The ''Timetable For Action'' is a policy document by the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, in which leader

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

spells out some key actions he would take if elected

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, within the first hour, day, week, and month of a Conservative government.

Timing and rationale

The document was released during the Conservative Party's annual party conference in October 2004, widely speculated to be the last before a rumoured

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in May 2005. Key to Howard's address to the conference were the issues of accountability and trust; the ''Timetable'' was intended to give the voters a sort of checklist, so they could tell if a (hypothetical) Conservative government was keeping its promises. At roughly the same time,

opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

s suggested that only 12% of the British people believed Howard would win the next election

Most predicted that the ruling Labour Party (UK), Labour Party under

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

would prevail.

''Timetable'' highlights

These are some of the policies Howard lays out. There are others. : Within the first hour: :* ''I will make the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

independent of ministers.'' : Within the first day: :* ''I will set a date for the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the

European Constitution The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European U ...

.'' :* ''The Health Secretary will abolish targets imposed by

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

on hospitals.'' :* ''I will announce the appointment of a Minister for Homeland Security with responsibility for counter-terrorism and emergency planning.'' : Within the first week: :* ''The Home Secretary will announce the ending of Labour's early release from prison scheme.'' :* ''The Health Secretary will make it possible for people to have access to information about hospital performance, including on infection rates.'' : Within the first month: :* ''We will set out our program of

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

to:'' ::* ''Introduce a points system for

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

... priority

ill be ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

given to people who want to come to Britain to work hard and make a positive contribution.'' ::* ''Require drug addicts to choose between immediate

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

in secure accommodation or prosecution and prison.'' ::* ''Abolish student fees and provide more money to universities.'' :* ''The Immigration Minister will set in train 24-hour

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

at ports of entry.'' :* ''The Home Secretary will start our new prison building programme, and the recruitment of an extra 5,000 police officers each year.''

Comments

Many of the policies are traditional Conservative policies - the party (and Michael Howard) have always been seen as

tough on crime In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

, as

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

, and as taking a hard line on immigration. Others aim at reducing bureaucracy (e.g. hospital targets) and creating a "smaller government", on the theory that workers in the public services should be allowed to simply get on with their jobs. The policy of making the Office for National Statistics independent appears to be an attempt to capitalise on a public perception of Labour as a "party of

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

" who manipulate figures. Notable by its absence is any firm commitment to reducing tax. In his speech at the party conference, Howard said that he would not make promises he could not keep.

External links

The ''Timetable For Action''
(PDF format) History of the Conservative Party (UK)