The first 100 days of a Conservative majority Government and the choice before the British people

A week ahead of polling day the Conservatives have unveiled their plan of action for the first 100 days of a majority Government – contrasting it with the gridlock and uncertainty that would follow the election of a hung parliament on the 12th December.

The first 100 days of a Conservative majority Government would see the passing of the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, a Queen’s Speech to introduce key domestic legislation covering law and order and health and a post Brexit Budget to take advantage of the opportunities before us. But this is all at risk from a hung parliament, which is a very real possibility. 

If given a majority, a Boris Johnson Government will, by 22nd March – 100 days after the General Election – have passed the Withdrawal Agreement and delivered Brexit.

Before 100 days are up, a Conservative majority Government would have also taken the following actions:

• Delivering a post Brexit Budget in February which will cut taxes for hardworking families 
• Changing the law to end the automatic release of serious violent and sexual offenders at the half way point
• Launching the biggest review of our defence, security and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War
• Legislating for a funding increase to our schools – raising minimum funding per pupil
• Changing the law to increase the amount that migrants pay to use our NHS 
• Beginning cross party talks to find an enduring solution to the challenge of social care
• Finalising an agreement with mobile phone operators to improve mobile service in the countryside

Before the 100 days are up, we will have introduced legislation to create:

• A funding guarantee for the NHS – to ensure the extra £33.9 billion per year we are putting in to the NHS by 2023 is enshrined in law
• A new Australian-style points-based immigration system
• Tougher sentences to ensure terrorists spend longer in prison.
• A system which prevents vexatious claims being brought against Armed Forces veterans 
• Gigabit capable broadband across the UK
• The future schemes for trade, agriculture, fishing and the environment once we leave the EU

Outlining the plan for the first hundred days the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: 

“This is the most important election in a generation – important because it will define if we go forward as a country or remain stuck, stalled, repeating the same arguments of the last three years with yet more damaging uncertainty.

“In just seven days time the British people will have to choose between a working majority government or yet another gridlocked hung Parliament.

“If there is a Conservative majority next week, we will get Brexit done by the end of January. 2020 will then be the year we finally put behind us the arguments and uncertainty over Brexit. We will get Parliament working on the people’s priorities - delivering 50,000 more nurses and 20,000 more police, creating millions more GP appointments, and taking urgent action on the cost of living.

“But if the Conservatives don’t get a majority, then on Friday 13th we will have the nightmare of a hung Parliament with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister propped up by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP. Next year will be Groundhog Day in Parliament with MPs arguing every day about the referendum and businesses and families left in limbo, unable to plan their futures.

“With Corbyn, 2020 will be the year of two chaotic referendums on Brexit and Scottish Independence creating more uncertainty. Nothing else will happen. I believe the British people will choose to go forwards and not return to the nightmare of a broken hung Parliament.”

ENDS

THE CHOICE BETWEEN TWO FUTURES FOR BRITAIN 

A majority Conservative Government: 

• Bring back the EU Withdrawal Act Bill before Christmas with all Conservative MPs backing the legislation. We would pass the legislation in order to leave by 31 January 2020. 
• The Government would announce its legislative programme on 19th December in a new Queen’s Speech 
• A post Brexit Budget would be held in February to take advantages of the opportunities provided by leaving the EU with a deal. 

Or Jeremy Corbyn’s chaotic coalition: 

• Labour are not expected to be able to win a majority outright. 
• The SNP have made it clear that a second Scottish independence referendum would be the price of their support. In 2010 a coalition was agreed six days after polling day – these negotiations were considered quick.
• On becoming Prime Minister – possibly after Christmas – Jeremy Corbyn would have to write letters of last resort. Emily Thornberry has suggested Labour would make a ‘collective’ decision – delaying this essential prime ministerial task.
• Corbyn would then have to go to Brussels to request a further Brexit extension immediately. 
• The Electoral Commission will start to consider wording for the questions posed in a second EU and Scottish referendum 
• The terms of the current Brexit extension prevents any re-opening of the withdrawal agreement, so Corbyn would have to negotiate a further delay and wait until 1 February to start work on a new deal.
• Spend rest of his first 100 days attempting to renegotiate a deal and then take at least six months putting preparations in place for a second referendum. 
• Corbyn has said he will remain “neutral” in his own referendum.
• 189 Labour candidates have signed a pledge to campaign to remain in a second referendum 

BORIS JOHNSON’S QUEEN’S SPEECH

• A majority Conservative Government would have a Queen’s Speech on 19th December. It will include Bills from the Queen’s Speech on 24th October 2019 and additional measures, including: 
• • Funding clause in the NHS Long Term Plan Bill to ensure the extra £33.9 billion per year we are putting in to the NHS by 2023 is enshrined in law. 
  • Minimum Service Agreement Bill to make sure when strikes take place, commuters aren’t stranded
  • Amendments to the Human Rights Act to protect British troops on military operations from on vexatious legal claims
  • A strengthened Sentencing Bill to introduce a mandatory minimum term of 14 years for adult offenders convicted of serious terrorist offences

