As we head towards a new political landscape, our Barbour writing team will pick out the key policies, pledges and manifesto talking points from all the main political parties that are going to affect you. We'll keep you in the loop leading up to the General Election, and after it, so you won't miss a thing!
The Conservative manifesto discusses a number of relevant points related to planning, climate change, energy, environment, safety and farming.
Planning
In terms of infrastructure, the manifesto proposes to invest in energy infrastructure to allow businesses to grow. It sets out plans to support the growth and decarbonisation of the aviation sector by backing British Sustainable Aviation Fuel through SAF mandate (industry-backed support mechanism and investment in future aviation technology).
There will also be support for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector.
The party aims to speed up infrastructure delivery. They will attempt to simplify the planning system to make it easier to build and speed up the average time to sign off major infrastructure from four years to one; introduce reforms to outdated EU red tapes to better protect nature while enabling the building of new homes, prisons and energy schemes. They will also try to make sure requirements to offset the impact of new infrastructure and homes on an area are proportionate, without compromising environmental outcomes.
Transition to net zero
The manifesto, first and foremost, focuses on an affordable and pragmatic transition to net zero. This includes an on-going commitment to delivering net zero by 2050 and an affordable transition to domestic, sustainable energy. They seek to do this in a number of ways:
Climate change and Energy
The Conservatives propose to cut the cost of tackling climate change for households and businesses. Primarily, by delivering a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach that eases the burdens on working people. They aim to guarantee a vote in the next Parliament on the next stage and reform the Climate Change Committee.
They will try to ensure that green levies on household bills are lower and further levies are ruled out. The energy price cap will be maintained and standing charges will be reviewed and reformed to keep them as low as possible. More efficient local markets for electricity will be introduced as well as the option of smart energy tariffs for households. They also promise to deliver a Pumpwatch scheme that will force petrol retailers to share live info on their prices.
In terms of energy, they seek to ensure democratic consent for onshore wind thereby striking the right balance between energy security and the views of local communities. Their updated National Planning Policy Framework aspires to ensure local areas that host onshore wind directly benefit, including potentially through energy bill discounts.
Finally, they will aim to undertake a rapid review into the advantages of alternative network technologies, compared to overhead pylons which will consider moving to a presumption in favour of undergrounding where the cost is competitive.
Farming
In terms of farming, the manifesto proposes to increase the UK-wide farming budget by £1 billion over the Parliament, ensuring it rises by inflation in every year. It focuses on continuing to ringfence agricultural funding so it is passed directly on to farming and rural communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland alongside a new UK-wide £20 million Farming Innovation Fund.
A legally binding target to enhance food security will be delivered alongside improvements to the public sector procurement to deliver a goal that at least 50% of food expenditure is spent on food produced locally or to higher environmental production standards.
There will be a reform of the planning system to deliver fast track permissions for the building of infrastructure on farms, such as glasshouses, slurry and grain stores, and small-scale reservoirs. They will use the significant investment in R&D to prioritise cutting-edge technology in areas such as fertiliser and vertical farming.
Environment
The Conservatives plan to support rural life and enhance the environment. They will do this by boosting the availability of affordable housing for local people in rural areas. In addition, they will make no changes to the Hunting Act 2004 and urge public arms-length bodies such as Natural England and the Environment Agency to be responsive to those that they serve; making improvements in the way that they consult and make decisions. They aim to improve their accountability and give them clearer objectives to focus on.
In terms of floods, the manifesto proposes to maintain the flooding funding that has been invested since 2010 with capital funding into flood defences in England reaching £5.6 billion over 2021-2027.
The proposals are committed to leaving the environment in a better state for future generations with the Environment Act 2021 including ambitious targets to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and Biodiversity Net Gain, a world leading scheme to deliver greener new development. They will consult UK overseas territories on opportunities to expand it further. The moratorium on deep sea mining will be continued and the Global Oceans Treaty will be ratified.
They include plans for water such as:
In order to plant more trees, they will:
They propose plans to allow everyone to have access to nature within 15 minutes' walk of where they live. To do this, they will:
Martyn's Law
The Conservatives have also confirmed that they will urgently introduce Martyn’s Law,in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester
Arena terrorist attack in 2017. This will ensure premises are better prepared for terrorist attacks by requiring them to take proportionate steps to mitigate risks.
For more information, see the:
