UK election: What has Labour promised to do if elected?

Sustained economic growth, no increase in taxes, more NHS appointments and clean power are some of its priorities

By Reuters

Published: Wed 3 Jul 2024, 3:42 PM

Last updated: Wed 3 Jul 2024, 3:54 PM

Britain's Labour Party is projected to win Thursday's national election with a large majority, returning to power after 14 years in opposition.

Below are some of the party's main domestic policy plans, set out in its manifesto ahead of the July 4 vote:

ECONOMY

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Labour has said sustained economic growth will be its first mission for government.

Its plan focuses on wealth creation. It has said it will be "pro-business and pro-worker" and introduce a new industrial strategy, which will end short-term economic policy.

Labour intends to establish a National Wealth Fund, capitalised with £7.3 billion, which aims to attract three pounds of private investment for every pound of public money to support growth and clean energy.

The party has said there will be no return to austerity and its economic approach will be governed by fiscal rules requiring a balanced budget, with day-to-day costs met by revenues, and debt to be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast.

TAXES

It has pledged not to raise taxes "for working people", with no increase in the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, National Insurance, or VAT. It will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent.

The party has also pledged to close loopholes which allow some so-called 'non-dom' wealthy people who live in Britain to avoid paying tax.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Labour plans to cut waiting times in the National Health Service by adding 40,000 more appointments every week.

This will include incentivising staff to carry out extra appointments out of hours, pooling resources across neighbouring hospitals and using spare capacity in the private sector.

It will also double the number of diagnostic cancer scanners.

Labour plans to train thousands more family doctors and guarantee a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one.

It has also pledged to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most as well as introducing a supervised tooth-brushing scheme for 3- to 5-year-olds.

DEFENCE

Labour has said it will set out a path to boost defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

It plans to launch a Strategic Defence Review to assess the threats faced and the capabilities needed to address them.

The party also plans to ensure a strong domestic defence sector and resilient supply chains, including steel. It will prioritise UK businesses for defence investment and reform procurement.

IMMIGRATION

Labour has pledged to reduce net migration.

It wants to reform Britain's points-based immigration system, by bringing in restrictions on visas and by training workers where there are domestic shortages.

On illegal migration, it will scrap the current government's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, and focus on stopping people-smuggling gangs and beefing up border security.

It will hire additional asylum caseworkers to clear the backlog of claims and set up a new returns and enforcement unit to fast-track removals to safe countries for people who do not have the right to stay.

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

It will aim for clean power by 2030 by doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power and quadrupling offshore wind.

The party will establish state-owned Great British Energy, backed by £8.3 billion to co-invest in leading technologies and help support capital-intensive projects.

Labour has said it will maintain "a strategic reserve" of gas power stations to guarantee security of supply. It will not issue new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

The party plans to close loopholes in the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. It will also extend the sunset clause in the Energy Profits Levy until the end of the next parliament, increase the rate of the levy by three percentage points, and remove investment allowances.

Labour wants to ensure the long-term security of the nuclear power sector, extending the lifetime of existing plants and has said new nuclear power stations and Small Modular Reactors will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power.

EDUCATION

Labour plans to recruit 6,500 new teachers in key subjects, and fund free breakfast clubs at every primary school.

It has also pledged to expand the availability of childcare by opening 3,000 new nurseries based in primary schools.

Labour has pledged to end a tax exemption for fee-paying schools to invest more in state-run schools.

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS

Labour will reduce the voting age to 16, from 18.

The party will also make changes to parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, including removing the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote and introducing a mandatory retirement age.

It has also committed to ultimately replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber that is "more representative of the regions and nations" of the UK.