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At least nine pledges in the Conservative election manifesto published by Rishi Sunak on Tuesday were originally put forward by the Labour Party. I This was revealed by analysis.
As he fights to save his place in Downing Street, the Chancellor has announced £17 billion in tax cuts, a further 2p cut in national insurance contributions, “triple lock plus” to stop state pensioners paying tax, and the abolition of stamp duty for first-time home buyers.
If some of the announced measures sound familiar, it may be because Labour has mentioned them before.
A new home
Conservative Party: The Conservatives have promised to deliver 1.6 million homes in the next parliament, but have not said how they plan to achieve this target.
Labour: Last autumn the party announced it would build 1.5 million new homes within five years.
Free childcare services
Conservatives: Working parents would be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for children between nine months and two years old, in addition to the existing provisions for three- and four-year-olds.
Labour: In 2019 the party promised to extend free childcare to 30 hours for two-year-olds. Last January, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: Times The party will guarantee child care to all parents with children between nine months and 11 years of age.
No Smoking
Conservative: The government’s plans would ban smoking for anyone born after 1 January 2009. The plans would remain in place if the Conservatives come to power. Rishi Sunak will outline the plans in autumn 2023.
Labour: The shadow health secretary said the party would consult on a similar plan to phase out tobacco sales in January 2023. Wes Streeting said he would consider a plan similar to that used in New Zealand to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco each year, effectively banning anyone born after 2008.
Disposable e-cigarettes and flavors
Conservative Party: The party has pledged to go ahead with plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes by the end of 2025 and restrict e-cigarette flavours from being marketed specifically to children.
Labour: Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC in May 2023 that he would consider plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes after a ban is introduced in Australia. The leader also called on ministers to ban colourful packaging and appealing flavours aimed at children, such as Unicorn Crush and cotton candy. Daily Mirror.
Police officers on patrol
Conservative: Recruit 8,000 extra police officers to focus specifically on community policing.
Labour: Last October the party promised to step up patrols and put 13,000 more neighbourhood and community support policing officers on the streets.
Bonus for teachers
Conservative: New teachers in priority areas and core STEM and technical subjects will be given a tax-free bonus of £30,000 over five years (£6,000 per year).
Labour: The party announced it would offer a £2,400 bonus to new recruits in July 2023 to stop them leaving their jobs.
Homeschool Registration
Conservative: A register of out-of-school children will be created.
Labour: The shadow education secretary said in January that a register of home-schooled children would be introduced to tackle attendance issues.
Water pollution
Conservative: Block bonuses for water company executives responsible for illegal sewage spills.
Labour: Last year the party said it would “give” regulators the power to ban bonuses for water chiefs. Labour has gone further than the Conservatives, promising to hold water chiefs criminally liable if they fail to tackle sewage dumping.
Visa salary cap
Conservative: The salary threshold for skilled worker visas has been increased and will continue to rise with inflation to discourage immigration.
Labour: The party first promised to increase the salary threshold last November, based on recommendations from the Immigration Advisory Committee, a watchdog body that advises the government on immigration issues.
2024 Election
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are campaigning. I‘s general election live blog is the place to go for everything from party manifestos to candidate news and identifying the people who could decide the outcome of the election.
The Liberal Democrats published their manifesto on Monday, promising to build thousands of new council homes and hire more GPs, while the Conservatives also published their manifesto, including further cuts to the National Health Service.
Labour has announced several policies, including relaxing town planning laws to support prison expansion, ahead of its manifesto, which is due to be published later this week.
I has signed the Save Britain’s Rivers manifesto, calling on all political parties to commit to improving our waterways. The Liberal Democrats were the first to back the campaign, followed by the Green Party.