Conservative manifesto FactWatch: Boris Johnson's key policies broken down

Elections are a time of claim and counter-claim. Throughout the 2019 campaign the Evening Standard and factchecking organisation FullFact will be testing some of those statements in our FactWatch column and delivering the verdict whether they are right or wrong
Boris Johnson at the launch of the Conservative Party manifesto
PA
25 November 2019
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Health

Claim: Tories will deliver 50,000 more nurses. Retaining, recruiting and training NHS nurses in England will cost £879 million in 2023-24.

Verdict: The manifesto does not say how or when they will have 50,000 more nurses. The total cost would be much higher than £879 million. Taking on board costs beyond individual salaries, 50,000 nurses at pay band five (£24,000 per year) would cost £2.8 billion a year. The 50,000 figure includes 18,500 existing nurses who will be encouraged to remain or re-join.

Police

Claim: 20,000 more police officers on the streets.

Verdict: This would return the number to almost the 2010 total. However, because the country’s population has grown since 2010, the number of police officers per person has fallen by 19 per cent. Recruiting another 20,000 would leave the number of officers per person at least 6 per cent lower than it was in 2010.

Brexit

Claim: “We’re going to get Brexit done with a deal that is pre-cooked, ready to go.”

Verdict: The UK will stop being a member of the EU if Boris Johnson’s deal goes through. However, negotiations with the EU on a future trade deal will take place during a transition period, during which time the UK will still follow EU rules and pay money into the EU budget. A trade deal with the EU may take years to negotiate. The Brexit process will not be completed by January.

Full Fact is the UK’s independent factchecking organisation. For sources and more factchecks go to fullfact.org

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