With all 650 seats now declared, David Cameron has returned to Downing Street after the Tories secured a majority. The Conservatives have landed 331 seats in the House of Commons (24 more than in 2010), Labour have 232, the Lib Dems have 8, the SNP 56, Plaid Cymru 3, UKIP 1, the Green Party 1, and others 19.
In his first speech following his success, Mr Cameron said he would be reaching out to all parts of the UK and strive to ‘bring the country together’ in the wake of the SNP’s election landslide in Scotland.
He added: “We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom. That means ensuring this recovery reaches all parts of our country, from north to south, to east to west.”
But, no sooner have they secured their place back in the driving seat has speculation begun about the Conservative’s policies on green energy and global warming. The energy and climate change department has been one area where the influence of the Liberal Democrat coalition was highly visible, ensuring that onshore wind farms remained intact, along with support for other renewable energy projects.
However, the party has pledged to maintain support for the 2008 Climate Change Act and the 2050 targets, having signed a cross-party agreement in February looking to accelerate the shift to a low-carbon economy.
For the working community, positive employment and economy policies include:
- Legislate to keep people working 30 hours on minimum wage out of tax
- 30 hours of free child care per week for working parents of 3&4 year olds
- Aim for full employment for all those willing to work
- Use money saved in reducing benefits cap to fund three million apprenticeship
- Triple the number of start-up loans to businesses to 75,000
- Maintain the triple lock on the state pension so it rises by the highest prices, earning or 2.5 per cent
- Reward savings by introducing a new single-tier pension
For a full round-up of the Conservatives environmental policies and views on energy supply, climate change and flooding, click here.