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Labour will spend the next five weeks setting out its plans for Government as it tries to convince the public to give the party the keys to No 10 after 14 years in opposition.
Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet have spent recent years setting out much of what they would do if they were in power, and earlier this month the Labour leader set out his six “first steps” that he would focus on if he was elected.
With the party currently around 20 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, Labour will be hoping its pledges will be able to persuade the public to put it in power.
Here are all the pledges the Labour Party has made that could be included in its manifesto:
Defence
Defence review:
Labour has said it would conduct a Strategic Defence and Security Review in its first year in government to fully understand the state of our Armed Forces, the nature of threats we face and the capabilities needed. The party has also insisted it would maintain an unshakeable commitment to Nato and our nuclear deterrent.
Improved Armed Forces support:
The party plans to establish an Armed Forces Commissioner as a strong independent voice to improve service life, as well as the state of service accommodation for soldiers.
Building EU relationship:
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy told i in November that a relationship with the European Union will be Labour’s “number-one priority” when it comes to foreign affairs.
Education and childcare
VAT on private school fees:
i exclusively revealed last September that it would introduce VAT on private school fees immediately if it wins power. Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has since said the policy will be applied retrospectively to prevent parents from avoiding the tax by paying in advance.
Early Years review:
Sir Keir has appointed former Ofsted chief Sir David Bell to undertake a review of Labour’s nursery expansion plans, with the party leader reportedly considering integrating nurseries into existing primary schools.
Teaching ‘real maths’:
Ms Phillipson announced in her conference speech that a Labour government would boost “real-world” maths teaching in primary schools such as through household budgeting, currency exchange rates when going on holiday, sports league tables, and cookery recipes.
Technical Excellence Colleges:
Sir Keir announced at conference that as part of the wider plan to boost growth, a Labour government would allow colleges to bid to become “Technical Excellence Colleges”, which offer more high quality apprenticeships and training opportunities.
Energy
Publicly owned energy firm:
At its 2022 conference, the Labour Party pledged to establish a new publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, which would invest in clean energy such as offshore wind to promote the UK’s energy security.
Energy Independence Act:
Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband also announced in October 2023 that Labour would bring in the Energy Independence Act, which would aim to shield the UK from external energy shocks.
Windfall tax on energy giants:
Labour has consistently called for a tougher windfall tax to be imposed on oil and gas companies, with Mr Miliband urging the Government last July to close the “Swiss cheese” holes in its windfall tax after Shell and British Gas reported significant profits.
Clean power by 2030:
The party is committed to ensuring the UK has 100 per cent clean power by 2030, which it would achieve through expanding offshore wind and solar power, as well as nuclear and hydrogen projects.
Clean energy grid:
Labour has announced plans to “build a clean energy grid” to speed up the development of green power. The party unveiled plans to speed up National Grid connections as part of plans to use green energy to ease delays in the transition.
National Wealth Fund:
Alongside its other energy measures, Labour also plans to bring in a new wealth fund aimed at promoting investment in ports, gigafactories, hydrogen and the steel industry.
Environment
Criminal sanctions for polluting water bosses:
Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed told i in January that water bosses responsible for illegally dumping raw sewage “should be in the dock” for the damage caused to the UK’s waterways, and pledged that Labour will go after them with criminal sanctions.
‘Super regulator’ for water firms:
Labour hinted in March 2023 that a Labour government could create a new super regulator to crack down on sewage pollution, potentially combining the powers of the Environment Agency and Ofwat.
Health and social care
Two million extra NHS appointments:
Speaking at his party’s conference in Liverpool last October, Sir Keir said he would spend £1.1bn per year ensuring an additional 40,000 out-of-hours appointments each week in a bid to clear the growing NHS backlog, which would be funded by scrapping non-dom tax status.
700,000 more urgent dental appointments:
In December 2023, Labour set out its Dentistry Rescue Plan, which would provide 700,000 extra appointments each year through targeted recruiting and improving NHS contracts. This will also be paid for by scrapping the non-dom tax status.
Fit for the Future Fund:
Ther party pledged at its party conference to spend £171m on doubling the amount of state-of-the-art CT and MRI scanners in hospitals to ensure early diagnoses of illnesses.
‘Neighbourhood Health Service’:
Labour has said it will trial “Neighbourhood Health Centres”, which would bring together GPs, nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, and mental health specialists under one roof in a bid to promote more community-based healthcare.
Mental health reform:
A Labour government will recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff to drive down waiting lists, funded through closing tax loopholes. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told The Times in November that a “Labour government will reform the Mental Health Act in our first King’s Speech”.
Child Health Action Plan:
Sir Keir announced in January that his party would bring in a number of measures to promote childhood health, including a ban on child-friendly flavours and colours for vapes, a 9pm watershed for junk food ads, free breakfast clubs in every primary school, and a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three-to-five year-olds.
Tackling regulatory backlogs:
The party announced in October 2023 that it planned to set up the new Regulatory Innovation Office to set targets for tech regulators to speed up the development of new technologies and clinical trials, allowing patients to get faster access to new treatments.
Housing
Building 1.5 million homes:
One of the main announcements from Sir Keir’s 2023 conference speech was his pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five-year parliamentary term. He said his party would achieve this by reforming planning permissions, creating a generation of “new towns”, giving local mayors more development powers, and fast-tracking building on brownfield sites.
Affordable housing boost:
Speaking to i in November, shadow Levelling Up Secretary Angela Rayner said Labour would make sure that money to build council and social housing is spent properly, and also review the Right to Buy policy for council and social homes to make it “fair” to both council tenants and taxpayers.
