You can find the Conservative Party Manifesto here. This page breaks down some of the key elements of the Conservative manifesto.
Bold actions to deliver a secure future for our country and for your family
To safeguard our borders and national security
- Boost defence spending to our new NATO standard of 2.5% of GDP by 2030, so we can protect British interests at home and abroad in an increasingly hostile world.
- Introduce a legal cap on migration to guarantee that numbers will fall every year, so public services are protected while bringing in the skills our businesses and NHS needs.
- Stop the boats by removing illegal migrants to Rwanda.
- Work with other countries to rewrite asylum treaties to make them fit for the challenges we face.
Our plan to secure our nation from global uncertainty
The world is an increasingly dangerous place so we will take bold action to keep the British people safe and our homeland secure. Our prosperity depends on our ability to preserve international security. As our record proves, we will do so by deterring our adversaries and acting as a force for peace and stability in the world.
We will fully deliver our new pledge for the defence of the nation.
We will hit 2.5% of GDP on defence in 2030 with our fully funded plan. This is the biggest strengthening of our defence since the Cold War, ensuring we remain the largest defence power in Europe. It will protect our security, cement our UK leadership in NATO and create more jobs in the UK.
If all NATO partners spent 2.5% of GDP on defence, our collective spending would increase by over £140 billion. Therefore, we will launch a campaign to set a new baseline of 2.5% for all NATO allies by 2030.
We will invest in the vital capabilities of the future, to give our Armed Forces the best equipment to do their job.
Taking pride in our record
- We will always be steadfast in our support for our Trident nuclear deterrent and have invested in its modernisation, including a nuclear skills package worth up to £763 million by 2030.
- We have taken action to prevent Iran and its proxies from attacking the UK and its partners.
- We have toughened our cyber defences and national security laws to protect the nation from terrorists and hostile state actors.
- We have chased dirty money out of the UK with new measures to protect our economic security.
- We have ripped out Huawei from key parts of our telecommunications system and reduced Chinese influence in our critical national infrastructure and sensitive technological sectors.
- Due to our post-Brexit freedoms, we have introduced a new independent sanctions regime that we have used to stand up for human rights around the world in countries such as Russia, Belarus and Iran.
- We have agreed new trade and security deals across the world including in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific.
- We have delivered major new investment. The Integrated Review was supported by an additional £24 billion and the Integrated Review Refresh by an additional £5 billion to invest in stockpiles and our nuclear enterprise. We have pledged over £12 billion to date on support to Ukraine.
- We have created new defence industrial partnerships, including AUKUS to create the world’s most advanced nuclear powered, conventionally and continually armed, submarines and the Global Combat Air Programme to create a new fighter jet with Italy and Japan.
- We will always stand up for British values and interests and will never be afraid to act when it is necessary. We have been part of a coalition that protected maritime security from Houthi attacks and helped police the airspace of our partners in the Middle East.
Our strategic defence priorities
We will adapt to the lessons from the war in Ukraine which showed us it is vital to be able to replenish equipment quickly and that the acceleration of disruptive technologies is changing the character of warfare. Our strategic priorities will be:
- Boosting the UK defence industrial base by giving industry the multi-year certainty it requires to produce the equipment we need when we need it, with at least £10 billion of investment in munitions production, the majority of which will be spent in the UK over the next decade. We will do this in the areas in which we have the most pressing priorities, building on UK expertise. We will build long-term strategic partnerships with our industrial partners and invest in high quality British defence industry jobs across the UK.
- Accelerating the modernisation of our Armed Forces and investing in technology that is advantageous on the modern battlefield. Through our new Defence Innovation Agency, we will scale R&D funding to a minimum of 5% of the defence budget, together with an additional 2% to exploit that R&D, accelerating investments in new weapon systems.
- Guaranteeing Ukraine the support it needs for the long haul, assuring current levels of support for as long as they are required. We will secure additional military supplies for Ukraine and build international agreement to use immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine.
We will deliver a National Defence and Resilience Plan for our security, preparedness and resilience as a nation. This will be based on the latest assessment of threats and risks, bringing together defence and civilian planning to reflect our increasingly interdependent world, and sit alongside work to build on learnings from Covid to improve the country’s preparedness for risks on the National Risk Register.
We will improve Service Family Accommodation, improving quality and ensuring military families get the support they deserve.
Leadership in the world
Since the 2019 election, the Conservative Government has delivered on our promise to make Britain a force for good in the world.
We are proud of our record in defence and diplomacy in an increasingly contested and dangerous world and we celebrate the professionalism of our Armed Forces, diplomats, development experts and intelligence agencies.
Our highest priority remains protecting the British homeland, Crown dependencies and Overseas Territories from risks and threats. As part of that, we continue to ensure the democratic rights of people in Gibraltar, the Falklands and all our Overseas Territories are protected.
We believe that the United Kingdom needs to be outward-looking and global in perspective, seizing opportunities to deepen its economic ties and bolster its prosperity in the most dynamic parts of the world.
