local football clubs, but backdrop of boarded-up shops and also pubs or post offices. We would pubs on our high streets. In addition, set up a fan-led review of football our rural communities need a new governance, which will include deal outside the EU that supports consideration of the Owners and their way of life. Directors Test, and will work with fans and clubs towards introducing We as Conservatives want to give you safe standing. And we will help freedom - low taxes, opportunity, the communities that want to create chance to realise your dreams. But we ‘pocket parks’ and regenerate derelict also want to give you the security of areas. safe and pleasant streets and of taking pride and comfort from the community

* Giving people a future . As well as our around you. investment in schools and technical

#### Launching a transport revolution

into supporting youth clubs and services.

**A key part of our plan to level up the**

* Community spirit . Through our UK’s cities and regions is to connect Cultural Investment Fund, we would them. support activities, traditions and events that bring communities We will consult on the earliest date together and promote the Welsh by which we can phase out the sale language and culture. We would of new conventional petrol and diesel support regional newspapers by cars. We will end the complicated extending the business rates relief and franchising model and create a explore other ways to support them.

simpler, more effective rail system, with greater control for local leaders.

As in France, we will require that a minimum service operates during transport strikes. Rail workers deserve a fair deal, but it is not fair to let the trade unions undermine the livelihoods of others.

Parliament has voted in principle to support a third runway at Heathrow. But it is a private sector project. It is for Heathrow to demonstrate that it can meet its air quality and noise obligations, that it can be financed and built and that the business case is realistic. The scheme will receive no new public money.

**A Welsh Conservative Government would:**

* Develop proposals to upgrade the A55 as the main road transport artery for North Wales and improve capacity and resilience on the road.

* Progress the dualling of the A40 to Fishguard by 2025.

* Work with the UK Government to deliver a Pant/Llanymynech bypass.

* Ensure the delivery of an M4 relief road.

* Improve cross border and intra-We know how difficult it will be, so we Wales transport links. have announced a raft of legislative changes to accelerate progress.

* Give every Welsh local authority extra funding to improve and and £5 billion of new UK-wide public extend bus services, making them funding to connect premises which more frequent, with more electric are not commercially viable. vehicles which are better-integrated with other modes of transport. Local government is the bedrock of our democracy. We are proud that

* Invest up to £50 million in completing Conservative councils have led the a fast-charging network to ensure way in helping keep council taxes that everyone in Wales is always within low, providing value for money and 30 miles of an EV charging station. supporting local communities. A Welsh Conservative Government

* Make extra investment in strategic would maintain this commitment to and local roads. local government by ensuring services are properly funded and would guard

* Increase funding for walking and against excessive council tax rises cycling routes, creating a new cycling without local consent by legislating infrastructure fund and new design for a local referendum on any inflation standards which must be followed to busting rises. receive any money. We would support commuter cycling routes, connecting We are committed to devolution and more people to jobs, and promote guarantee that Wales will not lose cycling for healthier living. any powers or funding as a result of our exit from the EU. A Welsh Connecting the UK is not just about Conservative Government would transport. We are Europe’s technology also seek to devolve powers from capital, producing start-ups and success Cardiff to Welsh regions and explore stories at a dazzling pace. But not the establishment of new, directly everyone can share the benefits. We elected, regional mayoralties in North, intend to bring full fibre and gigabit-Mid and West, and South Wales, capable broadband to every home and whose leaders will stand up for their business by 2025 across the whole of respective regions and deliver the Wales. growth deals in their areas.

### Deliver the housing people need

**Home ownership is one of the most fundamental Conservative values. People are happier, more secure and more rooted in their communities when they own their own home - and know that they can pass it on to future generations.**

For Wales to unleash its potential, young people need the security of knowing that home ownership is within their reach - that they too can have a tangible stake in society, can be rooted in their communities and have a place to raise a family.

A Welsh Conservative Government would seek to rebalance the housing market towards more home ownership while also ensuring fairness for the new generation of renters.

A Welsh Conservative Government would also prioritise ending rough

### Helping people buy and rent

* The biggest problem that young people face in getting on the housing

* Reintroduce a Right to Buy on a ladder is the deposit. There are more reformed basis, mandating 100 per than three million people, many of cent of receipts to be invested in new them with good jobs and secure social housing and protecting any new prospects, who would have been build social homes from sale for at homeowners before the economic least 10 years. crisis in 2008 but have been locked out of the mortgage market. We will

* Reform leasehold tenures including encourage a new market in long-term implementing a ban on the sale of fixed rate mortgages which slash the new leasehold homes, restricting cost of deposits, opening up a secure ground rents to a peppercorn, path to home ownership for first-providing necessary mechanisms of time buyers in all parts of the United redress for tenants. Kingdom.

* Scrap Wales’ Land Transaction Tax A Welsh Conservative Government (Stamp Duty) for all first time buyers would: up to the value of £250,000.

* Bring in a New Deal for Renters

* Launch an ambitious programme including abolishing ‘no fault’ evictions to build 100,000 new homes over a and only requiring one ‘lifetime’ decade, including 40,000 new social deposit which moves with the tenant. homes.

* Offer more homes to local families,

* Extend Help to Buy to properties in enabling councils to use developers’ need of renovation, helping to bring contributions to discount homes by them back into use. a third for local people who cannot otherwise afford to buy in their area.

sleeping and homelessness to ensure that everyone has a safe and supported home to call their own.

The centre of a Welsh Conservative approach will be **Housing First,**

enabling people to have housing immediately, whatever their needs, and then giving them wrap around support and treatment.