• We would also pass secondary legislation in the first 100 days of a majority Conservative Government to: 
• • Provide a funding guarantee for our schools – boosting school spending by increasing minimum funding levels per pupil
  • End the automatic early release of serious violent offenders at the half-way point
  • Increase the Victim Surcharge paid by offenders, to make sure more money is provided to support victims 

• A Majority Conservative Government would also launch reviews in the following areas:
• • Integrated Defence, Security and Foreign Policy Review
  • Business Rates 
  • Red Tape Challenge

For further information, please contact the Press Office on 020 7984 8121.

Notes to Editors

Jeremy Corbyn’s chaotic coalition will waste 2020 with two divisive referendums 

·         Labour is likely to have to form a coalition or some sort of support agreement with the SNP in order to form a government. Labour are not expected to be able to win a majority outright. In 2010, negotiations took place relatively quickly and a coalition was agreed six days after polling day. If this were to happen this quickly again, we wouldn’t see a government formed until 19 December – too late to hold a Queen’s Speech before Christmas. However, it is likely negotiations could go on for longer (PoliticsHome, 25 November 2019, link).

·         The SNP have made it clear that a second Scottish independence referendum would be the price of their support. Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘My position, and the one I would expect Labour to respect if they wanted SNP support, is the question of if there is an independence referendum and the time of that is down to the Scottish parliament to decide, not Westminster’ (The Times, 25 November 2019, link).

• The SNP have already introduced the legislation required to hold a second referendum. The Scottish Parliament has passed the first stage of the Referendums Bill, and Nicola Sturgeon has said she will request a Section 30 order before Christmas in order to hold a referendum before the end of 2020 (CommonSpace, 8 November 2019, link).

·         Jeremy Corbyn’s first task as Prime Minister will be to write the ‘letters of last resort’. These letters instruct the UK’s nuclear submarines what to do if the country is attacked. Given Corbyn’s opposition to Trident, he is unlikely to empower our submarines to take action. In fact, Emily Thornberry has suggested Labour would make a ‘collective’ decision – delaying this essential prime ministerial task (The Guardian, 26 May 2017, link; The Telegraph, 11 November 2019, link).

·         A Labour government would be likely to request a Brexit extension immediately. In order to enact their plan to renegotiate a Brexit deal and hold a second referendum, Labour would need a lengthy extension.

·         The Electoral Commission have admitted they are planning for a second referendum. Politics Home reported that Bob Posner, the Head of the Electoral Commission, ‘confirmed the Electoral Commission is contingency planning for a second referendum’. Posner said ‘So, of course, we always have contingency plans that there could be a snap election and so forth. Again, the European Parliament elections – it is not impossible, though it’s not currently the policy that they’re going to happen, and they may well not happen – of course, we have contingency planning for that. Of course, if Parliament called for it to happen, we would make sure we could deliver it with the returning officers’ (Politics Home, 27 January 2019, link). 

·         A Labour government would not be able to start renegotiating a Brexit deal until 1 February. The terms of the current Brexit extension prevents any re-opening of the withdrawal agreement, so Corbyn would have to negotiate a further delay and wait until 1 February to start work on a new deal (Independent, 31 October 2019, link).

·         They would then spend the remainder of their first 100 days in renegotiations with Brussels. This would prevent them from focussing on other pressing matters. Negotiations would be fraught, with Labour’s plans already being called ‘delusional’ and ‘unrealistic’ by EU officials. Labour would also be campaigning for a deal which many Cabinet members, including the Brexit Secretary have said they would vote against (The Sun, 5 November 2019, link; Express, 5 November 2019, link; PoliticsHome, 12 June 2019, link).

·         189 Labour parliamentary candidates have signed a pledge to campaign to remain in the EU. The pledge reads ‘Labour is committed to a confirmatory referendum, to give you the final say on Brexit. If elected as your Labour MP, I pledge to campaign to Remain in the EU’ (Remain Labour, accessed 4 December 2019, link).

Boris Johnson’s Queen’s Speech on 19th December to unleash Britain’s potential 

·         On 19th December a majority Conservative Government will have a Queen’s Speech which will include the following bills: 

• All of the Bills from the Queen’s Speech from 24th October 2019, including (but not limited to) – 
• • European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill 
  • NHS Long Term Plan Bill – including an additional clause to ensure the extra £33.9 billion per year we are putting in to the NHS by 2023-24 is enshrined in law.

• In addition to the Bills from the previous Queen’s Speech we would also introduce the following 
• • Minimum Service Agreement Bill 
  • Amendments to the Human Rights Act to protect British troops on military operations from on vexatious legal claims
  • Fixed Term Parliament Act Repeal Bill