David Vaiani (11/02/10)
In last week’s blog I wrote about the Tories’ policy for school reform and explained that it was the main reason to vote Tory at the General Election. But should the Tories be offering more? Are they short of a vision for a better future? Is there a common thread which runs through the party’s policy commitments? Well, for my own part, I think the Tories ought to focus all their efforts on the twin issues of tackling the deficit and aspiration. As for how these goals can be translated into a set of policies, I would propose the following programme:
On tackling the deficit, I would like us to make it clear that not a single government department will be ring-fenced from public spending cuts, but that crucial frontline services will not be harmed. It should be perfectly possible to make this argument, without frightening the horses.
On education, our mantra must focus on aspiration. We should make the case for independent universities and a commitment to scrap the department for higher education which would liberate funds for scholarships and bursaries for the poor but able. We should also make the case for grammar schools & selective education, and greater provision for early schooling, as many of the problems regarding social mobility start before the age of five.
On law & order, I would like to see us develop the zero tolerance policies of Gulliani in New York, tougher sentences for serious & violent criminals, and a strong emphasis on prison reform. Many of the difficulties regarding crime are tied up with the woeful conditions that are to be found in our prisons: they are over-crowded with minor (often non-violent) criminals and there is virtually no effective policy of rehabilitation.
On housing & transport, we need to build more affordable homes, even if that means building on green and brown sites. The natural confines of towns and cities must be extended to create new communities. In addition, we need to build more family homes, as opposed to single unit flats. Finally, we need more high speed railway lines (such as the new Ashford-Euston line) to provide people with quick and easy access between their affordable homes and their places of work. Given the economic climate, we should make it clear that these last two policies constitute an aspiration and that we will enact them once the money is available. But they are two vital priorities, in my view.
I suspect that Tory readers of this blog will be able to come up with their own policies. The key, however, is that a party’s policies should have a common thread running through them. They should provide voters with a distinct vision of what the party wishes to achieve once it finds itself in office. In other words, policies must be put together in such a way that voters are able to recognise and hum along to a popular tune. This lack of vision & direction explains why the Tories are losing ground in the opinion polls.
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