Housing First will be the focus of a Welsh Conservative Government’s plan to tackle homelessness in Wales, which includes:

* Legislating to make Housing a basic human right in Wales.

* Committing to end rough sleeping in Wales by 2026.

* Immediately bring 150 empty social housing properties back into use specifically for military veterans who are at risk of homelessness.

* Introducing statutory housing and homelessness awareness classes into all secondary schools in Wales.

* Appointing a Homelessness Tsar, ideally someone with experience of homelessness.

### Places we want to live in

**The Welsh Government is failing to**

* Provide funding for a Smart Homes build the homes that people need, with initiative to support micro and fewer than 6,000 new homes built neighbourhood energy schemes. in the last year. As well as ensuring 100,000 new homes are built, a Welsh

* Support the creation of new kinds Conservative Government would of homes that have no energy bills ensure that our communities are areas and which support our environmental we want to live in: targets. We will also expect all new streets to be lined with trees.

* Require local authorities to submit plans to utilise derelict and

* Encourage innovative design and undeveloped land that can be technology to make housing more developed into urban green spaces. affordable, accessible, and suitable for disabled people and an ageing

* Create a Technology Infrastructure population. Fund to establish complete wifi coverage in town and city centres

* Devolve more planning across all of Wales. responsibilities to local communities, giving them a greater

* Introduce an ‘Urban Litter say and redressing the balance Prevention Grant’ which trials between local need and central cutting-edge litter prevention such targets. as river traps, litter cameras and night time economy pollution.

* Amend planning rules so that the infrastructure - roads, schools, GP

* Double the length of cycle and surgeries - comes before people walking routes in urban residential move into new homes. areas by 2040, prioritising local cycling networks around community

* Establish Blue Belt zones in areas of anchors. flood risk to prevent inappropriate development.

* Deliver 10,000 electric charging points by 2030.

### Make Wales the best place to start and grow a business

**We want Wales to be the best country in the world to start and run a business - a place where entrepreneurs know they can build on their ideas and find success.**

Not only because businesses are good for society - creating the jobs that put bread on the table, and generating the tax revenue that funds our vital public services.

But because we believe that we should do everything we can to support those who want to start their own company, strike out on their own, and have an idea that grows into a world-leading business. Our mission as Conservatives is to give everyone, across the country, the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

We have many strengths. We are a highly competitive economy with a strong education system and well-respected regulatory framework. We have more world-class universities than anywhere in Europe.

We are a magnet for talent, and we are home to more innovative

#### Driving down costs and supporting small businesses

and successful new companies than anywhere on the continent - especially in the technology sector.

services, law and the creative industries we lead the world - and will **We understand the challenge of**

continue to do so after Brexit.

**increasing running costs, especially for smaller firms, and are committed to**

Of the nearly six million businesses in **reducing them.**

the UK and 259,200 in Wales, the vast majority are micro, small and medium But we also want to tackle the other sized. They are the backbone of the everyday obstacles that they face. economy and Britain is immeasurably stronger for their contribution.

* We will commit to real reductions in the burden of business rates However, here in Wales we are on individual firms. A Welsh hampered by a Welsh Labour Conservative Government would Government with the least review business rates with a competitive business rates particular focus on how to support environment in the UK and the small businesses. As a first step highest high street vacancy rate. we would further lift the burden of business rates for retail businesses Once we get Brexit done, we can use and exclude grassroots music our new freedoms to ensure that the venues, small cinemas, and pubs. UK’s businesses can unleash their enormous potential - that they can

* We will increase the Employment invest, hire, export and grow, rather Allowance for small businesses – a than being crushed by Jeremy Corbyn tax cut for half a million small firms. and John McDonnell’s inexorable hostility towards aspiration and

* We will support start-ups and entrepreneurship. small businesses via government procurement, and commit to paying them on time . We will also clamp down on late payment more broadly and strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner to support small businesses that are exploited by

**Charlotte Lang**

**Candidate for Aberavon Public Relations Director**

their larger partners.

* We will expand start-up loans , which have particularly high take-up from women and BAME entrepreneurs. The British Business Bank has supported 90,000 smaller businesses with over £7 billion in investment or loans, and will continue to grow.

* We will help SMEs to become exporters , so that they can seize the opportunities that will become available once we get Brexit done.

Good regulation is essential to successful businesses: we will strive to **achieve the right regulatory balance**

between supporting excellent business practice and protecting workers, consumers and the environment. Through our Red Tape Challenge, we will **ensure that regulation is sensible and proportionate, and that we always consider the needs of small businesses**

when devising new rules, using our new freedom after Brexit to ensure that British rules work for British companies.

#### Backing entrepreneurs and innovation

**Every day, people risk their savings and their future by becoming**

**entrepreneurs. They invent the new goods and services that improve our lives. From decarbonisation to expanding the frontier of artificial intelligence, they are tackling some of the great challenges of our time. We want to be a nation of start-ups, and of successful scale-ups. We have more ‘unicorns’ - new billion-dollar tech companies - than any other nation in Europe.**

We are proud of the work we have done to support entrepreneurship and want to see more entrepreneurs - including women and those from BAME backgrounds. Some of our work has been spectacularly successful - such as the **Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme**

and **Enterprise Investment Scheme**

, impact we hoped, so we will review and which we will **continue in the next**

reform **Entrepreneurs’ Relief. A Welsh Parliament.**

And by cutting corporation **Conservative Government would**

tax from 28 per cent to 19 per cent, we **also increase funding for the Welsh**

have encouraged more businesses to **Development Bank to invest in growth**

invest and grow in the UK.

