A 10-Point Manifesto for the British Labour Party

Like hundreds of thousands of other Corbynistas, I am greatly heartened by the totally unexpected arrival of Jeremy Corbyn and John MacDonnell at the apex of the British Labour Party. After decades of Tory and New Labour governments seeking to manage capitalism in the interests of the corporates, here is a leadership team that threatens to challenge the corporate agenda. The inevitable coups against their leadership began immediately, and they persist, without respite, to this day. Mandelson as good as admitted as much, and Tony Blair and David Miliband are already manoeuvring around the fringes of the party. We should expect nothing less. But moaning about these attempted coups is wasted energy.

The point is to formulate an alternative manifesto for governing Britain and to do so with great urgency. This is a rare moment in British political history and the opportunity should not be squandered. Above all, we Corbynistas must be radical not mealy-mouthed and practical. We have seen all too clearly where middle of the road New Labour practicality leads and there is absolutely no point in going down that road again. Put a radical programme to the British electorate and let them choose. Far, far better to go down with a bang than a whimper. Here is my contribution.
Manifesto for the forthcoming General Election.

WE SAY UNEQUIVOCALLY: NO TO FASCISM, NO TO RASCISM.

Above all else, the British Labour Party is an internationalist party. Global problems can only be solved by global cooperation. There are no national solutions to climate change, global pollution, corporate tax evasion, militarisation, fascist resurgence and economic and social inequality. A Corbyn led Labour Government will work tirelessly to uphold and enhance the work of the United Nations and associated global institutions in the interests of global progress. It will work tirelessly to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It will strenuously resist the retreat into narrow xenophobic nationalism and its poisonous politics of racism, sexism and bigotry.

WE WILL BUILD TWO MILLION AFFORDABLE COUNCIL HOUSES

Affordable housing is a human right. A Corbyn led Labour government pledges to rebuild the Council Housing stock sold off by successive Tory and New Labour governments. We will fund the building of two million Council Houses over the period of two parliaments. We will cap rents in the private sector and ensure the rights of tenants to a safe and secure tenancy. The criminal policy of house building solely for foreign investment will be discouraged by heavily taxing empty properties. Homelessness in 21st Century Britain will be consigned to history.

UNIVERSITY FEES WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ABOLISHED

Free education is a human right and the basis of a civilised, modern society. A Corbyn led Labour Government will immediately abolish university fees and annul all existing student debt. Fees will be replaced by a non-means-tested grant scheme to allow all those that wish to continue their studies at tertiary level to do so. We will adopt a policy of life-long learning whereby adults may return to academic and vocational studies free of charge. All schools will be returned to democratic, local government supervision. Funding for religious schools will be phased out over the period of two parliaments. We will reinstate the ideal of a comprehensive education whereby every child in the country will be entitled to a modern, well-funded local education free of religious bias and indoctrination.

ALL BRITISH CONTROLLED TAX HAVENS WILL BE SHUT DOWN

Taxation is a vital component of a democratic and civilised society. A Corbyn Labour Government will simplify and revamp the taxation system to reflect the needs of working people and to fund the social services we require. Tax havens will be immediately shut down and corporation tax will rise to reflect the European average. Corporate tax evasion will be vigorously pursued and offenders prosecuted. In a measure to redistributed wealth back to society, those earning less than 20,000 will be taken out of the income tax bracket and those earning more than 250,000 will pay 50 pence tax rate on all earnings above 100,000.

BRITAIN WILL BECOME THE RENEWABLE ENERGY CENTRE OF THE WORLD

The world is at the precipice of ecological destruction. Our rich biodiversity is being destroyed before our very eyes. Our rivers are dying. Our seas are heavily polluted. Our air is increasingly unbreathable. Climate change threatens the entire sustainability of the planet. A Corbyn led Labour Government will take immediate steps to move to a zero-carbon economy creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in high tech, renewable energy industries. Petrol and diesel cars will be phased out to be replaced by zero emission electric cars. We will fully honour our commitments to the Paris Accords. Clean public transport will be radically expanded and brought back under public control. Airport capacity will be expanded by rationally using existing capacity throughout the country.