We have a record in standing up to those who threaten our security and values, and we are taking new action to protect ourselves, our democracy and our economy at home.
We must be prepared to tackle the axis of authoritarian states and hostile actors who are working together to threaten international security. That is why we will include Russia, Iran and China within the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
- We will strengthen our relationships with like-minded partners around the world. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK has a responsibility to stand up for international peace and security. We will keep investing in our collective security through groups like the G7, Five Eyes and NATO.
- We will maintain our special relationship with the United States, building on the closer trading and national security ties we have built in recent years.
- We will seek to strengthen the Commonwealth, as an organisation that accounts for over a quarter of the membership of the UN and a champion of values. We will deepen cooperation with Commonwealth partners and institutions to enhance the benefits of membership, strengthen intra-Commonwealth trade, support members facing challenges in attracting inward investment and strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable members to climate change, nature loss and environmental degradation.
- In relation to China, we will strengthen our national security protections, align and cooperate with our partners, and engage where it is consistent with our interests. China has disregarded universal human rights and its international commitments, from Tibet and Xinjiang to Hong Kong. We will continue to raise our grave concerns at the UN and other fora and use asset freezes and travel bans on those involved under our human rights sanctions regime.
- We will continue to seek closer ties with partners in the Gulf and Middle East based on an appreciation of regional perspectives and shared interests.
- We will sign partnership agreements with each of the British Overseas Territories, ensuring we are working together to deliver for their residents and identifying areas for greater cooperation on defence, trade and investment.
To ensure our world-class diplomacy and development expertise is brought together we will maintain the merger of the Foreign Office and former Department for International Development – and use this advantage to the maximum benefit in every post overseas.
The UK will remain one of the largest development donors in the world. We will return to spending 0.7% of GNI when fiscal circumstances allow. We will assess every penny of this money with a strict national interest test.
- We will continue to ensure that aid and development supports our strategic objectives, with a focus on fragile states. We will work with our partners to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and tackle poverty, as set out in the International Development White Paper.
- We will use our influence to ensure Multilateral Development Banks get more money to the countries who need it and work to deliver debt relief.
- We will expand our international campaigns on girls’ education, women’s rights and reproductive health. We will stand up for those persecuted for their faith and put the existing role of Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief on a statutory footing. We will promote international media freedom and work to end human trafficking and modern slavery.
- We will support marginalised communities in the developing world and protect those persecuted for their ethnicity, political views, faith or sexuality. We will continue our campaigns against child marriage and FGM.
- We will scale up high impact, cost effective global health interventions, including maternal nutrition and antimicrobial resistance, for benefit at home and overseas. We will continue our longstanding support for GAVI and the Global Fund - organisations that have saved millions of lives in the fight against disease.
We will maintain the leadership on climate change we achieved at COP26 and our efforts to tackle global warming and biodiversity loss.
We will continue to ring-fence our commitment to International Climate Finance.
We will work with Small Island Development States, including our Commonwealth friends in the Caribbean and the Pacific, to access finance for climate change adaptation and resilience.
We will be confident in spreading British values around the world, publishing a new Soft Power Strategy to support the role of our embassies and the British Council overseas. We will support the BBC World Service, expand the use of the English language worldwide and champion English learning around the globe.
We will not apologise for standing up for our values and we will work against the global rollback on people’s rights and freedoms. We will use all the tools available to us, including travel bans and sanctions, on individuals and entities that warrant it.
We have delivered on our manifesto pledge to introduce ‘votes for life’ for British citizens living overseas. We will appoint a Minister for British Citizens Overseas to represent them across government.
The UK has a strong record of providing world-leading consular support to our citizens overseas and we will ensure British nationals abroad get help when they need it. We will introduce a new model for complex detention cases, with new Family Advocates to help provide specialist assistance and give greater confidence to families.
We are proud to be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation. We will use our diplomatic efforts to keep pushing for reconciliation and stability in parts of the world where there is conflict or unresolved territorial disputes.
We staunchly stand behind Israel’s right to defend itself and to live with security. We will continue to support access to aid for those affected by the conflict. We will push for a two-state solution in the Middle East - our long-standing position has been that we will recognise a Palestinian State at a time that is most conducive to the peace process. We will redouble our efforts to help achieve diplomatic breakthroughs in Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Myanmar.
We will bring back our Bill to ban public bodies from imposing their own boycott or divestment campaigns against foreign countries and territories.
We will intensify our fight to stop money laundering and dirty money and ensure all British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies adopt open registers of beneficial ownership.
Our plan to control immigration and stop illegal immigration
Illegal migration is unfair. It is unfair for people to jump the queue in front of people who play by the rules. It is unfair for taxpayers to pay for the hotels and public services. And it is unfair for illegal migrants themselves who risk their lives in the hands of people smugglers.
The Conservatives are the only party with a plan to stop the boats and reduce the strain that illegal migration places on our communities and public services. Labour have no plan and would grant an amnesty to thousands of illegal migrants.
