Good morning. We’re now deep into the campaign and I’m getting a lot of contradictory signals! A lot of people I meet on the doorstep are cross with the Government, often for reasons I sympathise with. Yesterday I heard a fair few, very legitimate, complaints about the PM bunking off early from the D Day commemorations in France (and I made this little video to say what I thought about it).
But I haven’t yet heard a single enthusiastic remark about any of the opposition parties. And when people discuss the policies Conservative Party has pledged so far, there’s usually real support. They include:
- Commitment to raise defence spending even more (we’ve increased the defence budget by a quarter since 2019, now we’re going to 2.5% of GDP)
- National Service - military or civilian - for all school leavers
- Switch of funding from pointless university degrees to vocational training for the proper, well-paid jobs that need doing, with 100,000 new apprenticeship places
- An annual cap on the number of visas for foreign workers
- Amending the Equality Act to make it clear ‘sex’ means ‘biological sex’ not ‘gender’ (which means whatever you want it to mean)
- Helping middle-income earners with the costs of family life by raising the cut-off for child benefit from £60k to £120k
- Protecting pensions by raising the threshold with inflation, ensuring the state pension is never taxed
- Powers to evict anti-social tenants from social housing.
All this is really good stuff and my only regret is it wasn’t all announced a year ago - especially the cut in migration, the investment in vocational training, the help for families and the commitment on defence spending. The group of MPs I chair in Parliament was calling for all this back then, and suffered criticism for rocking the boat…
I recognise how many voters - including or perhaps especially traditional Conservative voters - are disillusioned with our Party. 14 years is a long time. We’ve made mistakes, and we’ve endured some of the rockiest global and national events you can imagine, as technology and its effects - in our security, in our economy, in our culture, in our very relationships - continue to upend the world. But ultimately an election is about the future. Which Party, and which local candidate, best represents the philosophy and the policies you believe in?
I’m campaigning all day every day. This morning I’m in Tidworth, where I’ll be chatting to soldiers and their families. Please follow me on social media - below is a sample of the content I’m pushing out - and even better, if you’re so inclined, please join me on the campaign trail. I’m hugely grateful for the small army of people who come out with me to knock on doors or (for the voter-averse) push leaflets through letterboxes. I also need people with front gardens or fields - especially fields by main roads! - to let us put signs up. Please do get in touch if you’re able to help in any way ([email protected]).
Many thanks
Danny
Launching my campaign (in the rain)
Amesbury - the oldest inhabited place in the British Isles
Glorious day at the International Pig Races (yes indeed) at the Royal Oak in Bishopstone yesterday
Hoping the Swan at Enford reopens soon - a great pub in a lovely village
Campaigning for a new GP surgery in Kings Gate and Archers Gate in Amesbury
Catching up with Jane at Gastro Nicks delicious deli in Collingbourne Ducis
