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AT-A-GLANCE: All the key points as Jeremy Corbyn unveils Labour’s ‘manifesto of hope’

8 min read

PoliticsHome’s guide to all the big pledges as Jeremy Corbyn lifts the lid on Labour’s election manifesto.


CLIMATE CHANGE

Labour put its climate change plans at the heart of the manifesto launch, declaring they will create one million new jobs through their plans for a "Green Industrial Revolution".

A windfall tax on oil companies will bring in £11bn which the party says they will use to re-skill workers to new low-carbon jobs. They say they will "aim to achieve the substantial majority of our emissions reductions by 2030" including a commitment to deliver "nearly 90%" of electricity and 50% of heat from renewable and low-carbon sources by 2030.

That will be accompanied by major building programme which will see 7,000 new offshore wind turbines, enough solar panels to cover "22,000 football pitches" and new nuclear power stations built.

A £250bn ‘Green Transformation Fund’ is meanwhile being promised to build low-carbon energy sources and help fund the transformation of public transport networks to more environmentally friendly options.

The party has also pledged to delist any company from the London Stock Exchange which fails to help tackle climate change.

A Clean Air Act will be introduced to reduce pollution, including a vehicle scrappage scheme and new "clean air zones". £5.6bn in funding will be used to build flood defences in areas at an increased risk of flooding.

 

RENATIONALISATION

Labour has once again vowed to bring in a raft of utility companies under public ownership.

Royal Mail will be nationalised at the "earliest opportunity" - with a further pledge to stop Crown Post Office closures.

Rail and bus services will fall back under public control when franchises end, with the party promising to deliver lower fares and expand network coverage.

The water system will be replaced by a series of regional publicly-owned firms.

And a string of regional energy companies will be established to replace the so-called ‘Big Six’ providers of gas and electricity.

The party have also pledged to deliver free full-fibre internet by creating a new "British Broadband" service to replace private provision.

 

BREXIT

Labour’s manifesto promises to negotiate a new Brexit deal which "protects jobs, rights and the environment".

Their plans include calls for a "comprehensive UK-wide customs union" as well as keeping "close alignment" with the EU Single Market.

And they pledge to hold a "legally-binding" second referendum within six months of taking office on their deal alongside a choice to Remain in the EU.

If the public votes to Remain in any second referendum, the party have pledged to lead a "radical reform" of the European Union and to bring an end to the "politically inflicted wave of austerity".

The party committed to keeping free movement if the UK votes to Remain, but also hinted at letting the scheme to continue even if the UK chooses to leave the EU.

 

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of flip-flopping over the issue of whether he would grant the SNP a second referendum in recent weeks.

The party's manifesto says Scottish Independence would be "economically devastating" - but does not rule out handing the legal powers to the Scottish Government to hold a second poll, saying only that Labour will not do so during the "early years" of a government.

 

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

A commitment to increase NHS spending by an average 4.3% a year is the topline figure for the party’s health push.

Labour are also pledging to "immediately end" and reverse privatisation in the NHS over the course of the next parliament, while a state-run drug company will be established to procure generic medicines where a "fair price" cannot be agreed with manufacturers.

Over £10bn has been committed to fund free personal social care for over-65s and reverse the existing funding gap.

A further annual £1.6bn spend has been committed to improve standards for mental health care, while a £2bn pot will be spent on modernising hospital facilities and ending out-of-area placements for mental health patients.

Other measures include the progression of clinically-appropriate prescription of cannabis and an end to prescription charges in England.

 

EDUCATION

Over £13bn will be spent on scrapping student tuition fees for full and part-time students, as well as re-introducing maintenance grants, Labour has pledged.

A funding boost for primary and secondary schools will reverse recent cuts and, Labour says, bring down maximum class sizes. Free school meals will also be extended to all primary school children.

A further 150,000 early years staff will be recruited, and Labour says it would focus on boosting their pay.

The party also commits to reverse cuts to Sure Start centers develop a new "Sure Start Plus" scheme focussed on under-2s.

All two, three and four-year-olds will be entitled to 30 hours per week free preschool education by the end of their first term in government, the party vows.

Schools inspector Ofsted will meanwhile be scrapped and replaced with a new body.

And paid maternity leave will be extended from 9 to 12 months.

 

CRIME AND JUSTICE

Labour have pledged to recruit 22,000 new frontline police officers, and said they would  work to eliminate "institutional biases" in the force against BAME communities with a review of stop-and-search.

They also plan to launch a review into the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme.

Cuts to prison staff will be reversed with a commitment to return to 2010 staffing levels,while all PFI-prisons will be taken back under government control. 

The party says it will set up a new Royal Commission to develop a ‘public health’ approach to tackling substance misuse.

Labour is also promising to expand legal aid and recruit "hundreds" of new community lawyers.

 

TAX

The threshold for the 45% income tax rate will be lowered to £80,000 - down from £150,000 at present - while a 50% rate will be introduced on salaries of £125,000 and above.

The party has pledged to increase in corporation tax to 26% by April 2022, but pledged to keep rates lower than in 2010. They have also committed to launching a major crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, with a pledge to reform tax relief schemes.

And a new financial transactions tax on banks would deliver a further £8.8bn for the Treasury.

Private schools will also lose their charitable status, while parents will be forced to pay VAT on school fees.

The party also vowed to reverse Conservative cuts to inheritance tax and introduce a new national levy on second homes which are used as holiday properties.

 

TRANSPORT

Under-25s will get free bus travel under Labour’s plans to nationalise bus services, while 3,000 routes will be re-introduced to help rural communities.

Nationalised rail services will see major investment to improve stock, expand access and electrify the network.

HS2 will go-ahead with an extension of the full service to Scotland.

Labour also says it will aim to ensure all new vehicles sold in the UK by 2030 are electric.

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local services such as bin collection and management of leisure centers will be returned to public control, Labour say.

Local authorities will also be given new powers to put empty shops to use, and the party will conduct a review of business rates, with the option of switching to a new Land Value Tax on commercial landlords in a bid to boost the high street.

Labour say a new funding formula will deliver better resources for rural councils, while councils will get more control over planning decisions, while having to weigh up the impact of their decisions with climate targets.

Councils will also receive a slice of a £1bn-a-year fund to crack down on homelessness

 

HOUSING

A new Department of Housing will oversee the building of 150,000 council and social homes each year.

Developers will have to offer affordable homes based on a new calculation set according to local incomes.

The party have vowed to tackle rising rents by introducing a cap tied to inflation.

A further £1bn Fire Safety Fund will be used to fit sprinklers and improve fire safety in high-rise council and housing association properties, as well as enforce the replacement of Grenfell-type cladding.

8,000 additional homes will be made available for those with a history of rough sleeping.

 

BENEFITS

Labour has committed to scrapping Universal Credit, moving new claimants to an interim scheme while a new system is designed.

While a new scheme is developed, Labour says it will end sanctions on claimants and introduce an interim payment scheme to end the five-week wait.

Employment and Support Allowance will rise by £30-per-week for those in the work-related group.Carer’s Allowance will meanwhile be raised to the same level as Job Seeker’s Allowance.

Plans to increase the pension age will be scrapped, leaving it at the current age of 66, while a review of the retirement age for those in physically arduous or stressful jobs will be carried out.

The Winter Fuel Payment, free bus pass scheme and free TV licenses will be maintained and set as universal benefits for older people.

The party have also included a commitment to recompense the so-called ‘WASPI women’ - hit by rises to the state pension age - for their losses.

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