**sectors.**

Some measures have worked, but need Of course, supporting enterprise is not to go further - as with **R&D tax credits**

. just about championing businesses - We will **increase the tax credit rate to**

more people than ever are moving into **13 per cent and review the definition of**

self-employment, especially women. We **R&D**

so that important investments in will therefore launch a review to **explore**

cloud computing and data, which boost **how we can better support the self-**

productivity and innovation, are also **employed.**

That includes improving their incentivised. access to finance and credit (not least mortgages), making the tax system easier We also have to recognise that some to navigate, and examining how better measures haven’t had exactly the broadband can boost home-working.

#### Building a fairer taxation system

**Conservatives believe in a corporate tax system which rewards entrepreneurship and punishes evasion. We will always be whole-heartedly on the side of business, while making sure everyone pays their fair share of tax. Already, the top 1 per cent of income taxpayers pay over 29 per cent of income tax – higher than at any time under the last Labour Government.**

We will continue to build on this to **tackle tax evasion and reduce opportunities for aggressive tax avoidance**

.

Since 2010, we have **introduced more than 100 anti-avoidance measures**

and **secured more than £200 billion which would otherwise have gone unpaid**

– £24 billion in the last year alone. We have led the international fight against aggressive tax avoidance global rules to ensure tax is paid where profit is made. This has included committing 100 jurisdictions to ending bank secrecy.

But we can go further still. The gap between the amount of tax that should be paid and is actually collected stands at £35 billion – still too high. Hard-working families and should know that we will not permit take further action to **redesign the tax**

evasion to go unchecked. So we will **system so that it boosts growth, wages set out a new anti-tax avoidance and and investment and limits arbitrary tax evasion law**

. This will:

**advantages for the wealthiest in society**

.

* Double the maximum prison term We are also strengthening the UK’s to 14 years for individuals convicted corporate governance regime , and of the most egregious examples of will reform insolvency rules and the tax fraud. audit regime so that customers and suppliers – and UK taxpayers – are

* Create a single, beefed-up Anti-better protected when firms like Tax Evasion unit in HMRC that Thomas Cook go into administration. covers all duties and taxes, from We will also carefully study the results individual errors to deliberate non-of the ongoing investigation into its compliance – which is put on a collapse. We will improve incentives legislative footing. to attack the problem of excessive executive pay and rewards for failure .

* Consolidate existing anti-evasion and avoidance measures and We will reintroduce legislation that powers . protects pension pots from being plundered by reckless bosses , helps

* Introduce a new package of savers be better informed with pension anti-evasion measures , including dashboards, and creates a new style measures to end tax abuse in of pension scheme which is more the construction sector, crack sustainable for workers and employers. down on illicit tobacco packaging

#### Fairness in the workplace

profit-shifting by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes.

**As well as making Wales the best place Major multinational companies should to start a business, and the best place pay their fair share of tax**

. As part of **to learn and develop your skills, we**

our approach, we will **implement the want to make it the best place in the Digital Services Tax**

.

**world to work.**

While always backing entrepreneurs The increase in employment that that choose to make the UK the place the Conservative Government has overseen since 2010 is proof that there is no contradiction between high employment and high standards – between dynamic growth and protecting employees from unfair policies and discriminatory treatment. Over the last year, for example, unemployment has continued to fall, even as average real wages have increased.

We have **raised the personal income tax allowance,**

increased the minimum wage and introduced and consistently raised the National Living Wage to ensure that people get to keep more of what they earn and that work always pays. And we have **aimed to strike the right balance between the flexibility that the economy needs and the security that employees deserve**

, introducing new protections for workers while preserving the dynamism and job creation that drive our shared prosperity.

Once we have got Brexit done, we will go further. Because **people cannot fulfil their potential if they do not have jobs that treat them with dignity and respect**

, and if they are not in control of their lives and their futures.

As Conservatives we will always **prioritise the principle of fairness in the workplace**

, whether it is in the job application process, ensuring equal pay for equal work, or people’s working conditions.

**Tomos Davies**

**Candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd**

We will therefore build on our existing **Public Relations**

employment law with new measures **Consultant**

that protect everyone, especially those in low paid work:

* We will create a single enforcement body and crack down on any employer abusing employment law , whether by taking workers’ tips or refusing them sick pay.

* We will ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable contract and other reasonable protections.

We also want to look at more radical ways to support working families in the UK. Our lifestyles have been transformed over

* We will encourage flexible working the last four decades – many families and consult on making it the default today have two working parents who are unless employers have good reasons juggling work and other responsibilities. not to. They have to stretch themselves daily to care for children, elderly relatives

* We have reformed redundancy law and those with disabilities. For women, so companies cannot discriminate who still tend to be the main carers in against women immediately after households, this can have a big impact on returning from maternity leave. their careers and limit their participation in the workplace.

* We will legislate to allow parents to take extended leave for neonatal But while the modern workplace is care , to support those new adapting as a result, we can do more as mothers and fathers who need it a Government to make things easier, during the most vulnerable and learning from sensible approaches stressful days of their lives. And we adopted in other countries. We will will look at ways to make it easier therefore introduce a raft of measures for fathers to take paternity leave . that balance the needs of employees and employers:

* We will extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers , the majority of whom are women, to a week.

Over the last nine years, we have extended the offer of free childcare hours to more working parents. We know that people value this support, A Welsh Conservative Government would fund more high quality childcare before and after school and during the holidays so that working parents do not have to choose between their careers and their children.

