Jobs

Getting Ipswich working again

Ipswich has been hit hard by the recession: the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has doubled in the last year.

We want to get people working again. We will set up a National Loan Guarantee scheme to get the banks lending again to Ipswich firms, so they can start employing people again. To help them, we will reverse Labour’s tax rise on jobs and new companies will pay no tax on jobs at all.

Your Money

Less spending, fewer taxes

You work hard for your money – but this government spends your taxes recklessly and much is wasted. As a result, we now have the biggest peacetime debt in our history.

So first we will get a grip on public spending, cutting government waste immediately after the election. And we will immediately reduce those taxes that are hurting people most.

Schools

Ipswich kids deserve better

There are some fantastic schools in Ipswich, but some could perform much better. Every child, no matter where they come from, deserves the very best chance in life.

So we will set teachers free of government targets and bureaucracy. Schools will be put in the power of their communities. Streaming will give every child the opportunity to excel. And we will give head teachers the power to exclude unruly pupils to bring order to classrooms.

Immigration

Stronger control of our borders

Many people have raised their concerns about immigration with Ben – on the doorstep and in many hundreds of letters.

The immigration and asylum system is broken. So we will introduce an annual cap on non-EU migrants and improve the points-based system. We will also radically reform the asylum process so that genuine refugees are dealt with rapidly and with respect but false asylum seekers are returned rapidly.

Climate Change and Energy

A genuine passion for our future

I am committed to a sustainable Ipswich – my career has been dedicated to helping businesses reduce their environmental impact.

We need a government that is completely focussed on reducing carbon emissions and ensuring our energy independence from unstable states. This means better rail transport for Ipswich, more effective recycling and positive incentives to reduce our energy use.

Crime and Justice

Serious crime in Ipswich town centre is up

Knife crime in Ipswich has doubled since 2001. There has been a worrying increase in serious violent crime in the town centre. Drug and alcohol misuse is a greater and greater problem.

Ipswich has an excellent police force who work hard to keep crime down. But I have seen how they have to spend far too much time filling in forms, rather than policing the streets. And their work is made more difficult by cheap alcohol and lax licensing.

Defence

Fair treatment for our forces

It is not right that our government has sent men and women to war, some of whom come from Ipswich, without the right equipment, without dedicated medical care at home, and without proper compensation for injuries sustained in the field.

It is also vital that we match our resources to our military commitments. So we will immediately launch a Strategic Defence Review if elected to government.

Pensioners

The older generation deserve more

They have contributed so much to Ipswich and to our country, but they are treated badly when they need our care most.

I want to see pensions linked once again to inflation and a limit to means testing, so that people can stay at home for as long as they want.

And we will stop the injustice of people being forced to sell their homes to pay for residential care, by introducing an affordable insurance scheme.

Women

Giving real choice to women over their lives

Women have more power over their lives than ever before but still so much more needs to be done: we are nowhere near achieving the true equality in the workplace and in the community that we all should demand.

We will help women with families by extending rights to flexible working and parental leave, so that parents can decide what is best for them. We will also strengthen legislation to close the gender pay gap and do more to deal with the still-hidden scourge of violence against women.

Europe

Making the EU work for Britain

Europe has been good for Ipswich, promoting the free trade upon which the town depends. But now too many powers have been given away, and the British people have been denied the referendum they were promised.

A Conservative government will enact a United Kingdom Sovereignty Act to ensure that this can never happen again, and will work hard to recover those powers – in employment, criminal justice, and human rights – that should be decided by your courts, not by Brussels.

Families

Strong families, strong society

Parents have a hard enough job, so our government needs to help them. Without strong families, we have a weak society.

The tax system should promote stable relationships, not work against them. We should encourage people within the extended family to help with childcare, allowing mums and dads to go back to work. And we will extend Sure Start to ensure that mothers are given support they need in the crucial first months of a child’s life.

Sure Start

100% behind Sure Start

Sure Start Children’s Centres are vital to mums and dads across Ipswich, providing the early-years help that so many parents need.

We are 100% committed to Sure Start.

In fact, we will increase Sure Start provision, with 4,200 new health visitors to help mothers in the first weeks after giving birth.

International Development

Fulfilling our duty to the developing world

Poverty and instability abroad threatens our own national interest.

The Conservative Party has committed itself to protecting the aid budget and to achieving the UN target of spending 0.7% of national income on aid by 2013. To ensure taxpayers get value for this money it will be monitored by an independent aid watchdog.

Making Welfare Work

Radical reform to get Britain working again

The welfare system was set up, over many generations, to help people back to employment or training and to protect those genuinely unable to work. But under Labour the system is failing.

We will simplify Labour’s many failing plans, introducing one, simple, Work Programme, which will deal with everyone who is out of work – including the 2.6 million people claiming incapacity benefit who are currently not given the help they need to get back into employment or training.

Transport

A new rail revolution

Everyone in Ipswich knows about transport problems: our roads are crowded and the trains are expensive, unreliable and dirty.

Conservatives have ambitious plans for British railways, including a high speed rail network and a new agreement with the rail companies to tackle unreliability and overcrowding.

We will also make a priority to sort out road transport bottlenecks, so that funds are channelled to where they are needed most.