Smarter UK agrees with most Conservative policies but believes that there are more practical solutions than a poorly thought-out National Service or a tougher stance on crime without increased prison capacity to allow for them.
- National Service for All 18-year-olds
The Conservative party believes in bringing back National Service for 18-year-olds, with a mandatory 12-month military placement or community volunteering. This would instil a sense of national pride.
SmarterUK can see some benefits from this policy, but it believes it to be a headline-grabbing policy created by politicians with zero consultation with the UK population as a whole and the affected group.
Such a radical policy needs long and considered discussion as it will impact our children’s educational flow and does not even seem to be supported by the heads of the armed forces, who see it as a major distraction and potential demotivator to existing personnel.
- Pension Triple Lock.
Conservatives are promising to retain the triple lock on state pensions, ensuring they rise by higher inflation, earnings, or 2.5%. This policy targets the pensioner vote.
SmarterUK does not believe in the triple lock and thinks Pensioners should prosper or suffer from inflation in the same proportion as workers, with pensions rising by the same average percentage as wage rises in the UK as a whole.
- Crackdown on Benefits
The Conservative party is proposing a crackdown on welfare benefits, tightening caps and sanctions for those able to work but choosing not to, with a focus on reducing the welfare bill.
SmarterUK fully supports this policy.
- Tougher stance on crime,
The Conservatives are proposing a tougher stance on crime, with increased use of stop and search, harsher sentences for petty criminals, and more community payback schemes.
SmarterUK supports this policy but believes it is pointless without a 30% increase in existing prison capacity. Currently, too many criminals are being released early purely to free up space.
- Rwanda Flights
The Conservative are committed to build on the Rwanda plan for asylum seekers, drawing a clear line with Labour’s stance on immigration.
SmarterUK fully supports this policy.
- Immigration control
The Conservatives want to reduce net migration from 606,000 in 2022 to 240,000 in 2024 by capping asylum claims and raising salary thresholds for skilled workers.
SmarterUK does not believe in setting arbitrary targets for net migration. For example, issues like Asylum are influenced by world events such as the war in Ukraine, which may need a more flexible approach. Secondly, the UK has been short of manual labour since Brexit. Therefore, SmarterUK is proposing a more flexible approach to migration with a points-based system for skilled labour and a manual labour visa with zero benefits but reduced taxation to compensate.
- Climate Control
The Conservatives believe in retaining the 2050 net zero emissions target, with policies like transitioning to electric vehicles by 2035 and encouraging heat pump adoption,
SmarterUK fully supports this policy.
- Educational Qualifications
The Conservatives propose introducing an ‘Advanced British Standard’ qualification framework for 16-18-year-olds, increasing A-Level subjects studied and mandating maths/English until 18.
SmarterUK fully supports this policy.
- Economic Mission
The conservatives believe the three key economic missions should be: reducing inflation, growing the economy, and keeping taxes low.
SmarterUK fully supports this policy but believes it should be a political party’s number one objective and not lost among smaller policy announcements.
- Pensions of the Wealthy
The Conservatives want to scrap the pension lifetime allowance, removing the tax penalty on excess pension savings.
SmarterUK regards this as a blatant vote buyer and opposes any changes of this nature.