Our vision for the labour market, in other words, is not one where the state does everything for you. It is one where **more Nobel laureates than have been produced by any country in the world bar the United States. More, indeed, than France, Japan and China – combined.**

That spirit of discovery is still alive in this country today. But we have not always turned our genius for innovation into jobs and companies here in Britain. EU regulations have been another barrier to innovation.

We need to use science and research to unite and level up our country, giving people opportunity and hope.

the state does everything it can to Once we have got Brexit done, we help you help yourself - by upgrading will turn our attention to the great your skills, or by being able to balance challenges of the future such as clean work and family life. It is one in which a energy and advanced energy storage; a deep commitment to entrepreneurship cure for dementia; and solving antibiotic and business is matched by a desire to resistance. To do this we will make an ensure that the jobs that are created unprecedented investment in science are highly skilled, well-paid and fulfilling. so we can strengthen research and build the foundations for the new industries of

### Unleash innovation

We commit to the fastest ever increase in domestic public R&D spending, **The UK has a proud record of**

including in basic science research to **innovation and discovery. We are the**

meet our target of 2.4 per cent of GDP **country that gave the world penicillin,**

being spent on R&D across the economy.

**the World Wide Web, the theories of**

Some of this new spending will go **gravity and evolution, that unravelled**

to a new agency for high-risk, high- **the structure of DNA. The University**

payoff research, at arm’s length from **of Cambridge alone has played host to**

government. We will continue to support **Candidate for Merthyr**

our outstanding science sector as we leave the EU.

Unlike Corbyn’s Labour, we will not spend blindly and wastefully.

* We will focus our efforts on areas where the UK can generate a commanding lead in the industries of the future – life sciences, clean energy, space, design, computing, robotics and artificial intelligence.

* In particular, we will make the UK the leading global hub for life sciences after Brexit .

* We will use our £1 billion Ayrton Fund to develop affordable and accessible clean energy that will improve lives and help us to lead the world in tackling climate change.

* We will use our increased R&D funding from Government to attract and kickstart private investment .

* We will support international collaboration and exchange and ensure UK teams can recruit the skills and talent they need from abroad .

* We will reform the science funding

### Sara Jones

**system**

to cut the time wasted by **Tydfil and Rhymney**

scientists filling in forms.

**Farm Owner**

* We will unlock long-term capital in pension funds to invest in and **discoveries**

, creating a vibrant science-based economy post-Brexit.

* We will continue to collaborate internationally and with the EU on scientific research , including Horizon.

These unprecedented increases to the science budget will be used to **drive forward the development of technologies of critical importance to the UK**

, by investing in clusters around world-leading universities and spreading knowledge.

But it isn’t just about laboratory work. The UK is at its best when it allies its extraordinary design and artistic abilities with science and technology. The **Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2022**

– a national celebration which coincides with the **Birmingham Commonwealth Games**

– will encourage our leading arts and cultural organisations, universities, research institutes and businesses to come together to inspire the next generation in British innovation and creativity.

A Welsh Conservative Government would host a **Festival of Wales in Wrexham in 2024**

to showcase Welsh talent to the world and help to sell our talent overseas through the appointment of Welsh Trade Envoys in cities around the globe.

We will **invest in world-class**

This Government is committed to **computing and health data systems**

levelling up all parts of the United that can aid research, such as the Kingdom – and getting Brexit done will ground-breaking genetic sequencing enable us to give new support to people carried out at the UK Biobank, in rural and coastal communities, and Genomics England and the new for our farming and fishing industries. Accelerating the Detection of Disease project, which has the potential to We intend to make their lives much easier. transform diagnosis and treatment.

* We want to roll out gigabit broadband We will use UK Government across the country by 2025, with procurement to support new ideas £5 billion in funding already promised, and new companies. and provide greater mobile coverage across the country. Alongside investing in science, we will maintain our support for the arts and

* We will use our additional police culture, taking pride in the world-resources to tackle rural crime . beating strengths of the UK’s creative industries and its unparalleled cultural

* For areas - such as some coastal heritage. The Welsh Government will and market towns - which have receive an extra £15 million which historically been poorly served a Welsh Conservative Government in terms of education and public would spend on heritage, culture services (among much else), a Welsh and creative projects which enable Conservative Government would regeneration and increased tourism. establish a seaside and market towns fund to raise standards and support regeneration. It would also invest

### Support rural life and coastal communities

**in the bus network**

to improve infrequent or non-existent services in the countryside, including with more **Even as the UK forges ahead in the**

Just as in the wider economy we can **future, we must not forget those**

combine strong employment growth **communities that have not shared**

with high employment standards, so **fully in the growth generated by our**

we believe that **Welsh farmers and economy. fishermen should be able to profit by producing food and fish that**

#### A post-Brexit deal for farming

**Once we have got Brexit done, we will free our Welsh farmers from the bureaucratic Common Agricultural Policy and move to a new system. To support this transition, we will guarantee the current annual budget to farmers in every year of the next Parliament.**

**We will increase the annual quota for the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme we are piloting from 2,500 to 10,000.**

A Welsh Conservative Government would:

* Work with Welsh farmers, food producers and environmental experts, new agri-environment system for Wales.

* Promote our high quality produce and seek to develop an industry-led Welsh Food and Drink Strategy.

* Develop a new, holistic approach for the eradication of bovine TB.

* Ensure the strength of the Welsh brand is maintained and enhanced as we leave the EU.

* Review the Welsh Labour are the envy of the world - both for a nitrate vulnerable zone. standards to which they were produced.

