Plymouth’s naval base is the largest in Europe. It is more important here than anywhere that we support our serving personnel and veterans. The Conservatives have a strong track record of supporting Veterans over the past few years after creating a dedicated Office for Veteran’s Affairs and Minister who attends Cabinet.
I have spent 6 years working for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with the privilege of working alongside many veterans. This has given me a strong appreciation for those who serve our nation. This is why I welcome the following commitments to our Veterans:
❱ We will pass the UK’s first ever Veterans’ Bill to enshrine Veterans’ rights in law. Ensuring qualifications from Service are correctly recognised in civilian life, creating a legal duty on government to look after our Veterans and widening the scope of the Armed Forces Covenant in law to include the UK Government and devolved administrations.
❱ We will maintain the base operating budget of the Office for Veterans Affairs at £10 million throughout the next Parliament.
❱ We will extend the visa fees waiver introduced to cover Commonwealth personnel, to include their direct dependants.
❱ We will cut the cost of the Veterans Railcard so that it costs the same as the HM Forces Railcard.
