The Conservative Manifesto 1997

A Choice of Two Futures

25 Pledges for the Nation

The Enterprise Centre of Europe

PRICES AND MORTGAGES. Stick to the policies which have delivered the lowest inflation levels and mortgage rates for a generation, meeting our inflation target of 2.5 % or less.

JOBS. Protect jobs by keeping Britain out of the European Social Chapter; build on our record of falling unemployment; and help get the long term unemployed back to work - including by requiring those on benefit for some time to undertake work experience on a community project.

ENTERPRISE. Support growth and investment by keeping Britain the lowest tax major economy in Europe, pursuing Britainís global trade opportunities and curbing unnecessary regulations.

SMALL BUSINESS. Reform business rates to help small businesses.

THE FUTURE. Keep Britain ahead in the technology of the future, encouraging new entertainment and information services, and using the Millennium Lottery Fund to give people access to new computers and information links in schools, libraries, and other public places.

Opportunity and Ownership for Individuals and Families

HELP FOR FAMILIES. Give priority to reducing tax bills for families looking after dependent children or relatives by allowing one partnerís unused personal allowance to be transferred to a working spouse where they have these responsibilities.

HELP FOR CARERS. Help family members with heavy responsibilities caring for a relative to take a much needed break through a new Respite Care Programme.

OWNERSHIP. Encourage schemes that help employees build a shareholding in the company they work for, alongside tax benefits for other savings schemes.

PENSIONS. Transform pensions by providing all young people entering the workforce with a personal pension fund paid for by a rebate on their national insurance contributions, while maintaining a state pension guarantee.

CARE IN OLD AGE. Make it easier for people to afford the cost of care in old age without giving up their house and savings.

SCHOOL STANDARDS. Guarantee school standards by intervening directly to raise standards where schools or local education authorities are letting children down.

SCHOOL CHOICE. Widen choice and diversity in schools, with more freedom for schools to develop their own character, more specialist schools, and a grammar school in every town where parents want that choice. We will also maintain our nursery voucher scheme offering a choice of places for parents of all 4 year olds.

World Class Health and Public Services

NHS FUNDING PLEDGE. Continue, year by year, to increase the real resources committed to the NHS, so NHS spending will continue to share in a growing economy.

FAMILY DOCTORS. Enable all family doctors to provide a wider range of services in their surgeries and in practice-based cottage hospitals - offering faster and more local treatment.

CITIZENíS CHARTER. Continue to improve the standards and value for money of Britainís public services, giving those who use them more information and, where possible, wider choice.

ESSENTIAL SERVICES. Introduce measures to protect the public against strikes that cause excessive disruption to essential services.

A Safe and Civil Society

PUBLIC SAFETY. Support local police schemes to crack down on petty crime, and continue our funding for the installation of TV security cameras in town centres and public places that want them throughout the next parliament.

JUVENILE CRIME. Give the courts power to impose speedy sanctions on youngsters, including an element of reparation to the victim; and continue our war against drugs.

PERSISTENT CRIMINALS. Ensure persistent house burglars and dealers in hard drugs receive mandatory minimum prison sentences.

A Confident, United and Sovereign Nation

QUALITY OF LIFE. Continue the renaissance of our towns and cities, in particular harnessing private capital to regenerate the worst public housing estates; continue to protect our countryside and heritage; and use the National Lottery to help promote British sports, arts and culture.

THE ENVIRONMENT. Maintain our international leadership role in protecting the environment, and continue improving air and water quality at home alongside effective conservation of our wildlife.

THE NATION. Maintain the unity of the United Kingdom and preserve the stability of the Nation through an evolutionary - rather than revolutionary - approach to constitutional change.

EUROPE. Seek a partnership of nation states in Europe, and not allow Britain to be part of a federal European state.

THE POUND. Guarantee that Britain will not join a single currency in the next parliament unless the British people give their express approval in a referendum.