Work and family: In a bid to close the gender pay gap the Conservatives have proposed to have regular compulsory pay audits for all companies found guilty of pay discrimination. The Conservatives are known for their old-fashioned approach to family life so it's no surprise when they argue that women are often paid less because of ‘career breaks' used to care for their family. To help make life easier for those with a family the Conservatives plan to take Labour's flexible working scheme and go one step further by extending the right to request flexible work to all employees if you have a child under 18. The most dramatic change the Conservatives plan to bring in though is the change to maternity leave. Maternity leave will change to flexible parental leave. Under this scheme the first 14 weeks of the 52 weeks available (39 paid and 13 unpaid) would be for the mother. Thereafter the parents could decide how to use the leave between them.
Economy: This is the biggie. The Conservatives aim to cut the deficit and in turn prevent mortgage interest rates from rising. To reduce our national debt they aim to a one-year public sector pay freeze in 2011 (not to include low-earners), stop tax credits to families earning over £50,000, cut spending on Child Trust Funds on all but the poorest families, cap public sector pensions over £50,000 and introduce a 5 per cent pay cut for Ministers followed by a 5 year freeze and 10 per cent reduction in the number of MPs.
They disagree with today's tax and benefits system which pays out more money in benefits to couples who live apart rather than together. To tackle this the Conservatives would put a stop to the couple penalty in the tax credits system and it's important to note that no-one would be worse off as a result of this change. The Conservatives also want to make Britain a more ‘family friendly' society and aim to give married couples a tax break. They also want to tackle the financial problem women who are on benefits face if they want to go back to work. They are currently working on a new system that offers incentives for women to go back to work, not punish them by taking away many of their benefits.
Crime: The Conservatives want to take more preventative measures when it comes to ending violence against women. They aim to provide more support to women by ensuring appropriate training for police offices increase the number of health visitors to new mothers as well as provide funding for up to 15 new rape crises centres.
Visit the Conservative website to read the complete manifesto.
Click on the party's logo to read an overview of how their policies will affect you:
Return to the election homepage.
Check out these websites for more information:
fawcettsociety.org.uk
voteforpolicies.org
Economy: This is the biggie. The Conservatives aim to cut the deficit and in turn prevent mortgage interest rates from rising. To reduce our national debt they aim to a one-year public sector pay freeze in 2011 (not to include low-earners), stop tax credits to families earning over £50,000, cut spending on Child Trust Funds on all but the poorest families, cap public sector pensions over £50,000 and introduce a 5 per cent pay cut for Ministers followed by a 5 year freeze and 10 per cent reduction in the number of MPs.
They disagree with today's tax and benefits system which pays out more money in benefits to couples who live apart rather than together. To tackle this the Conservatives would put a stop to the couple penalty in the tax credits system and it's important to note that no-one would be worse off as a result of this change. The Conservatives also want to make Britain a more ‘family friendly' society and aim to give married couples a tax break. They also want to tackle the financial problem women who are on benefits face if they want to go back to work. They are currently working on a new system that offers incentives for women to go back to work, not punish them by taking away many of their benefits.
Crime: The Conservatives want to take more preventative measures when it comes to ending violence against women. They aim to provide more support to women by ensuring appropriate training for police offices increase the number of health visitors to new mothers as well as provide funding for up to 15 new rape crises centres.
Visit the Conservative website to read the complete manifesto.
Click on the party's logo to read an overview of how their policies will affect you:
Return to the election homepage.
Check out these websites for more information:
fawcettsociety.org.uk
voteforpolicies.org
