Thank you for contacting me about championing conservative values.
It is fair to say that the last few years have been unprecedented, from a pandemic that has severely damaged the global economy, to a cost-of-living challenge now being felt across the world. As you will know, due to a series of global forces, families and businesses are being hit here in this constituency through a significant rise in inflation.
To achieve long-term, sustainable growth we need to grip inflation, balance the books, and get debt falling. That is why the Chancellor's plan to restore stability and tackle inflation is fair and involves an equal split between tax rises and spending cuts, while protecting public services with an extra £11 billion for the NHS and schools, helping the most vulnerable with the cost of living, and investing to boost growth. This is a plan that helps the most vulnerable by restoring economic stability, tackling inflation, reducing Government debt, and getting borrowing down to manageable levels.
I absolutely agree with you that we should keep state interference to a minimum and enable people to get on with their lives. I would like to assure you that the Government has not lost sight of these traditional conservative values. That said, I believe that there is more to conservatism than this alone.
It was right to support people this winter and next with the Energy Price Guarantee, and it is right to stick to our commitment in the 2019 Manifesto to the triple lock for pensions. I am also encouraged by the decision to uprate benefits in line with inflation.
Although we must provide immediate help, we should also focus on the longer term. The best way to help people over time and sustainably is to ensure that we have a growing economy with more jobs, higher wages and better skills.
I do not believe that economic growth and respect for our planet are two opposites, I believe that they are both core conservative beliefs. However, given current pressures on consumers, I think it is right to conduct a review of government policies to ensure they are meeting the UK's climate commitments
in the most economically efficient way, which does not pile unnecessary costs onto consumers.
I believe that these plans have conservatism at their heart and a commitment to support those most in need in the immediate term as well as growing the economy, rewarding hard work and boosting business-led growth and investment.
Thank you again for contacting me.