Banning ‘no-fault’ evictions:
Ms Rayner also said that Labour would implement a full and immediate ban on Section 21 “no-fault evictions“ in its first days in power.
Funding social housing:
Labour’s housing plan also includes measures to tax private developers to fund more social housing, with the levy charged when a newly built property is sold.
Migration
Establish a new Border Security Command:
Sir Keir announced in May that Labour would establish a new Border Security Command to tackle people smugglers, staffed by “hundreds of new specialist investigators, officers and prosecutors” and reporting directly to the Home Secretary.
Tackling smuggling gangs:
Criminal smuggling gangs transporting people across the Channel will be “smashed” using counter-terror style tactics, Labour has pledged, as part of its plan to reduce illegal migration. The party also plans to deploy more police in a Cross-Border Police Unit and work with Europol to crack down on human traffickers.
Clearing the asylum backlog:
Labour has said it would set up fast-track “Nightingale courts” to speed up the deportation of failed asylum seekers as part of its plan to clear the current backlog. It plans to also create a new Home Office returns unit with 1,000 staff to fast-track removals.
Pensions and welfare
Keeping the pensions triple lock:
Like the Conservatives, Labour also said it is “committed to retaining” the triple lock for the entirety of the next parliament. Neither, however, have made a strong commitment on the long-term future of the state pensions.
Benefit assessment reforms:
Labour MP Alison McGovern has told i that fixing the welfare system would need “big changes”, with measures such as replacing job centres with more bespoke and localised support for unemployed people. She also said changes to PIP must ensure assessment decisions are more accurate as well as tackling the backlog of applications.
Scrapping PIP consultation:
Speaking to i during a campaign visit, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves refused to say whether Labour would continue a Government consultation on overhauling personal independence payments (PIP). She acknowledged a 20 per cent rise in the number of economically “inactive” people aged between 16 and 65 who are not seeking work, but refused to say whether Labour would continue the consultation.
Policing and crime
Boosting police numbers:
Labour has pledged to put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on UK streets in a bid to tackle crime and ensure every community has a named officer they can get in touch with.
Tackling gender-based violence:
The party has said it will halve levels of violence against women and girls within a decade. Policies to help achieve this include introducing new specialist domestic abuse workers in 999 control rooms and requiring police forces to target repeat offenders.
Halving serious offences:
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged during her conference speech that, across the 10-year Young Futures programme, a Labour government would establish 90 youth hubs with both mental health workers and community workers “to tackle the crisis of youth mental crisis” and reduce knife crime and other serious offences.
Police reform:
Labour would improve police vetting and training processes, give the police watchdog greater powers and fast-track the recruitment of detectives who can solve more complex crimes, like fraud.
Tax, spending and economy
New fiscal rules:
Labour has said it will give more power to the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) and implement “tough fiscal rules” to ensure economic stability. The party has stated it wants the UK to achieve the highest growth in the G7, and shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said they would do this via “securonomics” – prioritising economic strength and resilience.
New deal for working people:
Labour has been forced to deny that it is watering down its pledge to toughen up workers’ rights within the first 100 days of taking office. The party had pledged to boost protections for gig workers, restrict zero-hour contracts, increase employment rights from day one on the job, close the gender pay gap, make work more family friendly, and tackle sexual harassment.
Plan for Small Business:
As part of its plan for small businesses, Labour has pledged to reform business rates, bring in new laws to ensure big companies pay on time, give councils more power to boost high streets and encourage SMEs to bid for government contracts.
Office for Value for Money:
Ms Reeves announced in March 2023 that Labour would establish an Office for Value for Money to ensure taxpayer cash is properly spent. Alongside this, a Labour Government would also halve consultancy spending and appoint a Covid Corruption Commissioner to retrieve those who abuse pandemic support payments.
British Jobs Bonus:
In November 2023, Sir Keir announced he would invest £2.5bn to create 29,000 UK jobs by 2050 in key North Sea industries, with Scotland seeing the biggest benefit from the scheme.
Better trade deals:
Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow Business Secretary, announced in November that Labour would pursue fewer, higher-quality trade deals if it came to power and give MPs stronger oversight over agreements.
Automotive industry jobs:
In October 2023, Labour announced a new sector deal for the automotive industry which it claimed would produce 80,000 high-skilled jobs through new battery factories, a 10-year research and development cycle and red-tape reforms. The strategy focuses on the manufacturing of elective cars, and Labour predicts the plan would see over two million made.
Transport
Renationalising the railways:
Labour has pledged to bring in a new Railways Act in its first King’s Speech which set up the legal framework to allow the Government to bring Britain’s railways back under public ownership for the first time in 30 years. It has stated that all rail services would be under public ownership within five years.
“Best-price ticket guarantee”:
As part of its plan to reform the railways, Labour has said it would simplify the ticketing system to ensure passengers are given the cheapest possible ticket and will ensure automatic compensation for delayed journeys.
Establish a new Passenger Standards Authority:
To ensure passengers get the best experience on British railways, Labour will establish a new Passenger Standards Authority which will hold Great British Railways – the new body managing the railways – to account while also making savings for the taxpayer by eliminating fragmentation, waste and bureaucracy.
Other pledges
Votes for 16- and 17-year-olds:
Speaking on the campaign trail, Sir Keir hinted that he could give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in future elections, telling reporters: “If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote.”
Boosting infrastructure with private finance:
Labour is planning to use private finance to boost Britain’s infrastructure, i has learnt, as part of a 10-year strategy to be set out within its first year in power.