A commitment to rebuilding Britain’s public services was at the heart of Labour’s election-winning manifesto. Pledges to boost public spending, achieve full employment and attack poverty all took pride of place in the party’s re-election programme.
Education
Education was at the centrepiece of Labour’s election campaign. The party’s two headline promises were to employ 10,000 more teachers and to increase education spending by more than five percent in real terms each year for the next three years. The manifesto promised a ‘radical improvement in secondary schools’ for the party’s second stretch in power. A drive to push up literacy, numeracy and IT skills amongst eleven to fourteen year-olds will be at the forefront of the government’s efforts to improve standards in the core curriculum. The manifesto also committed the government to:
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Expanding Educational Maintenance Allowances, thus allowing more sixteen to eighteen year-olds to stay in full-time education. • Increasing the number of classroom assistants.
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Boosting recruitment and retention packages for teachers, including additional help with housing costs in high-cost areas.
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Investing £8 billion in improving school buildings and equipment over the next three years.
- Guaranteeing a nursery school place for all three year-olds.
Health
Alongside education, renewing the National Health Service remained a top government priority. Labour won the election with a pledge to substantially increase health spending: by an average of six percent in real terms each year for the next three years, together with a promise to recruit 20,000 more nurses and at least 10,000 more doctors. In addition to the spending and recruitment pledges, the manifesto also committed the government to a radical reduction in maximum waiting times. A new form of hospital – specially built surgical units – will be central to guaranteeing this.
Transport
The manifesto pledged Labour to increase spending on transport by 20 percent for the next three years, as part of the party’s goal of investing £180 billion of public and private money in transport over the next ten years. Top of Labour’s agenda will be urgent investment and strong regulation of Britain’s rail network. The manifesto committed the government to:
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Increasing the number of Supertrams to transform transport in our biggest cities.
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Reducing the number of child deaths in road accidents.
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Boosting the number of new buses in operation.
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Creating Transport Direct, a phone and internet system, designed to plan journeys and sell tickets.
Fighting crime
The manifesto promised ‘the most comprehensive reform of the criminal justice system since the war – to catch, convict, punish and rehabilitate more of the 100,000 persistent offenders.’ Six thousand extra policemen will be recruited, raising police numbers to their highest ever level, as spending on the police increases to an extra £1.6 billion a year by 2003/4.
Supporting families
The manifesto reaffirmed Labour’s commitment to supporting families and children, including the pledge to halve child poverty. The new Children’s Tax Credit, introduced in April, will be expanded to offer up to £1000 per year for parents of newborn children. Additionally, the government plans to create an integrated Child Credit of cash support for children, built on the foundation of universal child benefit. The manifesto also promised to introduce a new Child Trust fund for every child at birth, containing an initial endowment from the government, with more for poorer children.
Pensions
As well as pledges to retain the Winter Fuel Payments, boost the state pension and increase the Minimum Income Guarantee, the manifesto promised to reward lower- and middle-income pensioners who save with a new Pension Credit. Social inclusion The manifesto restated Labour’s goal of achieving full employment in every region. The New Deal, the centrepiece of the government’s first term attack on youth and long-term unemployment, will be made permanent. A new Working Age Agency, JobCentre Plus, will be created, merging the old Employment Service and Benefits Agency. The manifesto also promises that Labour will:
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Raise the minimum wage to £4.20 an hour, ensuring that work pays.
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Cut rough sleeping to two-thirds of its 1998 level by 2002.
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Help 750,000 adults achieve basic skills.
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Invest £900 million over three years in our most deprived neighbourhoods through a new Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, part of the £1.9 billion New Deal for Communities.
Britain in the world
Labour’s 1997 pledge to give a new priority to tackling global poverty is repeated in 2001. By 2003/4, the aid budget will reach £3.6 billion – a 45 percent increase in real terms since the last election. The manifesto noted that while the world’s poor make the smallest per capita contribution to climate change, they are often most affected when it happens. Accepting both the scientific evidence that climate change is occurring and the need to act now, the manifesto restated Labour’s commitment to the Kyoto protocol, promising that Britain will meet its obligations, seek to achieve more and press other nations to fulfil their obligations.