The result of the Conservative contest for PM won’t be known for sure until September 5, but with Foreign Secretary Truss the runaway favorite, POLITICO compiled every policy commitment Liz Truss has made during over 40 hours of hustings, as well as countless interviews and articles on the campaign trail. It is in effect the 149 separate policy pledges that make up the Truss manifesto.
To give you a flavour of what to expect from a Truss PM, Owl is posting “at a glance” summaries of some of these, about a third, in two parts:
Part One – The Economy
Part Two – Health and Social Care; Leveling up, housing and communities; Work and pensions
For other policy areas such as the Environment, Energy, Home Office and Transport please see www.politico.eu
Every pledge or promise made by the UK’s likely next prime minister during the leadership campaign.
Compiled by Noah Keate www.politico.eu
Health and social care
POLICY: Reduce layers of NHS management
DATE & PLATFORM: July 26, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
What I want to see is fewer layers of management in the National Health Service and less central direction. TalkTV
POLICY: Commit to 40 new hospitals
DATE & PLATFORM: July 26, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
I’m committed to the 40 new hospitals that we have agreed to build. TalkTV
POLICY: Support extra social care funding
DATE & PLATFORM: July 29, interview
SHE SAID WHAT?
I support the extra money that we’re putting into social care. ConservativeHome
POLICY: Oppose under-18s making medical gender transition
DATE & PLATFORM: July 28, leadership hustings in Leeds
SHE SAID WHAT?
I do not believe that under-18s should be able to make irreversible decisions about their own bodies that they might come to regret later. Leadership hustings, Leeds
POLICY: Review pensions of doctors
DATE & PLATFORM: August 4, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
I’ve met a lot of doctors who’ve gone into retirement because of their pensions, I need to sort that out. Sky News
POLICY: Bring doctors out of retirement
DATE & PLATFORM: August 4, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
There are many doctors who very kindly came out of retirement to help during COVID … what I’d like to do is see what we can do to encourage those people to come back into the profession. Sky News
POLICY: Rule out another pandemic lockdown
DATE & PLATFORM: August 5, leadership hustings in Eastbourne
POLICY: Ensure NHS budget rises in real terms
DATE & PLATFORM: August 9, leadership hustings in Darlington
POLICY: Deliver extra NHS funding through general taxation
DATE & PLATFORM: August 10, people’s forum
SHE SAID WHAT?
I’m committed to the extra funding, but I wouldn’t get that out of a National Insurance rise, I would get that out of general taxation.GB News
POLICY: Maintain abortion access across the United Kingdom
DATE & PLATFORM: August 17, leadership hustings in Belfast
POLICY: No tax relief for patients who opt for private health care
DATE & PLATFORM: August 19, leadership hustings
SHE SAID WHAT?
I wouldn’t introduce tax relief, I don’t believe that is the answer. GB News
POLICY: Ensure there is a mental health nurse in GP surgeries
DATE & PLATFORM: August 19, leadership hustings
SHE SAID WHAT?
I support having a mental nurse in GP surgeries to make sure people are supported. GB News
POLICY: Ensure relevant hospital wards are single sex
DATE & PLATFORM: August 23, leadership hustings in Birmingham
POLICY: No new mask mandates
DATE & PLATFORM: August 25, leadership hustings in Norwich
Leveling up, housing and communities
POLICY: Change how mortgages are assessed
DATE & PLATFORM: July 29, press release
SHE SAID WHAT?
Truss would support more first-time buyers into homeownership by allowing rent payments to be used as part of the affordability assessment for a mortgage.
This would be done through the upcoming mortgage review.Liz 4 Leader
POLICY: Abolish top-down housing targets
DATE & PLATFORM: August 1, press release (letter to Conservative members)
SHE SAID WHAT?
I will abolish Soviet top-down housing targets. Liz 4 Leader
POLICY: Create a “leveling up” funding formula to support struggling areas
DATE & PLATFORM: August 18, press release
SHE SAID WHAT?
Truss will “equalise and level up government spending across the UK, to ensure areas which have been left behind get the funding they need.” Liz 4 Leader
POLICY: Deliver West Midlands RailHub and Battery Gigafactory in Coventry
DATE & PLATFORM: August 22, press release
SHE SAID WHAT?
Truss’ “government will deliver the Midlands Rail Hub and put its weight behind the battery gigafactory in Coventry.” Liz 4 Leader
POLICY: Expand urban density by building higher-rise accommodation
DATE & PLATFORM: July 15, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
In our cities, I think we should be building up more … we should make more of the space we have. ConservativeHome
POLICY: Ensure incremental housing development in the countryside
DATE & PLATFORM: July 15, leadership debate
SHE SAID WHAT?
In our countryside and rural areas, I’m a supporter of allowing incremental expansion of villages rather than these massive targets that land on the back of local councils. ConservativeHome
POLICY: Devolve more power to metro mayors (such as Andy Street of the West Midlands)
DATE & PLATFORM: August 22, article
SHE SAID WHAT?
I want to empower Andy further, giving him and the West Midlands Combined Authority the powers they need to drive growth across the West Midlands. Express and Star
Work and pensions
POLICY: Reform welfare
DATE & PLATFORM: July 16, interview
SHE SAID WHAT?
We’ve got 5 million people economically inactive — we need to get those people into work. We need to reform welfare. The Spectator
POLICY: Examine incentives in benefits system
DATE & PLATFORM: August 5, leadership hustings in Eastbourne
SHE SAID WHAT?
It’s a combination of incentives within the benefit system as well as actively providing people with the skills and training they need to do those jobs. Leadership hustings, Eastbourne
POLICY: No further help for WASPI women
DATE & PLATFORM: August 10, people’s forum
SHE SAID WHAT?
On the specific case of the WASPI women, I don’t think it was handled very well at the time … but I think where we are now, it will be very difficult to go back. GB News
POLICY: Review war widow inequality
DATE & PLATFORM: August 10, people’s forum
SHE SAID WHAT?
It is very, very unfair that war widows, who then remarry, are essentially penalized. GB News
POLICY: Fully committed to triple lock pensions
DATE & PLATFORM: August 16, leadership hustings in Perth