- Veterans risk their lives for this country and it is vital that we all recognise and reward the sacrifices they have made.
- By signing the Armed Forces Covenant the Conservative Party is formalising its commitment to the Forces family, ensuring they receive the recognition and respect they deserve.
- This builds on what we have done in Government, making it clear to Armed Forces personnel and veterans that the Conservative Party is on their side.
Signing the Armed Forces Covenant
- As a Party, we stand by the Armed Forces - both politically and in government. That’s why the Prime Minister, as leader of the Party, and James Cleverly, the Conservative Party Chairman, has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, making us the first political party to formalise our commitment to supporting those who serve or have served.
- The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the right of those who serve or have served to respect, support and fair treatment. Its mission is to ensure those who serve and have served, and their families, are not disadvantaged compared with any other citizen.
- In signing the Armed Forces Covenant we have committed – among other things – to:
- striving to support the employment of Service spouses and partners;
- seeking to support employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment;
- pro-actively marketing all vacancies to the veteran community.
- From next year, we will offer serving and retired military personnel a discounted rate for Party Conference. We already offer serving and retired military personnel a reduced party membership rate.
Building on our proud record of supporting the Armed Forces in Government
- Recognising the Armed Forces Covenant in law. We legislated to give the Armed Forces Covenant a statutory foundation, introducing a requirement for the Secretary of State for Defence to report annually to Parliament on progress in delivering Covenant commitments.
- Investing £10 million annually in the Covenant Fund. This supports Armed Forces communities under four broad funding themes: removing barriers to family life; extra support after service for those that need help; measures to integrate military and civilian communities; non-core healthcare services for veterans.
- Opening a new Office of Veterans Affairs. The Office will coordinate and hold other parts of Government to account for delivering the Armed Forces Covenant and action on mental and physical health, education, employment and veteran homelessness.
- Launching the first ever UK-wide Veterans’ Strategy to give veterans the support they need. The ten-year strategy identifies six areas where support is most needed: community and relationships, employment and skills, health and wellbeing, finance and debt, housing, and contact with the law.
- Awarding new ID cards to all veterans to mark their time in the armed forces. The ID card for Armed Forces veterans makes it easier for them to verify their service and access specialist help and support.