Gordon's Policies

Updated - 18th January 2011

Economic
• Supports an amendment to the Equitable Life (Payments) Bill which called for any payments authorised by the Treasury to with-profits annuitants to be made without regard to the date on which such policies were taken out.
• Supports reducing the United Kingdom’s contribution to the EU budget for 2011 by the average percentage cut imposed on Whitehall departments.

Education
• Supports reducing funding for higher education to cut the budget deficit and allowing universities to increase tuition fees to between £6,000 and £9,000 in order to maintain funding levels and standards in higher education.
• Supports raising the earning threshold at which graduates have to start repaying student loans from £15,000 to £21,000.
• Supports the £150 million National Scholarships Programme to help the poorest students pay for university and increasing maintenance grants for students from low-income families from £2,906 to £3,250.

Equality and Civil Liberties
• Opposes plans to give prisoners guilty of serious crimes such as rape, murder and paedophilia the right to vote.
• Supports the promotion of animal welfare at an international level and wants to work towards the inclusion of production standards in World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations.
• Supports measures to tackle the gender pay gap, including stronger legislation to prevent employers' discrimination and better careers guidance for young women.
• Supports the introduction of a new system of flexible parental leave, so that parents can decide how to divide paid maternity leave between them and are able to make use of it simultaneously.

Housing and Welfare
• Supports the coalition's plans to limit housing benefits.

Immigration
• Supports the introduction of tougher requirements for foreign students coming to the UK to study. These includ more demanding English language tests and ending or restricting the ability of foreign students to stay in the UK to look for work after their course is completed.

Infrastructure
• Supports policies to increase super-fast broadband connections in rural areas.

Judicial
• Opposes the closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates Court.