A radical overhaul of the NHS, a more pro-EU stance, and a commitment to electoral reform should all be part of Labour’s general election pitch, according to Guardian readers, who have been sharing policy ideas to crowdsource alternative manifestos for each of the major parties.
We already have a good idea of what’s going to be in the Labour manifesto, thanks to a draft version being leaked ahead of the party’s national executive committee.
Below, we list 10 of the most popular policy ideas from our readers.
1) Stop selling off the NHS
Polling suggests there is substantial support for raising taxes to help fund the NHS, and Labour will commit to an additional £37bn for the service in their manifesto. But our readers wanted to see an explicit commitment to ending the trend of NHS contracts going to private companies, raising concerns about the inroads being made by companies such as Virgin Care, Care UK and Bupa.
2) Introduce rent controls
Labour’s main housing pledges will be to build more council homes and introduce tougher regulation of the private rental sector. Labour’s draft manifesto explicitly mentions rent controls, alongside a pledge to introduce longer tenancies and handing renters more consumer rights to improve the balance of power with landlords. Readers also wanted to see an end to right to buy for council housing, and greater taxation on empty homes, homes bought by overseas buyers, and buy-to-let landlords.
3) Get rid of academies and free schools
Reducing class sizes, reversing cuts to school budgets, investing in Sure Start centres, and a recruitment drive to lure teachers back to the profession have all been mentioned as priorities. But our readers also expressed the hope that Labour would end the government’s funding of the free schools programme, the subject of a critical recent report by the public accounts committee, and end the academy programme that many argued was leading to a ‘two-tier’ secondary education system.
4) Adopt a more pro-European stance
Labour have attempted to differentiate between the kind of Brexit they would seek to negotiate, and the “hard Tory Brexit” they claim is being pursued by Theresa May and her team.
Many of Labour’s most passionate members and supporters want to see Britain remain a key part of Europe, with some of our readers demanding a second referendum in 2019 on the final deal - echoing the arguments of the Lib Dems’ Tim Farron. Meanwhile the party itself nervously eyes the Brexit-voting constituencies they could lose to a Conservative party benefiting from the predicted collapse in the Ukip vote.
5) Invest heavily in green energy
The draft manifesto pledges a move to sustainable energy and a low carbon economy by taking key aspects of the energy industry back into public ownership. Readers were keen on public ownership to help the shift towards renewables, but wanted to see a more explicit and “vigorous” move towards a renewable energy base and investment in new green technologies to help keep the lights on and fight climate change.
6) Scrap Trident - and spend the money on the NHS and education
Jeremy Corbyn’s views on nuclear deterrent are well known, but the manifesto will include a commitment to keep the UK’s submarine-based nuclear missile system. Estimates of how much the Trident replacement program will cost range from £31bn, according to defence secretary Michael Fallon, £167bn, according to an analysis by Reuters last year, and £205bn, according to the campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Our readers felt Labour should commit to spending these billions on improving public services.
7) Renationalise the railways
Polling shows that rail renationalisation is a popular move, with commuters angry at the price rises and lack of investment since the chaotic privatisation in the dying days of John Major’s government.
The draft manifesto pledges to repeat the 1993 bill, and bring rail companies into public control “as franchises expire”.
8) Tax wealth more and income less
Some readers wanted to see a more radical approach to taxing wealth, rather than income, in order to help create a fairer society. One idea was for Labour to pledge to introduce a Land Value Tax, an idea once described by Milton Friedman as the “least bad tax” and once counted Andy Burnham and Vince Cable among its supporters.
9) Commit to electoral reform
There has been a lot of talk about the “progressive alliance” in this election, with the Green party standing aside in some seats to give the Labour candidate a better chance. Readers we heard from wanted an explicit commitment to proportional representation from Labour, arguing that Britain’s first past the post system is unfair and outdated.
There was also widespread support for commiting to a fully elected House of Lords.
10) Lift the pay freeze in the public sector
Workers’ rights form a big part of the Labour manifesto, with the draft including a 20 point plan “for security and equality at work”, including banning zero hours contracts, introducing equal rights for workers regardless of what contract they are on, and shoring up union rights.
While the manifesto also pledges an introdution of a maximum pay radio of 20:1 in the public sector and companies bidding for public contracts, our readers would also like to see an explicit commitment to increasing public sector pay, which will see a significant fall in real terms if the government’s 1% limit on salary increases is maintained.
