All of the proposals in this manifesto will be underpinned by a credible and detailed Labour plan for the economy.
It will be a balanced plan for a strong economy and sound public finances, providing a genuine alternative to Osborne’s punishing austerity.
It is essential to have a plan to reduce the deficit. But the Tory Government’s approach of doing so almost exclusively through spending cuts will destroy the fabric of our communities and hurt the most vulnerable.
Instead, I will bring forward a balanced Labour plan for a sustainable economy, based on growth and investment, fair pay, a re-balanced tax system and a labour market that works for all. Alongside it, I will promote an industrial strategy for Britain, devised and delivered in partnership with both business and trade unions, and with government investing for the future in infrastructure and the green economy.
Our plan will tackle the inequalities that prevent women from reaching their full potential in the workplace. It will also create an economy that is fair to young people by abolishing the youth rate National Minimum Wage, extending the National Living Wage to all ages and banning forced zero-hours contracts and unpaid internships.
All of the pledges in this manifesto – on skills, housing and care – will lay the right foundations for a prosperous 21st century economy and society. To decide how they will be paid for in a way that is fair across the generations, I will establish a new Beveridge-style commission. It will look at: new ways of paying for social care, including a care levy; a new graduate tax to support young people into apprenticeships as well as university; and rebalancing our tax system, including examining the case for a Land Value Tax to replace business rates, to ensure it supports growth and never stifles those who are starting up or building their business.
The Beveridge Report laid the foundations for the creation of our welfare state and our National Health Service. Its aim was to slay the five “Giant Evils” in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness and disease. The 21st century is now presenting us with new giants of its own: debt, insecurity, inequality, climate change and fear of old age. This Commission would build a new social consensus about how we as a society fairly meet the costs of these 21st century challenges.
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