General Election - May 5th 2005
Robert Key
your local Conservative Candidate

Defence

Defence of the realm is the first duty of government. I pledge my support to HM Forces and their families – and to the civil servants and firms who are part of our Defence team. I have a deep admiration and respect for their work all over the world and close to home, too.

• We will recruit more soldiers and keep the threatened Regiments.
• We will spend £2.7 billion more each year than Labour’s plans.
• NATO will remain the cornerstone of our defence.

I am proud of the work of our Defence Scientists and Health Protection Agency staff at Porton Down and of the trainers at Winterbourne Gunner. They make our nation safer. But in the face of new global terrorism we need stronger homeland defence and a Minister with responsibility to deliver it.

Value for Money & Lower Taxes...

Conservatives believe in rewarding hard work and encouraging personal responsibility. Labour has raised taxes 66 times – that’s £5000 per household. Have you noticed the difference in the public services you receive? I doubt it, given the complaints I get about the Child Support Agency, Tax Credits and anti-social behaviour.
Council tax has gone up 70% under Labour. Fortunately our Conservative County and District Councils give us good value for money. Our 50% discount scheme for those over 65, up to £500 off, will make a real difference.
Do not be conned by calls for Local Income Tax. It was considered and rejected before the Council tax was brought in. Local Income Tax would hit hard-working families hardest, cause huge increases for lower-paid workers and those who currently pay no local tax – such as student nurses. The Liberal Democrats control half the Councils they did ten years ago – they have been rumbled. Have they told you about their promised 20 local tax hikes including their anti-car taxes on driving and parking, a dog tax, hotel tax, regional income tax, rubbish tax and water tax – as well as local income tax?

• We will spend the same as Labour on the NHS, schools, transport and international development and more than Labour on the police, defence and pensions
  
• We will save £12 billion a year, use £8 billion to cut borrowing and use £4 billion to cut taxes (including Council Tax for those over 65).

Security & Dignity for Pensioners

I believe our pensioners should be recognised for the contribution they have made to our country.

• We will roll back the means testing of pensioners by increasing the basic state pension in line with earnings rather than prices.
• We would not require people with private pensions to buy an annuity at 75.
• We will cut the Council Tax bills of millions of pensioners. The over 65s, living alone or together, will see their council bills halved – up to a maximum of £500 each year.
• We will ensure that no-one will have to sell their home to finance their long-term care.
• We will introduce a new Lifetime Savings Account (LiSA). When you put money into LiSA, the Government will put money in too.

We’ll give you back your NHS hospitals

We are proud of our local NHS and of the standard of care we receive. Government should give doctors, nurses, matrons, healthcare professionals and support staff the freedom to exercise their professional judgment. But Labour has let us down by cutting our mental health service.

• We’ll get our hospitals clean, get money through to front-line services and give patients the Right to Choose where and when they get their treatment, harnessing the best of the independent sector in support of the NHS.
• We’ll scrap central targets and abolish regional bureaucracies.
• I’ll continue to campaign for our local mental health services.

Europe

Conservatives believe in a Europe of nation states, not a country called Europe.

• We will set the date of a referendum on the European Constitution as soon as elected, we will hold it within six months and we will campaign for a ‘No’ vote.
• We will bring back powers from Brussels including control of our employment laws and fishing grounds.
• We will not join the euro.

Action on Global Poverty

Poverty is not inevitable. We have a moral duty to help – and not to hinder. A Conservative Government will match current spending plans and we will work towards meeting by 2013 the UN target of 0.7% of national income on aid.

• We will champion respect and rights for women and spend more resources on public health. We will promote good government abroad and corporate social responsibility at home.
• Protection for rich countries and the EU at the expense of the developing world must come to an end.
• We will pursue faster and deeper debt relief.
• We support the broad goals of ‘Make Poverty History’ and the Trade Justice Movement.

Schools & Discipline

Sue and I were both teachers. We know that teachers, not politicians should run our schools. We will cut teachers’ paperwork, restore discipline in schools and give parents the Right to Choose the best school for their child.

• Heads must be allowed to impose discipline - and teachers, too.
• Our village schools need a more certain future. I will work to help find a rational way of providing local schools for local kids on a sustainable basis.
• I am personally committed to improving science and technology education in all our schools.

Controlled immigration

I believe we need a fair immigration and asylum system that helps genuine refugees and gives priority to those who want to work hard and make a positive contribution.

• We will take our fair share of genuine refugees. We have a moral obligation to help those fleeing persecution.
• We will set an annual maximum limit on the number who can settle in Britain, including a quota for asylum seekers.
• We will put in place 24-hour security at ports and create a new British Border Control Police.

More Police

Conservatives believe our society needs more respect, discipline and decent values. We will cut political correctness and police paperwork, and recruit 5000 extra police officers every year.
Wiltshire Constabulary do a fine job – but they are very stretched especially in rural areas and we will fund over 300 additional police.
I believe in a Britain in which the priorities of our police, the judgments in our courts and the sentences criminals serve all reflect the common sense values of our people.

