THE EYEWATERING COST OF LABOUR’S SPENDING SPREE

ALTHOUGH Labour has unveiled a raft of big policies to delegates, Jeremy Corbyn failed to detail how he’d pay for them in his speech yesterday. Here, we tally the cost:

CHILDCARE

Labour would make 30 hours a week of free childcare available to all children aged two to four.

It is estimated that this dramatic expansion of provision would cost £7.5billion a year.

On top of this, Mr Corbyn promised that poorer parents would get additional free hours, but he did not specify how many.

A new national pay scale for all early-years workers starting at £10 an hour would further increase costs.

ENVIRONMENT

Homes across the country will be made energy efficient through a fiveyear insulation programme.

Property owners on low incomes and those in social housing will have their homes insulated for free, while others will be able to get zerointerest loans.

Labour says the £12.8billion needed to pay for the scheme would come from shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s £250billion borrowing splurge.

RENATIONALISATION

Labour has repeatedly refused to cost its plans to nationalise the water companies, energy providers, railways and Royal Mail.

Experts believe the bill would be least £176billion. This would represent around 10 per cent of the national debt, or nearly £6,500 for every household in the country.

SHARE GRAB

The most contentious policy announced during the party’s conference was Mr McDonnell’s threat to hand 10 per cent of shares in all large UK companies to worker-controlled boards. The profits would be split

between employees and the taxman. Workers would get up to £500 a year each in dividend payments, with an estimated £2billion being paid into the Treasury’s coffers.

However, business leaders have warned that the raid would lead to lower wages and less investment. RENTERS’ UNIONS A £20million fund would be used to help the 11.5million tenants in the private rental sector to unionise.

Labour says a network of renters’ unions would control costs and improve conditions.

However, the groups could discourage landlords from letting out property and cut investment in housing stock, ultimately pushing prices up.