Jenrick has given his second speech of the final leadership run this morning at the Centre for Policy Studies. It’s 2-0 with Kemi on speeches given so far…
The leadership hopeful has set out his economic priorities, some vague, some specific. Here is a summary:
- Slash the number of civil servants back to pre-Brexit levels, cutting c100,000 jobs. Just like Hunt promised…
- Cut 2p off basic rate of income tax by returning disability and incapacity caseload back to 2019 levels.
- “Hold public sector leaders accountable for their failures,” including NHS managers.
- Invest in the automation in government, replace old IT systems.
- “Embrace the possibilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning to speed up our work.“
- Shorten the claimant review point for the long-term unemployed from 18 months to 12 months.
- Withhold student loans to the worst performing 10% of courses for graduate outcomes to reduce student numbers by 130,000.
- Close down “failed” universities and replace them with apprenticeship hubs.
- Zone urban areas for densification – speed up and simplify the planning process. Ensure that residents in suburbs can decide on densification.
- Build low-cost nuclear plants using South Korean specifications.
Jenrick declines to say the income tax cut will be in the next Tory manifesto if he becomes leader. Some red meat for the membership to get into there…
