Corbyn’s radical agenda in ‘manifesto of hope’
JEREMY CORBYN has vowed to take on the “rich and powerful” as he set out his plan to transform Britain with the most “ambitious and radical” programme of reform in decades.
Labour’s General Election manifesto published yesterday pledged to invest in public services, take action to tackle climate change and return key utilities to public ownership.
It would see day-to-day government spending rise by £83bn by 2024 – paid for by tax increases for business and the better-off – with investment of £400bn over the course of the next decade. In a surprise move, the party announced plans for a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies, to provide an £11bn support package for workers in the industry as the country shifted to renewable energy sources.
Speaking at the launch event in Birmingham, Mr Corbyn said it was a “manifesto of hope” that would bring to an end a system “rigged” in favour of “the billionaires and the super rich”.
However, the Tories accused Labour of planning a “reckless spending spree” which would “take a sledgehammer” to the British economy. Boris Johnson said the lack of a clear plan for Brexit was “the hole at the heart” of the manifesto.
The plans include:
■ Bringing back rail, mail, water and energy into public ownership and part-nationalising BT to provide a free public broadband service
■ A £75bn programme to build 150,000 new council and social homes a year within five years
■ An annual 4.3 per cent increase in NHS spending and yearly free dental check-ups
■ An immediate five per cent pay rise for public sector workers, with year-on-year above-inflation increases to follow
■ Introducing a “real living wage” of at least £10 an hour while ending zero hours contracts and strengthening trade union rights
■ 30 hours of free childcare to all pre-school aged youngsters and guarantee of a Sure Start centre in every community
■ Creating a national education service providing through-life learning and scrapping university tuition fees
■ Reversing corporation tax cuts under the Conservatives and raising taxes for those on £80,000 and over with a new “super rich” rate for those on more than £125,000.
Comment: Page 14.