Many consider the upcoming election as a fight between the two major parties, Labour and Conservative. Labour is currently polling to get a majority vote (at time of writing), however to understand why Labour is currently leading we have to look at the promises they’re making. Every party has a campaign strategy where they tell the public what they will do once in power, which, among other reasons, can be the reason someone choses to vote for a specific party. They’re important to know when casting your own vote to make sure you are voting for people whose beliefs align with yours.
Labour’s campaign lays out five main ideas that they want to implement into the country. The first idea is to ‘get Britain building again.’ This means changing planning laws, creating new developments such as houses, windfarms and ports. They also outline how they want to help first time buyers and invest in new jobs. This first campaign falls into the roots of The Labour Party, started to represent working-class people who mainly worked in trade jobs. This idea shows how the party still follows its roots and is aiming themselves for working class people.
This idea shows how the party still follows its roots and is aiming themselves for working class people.
There second idea is to create a new publicly owned energy company. This would be known as Great British Energy. No longer privately owned, Labour plans to focus on local, sustainable energy, rather than heavily relying on international partnerships. Labour is saying this change would mean that prices are cut for good and clean energy will be used. They also highlight how this means that we will no longer be relying on countries like Russia for energy. This issue is aimed at everyone, as everyone’s energy bills have increased in the past years due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Their third promise is to ‘get the NHS back on its feet’. They plan to pay workers overtime during evenings and weekends to tackle waiting times and end the 8am scramble to get an appointment. In their manifesto they also lay out how they plan to pay for these changes, saying they will close Sunak’s tax loopholes in his non-dom plan. Improving the NHS is not a unique idea to labour and the majority of the parties mention it at some point in their manifestos.
Their fourth statement is to ‘take back our streets’, highlighting their arguement that we have lost control of ‘policing and criminal injustice’. Labour have spearheaded their campaign with their intention to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. They suggest that by adding more police patrols to areas and employing more officers they will be able to tackle crimes such as drug-dealing and gang crime. They also plan to introducing harsher sentences for crimes such as rape and assault.
Examples of their plans include, providing free school breakfast clubs, recruiting more teachers, and creating a broader curriculum for more creative industries
Finally, their last key idea in their manifesto is to break down barriers and increase opportunities. This is mainly in the education setting. Examples of their plans include, providing free school breakfast clubs, recruiting more teachers, and creating a broader curriculum for more creative industries. In a controversial move, they plan to fund these things by removing private schools tax exemptions.
In the run up to the election Labour have chosen these five aims to focus on and promote. It is important to remember that the aim of these promises is to get people to vote for that party, so their main aims they will promote will reflect the interests of the general population and address things that are happening in this moment. It is important to be informed about the choices you are making when voting to make sure your vote is used right. Remember to register to vote and make sure you know who you’re voting for on July 4th!
