General Election 2019

[Maxi]

Here are Some Labour Party Policies How Many Do You Disagree with

Ban companies based in tax havens bidding for government contracts
It's astounding that this isn't the case already. How on earth could anyone even attempt to justify taxpayers' cash being paid to companies based in tax havens for the purpose of dodging tax?

£10 minimum wage for all workers over the age of 18
The UK is the only country in the developed world where workers' wages are declining in real terms, while the economy is actually growing. A £10 minimum wage would help to reverse this scenario, and it would also significantly reduce the cost of in-work benefits like tax credits and housing benefit (most of which goes to working families these days).

All rented accommodation to be fit for human habitation
Again, astounding that this isn't the case already, but in January 2016 the Tories (over 1/3 of whom are landlords) deliberately voted down a Labour Party amendment to their housing bill to ensure that all rented accommodation is fit for human habitation.

Renationalise the railways
This is a very popular policy that is supported by an overwhelming majority of the public. Do you support rail renationalisation too, or are you one of the minority who think that the current profiteer-administered shambles is acceptable?

Renationalise the NHS
The Tory party have been carving up the English NHS and distributing the pieces to the private sector, Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to reverse this process. Are you one of the 84% of people who thinks the NHS should be run as a not for profit public service, or the 7% who agree with the ongoing Tory privatisation agenda?

Free school meals
The policy of providing free school meals to all school children between the ages of 4 and 11 is based on evidence based research showing that universal free school meals lead to significantly improved grades. It will be paid for by ending the generous tax breaks (public subsidies) for the 7% of kids who go to private fee-paying schools.

Create a National Education Service
Jeremy Corbyn believes that education is a right, not a commodity. He wants to create an integrated National Education Service to ensure that education is freely available to anyone who needs it.

Scrap tuition fees
Thanks to the Tories (and their Lib-Dem enablers) UK students now face the most expensive tuition fees in the developed world for study at public universities, meaning students typically leave university with £50,000 of debt, and two thirds of them will never pay off their student debts. Labour would end this lunacy by getting rid of student fees.

Restore NHS Bursaries
One of the first things Theresa My did when she came to power was to scrap NHS bursaries for nurses and other NHS workers. This removal of financial support for nurses has caused a huge 10,000 decline in the number of applicants to nursing courses. This collapse in nursing recruitment would be bad enough in its own right, but in combination with a record increase in the number of EU nurses quitting the NHS, and a mind-boggling 92% fall in nursing recruitment from EU countries, the UK is clearly facing a massive NHS recruitment crisis. Labour would reverse this calamitous state of affairs by restoring NHS Bursaries for trainee nurses.

Increase the carers allowance
Labour are proposing to increase the Carers Allowance for the 1 million unpaid carers in the UK. This would be paid for by scrapping the Tories' Inheritance Tax cut for millionaires. Unpaid carers save the UK economy an estimated £132 million a year, and they're doing ever more work as a result of the £4.6 billion in Tory cuts to the social care budget.

Create a National Investment Bank
This is actually one of Jeremy Corbyn's best policies, but few people actually understand it. It's absolutely clear that allowing private banks to determine where money is invested ends up in huge speculative bubbles in housing and financial derivatives, while the real economy is starved of cash. A National Investment Bank would work by investing in things like infrastructure, services, businesses and regional development projects, and would end up becoming a kind of sovereign wealth fund for the UK.

End the public sector pay freeze
Under Tory rule UK workers suffered the longest sustained decline in real wages since records began. The public sector pay freeze contributed massively to this. You'd have to be economically illiterate to imagine that repressing public sector wages with below inflation pay rises for year after year would not exert downwards pressure on private sector wages too. Ending the public sector pay freeze would actually boost the economy by putting more money in people's pockets, meaning an increase in aggregate demand.

End sweetheart tax deals between HMRC and massive corporations
David Cameron (the son of a tax-dodger) repeatedly lied through his teeth about how serious he was about confronting tax-dodging, whilst allowing HMRC to concoct sweetheart deals with corporations like Google, Vodafone and Starbucks. One of the main reasons the corporate press are so strongly opposed to Jeremy Corbyn is that they know that unlike David Cameron, he's serious when he talks about clamping down on tax-dodging.

Stop major corporations ripping off their suppliers
Major corporations are withholding an astounding £26 billion through late payment, which is responsible for an estimated 50,000 small businesses going bust every year. The scale of this problem is so massive that it should be a national scandal, and Jeremy Corbyn is absolutely right to align himself with small businesses to defend their interests.