We have made progress. Last year, small boat arrivals to the UK fell by a third. Our work with international partners prevented more than 26,000 crossings last year. Our Albania deal shows that deterrence works, with numbers down 90%.
But the only way to stop the boats entirely is to remove the incentive to come – by making clear that if you come here illegally, you will not be allowed to stay. Only then will the boats stop coming and people stop dying in the Channel. We will:
- Establish a deterrent. We will run a relentless, continual process of permanently removing illegal migrants to Rwanda with a regular rhythm of flights every month, starting this July, until the boats are stopped. If we are forced to choose between our security and the jurisdiction of a foreign court, including the ECtHR, we will always choose our security.
- End the legal merry-go-round. We will stop illegal migrants from bringing spurious challenges to block their removal by bringing our Illegal Migration Act into force and clearing the asylum backlog, with all claims processed in six months and the use of hotels ended.
- Crack down on organised immigration crime, including through the National Crime Agency and our intelligence services, to disrupt supply chains and tackle people smugglers.
- Reform asylum rules, holding an international summit and working with other countries to reform international laws to make them fit for an age of mass migration. We will restrict visa access from countries that don’t work with us on our national priorities, like illegal migration.
- Return people with no right to be here to their own country. We will sign further returns deals like the one we have already agreed with Albania.
- With control of our borders, we can do more to help refugees fleeing persecution. In addition to maintaining visa schemes for people fleeing Hong Kong, Ukraine and our Afghan settlement schemes, we will give parliament control of how many places we offer on safe and legal routes to support those in genuine need from around the world, with a cap based on the capacity of local areas.
Delivering sustainable levels of high-skilled migration
Immigration is too high. We want to attract the brightest and best skilled migrants to the UK to contribute to our businesses and public services. We must bring migration numbers down to sustainable levels to reduce the impacts on public services and housing and to restore public confidence in the system.
We have already implemented changes which mean that 300,000 people who were eligible to come the UK last year now couldn’t. We have:
- Ended the ability of almost all international students and all care workers to bring dependants.
- Scrapped cut-price shortage labour from overseas, by abolishing the 20% going rate salary discount for shortage occupations.
- Stopped immigration from undercutting British workers, by increasing the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas by 48% to £38,700.
- Ensured those sponsoring dependants can support them financially, by raising the minimum income for family visas to £38,700. Going forward, we will raise the Skilled Worker threshold and Family income requirement with inflation automatically to make sure they don’t undercut UK workers.
We have taken steps to ensure those coming to the UK do not place a burden on the NHS, by requiring them to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and increasing this to £1,035. We will go further, in line with other countries, by requiring migrants to undergo a health check in advance of travel and increasing their Immigration Health Surcharge or requiring them to buy health insurance if they are likely to be a burden on the NHS.
We will increase all visa fees and remove the student discount to the Immigration Health Surcharge to raise more money for public services.
We will continue to attract the brightest and best students to study in our world class institutions. We will ensure those who come here are able to integrate into communities and participate in the economy. We want to make sure our immigration system is fair and will continue delivering the Windrush Compensation Scheme. We are committed to the EU Settled Status Scheme and the rights it has guaranteed for EU citizens.
Our plan for safer streets and justice for victims of crime
A plan to counter extremism and to protect our streets
In recent months we have seen shocking increases in protests being used as a cover for extremist disruption and criminality. We cannot allow a small and vocal minority to destroy our democratic values. That is why we unveiled a new extremism definition under which certain groups that promote an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance will be blocked from government funding and meeting officials.
We have passed tough new laws to curb disruptive protests. Our Public Order Act 2023 gave the police new powers to intervene where protests cause serious disruption to communities, leading to the arrests of over 600 Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion protestors in London alone. We will introduce further powers to ban face coverings, pyrotechnics and climbing on war memorials.
We will strengthen police powers to prevent protests or marches that pose a risk of serious disorder, by allowing police to take into account the cumulative impact of protests. We will ban protests outside schools to stop mobs from intimidating teachers and children. We will always support teachers to uphold and promote fundamental British values and ensure they are protected from accusations of blasphemy.
We will place a duty on the police and prosecutors to publish regular guidance on the statements, chants or symbols, for example, the swastika or the term ‘jihad’, that in the context of political protest may constitute an offence. We will explore ways for the police to recover some of the costs of policing disruptive protests from the groups that organise them.
We will also ensure our elected representatives get the protection needed to represent their constituents without fear.
Abuse or discrimination based on religion is unacceptable. We will not tolerate antisemitic hatred in any form. We have pledged £54 million for the Community Security Trust to give Jewish schools and synagogues the security measures they need and allocated additional funding to support schools and universities to understand, recognise and tackle antisemitism. We will get the UK Holocaust Memorial built.
We do not tolerate anti-Muslim hatred and will seek to stamp it out wherever it occurs. We have committed to provide £117 million over four years for the Protective Security for Mosques scheme and are proud to support and help fund Tell MAMA’s vital work.