Common Sense on Transport

Cars are essential to people in the countryside. There really is no alternative, for work and leisure.
This Government has let us down on transport – we still need our Salisbury bypass, relief for the Wylye Valley, the Harnham Relief Road and the Brunel Link. Meanwhile the County Council has been starved of cash to repair our streets and rural roads.
A Conservative Government will offer incentives to encourage cleaner, leaner, car use. I know it works – I drive a hybrid car!
I will continue to press for doubling the rail tracks west of Salisbury, re-opening stations at Wilton and Porton. Motorbikes, cycling and walking should have higher priority.

Action for Rural Communities

Our village communities need good services and fair local taxation. So we will give them a stronger voice in deciding the right level of development in their area. There will be one planning law for all. Conservatives understand the countryside and the common sense of our people.

• We will support rural police stations and recruit more police to reduce rural crime
• Village halls and community facilities will be a priority for the Lottery Community Fund
• We will ensure more affordable housing in our villages
• Planning will get a presumption in favour of the reuse of agricultural buildings whether it is for commerce or housing.

Farming & the Countryside

Our farmers produce food to the highest standards in the world. Farming must adapt and thrive within free and fair global markets. We will help agriculture reconnect with the consumer, in terms of food, recreation and energy. I will champion the traditions, heritage and way of life of the English countryside that our farmers have created and nurtured.

• We will strengthen the code of conduct between supermarkets and farmers to give them a fair deal.
• We will promote local food outlets and encourage local public procurement
• We will change the rules to allow local butchers and slaughterhouses to service farmers’ markets and local outlets.
• We will stimulate a viable UK biofuels industry through duty rebates and the Renewable Fuels Obligation.
• We will introduce honest food labeling so consumers have full information about food ingredients, where in the world it has come from (‘food miles’) and the environmental and animal welfare standards used to make it and distribute it.

Religion, Science & Politics

My faith is important to me. Britain is predominantly a Christian country with an Established Church of England – my Church. I serve on the Synod of Salisbury Diocese and the Council of Salisbury Cathedral, where I am also a Steward. For me, the genius of the Church of England is to apply the Gospel truths meaningfully to the world as we find it today and tomorrow. It is not for us to deny the wonders and opportunities of creation.
The harder and more complex the decisions I have to take, the more important is my faith in informing my judgment.
Science is rarely certain. Faith defies certainty. There are usually no absolute “right” or “wrong” answers to the challenges we face as science explores and explains genetics, reproductive technology, genetic modification, sexuality, energy, nanotechnology – and the basis of life itself. I believe I am tolerant and inclusive. I am no stranger to doubt – but wary of ignorance and prejudice.
Just because we can do something does not mean we should. Parliament is the place for such debates and decisions, to decide where we draw the line. I believe we should have the confidence to champion good science and to make progress with caution.

We are all Green now …

I will lead from the front on green issues.

The evidence is now overwhelming that mankind is contributing to and accelerating global warming and climate change. Conservatives are committed not just to Kyoto – but to an agenda that looks beyond that.

We will seek to change attitudes to energy efficiency in the home and in the workplace by reforming the Energy Efficiency Commitment. We will send a strong message to the construction industry by raising building standards with the objective of zero emissions from new build.

We will help British motorists make greener choices.

Aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions and we will seek to include aviation in the EU emissions trading scheme.

We should indeed generate 10% of our energy from renewables by 2010 – but local communities should decide if windfarms are the answer. We will review support for microgeneration, wave and tidal power, solar power, photovoltaics and encourage combined heat and power schemes, clean coal technology, biomass and biofuels. Geothermal schemes will be more attractive. We must continue research into nuclear fusion and the hydrogen economy.

In South Wiltshire I believe our special landscape precludes wind turbines. Our river system is so delicate and so precious that even micro-hydroelectric plants would be unsustainable - and would conflict with the Water Directive and the Habitats Directive. Energy crops and microgeneration are attractive alternatives.

These technologies cannot provide us with baseload generation. It is foolish to depend on imported gas for most of our future energy needs. One quarter of our electricity comes from carbon-free nuclear plants which will gradually be decommissioned. If we are serious about zero carbon emissions, there should be an urgent debate in which the advocates of new nuclear power can address public concerns on costs, safety and waste disposal. Recently I visited Finland to learn how that country has done just that.

Meanwhile, each of us can make a difference by conserving energy and using less water, by installing efficient heating systems and low-energy white goods. Above all by adjusting our travel routines. For over two years I have driven a hybrid car with low emissions and high mpg.

I will continue to campaign on water. Abstraction levels are unsustainable, rivers are too low, pollution is too high, pipes and sewers are crumbling, sewage works can’t cope with more new houses.

I am convinced we would recycle more, given the chance. I will press for more and faster action.

Conservatives will encourage farmers to grow energy crops – a real stimulus to the rural economy.

On genetically modified crops, Conservatives will halt commercial planting unless or until scientists give the green light on public safety and environmental grounds.

If we are to create a sustainable, low-carbon economy and conserve our environment and biodiversity, we must base our decisions not on prejudice or fear but on good science. By my work in Parliament I am seeking to reverse the anti-science culture in this country.