The Mirror has an article up this morning revealing policies in Labour’s draft manifesto for the 8th June general election. They include more funding for the NHS and social care, a return to free higher education, taking the railways and the postal service back into public ownership, a repeal of the draconian 2016 Trade Union Act and an increase in workers’ rights.
There is a need to strengthen workers’ bargaining power as Britain is one of the few countries in Europe (other than Italy and Greece) to have seen a fall in average wages over the past decade after taking inflation into account.
The increase in spending on public services will be funded by reversing the cuts in tax on company profits which the government has made since 2010, and there will be an increase in income tax on earnings above £80,000 (which will only affect the top 5% of earners).
These are policies that trade unionists and many other members of the public can get behind – as these will benefit the British public as workers and as citizens.