* Use our exit from the EU to encourage the public sector in Wales to ‘Buy We want people, both at home Welsh’ to support our farmers and and abroad, to be queuing up to reduce environmental costs. buy Welsh. And one of the great opportunities of Brexit is the chance

#### A post-Brexit deal for fisheries

to lead the world in the quality of our food, agriculture and land management - driven by science-led,

* Upon leaving the EU, we will leave the evidence-based policy. Common Fisheries Policy, becoming an independent coastal state and And we want those same farmers and taking back control of our waters in fishermen to act as the stewards of December 2020. the natural world , preserving the UK’s countryside and oceans as they have

* We will increase funding for fisheries for generations. across the UK’s nations throughout

#### Stewards of our environment

the regeneration of our coastal communities.

**A Welsh Conservative Government**

* A Welsh Conservative Government would work to protect and enhance would introduce a new fishing environmental protection across strategy which would be based on the Wales and ensure that we are not left principle of ‘maximum sustainable behind, having been the first country yield’, and would legally require the to declare a climate emergency. Welsh Government to maintain fish sustainability for every stock. We would:

* Deliver a Clean Air Act for Wales.

* Ban single use plastics.

* Introduce a drink containers deposit scheme.

* Scrap Natural Resources Wales and replace it with a new and independent environmental watchdog with greater powers and more resources.

* Impose a moratorium on approvals for new large-scale incinerators in Wales.

* Promote the planting of trees in urban areas.

* Introduce tougher penalties for fly-tipping, dog fouling and littering.

will introduce extended producer responsibility, so that producers pay the full costs of dealing with the waste they produce, and boost domestic recycling. We will ban the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries, consulting with industry, NGOs and local councils on the date by which this should be achieved.

* We will make no changes to the Hunting Act .

### Strengthen our Union

**The United Kingdom is the most successful political and economic union in history. Together, with England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, Wales is safer, stronger and more prosperous. For over 300 years, our people have built this great country together and we believe our best days lie ahead.**

By getting Brexit done, we will deliver certainty so that all four nations of the UK can move on together.

**Freeports**

: We will aim to ensure This will allow us to strengthen the that our **new freeports benefit the**

Union, by making it our mission as a **people in each of the four nations**

. We Government to work for the whole of believe that there are many places the United Kingdom, delivering for all across the United Kingdom that have of its people wherever they live. the opportunity to **be successful innovative hubs for global trade**

.

#### Investing across the Union

#### Investing in Wales

**UK Shared Prosperity Fund**

: The UK **In the 2016 referendum, Wales voted**

Shared Prosperity Fund will be used to **to Leave – yet the Welsh Labour bind together the whole of the United Government and Plaid Cymru are Kingdom, tackling inequality and intent on overturning that decision deprivation in each of our four nations**

.

**by holding another referendum on**

It will replace the overly bureaucratic **our membership of the EU.**

EU Structural Funds – and not only be better targeted at the UK’s specific Only the Welsh Conservatives can needs, Wales will receive at least the end the current uncertainty by same level of financial support as it **delivering on the democratic decision**

currently receives from the EU.

**of the Welsh people to Leave**

– getting Brexit done so we can unleash Wales’s **Strengthening the Union:**

Conservatives potential as part of the United have a proud history of upholding Kingdom. and strengthening the devolution settlements in Wales, Scotland and We are ambitious for the Welsh Northern Ireland. We want to ensure that economy and for our Union. We the institutions of the UK Government will **ensure that Wales gets a fair**

are working effectively to **realise the deal, with major investments in benefits of our four nations working infrastructure and industry**

to deliver **together as one United Kingdom.**

We will real opportunity across the nation. consider carefully the recommendations of Lord Dunlop’s Independent Review After Brexit, we will **continue to be**

into UK Government Union capability **a champion for Welsh exports and**

when it is published, as we look at how **Wales’s presence on the global stage**

we work to strengthen our Union going as part of a strong United Kingdom. forward.

* infrastructure is focused on national connectivity within England and within Wales, rather than across the communities which live and work near the border. We will work with the Welsh Government and councils on both sides of the border to negotiate a transformative Marches Growth Deal, focusing on cross-border infrastructure which supports the local and cross-border economy . This will be modelled on the successful collaboration between governments and councils through the Borderlands Growth Deal in Northern England and the South of Scotland – building on the work of the Western Gateway partnership we have already announced.

* Transport : To support our Union, we will, working with the Welsh Government, upgrade the A55 as the main road transport artery for North Wales – improving its capacity and resilience to build connections between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom. A Welsh Conservative Government would deliver an M4 relief road which has been mothballed by the Labour administration. We gave financial support to the Welsh Government to build the relief road, yet the Labour administration decided to abandon

### Protect our democracy

road is a vital economic lifeline and its cancellation shows that Wales is continually being held back by the Labour Welsh Government. We will **As Conservatives, we stand for**

also deliver on our commitment to **democracy and the rule of law. Our fund the building of the West Wales independent courts and legal system Parkway Station**

outside of Swansea.

**are respected throughout the world.**

* Automotive industry : The We are committed to devolution and automotive industry in Wales guarantee that Wales will not lose any sustains tens of thousands of jobs powers as a result of our exit from and we believe that it has a bright the EU. Indeed, Brexit will mean that future ahead. In September, we more powers flow to the devolved worked to bring INEOS Automotive parliaments, with decisions taken closer to Bridgend, which will create 500 to the people they affect. new jobs. We will continue to back Welsh car manufacturing , as the One of the strengths of the UK’s industry transitions to building constitution is its ability to evolve – as electric vehicles in the coming times have changed, so have Parliament, decades. government and the judiciary.

