Conservative Leadership Belfast Hustings — What I’m looking for
The Conservative & Unionist Party Leadership Campaign is continuing apace and tomorrow it comes to Belfast. As someone who joined the party living in London and now living in Belfast, I’m very much looking forward to seeing the final two candidates present their pitch and take questions from the
members here. I’ve deliberately kept an open mind until I see them in the flesh. I want to hear them speak to me about their vision for our country. I’ll be looking for four key things.
Economic parsimony and deregulation. Yes, that means lower taxes — to allow people to keep more of the money they earn because they know how best to spend it, which will lead I believe, to growth for the nation. It means getting the country’s debt pile in some sort of order as racking up debt that our children and grandchildren have to pay is immoral. And it means focusing on what the state really needs to do, doing it well and efficiently whilst stopping the things we don’t need.
The growth created by freeing up people and business from red tape, and the savings from removing waste from essential services and removing non-essential services should help us to manage our debt but also maintain and improve the facets of the state which we all believe in. That’s the NHS, our
Welfare State, our Defense. These functions protect us all, but particularly the most vulnerable in our society. We have a duty to ensure we take care of our children, our sick and those who face challenges through no fault of their own. Compassion is a Conservative value.
Not only should we be leaving a better debt legacy for generations to come, but we should be leaving a better physical environment too. Our natural environment matters and it needs to be properly shepherded. We need more trees, we should reintroduce native species of plants & animals where we can. We should replenish our islands. This means using our resources sensibly, balancing security with sustainability. It means being brave with our planning laws to achieve a better natural environment, but also a better built environment. We need more homes, we need better homes and we need places to be beautiful. Our planning laws need to ensure we can do that so that our children and grandchildren can be proud home owners in the future.
I want to see British patriotism. We are one nation and all our citizens should be treated equally. That means the nationalists need to be challenged & exposed — the mess the SNP are making of running hospitals and building ferries. The Welsh NHS under-performance needs to be called out. And the failure of the parochial parties in Northern Ireland to take difficult decisions for all our benefit. We are the only party who can run in all corners of this country and we shouldn’t allow divisive secessionists to get away with hiding behind flags of convenience. Her Majesty’s Government should continue to proactively play a part in the improvement in all our regions and level up to afford talent from everywhere to maximize its potential.
It also, importantly, means resolving the Northern Ireland Protocol. That we are in a situation where UK businesses cannot buy or sell easily to UK consumers is fundamentally wrong — limited choice drives up prices. That families cannot bring their pets to visit their families in other parts of the country, without costly paperwork designed for international purposes, is a folly — it builds walls between family. That the Chancellor of the Exchequer cannot lower duty on solar panels or alcohol without seeking permission from the European Union, is a national scandal — it’s not taking back control.
I believe there is a solution to be found, but for it to be reached the European Union needs to respect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. That means respecting NI’s place within the UK. That citizens of the UK in Northern Ireland are subject to UK laws and taxes by choice. Once the principles of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement are put as the foundation, then solutions are relatively easy to come by if the EU believes in peace here. The question is, based on the EU’s enactment of Article 16 within days of the Protocol going live, do they care?
If the EU are not going to step up to the plate and support peace in Northern Ireland, then Her Majesty’s Government needs to step up and act on behalf of citizens here — and we need to see action soon. With inflation due to rise, wholesale gas prices high, the cost of living in Northern Ireland is exacerbated by this poor legislation. We need remedy for people here before the winter arrives.
I’m looking forward to seeing who has a vision for good economic management; who has the compassion to care for our most vulnerable; who has the plan to create a better home for us all; and who is going to unite our country moving forward.
— by Edwin Hetherington — a Conservative Party Member in Belfast
