Labour's U.K. Manifesto Launch: What We Know and What We Expect
Labour's U.K. Manifesto Launch: What We Know and What We Expect
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will launch his party’s manifesto on Thursday, promising a reckoning for the U.K.’s bankers and billionaires if he wins the Dec. 12 general election.
He’s already promised to increase taxes on the top 5% of British earners, to reduce the working week to 32 hours by 2030, and to provide free broadband to all via part-nationalizing the U.K.’s former state-run phone company.
The manifesto was finalized at the weekend, but has not yet been released in full. Based on announcements so far and interviews with senior politicians, this is what to expect:
Brexit
- Negotiate a new deal with the European Union within three months. This would see the U.K. in a customs union with access to the bloc’s single market and guarantees for environmental and workers rights
- The deal would be put to a referendum, within six months of the election, with the option to remain in the EU as the other option. The party will decide at the time which side to support
Nationalization
- Key industries including rail, water, energy supply and Royal Mail to be brought under public control
- Nationalization of BT Group Plc’s Openreach unit to deliver free full-fiber broadband across the country by 2030
- Local authorities also given the option to bring bus services back under their control
Taxation
- Will seek to tax multinational corporations based on the proportion of their sales, workforce and operations in the U.K.
- The top 5% of earners will pay more tax, though the precise details are not yet known
- A possible windfall tax on oil companies, according to a party official
Health
- Invest an extra 26 billion pounds ($34 billion) a year in the National Health Service
- Free dental check-ups and prescriptions for everyone in England
Education
- Create a National Educational Service where every adult will be entitled to six years of free study or training throughout their life
- Scrap university tuition fees
Housing
- Build 150,000 council and social houses within 5 years, with an investment of 75 billion pounds during that period
- Plan to build 100,000 new council homes a year by 2024
Work
- Minimum wage will increase to 10 pounds an hour and Labour aims to end the gender pay gap by 2030
- Seek to bring in a four-day week within 10 years, with no reduction in wages
Environment
- Create a 250 billion-pound Green Transformation Fund to create 300,000 new “green apprenticeships” as well as loans for people to buy electric cars
- The party conference commitment to make the U.K. carbon neutral by 2030 could be watered down
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Thomas Penny, Stuart Biggs
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