On Sunday I campaigned in the area of Cherry Orchard Road on Bromley Common and then on to Keston (photograph) where, after a walkabout, I was much refreshed by visiting the Greyhound.
I don’t suppose David Cameron had time to go into a great pub like the Greyhound yesterday. In a speech he laid out what he wanted to do in the first 100 days of a new Conservative Government. Although he stressed though that getting our economy back on track remained the primary objective there were certain measures that he promised to get onto Parliament’s books in its first session.
The first Queen’s Speech of a Conservative Government is currently scheduled for 27th May. Matters that I think to be particularly important for those of us that live in the Bromley area include:
- · Three million more apprenticeships – across the country. That’s a total of 5 million since 2010.
- · The benefit cap to from £26,000 to £23,000 - £3,000 less than average UK take-home pay. Work should pay!
- · A housing bill to give association tenants the chance to buy their homes at a discount. New right to buy!
- · A doubling of free childcare for three and four-year-olds from 15 to 30 hours a week. Good for Beckenham.
- · The European Referendum Bill with the vote before the end of 2017. As promised.
- · A British Bill of Rights – to allow us to eject people who want to do British citizens harm. Hurrah.
- · Constitutional measures to deliver English votes for English laws. Hopefully sorting out the West Lothian Question.
Of course none of this can happen unless we have a Conservative Government voted into office at the General Election. The BBC Poll of Polls puts the Conservatives neck and neck at 33 per cent each so it looks like everything is likely to be decided by how each one of us votes on Thursday 7th May.
In truth, because of the electoral disadvantages faced by Conservatives compared with the Labour Party, we need to be about 6 percentages points ahead to properly secure a majority government. I hope the collective consciousness of the electorate realises that and how important it is to have a government which can sort out the country’s mess rather than get us into greater debt.