Reverse the Tory corporation tax cuts
Since 2010 the Tories have cut the rate of corporation tax for major multinational corporations from 28% to just 17% (by 2020) meaning the UK has one of the lowest corporation tax rates in the developed world. The global average is 27% and the G7 average is 32.3%. Theresa May has already threatened to lower the corporation tax even further to turn post-Brexit Britain into a tax haven economy, Corbyn is proposing to do the opposite and increase corporation tax rates so they're more in line with the rest of the developed world.

Defend Human Rights
Theresa May has repeatedly expressed her intention to tear up Winston Churchill's finest legacy, the European Convention on Human Rights. Labour would oppose this Tory attack on our human rights.

Zero Hours Contracts ban
Almost a million UK workers are now on exploitative Zero Hours Contracts. Last year the New Zealand parliament voted to ban them, and Labour is proposing to do the same. Long-term employees and workers doing regular hours would be protected from Zero Hours Contract exploitation.

Holding the Tories to account over Brexit
Labour have said that they won't block Brexit, but they will seek to hold the Tories to account over it. A landslide Tory victory would be a disaster for the UK because it would allow the Tories to pursue the most right-wing pro-corporate anti-worker Brexit possible with almost no democratic scrutiny. The only way to make sure the Tories don't push a fanatically right-wing Brexit on the nation is to return a Labour government, or ensure that there are enough opposition MPs to hold them to account.

Housebuilding
Under the Tory government the level of UK housebuilding has slumped to the lowest levels since the 1920s, even though demand for housing is extremely high. Labour are guaranteeing to invest in a programme of house building, and committing to ensure that half of the new houses are social housing. This wouldn't just alleviate the housing crisis, it would also stimulate the economy by increasing aggregate demand.

Combat inequality
George Osborne's ideological austerity agenda resulted in the longest sustained decline in workers' wages since records began and condemned an additional 400,000 children to growing up in poverty, meanwhile the tiny super-rich majority literally doubled their wealth. Labour is pledging to reduce the inequality gap and introduce progressive policies to reduce the gap between the incomes of the highest and lowest paid. There is plenty of evidence to show that the least unequal societies are more economically successful places where the people are happier.

[Maxi]

Nigel Farage says he will not stand in General Election

This news made my weekend, he probably did not want to make it 8 losses in a row.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/nigel-farage-says-he-will-not-stand-in-general-election/ar-AAJLjHU?ocid=ientp

[baldy]

The pips would squeak !


I'm surprised that cancelling the Right to Buy (social housing at a discounted rate) is not included.

We all know it has the effect of passing wealth to people who can often afford to buy private sector homes (ie. they often don't need it because their income has improved since they first became a council or housing association tenant) and it reduces availability of social homes in a serious and dramatic way.

[baldy]

Nigel Farage says he will not stand in General Election

This news made my weekend, he probably did not want to make it 8 losses in a row.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/nigel-farage-says-he-will-not-stand-in-general-election/ar-AAJLjHU?ocid=ientp

I imagine he will try to get a seat via a by-election after we actually leave the EU and he loses his seat as an MEP.  In contrast to the current GE when he is travelling around the country to support all of his party's candidates, in a by-election he can spend all his effort on winning one seat.

[Shizzy]

Here are Some Labour Party Policies How Many Do You Disagree with



Zero Hours Contracts ban
Almost a million UK workers are now on exploitative Zero Hours Contracts. Last year the New Zealand parliament voted to ban them, and Labour is proposing to do the same. Long-term employees and workers doing regular hours would be protected from Zero Hours Contract exploitation.

Needs to be looked at for sure. Not convinced it requires an outright ban, as I know many semi retired people who enjoy the flexibility of zero hours work.  It should not be forced on workers, but workers who are in a position to work zero hrs contracts should have the option.

I wonder how how this land of milk and honey envisaged by the Labour Party would be funded? I suspect the same way it was in the 70's and 90's with massive amounts of borrowing.

[Bob DeBilda]

I wonder how how this land of milk and honey envisaged by the Labour Party would be funded? I suspect the same way it was in the 70's and 90's with massive amounts of borrowing.

From the £250,000,000 a week back from the EU apparently...

Oh wait....

[Shizzy]

Here are Some Labour Party Policies How Many Do You Disagree with


Renationalise the railways
This is a very popular policy that is supported by an overwhelming majority of the public. Do you support rail renationalisation too, or are you one of the minority who think that the current profiteer-administered shambles is acceptable?

I can see why it looks popular, however a large proportion of the electorate have not experienced nationalised services so have no idea what it means in reality, or look back with rose tinted glasses. Public run bodies tend to be inefficient and wasteful, and any savings made from not paying shareholders is sucked by by inefficiency and waste.

British Rail was a bloody mess, and was the subject of much criticism, and mockery at the time, somehow forgotten in the midst of time.

