Government Manifesto

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Plan For Change

This page will show you every time the Labour Party make a claim, usually beginning with either "We will" or "Labour will". Let's begin!

Strong Foundations

Delivering the change Britain needs will require perseverance. The starting point for delivering these missions is to ensure the foundations of good government are right.

• National Security ▼

  • The first duty of any government is to keep the country safe.
  • We will apply a NATO test to major defence programmes to ensure we meet our obligations in full.
  • To ensure the UK is fully prepared to deal with interconnected threats, Labour will conduct a Strategic Defence Review within our first year in government, and we will set out the path to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
  • Labour will bring in 'Martyn's Law' to strengthen the security of public events and venues.
  • We will update rules around counter-extremism, including online, to stop people being radicalised and drawn towards hateful ideologies.
  • Labour will ensure the police and intelligence services have the powers and resources they need to protect the British people from terrorism and hostile and espionage.
• Secure Borders ▼

  • We will create a new Border Security Command, with hundreds of new investigators, intelligence officers, and cross-border police officers. This will be funded by ending the Migration and Economic Development partnership with Rwanda.
  • This new command will work internationally and be supported by new counter-terrorism style powers, to pursure, disrupt, and arrest dangerous criminal smuggler gangs.
  • We will seek a new security agreement with the EU to ensure access to real-time intelligence and enable our policing teams to lead joint investigations with their European counterparts.
  • Labour will restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and the rules are properly enforced.
  • We will hire additional caseworkers to clear the backlog and end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.
  • Labour will set up a new returns and enforcement unit, with an additional 1,000 staff, to fast-track removals to safe countries for people who do not have the right to stay here.
  • We will also act upstream, working with international partners to address the humanitarian crises which lead people to flee their homes, and to strengthen support for refugees in their home region.
• Economic Stability ▼

  • Every commitment the government makes will be based on sound money and economic stability.
  • Our fiscal rules are that:
    • The current budget moves into balance, so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues.
    • Debt must be falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast.
  • We will strike a balance between prioritising investment and the urgent need to rebuild our public finances.
  • Labour will never sideline the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) for political convenience. Instead, we will strengthen the role of the OBR.
  • Every fiscal event making significant changes to taxation or spending will be subject to an independent OBR forecast.
  • We will appoint a fixed-term Covid Corruption Commissioner and use every means possible to recoup public money lost in pandemic-related fraud and from contracts which have not delivered.
  • We will bring down the cost of energy.
  • We will reduce food prices by removing barriers to businesses trading.
  • We will make housing more affordable, expand access to childcare, and make work pay.
  • We will support families with children by introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school.
  • Labour will also keep mortgage rates as low as possible, with a strong, independent Bank of England - which will continue to target stable inflation of 2 per cent.
  • We will not increase National Insurances, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.
  • We will abolish non-dom status, replacing it with a modern scheme for people genuinely in the country for a short period.
  • We will end the use of offshore trust to avoid inheritance tax so that everyone who makes their home here in the UK pays their taxes here.
  • We will modernise HMRC and change the law to tackle tax avoidance. We will increase registration and reporting requirements, strengthen HMRC's powers, invest in new technology and build capacity within HMRC.

Revisiting the Five Missions

Serving the Country

• Restoring public service in Westminster ▼

  • We will establish a new independent Ethics and Integrity Commission, with its own independent Chair, to ensure probity in government.
  • Labour will review and update post-government employment rules to end flagrant abuses.
  • We will give the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests the powers to start investigations into misconduct and ensure they have access to the evidence they need.
  • Labour will establish a new Modernisation Committee tasked with reforming House of Commons procedures, driving up standards, and improving working practices.
  • Labour will support an immediate ban on MPs from taking up paid advisory or consultancy roles.
  • We will task the Modernisation Committee to take forward urgent work on the restrictions that need to be put in place to prevent MPs from taking up roles that stop them serving their constituents and the country.
• Constitutional reform ▼

  • Labour will bring about an immediate modernisation by introducing legislation to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.
  • Labour will introduce a mandatory retirement age - At the end of the Parliament in which a member reaches 80 years of age, they will be required to retire from the House of Lords.
  • Labour will introduce a new participation requirement as well as strengthening the circumstances in which disgraced members can be removed.
  • We will reform the appointments process to ensure the quality of new appointments and will seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second chamber.
  • Labour will consult on proposals, seeking the input of the British public on how politics can best serve them.
• Upholding democracy ▼

  • Labour will improve voter registration and address the inconsistencies in voter ID rules that prevent legitimate voters from voting.
  • We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.
• Greater collaboration and respect across the country ▼

  • We will reset the UK government's relationship with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
  • Labour will ensure the structures and institutions of intergovernmental working improve relationships and collaboration on policy.
  • Labour will strengthen the Sewel Convention by setting out a new memorandum of understanding outlining how the nations will work together for the common good.
  • Labour will renew opportunities for the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Government to collaborate with each other.
  • As recommended in the Report of the Commission on the UK's future, we will establish a new Council of the Nations and Regions.
• Scottish devolution and the Scotland Office ▼

  • We will ensure the devolution settlement for Scotland enables collaboration on Labour's national missions for government.
  • We will maintain the arrangements in the new Scottish fiscal framework.
  • Labour will support the Scottish Government to partner with international bodies where relevent and appropriate.
• Welsh devolution and the Wales Office ▼

  • We will work in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure the framework delivers value for money with two Labour governments committed to fiscal responsibility.
  • We will explore the devolution of services to enable public services to be mroe locally responsive.
  • We will work with the Welsh Government to consider devolution of youth justice.
  • Labour will devolve employment support funding to the Welsh Government.
• Northern Ireland ▼

  • Labour is committed to implementing the Windsor Framework in good faith and protecting the UK internal market.
  • We will champion Northern Ireland around the world and work with the executive to encourage more businesses to invest in Northern Ireland's future.
  • Labour is committed to taking forward discussions with the Executive about a fiscal framework for Northern Ireland.
  • Labour will uphold both the letter and the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement, along with the principle of consent on which it rests.
  • Labour will repeal and replace the Legacy Act by returning to the principles of the Stormont House Agreement, and seeking support from all communities in Northern Ireland.