Labour Policies Debate

With this weeks polls it looks like a hung parliament is the most likely outcome with the Labour party and the Conservative party seat numbers uncertain: some polls show Labour with most seats others with the Conservatives with most seats, but in all recent polls what’s clear is neither of the “old parties” (yes I’m quoting Nick Clegg, we all agree with Nick :-)) will have enough parliamentary seats to form a government without either working together (well Labour/Tory coalition government that’s never going to happen) or with Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats as the King makers or maybe with more support the actual King (who knows)!

Form the possible coalition government permutations Labour and Lib Dems or Conservatives and Lib Dems I can’t see how the Conservatives and the Lib Dems can seriously work together (they are not even close on most issues). Which for me only leaves the Labour and Lib Dem coalition government, but will they play nice together? I hope so.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

The next election is a straight choice between Labour and the Conservatives. If people with progressive values don’t want to go back to the same old Tories, then backing Labour is the only way to prevent it.

The Liberal Democrats pose a real risk to Britain – not just by letting the Tories in through the back door – but through their own policies too.

Nick Clegg has moved the Liberal Democrats to the right – they have said they would make ‘savage’ cuts to frontline public services, scrap Child Trust Funds and cut Child Tax Credits and Winter Fuel Payments. But while the leadership of their party is trying to paint themselves as light yellow Tories, few in their party – or the country – want to see the ‘savage’ cuts that they are promising. Although on most issues they simply say whatever they think people want to hear, crime is one area where they have remained consistent – continuing to promote a soft-on-crime policy that would fail local communities across the country.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

The Tories offer Britain the wrong kind of change – change that would put the recovery and people’s prosperity at risk. This is a change that Britain cannot afford.

At a time when Britain’s economic recovery is at a critical stage, the public needs more than the shallow rhetoric offered by the Conservatives. Their reckless commitment to immediate cuts would pull the rug from under the recovery. They have no credible plan for dealing with the deficit. Every time their policies come under scrutiny, they wobble. They would put frontline services that millions rely on at risk, by refusing to protect frontline schools, frontline policing and children’s centres from cuts.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

Labour’s international policy is driven both by Britain’s national interest and our long-standing belief in international social justice, liberty, fairness and responsibility. Labour knows that our country is best served by the strength of our permanent values and interests – and by our strong alliances around the world.

Whilst we live in an age of unprecedented progress with more people living in peace than ever before, in the years ahead we will face many global challenges which will demand a new era of global cooperation. Labour will make sure we continue to occupy a leading role in that process.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

Labour is the Party of equality for women. We will make a genuine difference to the fairness faced by women in their everyday lives. We will support women with action on violence, with a fairer deal in the workplace, with support balancing a career with home life, with action to ensure they are as secure in their retirement as men, and with better rights to fair treatment from public services and in political life. We believe that the right to choose a lifestyle and a way of life is as important for women in the 21st century as it has ever been – and that breaking down the barriers and discrimination that can prevent women having this choice is at the heart of what a Labour government can offer women in Britain.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

Labour believes that discrimination and inequality on the basis of race, gender, sexuality age, disability, religion or belief or social class has no place in the 21st century. A Labour government will always be a champion for those whose rights need to be protected.

We introduced the Racial and Religious Hatred Act which made it illegal to threaten people because of their religion or to stir up hatred against a person because of their faith and we passed key measures to make society fairer for gay and lesbian people, like repealing Clause 28, lifting the ban on gay membership of the armed forces or equalising the age of consent and offering lesbian couples IVF.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

The National Health Service is the Labour Party’s greatest achievement. We created it, we saved it, we value it and we will always support it. The NHS remains Britain’s most cherished public service and the fairest system of healthcare in the world. Under Labour, the NHS is in good hands, well placed to meet the new demands and challenges which will be placed upon it in the future.

According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party will try to achieve the following if they retain power at the 2010 general election on May 6th:

Labour has put culture, media and sport centre stage since we came to power in 1997 – in the last decade we have increased public funding by £541.3 million, an increase of 47.3 per cent. Britain offers some of the best arts, cultural and sporting experiences in the world. We are home to institutions and events which enrich our own lives while attracting visitors from across the globe. We will continue to support and sustain creativity, to back our arts and cultural institutions, and to compete globally both in sport and in offering a venue for major sporting events.