* Supporting steel: A Conservative Today, that need is greater than ever. The UK Government would work with failure of Parliament to deliver Brexit the Welsh Government to maintain – the way so many MPs have devoted a competitive steel industry fit for themselves to thwarting the democratic the 21st century. decision of the British people in the 2016 referendum – has opened up a

* Welsh language : Conservatives destabilising and potentially extremely are proud of Welsh language and damaging rift between politicians and culture. We will support Welsh people. If the Brexit chaos continues, institutions such as S4C, the with a second referendum and a second National Library and Museum, the Scottish referendum too, they will lose Urdd and the National Eisteddfod. faith even further. We will support the ambition for one million people in Wales to be It is only by getting Brexit done that we able to speak Welsh by 2050 . can start the necessary task of restoring public trust in government and politics:

* We will ensure we have updated and equal Parliamentary boundaries , making sure that every vote counts the same – a cornerstone of democracy.

* We will get rid of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act – it has led to paralysis at a time the country needed decisive action.

* We will continue to support the First Past the Post system of voting for UK elections.

* We will protect the integrity of our democracy , by introducing identification to vote at polling stations, stopping postal vote harvesting and measures to prevent any foreign interference in elections .

* We will make it easier for British expats to vote in Parliamentary elections, and get rid of the arbitrary 15-year limit on their voting rights.

* We will maintain the voting age at 18 for UK elections – the age at which one gains full citizenship rights.

* We will ensure that no one is put off from engaging in politics or standing in an election by threats, harassment or abuse , whether in person or online.

* Welsh Conservatives will continue After Brexit we also need to look to oppose Labour, Plaid Cymru and at the broader aspects of our Liberal Democrat plans to extend constitution : the relationship between voting rights for prisoners. The UK the Government, Parliament and the Government will maintain the ban on courts; the functioning of the Royal prisoners voting in England and Wales. Prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for

* We will champion freedom of ordinary people. The ability of our expression and tolerance , both in the security services to defend us against UK and overseas. terrorism and organised crime is critical. We will update the Human

* To support free speech, we will Rights Act and administrative law to repeal section 40 of the Crime ensure that there is a proper balance and Courts Act 2014 , which seeks between the rights of individuals, our to coerce the press. We will not vital national security and effective proceed with the second stage of government. We will ensure that the Leveson Inquiry . judicial review is available to protect the rights of the individuals against an

* We will ensure redundancy payments overbearing state, while ensuring that can be clawed back when high-paid it is not abused to conduct politics by public servants move between jobs. another means or to create needless delays. In our first year we will set

* We will improve the use of data, data up a Constitution, Democracy & science and evidence in the process Rights Commission that will examine of government. these issues in depth, and come up with proposals to restore trust Once we get Brexit done, Britain will take in our institutions and in how our back control of its laws. As we end the democracy operates. supremacy of European law, we will be free to craft legislation and regulations that maintain high standards but which work best for the UK . We want a balance of rights, rules and entitlements that benefits all the people and all the parts of our United Kingdom.

## We Will Strengthen Wales In The World

As Conservatives, we are immensely proud of the UK’s history and its standing in the world, especially the long history of the people of Wales’ dedication and continued sacrifice to our Armed Forces. Unlike those currently leading the Labour Party, we view our country as a force for good.

The strength of the Armed Forces, our alliances with like-minded democracies and our willingness to act are all reasons for the UK to hold its head high. So too is our work in promoting international development and fighting climate change - both issues on which the Conservative Party and Conservative Governments have driven the agenda forward.

**And in an uncertain world, in which the threat of terrorism, rogue states and malign non-state actors is ever-present, it is vital that Britain stands up and is counted.**

Getting Brexit done will allow us to do more on the international stage. We will continue to be an outward-looking country that is a champion of collective security, the rule of law, human rights, free trade, anti-corruption efforts and a rules-based international system.

After Brexit, we will bolster the alliances and institutions that help project our influence and keep us safe: the UN and the UN Security Council; NATO; the Commonwealth; Five Eyes; the G20; the new partnerships across the world. We G7; and the World Trade Organisation. will work with our cultural institutions like We will open new markets and support the BBC and British Council to expand free trade and global growth. our influence and project our values. And unlike Jeremy Corbyn, we will stand up We will build on our fantastic track to foreign countries that threaten the record of delivering major international stability of Europe, or commit state-sporting events – including supporting sanctioned murder on British soil. the upcoming Commonwealth Games, UEFA European Women’s A Welsh Conservative Government would Championships and Rugby League sell Wales to the world with a new export World Cup – and we would back a strategy for Wales and a network of potential UK and Ireland bid for the 2030 Trade Envoys around the globe, working FIFA World Cup. within British Embassies to maximise commercial opportunities for Welsh As we extend our diplomatic network, businesses. we will reinvigorate relationships with Europe and seek to strengthen old and

### Supporting our veterans and investing in the men and women of today’s Armed Forces

A Conservative Government understands the sacrifices made by Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families.

That is why we will **introduce new legislation to tackle the vexatious legal claims that undermine our Armed Forces**

and **further incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law**

.

We will continue to **acknowledge and commemorate the invaluable contribution of diaspora communities**

in previous armed conflicts. We also **recognise the contribution in the present day of so many from beyond these shores**

, such as the Gurkhas.

In addition, we will bring in a range of measures to support former and current Service personnel.

* We will reduce National Insurance contributions for employers if they employ ex-Service personnel.

