LABOUR’S £50BILLION MONEYFESTO
Labour leader says tide is turning as he unveils ambitious plan Taxes on wealthy would pay for boost to education and NHS
JEREMY Corbyn claimed the election tide was turning his way as he launched a radical Labour manifesto “for the many, not the few”.
Offering the clearest political red alternative in a generation, the Labour leader talked about reversing austerity, stopping benefit cuts, re-funding the NHS and re-nationalising many public services.
Corbyn said “opinion has started to move towards Labour” as he unveiled his plan to transform Britain for the 21st century.
The Labour leader, who is trailing Theresa May by 14 points in the latest polls, told supporters in Bradford: “This manifesto is the first draft of a better future for the people of our country.
“A blueprint of what Britain could be and a pledge of the difference a Labour government can make.”
The £48.6billion plan would see Labour re-nationalise the railways and many public utilities, reverse Royal Mail privatisation and take a stake in the energy sector to keep fuel prices down.
The 124-page document promises to spend £4billion on more generous welfare benefits, guarantee the triple-lock protection for the state pension and introduce a range of new rights for workers.
Labour also pledged to end Theresa May’s “reckless” approach to Brexit, after the PM said “no deal is better than a bad deal”.
In place of EU regulations, Labour promised to develop “fair” immigration rules, offering an immediate guarantee about the status of EU nationals in the UK.
There was support for the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system, despite Corbyn’s personal refusal to ever order it being used.
The University of Bradford was chosen as a venue to highlight Labour’s commitment to scrap tuition fees across the UK, a popular policy already enacted in Scotland.
That alone would cost £11.6billion in a £50billion plan to reshape Britain.
Some £5billion is earmarked for health and £2.1billion for social care, and £4billion to lift the Conservatives’ one per cent cap on public sector pay increases.
Much of the detail for the Labour manifesto was leaked last week but the costings were not.
To pay for it all, Labour said there would be tax rises on big companies and the top earners along with a crackdown on tax avoidance and an “excessive pay levy” on salaries above £330,000.
If Labour win the June 8 General Election, the party will lower the threshold for the 45p rate of income tax from £150,000 to £80,000 and introduce a new 50p rate on earnings over £123,000, raising a total of £6.4billion a year from the top five per cent of earners.
Some £1.3billion will be raised through an “excessive pay levy” on firms with high-earning employees and £5.6billion from a “Robin Hood tax” extension of stamp duty on to derivatives. VAT on private school fees will raise £1.6billion.
Labour plan to raise £48.6billion in additional taxes, including an extra £19.4billion from corporation tax, along with the £6.4billon from income tax.
This will contribute towards a massive £23billion more in education spending and £7billion a year for the NHS and social care.
Corbyn added: “We’re asking the better off and the big corporations to pay a little more.”
He said Labour was offering “hope” against the “fear” tactics of the Tories. The costings were immediately pored over by financial experts and opponents.
May said the costings simply “did not add up” as the Tories claimed there was a £30billion hole in the plans.
Paul Johnson, of the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, said it was “genuinely uncertain” whether increases to income tax would raise the money Labour have earmarked for spending.
He said: “The chance of getting £50billion are pretty small. You would get £20billion or £30billion but the long-run impact will be rather smaller than the £50billion that they are hoping for.
“The tax promises are uncertain, I think that would be the kindest