Election 2024: Three things to watch out for in Labour’s manifesto
We’re three weeks into the election campaign and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to unveil his party’s manifesto for government.
The document is Labour’s pitch to voters, and a series of promises as to what they would do with power – if granted it.
After the Lib Dems, Conservatives and Green Party all also launched their manifestos this week, the nature of the campaign is now likely to shift.
Politicians will be arguing about concrete pledges, as opposed to more loose interpretations of what their opponents might be suggesting.
Here are three things to watch out for in Labour’s manifesto that might shape the campaign to come.
Workers’ rights reform
One key sticking point for Labour has been the arguments over its plans to reform workers’ rights within the first 100 days in power.
The party has dubbed the plan a ‘New Deal for Working People’ with a series of reforms from enshrining a right to switch off, to maternity and sick pay, and full employment rights from day one, being bandied around.
But with the party moving ever-closer to big business, while still being funded by trade unions, it unsurprisingly provoked controversy, as the party top brass aimed to keep everyone happy(ish).
With the manifesto launch imminent, we’ll soon know exactly what’s being proposed – and how big that argument will continue to be.
Capital gains tax
Labour figures including shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves have made much of ruling out increases to income tax, National Insurance or VAT.
And top Tories have been making hay with the suggestion that Starmer and his shadow cabinet have collectively not ruled out a capital gains hike some 39 times.
They would dispute the point, but a report in The Guardian suggested that Reeves was coming under internal pressure to raise the rate in an autumn budget, if Labour win the election, which is being dubbed a revenue-raising ‘doctor’s mandate’ for struggling public services.
One source reportedly claimed Reeves had “between 10 and 12 measures she is looking at… all of which will raise small pots of money”.
Could the manifesto clear up the confusion – or merely exacerbate it?
More power for London
Following the May local elections, Labour has been jubilant about its slate of new mayors across English regions.
Starmer has already announced what the party is calling its ‘plan to power up’ – somewhat of a riff on levelling up – and a ‘take back control act’ giving a “presumption” towards devolution.
Labour calls this a “full-fat” approach to giving away power to local communities, and wants to put mayors – from Andy Burnhan in Manchester to London’s Sadiq Khan – in charge of regional growth in their areas.
Could this mean an increased settlement for London? More funding for TfL? Or simply beefed up City Hall planning powers to limit incidents such as the case of an M25 data centre being refused planning permission due to concerns over the green belt. Time will tell…