LABOUR’S 2010 MANIFESTO LAUNCH
Blog / April 12, 2010 / Comment now
Today Labour launched our manifesto which attempts to address the serious challenges that our country faces in the coming years. As we move out of recession we require policies that are ambitious but affordable. That is why our manifesto sets out plans to address the future challenges we face in our economy, our society and our politics. Values of fairness, respect, decency and openness are at the heart of Labour’s agenda for a future fair for all in Britain and in Easington.
Having campaigned throughout the Easington constituency over the last few weeks and months I know that voters realise the magnitude of the task facing the next government. Labour has made clear the need to ensure that our fragile economic recovery is not put at risk. Therefore, this manifesto is not one of free give-aways but it is a fair and responsible manifesto that will secure the economic recovery, renew our society through improved public services and restore trust in politics through greater transparency and accountability. What this means for voters is important: greater employment opportunities across East Durham; further improving hospitals and schools (such as the new hospital at Wynyard and new school buildings throughout the constituency) and elected representatives that work transparently and that can be held to account by the public.
Our key commitments include backing businesses to create one million more skilled jobs and grow our economy through advanced technology, exports and business investment. Our manifesto sets out a plan to equip more people for the jobs of the future with up to 70,000 advanced apprenticeships and new Skills Accounts. It also sets out our plan to modernise Britain’s infrastructure with High Speed Rail, a Green Investment Bank and broadband access for all. For the people of Easington such promises may seem far away from their daily lives and their own experiences of the jobs market. However, it is through such government intervention and forward planning that we can ensure better opportunities for people in areas just like Easington. Already we have successful companies in our area such as the GT Group in Peterlee that specialise in new technologies and are world leaders in their trade bringing new employment opportunities.
In terms of public services, it should always be remembered that Labour used the last 13 years to bring significant new investment into our public services. Our NHS budget has tripled and people working in the public sector have seen wage rises above anything that could be imagined under the Tories. Of course, the media and our opponents will try to tell people that nothing has improved in the last decade. However, independent analysis such as that by the Kings Fund last week into Labour’s record on healthcare shows that when we were faced with the challenges of 1997 – such as 18 month waiting lists, too few doctors and nurses, and hospitals that were decades out of date – we responded with the necessary investment and structural reorganisation to sort those problems out. Now the electorate has to decide whether to put the NHS back into the hands of the Tories or allow Labour to respond positively the new challenges and keep improving healthcare in Britain.
We believe that personalised public services and strong communities are fundamental to British society. Our manifesto sets out our plan to ensure that excellence is spread across all our public services - with a thousand schools becoming part of high standard accredited schools groups, every hospital a Foundation Trust and underperforming police forces replaced or taken over. Our manifesto also sets out a plan to revitalise communities by protecting the institutions people care about such as the local pub and post office and improving care for the elderly with a new National Care Service. Labour is also committed to giving new powers to PCSOs to deal with anti-social behaviour.
Restoring trust in politics will be perhaps the greatest challenge following a year that has seen many elected representatives discredited by the expenses debacle. We know that the political system has let people down and there can be no return to business as usual at Westminster. Our manifesto sets out plans to give people a right to recall MPs who let them down, a referendum on moving to the Alternative Vote for the House of Commons and a referendum on a democratic Second Chamber. There will also be a free vote in Parliament on reducing the voting age to 16. With your support I hope to represent Easington in Parliament as a Labour MP and I know that the trust local people put in me must be repaid. Therefore I would ensure that all my political activities in Westminster are easily accessible to local people and that my expenses are published for all to see.
Labour’s manifesto – to secure the economic recovery, renew our society through improved public services and restore trust in politics – is what our country needs for a fairer future. I hope that voters will not be conned by a Tory Party which has not changed and remains concerned with self-interest. The only policy David Cameron has set in stone in one that benefits the 3000 wealthiest estates with a tax give-away, so don’t believe they have your interest at heart.
