Following the general election on 7 May, the Tories now have a majority of 12, which – although fragile – allows them to pursue many of their manifesto policies and some of the bills they failed to get past the Liberal Democrats in the coalition government. These are expected to include:
Employment
Before the election, the Conservative party said it would create 3m more apprenticeships with the money raised from lowering the benefits cap from £26,000 to £23,000. Since the election, the new business secretary, Sajid Javid, has made it clear that the party’s plans to reform strike laws – forbidding strike action unless 40% of those eligible vote in favour – are a priority in this parliament.
Education
The Conservatives have promised to increase the amount of free childcare available to parents from around 15 hours a week for three- and four-year-olds to 30 hours a week from 2017. The party also announced plans for a schools bill that would include the power to force underperforming schools to accept new leadership and extend the free schools programme to create an extra 270,000 places by 2020.