BENEFITS WILL BE REPLACED BY A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME

We are entering an age of unprecedented automation. If left to the corporates and their political allies this will result in the massive widening of inequality in our society. But if embraced collectively, automation can lead to radically enhanced life chances for everyone. A Corbyn led Labour government will phase in a thirty-five hour week in its first term of office and progressively shorten the working week thereafter in order to distribute fairly the benefits of automation. A universal basic income will progressively replace the punitive benefits system thus ensuring that every citizen can meet their basic needs whilst being free to look for work or enter into vocational re-training. The Universal Basic Income will be the most progressive policy introduced by any government since the creation by the Labour Party of the National Health Service.

THE NHS WILL BE MODERNISED AND FULLY FUNDED

The jewel in the British Crown is undoubted our National Health Service in which every citizen receives up to date treatment free and at the point of need. But while successive British governments have been squandering the nation’s resources on illegal and pointless foreign wars, our health service and social care system has been left to deteriorate due to chronic underfunding. A Corbyn led Labour Government will reverse that neglect and ensure that once again our NHS provides a world class service to the entire country independent of postcode or income. Part of that commitment will be to refocus the NHS towards health education and prevention of illness. A Corbyn led Labour Government will tackle the obesity epidemic plaguing our country by tightly regulating the food and drinks industry and restoring local government funding for community sports and recreation.

BRITAIN WILL BECOME A BEACON FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EQUALITY

Under a Corbyn led Labour Government, Britain will create legally binding legislation guaranteeing equality, both social and economic, for all its citizens, irrespective of national origin, gender, sexual orientation or religious belief. A Corbyn led government will legally end the scandal of unequal pay and conditions for women. All workers will be legally entitled to a minimum living wage irrespective of gender or age. The minimum wage will rise automatically in line with annual inflation.
Free English language classes will be reinstated alongside citizenship courses for all those choosing to build their life in Britain. Courses will be based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A public award and celebration of citizenship will then be granted to all those completing the course.

A Corbyn led government will introduce legislation to compel large firms to have substantial trade union representation on their boards. All Tory anti-union legislation will be immediately repealed. All government institutions must have full gender equality on their governing bodies by the end of two Corbyn led administrations.

BRITAIN WILL ONCE AGAIN BE AN OPEN AND WELCOMING NATION

The irrational fear of migrants and refugees has become a toxic feature of many countries including our own. We should be absolutely clear that immigration has been at the very heart of British prosperity and vitality of over many centuries. A Corbyn led Labour Government will provide the necessary social infrastructure in terms of housing, schools and jobs to enable us to welcome sustainable levels of migration well into the future. Migrants always and everywhere add more to their new country than they ever take out. They are the life-blood of a modern country both economically and culturally. With a rational and humane policy, a Corbyn led Labour Government will welcome those seeking work, refugees from war-torn conflicts and asylum seekers seeking a safe-haven, in a sustainable open door policy of controlled migration. We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

LABOUR WILL BUILD A PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE TO DEFEAT CORPORATE RULE

A Corbyn led Labour Government will respect other progressive parties and actively work to build a progressive alliance, both domestically and internationally, in order to defeat the corporate plunder of Britain. A Corbyn Labour Government will work to introduce an electoral policy of proportional representation and the wholesale democratic reform of the House of Lords. Calls for further regional and national devolution, up to and including full independence, will be fully respected.
Vote Tory for a continuation of corporate plunder and widening inequality.
Vote Labour for practical revolutionary policies we can all share in.

A condensed version of the above should be produced in huge quantities and circulated by the half million Labour members on a daily basis leading up to the next general election. Repetition and a consistent message are essential. Here is a condensed version for immediate distribution.

Vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and help put an end to inequality once and for all.

  • WE pledge to close the off-shore tax havens and tightly regulate the banks and corporations in order to fund Britain’s health, education and public transport systems.
  • WE pledge to take all those earning less than ¬£20,000 out of the tax bracket and reintroduce the 50p tax rate for all those earning more than ¬£250,000.
  • WE pledge to replace dirty fossil fuels with clean and sustainable renewable energy.
  • WE pledge to build two million council houses over a two term Labour Government and place a cap on private rentals.
  • WE pledge to abolish university fees and reintroduce free university and college education for all.
  • WE pledge to phase out the punitive benefits system and replace it with a Universal Citizens Wage and a 35 hour week.
  • WE pledge to introduce a policy of controlled migration in order to meet our economic, social and humanitarian responsibilities.

Vote Tory/UKIP for a continuation of unequal Britain.
Vote Labour for an end in inequality.

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