Labour manifesto at a glance
The party has revealed its vision for government.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has laid out his vision for government during a half-hour speech in Birmingham.
With its wavy font, the manifesto, titled It’s time For Real Change, depicts what Mr Corbyn called the “most radical and ambitious plan to transform our country in decades”.
The 105-page document contains a host of already-announced policy proposals, along with a smattering of debut measures.
Here is an at-a-glance look at the manifesto.
– Brexit
Mr Corbyn wants to re-negotiate a new withdrawal agreement with the European Union by March and put his deal to a public vote within six months of the election.
The referendum would be “legally binding” and implemented “immediately”.
The hefty list of proposals does not commit to keeping free movement, even if the public voted to Remain, simply acknowledging the benefits of immigration.
– Public sector
The remit of the State would be massively extended under Labour, with intentions to bring back rail, mail, water and energy into public ownership and delivering full-fibre broadband, via a publicly owned company, free to everyone in the country.
Public sector workers would also see an immediate 5% boost in pay, with year-on-year above-inflation pay rises to follow.
– Employment
A commitment has been made to introduce a “real living wage” of at least £10-an-hour while ending zero hours contracts and strengthening trade union rights.
– Education
Under a Labour administration, Ofsted and SATS tests at Key Stage 1 and 2 would be scrapped, while power over the running of schools would be returned to councils and head teachers, rather than academy bosses.
Labour has promised to re-invest in technical training.
For early years, the party has pledged to provide 30 hours of free childcare to all pre-school aged youngsters and has guaranteed a Sure Start centre in every community.
In higher education, the 2017 vow to get rid of university tuition fees is back and maintenance grants would be returned but there was no mention of clearing graduate debt.
– Environment
The leadership has set out proposals for a so-called “green industrial revolution” that is designed to create one million jobs in the UK, with the aim of shifting industry, home gas and electricity, transport, agriculture and construction onto renewable energy modes.
The manifesto stops short, however, of signing up to the motion passed at the party conference of establishing a net-zero carbon economy by 2030.
Instead, it states a Labour government would “aim to achieve the substantial majority of our emissions reductions” by that target date.
– Welfare
Universal Credit, the two-child limit for benefits and the welfare cap would all be for the cutting floor, if Labour wins power next month.
For women impacted by the change in pension age to 66, Labour has promised to review the retirement age “for physically arduous and stressful occupations”, with a focus on shift workers.
– Crime
Labour has committed to recruiting 22,000 more police officers – 2,000 more than Boris Johnson.
There would also be a royal commission established to look at de-criminalising drugs.
– Health
The NHS would see a 4.3% increase in its expenditure every year, with privatisation reversed.
Free annual dental care check-ups would be re-introduced, mental health services would receive £1.6 billion extra a year and free personal care for elderly people would be on offer.
– Housing
A spree of house building, the largest since the 1960s, features in the final version of the manifesto, with a £75 billion plan to construct 150,000 homes a year, with 100,000 of them built by councils.
Non-homeowners would see rental caps and open-ended tenancies, under a Corbyn-led administration.
A £1 billion fire safety fund would be introduced to fit sprinklers and other safety measures in council and housing association tower blocks to avoid a repeat of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
