Baroness Redfern is a former Leader of North Lincolnshire Council.
The Conservative Party has enjoyed unique success in British politics for one reason — it has delivered for the British public, gaining their trust. That is why we were able to defeat Jeremy Corbyn, turn the Red Wall blue, and get Brexit done. We can repeat these successes but only if we overcome huge challenges facing us, including the global economic crisis and war in Europe, and capture the opportunities of Brexit, unity of purpose, and good government.
Our next Prime Minister needs to have a clear plan — to reverse decades of low growth, support families and small and medium-sized businesses during the cost of living crisis, and maintain Britain’s ability to act as a force for good in the world.
I believe Liz Truss has the vision and experience this requires. She has helped lead the international response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and stood up to emboldened authoritarian regimes across the globe. And she’s prepared to take the tough approach to defence and security we need, upping defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030.
Liz has a record of getting things done, signing over 70 deals in record time — including agreements with Australia and Japan — as Trade Secretary when many said it was impossible. And she has taken bold action to protect the Union and deal with issues around the Northern Ireland Protocol.
We need to show that we can deliver locally as well as nationally. Good government is not confined to Whitehall — it relies on the hard work and democratic involvement of councillors and local authorities. Liz knows this from experience, having served on the council in Greenwich before being elected to Parliament.
I believe that people should have the freedom to improve their communities and that decisions are best made locally, when decision-makers have skin in the game. Liz’s plan for Government will allow communities to flourish, lowering taxes for families and creating a more efficient government with power exercised locally.
She has pledged to give communities more power to shape their own neighbourhoods. For decades Whitehall has tried to impose top-down housing targets. They have not worked. Central plans ignore local concerns about issues including the environment and then stall as they meet community opposition. So it’s refreshing to hear local authorities being offered the freedom to choose how many new homes their communities need to build and where they will go.
Britain needs more homes — home ownership is a key aspiration. But this will happen best when councillors have the freedom to support homes that actually work for local communities and improve neighbourhoods. It will be a relief when we can deal with fewer regulations that block sensible projects without solving the issue they are designed to address.
This is just one of many ways communities can be freed from Whitehall’s tentacular overreach. Liz is right that residents should be given a chance to decide on renewable projects that affect them. And that police forces should focus on recruiting officers locally, getting people who know and understand the communities they are policing.
This is the right Conservative way to level up communities. Too many townscapes have suffered in recent years. But the government alone cannot reverse these trends. We have to galvanise the energies of business, promoting local goods in our shops, providing them with new incentives to develop local areas. Low-tax, low-regulation Investment Zones all around the United Kingdom will stimulate investment in our city centres, revitalising local high streets.
By harnessing private enterprise, we will see more communities like Bournville and Saltaire that bring business, community, and housing together. We can learn from great British successes, like the London Docklands Development Corporation, that helped rejuvenate old areas.
Where the government does step in, it needs to help, not hinder local development. I want the government to deliver for local communities and city regions with more frequent and better integrated transport links across buses, road, and rail. Liz has committed to do this by employing the latest technology to make it easier to move across modes of transport.
Last year was a difficult one for Conservative councillors — with many wonderful colleagues losing their seats because of factors beyond their control. We need to regain voters’ trust and that means showing the government works for them and their community.
We need a Prime Minister with experience and a plan to revitalise the British economy and defy defeatism. I’m voting for Liz because she has these qualities — and I would urge you to do the same.