Labour is poised to pledge to re-nationalise energy companies, railways and the Royal Mail in its most left-wing election manifesto in a generation.
Leaked drafts of the manifesto also reveal Jeremy Corbyn is committed to achieving a "nuclear-free world" and "extremely cautious" about using Britain's nuclear deterrent.
And in a pledge that will be attacked by Tory ministers, the manifesto says the Labour leader will only send the armed forces into combat if "all other options have been exhausted".
The manifesto also says Mr Corbyn will scrap tuition fees, rule out a "no deal" Brexit and refuse to set a migration target, but keep Trident despite Mr Corbyn's personal opposition to its renewal.
:: Jeremy Corbyn: From professional protester to Labour leader
The leak came on the eve of a meeting to agree the manifesto to be attended by Labour's national executive, shadow cabinet, policy forum, trade union leaders and backbench committee of MPs.
The proposals, already being dismissed by critics as a return to the 1970s, include:
:: A pledge to nationalise energy firms, railways, bus firms and Royal Mail
:: Income tax increases for those earning more than £80,000 a year
:: Ensuring 60% of the UK's energy comes from renewable sources by 2030
:: Companies with government contracts would only be allowed to pay their highest earner 20 times more than the lowest
:: Fines for businesses that pay their staff high wages and a business levy on profits
The draft manifesto, which runs to 43 pages, also contains promises of £6bn-a-year extra for the NHS and £1.6bn-a-year for social care.
University tuition fees will be abolished entirely and town halls ordered to build 100,000 new council houses a year under a new Department for Housing.
Thousands of homes will be offered to rough sleepers and private rent hikes capped at inflation.
A new Ministry of Labour will oversee the biggest boost to workers' rights in decades, while planned hikes to the pension age beyond 66 will not go ahead.
It also contains measures already announced including £5bn to end "Tory schools cuts", 10,000 extra police officers and a £250bn capital investment programme to upgrade British infrastructure.
Despite the big spending pledges, the manifesto includes a commitment to get rid of the deficit and balance Britain's day-to-day budget by the end of the next Parliament.
The extra spending will be almost entirely funded by new taxes for big corporations and rich individuals, the manifesto suggests.
The draft manifesto states: "University tuition is free in many northern European countries, and under a Labour government it will be free in Britain too."
Mr Corbyn has previously suggested the measure would cost £7bn and could be funded through higher corporation tax. There will also be £1bn invested in culture and the arts.
The pledges to boost workers' and trade union rights include the doubling of paternity leave on increased pay; a right to a contract for those working 12 hours a week or more; and an assumption that workers are employees unless a firm can prove otherwise.
It also contains measures already announced including £5bn to end "Tory schools cuts", 10,000 extra police officers and a £250bn capital investment programme to upgrade British infrastructure.
Despite the big spending pledges, the manifesto includes a commitment to get rid of the deficit and balance Britain's day-to-day budget by the end of the next Parliament.
The extra spending will be almost entirely funded by new taxes for big corporations and rich individuals, the manifesto suggests.
The draft manifesto states: "University tuition is free in many northern European countries, and under a Labour government it will be free in Britain too."
Mr Corbyn has previously suggested the measure would cost £7bn and could be funded through higher corporation tax. There will also be £1bn invested in culture and the arts.
The pledges to boost workers' and trade union rights include the doubling of paternity leave on increased pay; a right to a contract for those working 12 hours a week or more; and an assumption that workers are employees unless a firm can prove otherwise.
On defence the manifesto says: "Any prime minister should be extremely cautious about ordering the use of weapons of mass destruction which would result in the indiscriminate killing of millions of innocent civilians."
On immigration, the manifesto says Labour will make "no false promises" as the Tories have done.
Instead it states "our economy needs migrant workers to keep going" and vows to abandon rules which stop British citizens from bringing in spouses from outside Europe unless they earn £18,600-a-year.
That 'minimum income threshold' will be dropped, and replaced with a new obligation to live in Britain without relying on public funds or benefits.
Instead it vows to crack down on bosses who try to undercut wages with migrant workers or recruit exclusively from abroad.
:: Corbyn: People are angry and rightly so
The manifesto will delight Labour left-wingers who have spent decades calling for the party to be more radical, but critics are bound to compare it to the Michael Foot manifesto of 1983, notoriously dismissed by the late Gerald Kaufman as "the longest suicide note in history".
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn told Sky News: "We do not comment on leaks. We will announce our policies in our manifesto, which is our plan to transform Britain for the many, not the few."
No comments:
Post a Comment