Labour have unveiled the most radical manifesto for change in our country since the 1945 Labour government which rebuilt the country, built the peace and founded the NHS in the aftermath of World War II.
Now with the country facing the precipice of Boris Johnson’s Hard Brexit deal and years of further Brexit negotiations to come under Tory plans; with the global climate emergency a ticking timebomb that we need to urgently address and with our public services reeling from a decade of austerity this manifesto sets out the bold path to real change all paid for by addressing the UK’s massive wealth and income inequality by asking the top 5% of earners, the big tech firms, big banks and other multinational corporations to pay a little more in tax.
You can read the full document here and the comprehensive costings document too but brand new pledges included:
A new windfall tax on the oil companies who knowingly damaged our climate and the revenues will be used to finance a Just Transition Fund designed to help energy sector workers transition smoothly into a new job.
Our Green New Deal with its massive investment in reaching net zero carbon emissions by as close to 2030 as possible will create 1million new jobs.
We’ll nationalise the supply section of the Big 6 energy firms to reduce energy bills and energy demand.
We’ll target 3% of GDP being spent on research and innovation by 2030.
We’ll tackle unfairness in the tax system by taxing dividends and capital gains at the same rate as income
We’ll build 100,000 new zero-carbon council houses every year to slash social housing waiting lists dramatically.
We’ll raise public sector workers’ wages by 5% in April 2020 and go further with above inflation increases until pay surpasses the level it was, accounting for inflation, in 2010 when the Tory/Lib Dem coalition introduced the pay freeze.
We’ll bring academies and free schools under the National Education Service and local accountability as well as tasking the Social Justice Commission to review how Labour could end selection at all existing Grammar Schools and bring private schools into a comprehensive system.
Bring local authority services like we waste collection. Bring local authority services including leisure centre management and waste collection in-house over the next 5 years.
Hire and train 5,000 new fire fighters and 22,000 police.
Legislate for sectoral bargaining across the economy, make breaks paid, a review of the issue of unpaid overtime and a Royal Commission on health and safety including mental health at work
The state pension age will not rise further than 66 and the triple lock will raise the value of pensions every year.
extend voting rights to every U.K. resident over 16 and also pledge to introduce automatic registration so that every time you interact with a public service they’ll be registered automatically.