Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 3rd October

On Wednesday I was in Birmingham to see the 2014 Conservative Party Conference come to a close with a table-thumping, personal and determined speech delivered by the Prime Minister.

In his speech, the Prime Minister put the interests of hardworking people at the heart of his agenda. The message is that if you work hard and do the right thing, then you should keep more of your own money to spend as you wish.  In Swindon, many hardworking families will benefit from the tax cuts announced by the Prime Minister if the Conservatives are re-elected next year. This includes increasing the tax-free personal allowance from £10,000 to £12,500, and raising the 40p tax rate threshold from £41,900 to £50,000. Furthermore, anybody on minimum wage working 30 hours a week or less will no longer have to pay any income tax at all. These pledges amount to a tax cut for over 30 million people across the UK.

The Conservatives also recognise the importance of a good education in equipping young people with the skills to aim high and achieve their goals. The Prime Minister promised to guarantee a place on National Citizen Service for every teenager in the Country. Locally I have supported NCS programmes at Swindon College, New College and Engage4life where I've seen firsthand the transformation of young people who are building confidence and learning skills that will enable them to contribute constructively to society.

The Prime Minister also established the Conservatives' continued commitment to invest in the NHS thanks to our strong record on the economy. In contrast to Labour who wanted to cut the NHS budget, the Conservatives have promised to continue to build on our record of the additional 6,500 doctors, 3,300 new nurses since 2010 and the new Cancer Drugs Fund, by continuing investment and raising standards.

Other announcements included scrapping Labour's Human Rights Act and establishing a British Bill of Rights - giving the UK more sovereignty over its own laws rather than having to obey diktats from the European Courts. This comes in addition to the Conservative pledge to hold a referendum on our membership of the European Union.

The overriding message from this year's Conservative conference is simple. The key to achieving a prosperous future for our Country relies first and foremost on a strong and stable economy. Only then can we deliver investment into schools and the NHS, whilst creating more jobs.  David Cameron has rightly demonstrated that with a strong Conservative Government we can achieve a Britain where hard work is rewarded. Not a free-for-all, but a chance for all: the chance of a job, a home, a good start in life, whoever you are, wherever you are from.