* We will offer wraparound childcare for Forces families .

* We have established a new Office for

* Introduce a Service Pupil Premium Veterans’ Affairs and we will introduce for the children of those serving in the a Veterans’ Railcard . armed forces.

* We will offer a guaranteed job

* Bring 150 empty social housing interview for veterans for any properties back into use specifically reserved public sector role they apply for military veterans at the risk of for. homelessness.

**A Welsh Conservative Government**

* Place a duty on local authorities would: to ensure the maintenance of war memorials.

* Appoint an Armed Forces Commissioner for Wales , accountable to the National Assembly for Wales to champion the needs of the Armed Forces community and ensure that Wales upholds the Armed Forces Covenant.

* Establish an Armed Forces Card to provide : - free bus travel - priority access to NHS treatment and home adaptations for service related injuries or illness - free access to leisure centres and CADW heritage sites

#### Put our national security first

**The security of our nation comes first. We will protect the British people at home and abroad, and also ensure that the democratic rights of people in Gibraltar, the Falklands and all our overseas territories are protected.**

* We will continue to exceed the NATO target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence and increase the budget by at least 0.5 per cent above inflation every year of the new Parliament.

We will **modernise the equipment and improve the capability of our world-class Armed Forces and intelligence agencies**

.

* We will invest in training and equipping our Armed Forces , and constantly champion their exemplary contribution to our security and our country.

* We will maintain our Trident nuclear deterrent , which guarantees our security.

* We will adapt to new threats, investing more in cybersecurity and setting up the UK’s first Space Command .

* We will stand against terrorism and extremism around the world.

* We will support the UK’s world-

* We will further develop an in ambitious global programmes, **sanctions regime**

to tackle human including building the new Type 31 rights abusers head on. frigates in British shipyards such as Rosyth and a new generation of

* We will stand up for the rights and armoured vehicles, made in Britain. opportunities of women and girls to be educated and safe. The people of Wales make a significant contribution to the armed forces and

* We will continue our campaigns to Welsh military bases are critical assets promote international media freedom in our defence infrastructure. Welsh Conservative MPs will continue to and to eradicate human trafficking fight for a significant Armed Forces and the scourge of modern slavery . footprint in Wales and to ensure that it is proportionate to the defence estate

* We will support marginalised elsewhere in the UK. communities in the developing world , hosting the UK government’s

### Promote our values

**first ever international LGBT conference**

. We will seek to **protect those persecuted for their faith**

and implement the Truro Review **From helping to end the slave trade to**

recommendations.

**tackling modern slavery, the UK has long been a beacon of freedom and**

* We will proudly maintain our human rights – and will continue to be commitment to spend 0.7 per cent so. We are proud of our peace-building of GNI on development , and do and humanitarian efforts around more to help countries receiving aid the world, particularly in war-torn or divided societies, and of our record in become self-sufficient . helping to reduce global poverty. We will continue to support international

* Building on this Government’s initiatives to achieve reconciliation, existing efforts, we will end the stability and justice across the world, preventable deaths of mothers, and in current or former conflict zones new-born babies and children such as Cyprus, Sri Lanka and the by 2030 , and lead the way in Middle East, where we maintain our eradicating Ebola and malaria . support for a two-state solution.

Once we leave the EU, we will champion

* We will support the construction these values even more strongly. of the planned UK Holocaust Memorial .

#### Animal Welfare

**High standards of animal welfare are In one of the hallmarks of a civilised Conservative society. We have a long tradition of Welsh protecting animals in this country, often would: many years before others follow. Under a Conservative UK Government, that**

* will continue.

* We will not make changes to the Hunting Act.

* We will bring in new laws on animal

* sentience.

* We will end excessively long journeys for slaughter and

* fattening.

* We will continue with the ivory ban and extend it to cover other ivory-bearing species, and ban imports from trophy hunting of

* endangered animals.

* A Welsh Conservative Government would replace the Wales for Africa addition to action taken by a programme with a Wales for the UK Government, a World programme and treble its Conservative Government funding to promote the delivery of the millennium development goals in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Introduce Lucy’s Law to ban the South America. third party sale of cats and dogs and compulsory CCTV in Welsh slaughterhouses, as is already the

### Fight climate change and protect the environment

case in England.

**Review pet breeding standards**

and registration requirements to ensure adequate protection for animals.

**Promote honest labelling**

to enhance consumer choice, **Today, the climate emergency means**

including distinguishing between **that the challenges we face stretch far**

stunned and non-stunned **beyond our borders.**

slaughter methods. Thanks to the efforts of successive Increase the percentage of **public**

Governments, the UK has **cut carbon procurement of higher welfare emissions by more than any similar Welsh produce. developed country**

. We are now **the world’s leader in offshore wind**

– a **Ban keeping primates as pets.**

fantastic success story of Government and the private sector working hand in hand to cut costs and deliver ever more electricity at plummeting costs.

Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, we believe that free markets, innovation and prosperity can protect the planet.

**Yet we recognise that there is far more**

* We will lead the global fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 , as advised by the independent Committee on Climate Change. We have doubled International Climate Finance . And we will use our position hosting the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow in 2020 to ask our global partners to match our ambition .

* We will set up new international partnerships to tackle deforestation and protect vital landscapes and wildlife corridors. We will establish a new £500 million Blue Planet Fund to help protect our oceans from plastic pollution, warming sea temperatures and overfishing, and extend the Blue Belt programme to preserve the maritime environment. We will continue to lead diplomatic efforts to protect 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030.

