PARTY CONFERENCES 2014
on low pay; and creating a million high-tech jobs in green industries. Energy efficiency would be a national priority, with a drive to insulate five million homes over the next decade, shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said.
Miliband’s attempt to memorise his 70-minute speech left him a little red-faced after he forgot passages on the deficit and immigration.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper pledged tougher border controls for low-
skilled workers and fresh efforts to attract overseas students to British universities. She called for “radical reform” of EU migration rules to achieve “fair movement” rather than free movement of EU nationals.
Labour would halt Home Office plans to axe a further 1,100 police officer jobs next year and set up a new national refuge fund to help victims of domestic violence, paid for partly from the £50m saved by scrapping the next police and crime commissioner elections.
Earlier in the week Ed Balls, the shadow
chancellor, said child benefit would be cut in real-terms by Labour for the first two years of the next Parliament.
On the closing day, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said an incoming Labour government would ask hospital trusts and other NHS bodies to evolve into NHS integrated care organisations, working from ‘home to hospital’ to coordinate physical, mental and social care. He added that housing, charities and community services must play a bigger role in preparing for, and supporting, an ageing population.
by the most well-off people in our country, but in the past couple of decades, far too many have been dragged into it: teachers, police offi cers.”
What is less clear so far is how two expensive tax cuts would be paid for, especially if defi cit- reduction also remains a priority.
The main conference stage at Birmingham’s ICC played host to all the party’s Cabinet ministers and a range of people benefi ting from government policy, from young entrepreneurs to Dr Anna Hiley of Inclusion Healthcare, an NHS spin-out.
Many of the most interesting conversations were happening not just in the conference bars, but at the many fringe debates and discussions. PSE editor Adam Hewitt chaired one of these debates, focusing on the mooted ‘HS3’ rail line linking the main cities in northern England.
Another interesting debate was hosted by the
LGA, ‘The fi rst 100 days of the next government – transforming public services for the future’. Leader of the LGA Conservative group, Cllr Gary Porter, chaired the event, which also featured Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, chair of the Health Select Committee; Alex Thomson, chief executive of Localis (interviewed on page 16); and the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope.
The debate looked at the LGA’s ambitious ideas on what devolving public services could achieve, from halving the number of unemployed young people to a £1bn fund to fi x potholes.
Thomson warned the LGA not to assume ‘devo max’ for local government is “inevitable” in England, no matter what happens with Scotland following its ‘no’ vote. He also said that the response to the Rotherham child abuse scandal from local government was not as strong as it should have been.
Dr Wollaston wanted more integrated services
at the local level, and more ‘pump priming’ money for innovative ideas. But there were disagreements on the cost of implementing transformed, devolved public services.
In his conference speech, Cabinet Offi ce minister Francis Maude discussed the mutualisation of public services – which “liberate them from the bureaucratic straitjacket” – the digital government agenda, and plans to outlaw strikes where fewer than half of those eligible vote in the ballot.
Eric Pickles, the local government secretary, was keen to boast that the DCLG workforce has been cut by 60% on his watch.
He also discussed remembrance projects linked to the anniversary of the start of WW1 and the coalition’s record on housing.
More from the Conservative Party conference elsewhere in this edition of PSE.
Tories were “obsessed” with spending cuts, with many public services already “cut to the bone”.
Clegg added that he supported the idea of holding a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, but criticised the “arbitrary date” of 2017 set by the Conservatives. Cable added that his party could “not go along with” Tory
proposals for £25bn more spending cuts. Cable also proposed a pay rise for apprentices from next October, if cleared by regulators.
Lib Dem members backed plans to commit a £1bn real-term investment in NHS.
The party’s manifesto commitment will see the health service receive the extra funding
in 2016-17 and 2017-18. It will be funded by scrapping the Tory “shares for rights” scheme, increasing the dividend tax on additional rate taxpayers and tightening the cap on pension tax relief.
The Lib Dem conference was still going on as PSE went to press – see the PSE website for updates.
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