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National…
Defence
I pledge my support for HM Forces and their families - and for
the civil servants and firms who are part of the Defence team.
Defence is the first duty of Government.
Better
spending means lower taxes
More will go to schools, hospitals and the police. We will save
£8bn by cutting out waste. Conservatives understand that
people can't go on paying more and more tax. We will help those
hit hardest by Labour's stealth taxes. We'll cut petrol tax and
give tax cuts to help families with children.
Higher
standards in Schools
We'll cut down the form-filling so teachers can get on with teaching.
We'll change the rules to allow tougher school discipline.
 A
better health Service
Sue and I support and use our local NHS. Over 4,000 dedicated
people work at our District Hospital and hundreds more work for
our family doctors, clinics and dental surgeries, as well as our
private hospital, nursing and care homes. Healthcare should be
a seamless robe. Conservatives will spend more on the National
Health Service. This won't be enough by itself. We've got to help
our dedicated NHS staff deliver better healthcare. So there will
be less political meddling, more doctors and nurses and greater
co-operation with the independent sector. Patients will be given
guaranteed waiting times for their operations, starting with those
with the most serious conditions. We will enhance the family doctor
service and the role of pharmacists and complementary medicine.
A fair
deal for pensioners
Pensioners will be better off under the Conservatives. One million
more pensioners will pay no tax at all. And we will abolish tax
on savings.
 Keep
the pound
The choice is clear. Labour will scrap the Pound within two years.
The Liberal Democrats would scrap it sooner. Conservatives will
keep the Pound.
In
Europe…
Conservatives want a positive relationship with other nation states
in the EU as well as maintaining our world-wide trading and cultural
links. We should not abandon our constitutional and legal independence.
I will fight tooth and nail against a federal European superstate.
Ending
the asylum crisis
Britain should be a safe haven, not a soft touch. Those seeking
work legally should be welcomed, as has always been the case.
Illegal economic migrants should be deterred from reaching our
shores. This should have nothing to do with racial or cultural
intolerance - which I have always opposed.
Waging
war on crime
Conservatives want to see more police and police support in our
towns and villages. Labour cut police numbers in Wiltshire in
the last four years. I will work to see effective co-operation
between Wiltshire Constabulary, Ministry of Defence and other
police services and the private security industry. I believe we
should strengthen the Probation Service and the Youth Service.
I will continue the fight for new Magistrates' Courts in Salisbury.
Farming
and countryside
I believe in the traditions, heritage and way of life of the English
countryside which our farmers have nurtured. Together we must
rebuild and renew agriculture, strengthen the rural economy and
bring back common sense to the countryside.
 Robert
Key -
The Local Man...
Common
sense on jobs
In South Wiltshire we enjoy a well-balanced, high-employment local
economy. I will work to keep it that way. In the private sector,
our thriving financial and legal services, retailing, tourism,
and industry are all sensitive to ill-judged planning and infrastructure
policies. Our biggest local employers are public sector defence
and health. The Army and those who follow the flag will always
get my support.
Boscombe Down
should not have been privatised and DERA should not have been
split up - but Labour has done it. Now we must make it work. I
believe Boscombe Down should remain a Government aerodrome. It
should not become a regional civil airport and it would be wrong
to make it a base for the tanker aircraft. I will put pressure
on the new Government to commit to long-term MOD contracts. Amesbury
should retain its aeronautical engineering skills base. Boscombe
Down should become an Air Technology Park - part of the Salisbury
Research Triangle.
The two Porton
Down establishments are centres of world-class science and they
are both essential to our national security. I will support them
in Parliament and represent their interests.
 Common
sense on Transport
We understand that cars are essential to people in the countryside.
We will look again at a proper bypass for Salisbury and the villages
of the Wylye Valley. Less parking and higher prices are not the
answer to Salisbury's problems. Park and Ride must be reviewed
before we blunder into four new sites. If they can't get enough
drivers for normal bus services plus one park and ride site, will
they get the drivers for an extra four sites?
Conservatives
plan to re-open Wilton and Porton railway stations and expand
Tisbury Station. We will campaign for more parking at Salisbury
Station and double tracks west of Salisbury. We will encourage
the use of motorbikes, cycling and walking.
Councils…
The role of town councils, parish councils and parish meetings
should be enhanced. Conservatives will provide small maintenance
teams to each town and parish council to tackle jobs at the top
of the local priority list, including ditch-cleaning, sign-cleaning,
hedge-cutting and pothole repairs.
…and
Council Tax
Conservatives expect value for money from local authorities and
will exert downward pressure on council spending. Plans for regional
government will be scrapped. Regional Development Agencies will
be abolished, their functions devolved down to existing local
authorities and the money saved spent better.
 Save
our green fields
Conservatives will enable local people to decide how many new
houses are built locally. We cannot go on building on our green
fields - often without adequate transport, schools, doctors' surgeries
or shops.
Common
sense on phone masts
Conservatives will give local authorities new powers to control
the siting of masts and ensure local people are properly consulted.
Health fears must be addressed.
War on
litter, graffiti and fly-tipping and abandoned cars
Conservatives will give new resources to local councils to clean
up Britain and fine those responsible. Councils should keep the
proceeds of these fines.
Neighbours
from hell
Conservatives will provide new powers to evict bad neighbours,
involve tenants more and support successful neighbourhood improvement
schemes.
 Support
for village shops, post offices, pubs and garages.
A Conservative Government will cut their business rates. We will
boost sub-post offices by introducing a benefit card for use by
pensioners and benefit claimants for drawing cash at post offices.
Waste and
recycling
Conservatives will minimise waste and maximise recycling. Disposal
must be economically and environmentally sustainable.
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