**Our first UK Budget will prioritise the environment**

: investing in R&D; decarbonisation schemes; new flood defences, which will receive £4 billion in new funding over the coming years; electric vehicle infrastructure including a national plug-in network

#### In our trade talks, we will follow the following principles:

and gigafactory; and clean energy. around the Welsh coast and stimulate In the next decade, we will work with viable tidal lagoons in North, South and the market to **deliver two million new**

West Wales, particularly where they can **high quality jobs in clean growth**

. We deliver flood defence and marine leisure have ambitious targets: benefits.

* Our world-leading offshore wind We would help lower energy bills by industry will reach 40GW by 2030 , investing in the energy efficiency of and we will enable new floating wind homes, schools and hospitals and we farms. will support clean transport to ensure clean air.

* We will invest £800 million to build the first fully deployed carbon capture Welsh Conservatives have been clear storage cluster by the mid-2020s. that there should be a moratorium on approvals of any new large-scale

* We will invest £500 million to help incinerators until a national plan has energy-intensive industries move been developed to deal with such to low-carbon techniques . applications.

* We will support gas for hydrogen Wales is facing more frequent risk production and nuclear energy, of flooding from rising sea levels and including fusion, as important parts heavier rainfall. A Welsh Conservative of the energy system, alongside Government would: increasing our commitment to renewables .

* Establish a National Flood Agency to coordinate flood risk management

* We will support clean transport to and the response to flooding events. ensure clean air , as well as setting strict new laws on air quality . We will

* Designate Blue Belts in areas of consult on the earliest date by which flood risk to prevent inappropriate we can phase out the sale of new development. conventional petrol and diesel cars .

* Invest in flood defence A Welsh Conservative Government improvements via a Welsh Flood would fund further research to scope Defence Fund. opportunities to harness tidal energy

**Dominic Raab**

**Candidate for Esher**

**and Walton Foreign Secretary and**

**First Secretary of State**

### Increase trade and prosperity

**For the first time in nearly half a century, the UK will have its own independent trade policy once we leave the EU.**

Free trade has been proven time and again to be the best way to increase exports, cut prices for consumers, increase investment and create jobs right here in the UK. We believe we can use this historic opportunity to connect the UK to the world’s fastest-growing nations, create new export opportunities and enrich ourselves and our trading partners.

As part of the EU, we were forced into accepting trade deals that put their priorities first. Now, we will be able to **tailor our trade deals to the needs of British firms and the British economy**

.

**Our trade deals will not only be free but fair**

– in particular towards the developing nations whose economies could be transformed by access to the UK’s markets and expertise. We can, for example, include provisions in our new free trade agreements that promote the fair treatment of workers and advance women’s empowerment.

Our goals for British trade are **80 per cent of UK trade covered by free trade agreements within the next three years**

, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. These will be negotiated in parallel with our EU deal.

We will also **forge stronger links with the Commonwealth**

, which boasts some of the world’s most dynamic economies such as India, with which we already share deep historical and cultural connections. We will use export finance to increase our businesses’ access to emerging markets and engage diaspora communities in the UK with this agenda.

The UK is a world leader in many areas such as architecture, engineering, accountancy, information technology, digital services, law and the creative arts. Just as we led the way in opening up trade in manufactured goods in the last two centuries, **we should open up trade in services**

, in which the majority of us work and where most new jobs will be created.

We will **create ten freeports around the UK, including in Wales,**

benefiting some of our most deprived communities, and redouble our efforts to **promote Welsh business and exports.**

We will **dismantle barriers to trade and retake our seat at the World Trade Organisation.**

#### In our trade talks, we will follow the following principles:

A Welsh Conservative Government bring a major sporting tournament to Wales.

We would also sell Wales to the world

* We will seek to provide security with a new export strategy for Wales and to the British people in a world a network of Trade Envoys around the of heightened trade tensions and globe, working within British Embassies tariffs. to maximise commercial opportunities for Welsh businesses.

* We will seek to gain market access for British businesses and lower the cost of trade for them.

* We will drive a hard bargain with all of our trading partners – and, as with all negotiations, we will be prepared to walk away if that is in the national interest.

* We will defend British industries from dumping and other anti-competitive practices from overseas.

* In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards.

* The NHS is not on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs is not on the table. The services the NHS provides are not on the table.

## We Will Put You First

Getting Brexit done. Investing in our public services and infrastructure. Supporting workers and families. Strengthening the Union. Unleashing Britain’s potential.

**The future is there for us to grasp.**

We will build a Britain in which **Not a future in which we endlessly**

everyone has the opportunity to make **refight the battles of Brexit and the**

the most of their talents. We will ensure **Scottish independence referendum,**

that work will always pay. We will create **or in which Jeremy Corbyn and John**

a fair society, in which everyone always **McDonnell – propped up by Nicola**

contributes their fair share.

**Sturgeon – lead a Government which rejects everything that has made the**

Given the Parliamentary arithmetic, a **UK great.**

vote for any other party or candidate is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn – and a vote The Conservatives offer a future in for chaos and delay. which we get Brexit done, and then move on to focus on our priorities – We need to end the paralysis so we which are also your priorities. can do our job in the way you deserve. That is why we ask you to vote for a Because more important than any one Conservative majority Government on commitment in this manifesto is the December 12th. spirit in which we make them. Our job is to serve you, the people. To deliver on So that together, led by Boris Johnson, the instruction you gave us in 2016 – to we can get Brexit done, and move on to get Brexit done. But then to move on to unleash the full potential of this great making the UK an even better country country. – to investing in the NHS, our schools, our people and our towns.