[Shizzy]

Here are Some Labour Party Policies How Many Do You Disagree with



Housebuilding
Under the Tory government the level of UK housebuilding has slumped to the lowest levels since the 1920s, even though demand for housing is extremely high. Labour are guaranteeing to invest in a programme of house building, and committing to ensure that half of the new houses are social housing. This wouldn't just alleviate the housing crisis, it would also stimulate the economy by increasing aggregate demand.

Interesting you chose to say 'under a Tory government' as it shows a bit of bias.

On average, housing associations and local authorities have built around 26,500 houses each year since 2010. The Labour government (1997-2010) had a lower average, building about 19,000 homes per year. (Source Fullfact.org)

You are right though that there needs to be a big increase in house building.

[Shizzy]

Here are Some Labour Party Policies How Many Do You Disagree with



End sweetheart tax deals between HMRC and massive corporations
David Cameron (the son of a tax-dodger) repeatedly lied through his teeth about how serious he was about confronting tax-dodging, whilst allowing HMRC to concoct sweetheart deals with corporations like Google, Vodafone and Starbucks. One of the main reasons the corporate press are so strongly opposed to Jeremy Corbyn is that they know that unlike David Cameron, he's serious when he talks about clamping down on tax-dodging.

Not sure it is as simple to resolve as JC makes out. This is a worldwide problem (getting mainly tech companies to pay their fair share of tax), and pretty much every developed country in the world is grappling with this problem. It's easy to say 'we will make big companies pay more tax'  but it seems rather more difficult to do in practice. I agree though that they should pay their fare share but not sure how this would be achieved.

[Shizzy]

Jo Swinson is at it now. We will get 50bn for staying in the EU. Has she learnt nothing from Boris?

https://news.sky.com/story/general-election-swinson-says-tories-and-labour-merge-into-one-on-brexit-11854739

[Bob DeBilda]

Should this arrogant, privileged, holier- than- thou Tory prat be fired over his Grenfell tower comments?

Andrew Bridgen is just as guilty as well.

[Bob DeBilda]

Jo Swinson is at it now. We will get 50bn for staying in the EU. Has she learnt nothing from Boris?

https://news.sky.com/story/general-election-swinson-says-tories-and-labour-merge-into-one-on-brexit-11854739

She has probably learnt from BoJo that telling lies before an election gets you more votes.

[baldy]

Jo Swinson is at it now. We will get 50bn for staying in the EU. Has she learnt nothing from Boris?

https://news.sky.com/story/general-election-swinson-says-tories-and-labour-merge-into-one-on-brexit-11854739

She has probably learnt from BoJo that telling lies before an election gets you more votes.

The LibDems invented the modern method of election campaigning with misleading claims based on some sort of fact that has been taken out of its correct context and other parties have followed suit because it works.


I have to say that I have seen lots of unfair claims about Jo Swinson's husband lately involving EU grants for the EU-based organisation that he works for as if he or Jo get the money themselves. Duncan Hames was a LibDem councillor at West Wiltshire District Council for the Holt ward before he became the MP for Chippenham (inc. B on A etc) from 2010 - 2015. I met him and dealt with him several times on various issues as a district councillor and found him to be highly intelligent, thoughtful and helpful. I can't stand the LibDems as a whole, but I have to say that he is a man of total integrity and high ability ... though I can't say I share his taste in women ... especially those who wear large dangly plastic earings ... and have a bit of a whiny shrill voice ...

[baldy]

Should this arrogant, privileged, holier- than- thou Tory prat be fired over his Grenfell tower comments?

Andrew Bridgen is just as guilty as well.

I think all politicians suffer from a bout of foot in mouth disease from time to time  (ahem ...  ).

David Cameron's crap about the Big Society turned out to be years and years of utter rubbish.

Mrs May used a slogan of strong and stable when actually it was clear to all that she was weak, wobbly, inept and incompetent in so many crucial ways.

It will be up to his local electorate to chose and I am in no doubt that his usual supporters will stand by him and accept that, like everyone else, he is a flawed character and in reality no-one is perfect and that sometimes politicians talk utter nonsense on topics that they really have no personal experience of ... especially when answering a question put to them that they were unprepared for ...

[Shizzy]

Should this arrogant, privileged, holier- than- thou Tory prat be fired over his Grenfell tower comments?

Andrew Bridgen is just as guilty as well.

Well, his constituency can decide next month.

I am uncomfortable with all this Twitter hysteria every time someone in public office does something silly or says something crass. Should Baroness Lawerence be sacked for what she said about London Fire Brigade? Should Diane Abbott be sacked for saying Chairman Mao did more good than harm (he was instrumental in the deaths of 60 million people)?