Under the Tories, jobs are less secure, with almost a million people on zero hours contracts and many more on short hours. They have made it easier to put people out of work, and their Trade Union Act has made it harder for unions to stand up for their members.
Labour will invest to create decent, secure jobs, and will ban zero hours contracts. They will scrap the Trade Union Act and restore full trade union rights to help unions grow and win a better deal at work. They’ll kick-start a green industrial revolution, safeguarding our climate and creating a million high-wage, high-skill unionised jobs across the country.
Under the Tories, too many people are struggling to get by – average wages are lower than before the financial crisis, and 8 million working people are in poverty. No one should have to worry about how to put food on the table.
Labour will put money in working people’s pockets – they’ll introduce a real living wage of at least £10 an hour as soon as they take office, and will strengthen trade unions to help them win better pay for millions more people. They will end in-work poverty and eliminate the need for food banks.
Under the Tories, it’s harder to make ends meet. Most people’s incomes haven’t kept up with prices. Rents are rocketing, and home ownership has fallen over the last nine years. Families are struggling with steep childcare bills and rail fares have soared three times faster than wages.
Labour will give working people more of their time back, creating 4 new bank holidays, reducing the working week to 32 hours within a decade with no loss of pay, and working to increase minimum annual leave entitlements. They’ll build at least a million new genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent over ten years, and by the end of the Parliament they’ll be building 100,000 council homes a year. They’ll offer parents 30 free hours of childcare every week for all children, from ages 2 to 4. They’ll give everyone who uses public transport a better deal, by taking the railways back into public ownership, re-opening 3,000 bus routes and giving power to local authorities to plan and run bus services.
Under the Tories, our public services have been pushed to the brink. Hospital waiting lists are up, A&Es are struggling, social care is in crisis and it’s harder to see your GP. Class sizes are soaring, there are more unqualified teachers, and our schools face huge budget cuts.
Labour will properly fund our public services, with a £26bn rescue package for our NHS. They’ll set minimum safe staffing levels in law, and they’ll make more GP training places available, so everyone can get a GP appointment when they need one.
The next Labour Government will introduce free personal care free for older people, as part of a new National Care Service. Labour will make sure our public services are owned and run by the public for the public – with decisions based on public need not private greed.
Labour will restore pay levels for the nurses, teachers and other public service workers who’ve suffered 9 years of pay cuts – including a 5% payrise in April, and real payrises every year. They’ll boost school budgets, reduce class sizes and introduce free school meals for all primary school children and cap school uniform prices.
Under the Tories, violent crime has doubled. Since 2010, the Tories have slashed £3.6bn of Government funding from police budgets. Cuts to local communities have created the conditions for rising crime. The Tories have cut over 11,500 firefighter jobs and closed dozens of fire stations, putting people’s lives at risk.
Labour will rebuild the whole police workforce, recruiting more police officers, police community support officers and police staff. They’ll prioritise neighbourhood policing and bear down on crime and its causes. They’ll recruit 5,000 new firefighters and consult on national minimum standards for the fire service. They’ll invest an additional £1bn in youth services and put more resources into supporting young people to give them a better start in life.
