Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has promised to improve the running of the country and vowed he could back up where the money will come from to bring his plan into fruition.
Discrediting the Conservative leader for making promises they can’t fulfill, Milliband set out his manifesto for the 2015 elections due to take place next month. He confessed that building the country would not be easy but will demand change, and proceeded to brand his party as a party of ‘change’ and responsibility’. No borrowing, according to the opposition leader would be required to fulfil his manifesto for the British public.
A £2.5bn fund for the NHS paid for largely by a mansion tax on properties valued at over £2m
- Twenty-five hours of childcare for working parents of three and four-year old’s and a new right to before and after-school help, paid for by a rise in bank levy
- Freezing gas and electricity bills until 2017, so they can only fall not rise
Eradicating winter fuel payments for the richest pensioners, and putting a capon increases in child benefit. He also promised to cut ministers’ pay by 5%.
- A 50p tax rate on incomes over £150,000 a year and abolishing non-dom status. Rises in VAT and national insurance ruled out
- Reducing tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000- a policy that would most certainly be welcome by students and prospective students alike.
- A one-year freeze in rail fares, paid for by delays in upgrades to A27 and A358 roads
Labour would not promise anything it could not fund, he said, whilst condemning the Conservatives as the “party of sums that do not add up and commitments that cannot be kept”.
AMBITIOUS
Milliband’s manifesto is ambitious and viable. Whether he will actually implement the grand plans he has to propel this country forward is another matter. Politicians are notorious for saying one thing and doing another but on the strength of his words and convictions he may deserve a chance.
“The plan we lay before you is no less ambitious because we live in a time of scarcity, he added.
“It is more ambitious because it starts from a clear commitment to balance the books and more ambitious because it does not stop there.
Vowing to prioritize the interests of working people ahead of powerful vested interests, he vowed to raise the minimum wage to £8 by 2020 and require the wealthiest in society to pay more in tax. What he did not explain is why we have to wait until 2020 before the minimum wage will be increased to £8 an hour.
Expressing an earnest desire to ”solve the challenges of our time”, he responded to questions over his suitability as Prime Minister, stating that he had been ‘tested’ in the last four and a half years. However, whether he has passed such test is a value judgement. However, a confident talking Milliband insists he is ready for the task of Prime Minister.
“I am ready. Ready to put an end to the tired old idea that as long as we look after the rich and powerful we will all be OK.
“Ready to put into practice the truth that it is only when working people succeed, that Britain succeeds.” Milliband’s rhetoric sounds good and makes sense Election polls show Labour has opened up a three-point lead over the Conservatives, who may be on their way out unless they can manage to sway the British public in their favour. It is yet to early to decide. David Cameron has accused Milliband of trying to ‘con’ the public, with senior conservatives pointing out that Labour has a track record of economic mismanagement. However, Milliband has never been in charge, and may just be the man to turn things around if indeed he aspires to leave a credible legacy.
Conservatives and the Green party release their manifesto tomorrow, with UKIP and Lib Dems to follow later this week. In all honesty, this election is between the Conservative and Labour, and the Lib Dems and UKIP are really just here to make up the numbers, or aren’t they? We shall wait to see what they say.
