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LabourManifesto2005.txt
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LabourManifesto2005.txt
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Contents
Preface by Tony Blair ............................................................................ 4
New Labour’s record:The contract delivered ........................................ 10
Chapter 1
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society .......................... 14
Chapter 2
Education: More children making the grade......................................... 30
Chapter 3
Crime and security: Safe communities, secure borders........................... 42
Chapter 4
Our NHS: Free to all, personal to each ................................................ 56
Chapter 5
Older people: Secure today, prepared for the future................................ 68
Chapter 6
Families: Choice and support at work and at home .............................. 74
Chapter 7
International policy:
A stronger country in a secure, sustainable and just world..................... 82
Chapter 8
Quality of life: Excellence for all........................................................... 92
Chapter 9
Democracy: Power devolved, citizens empowered.................................102
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Britain forward not back
Preface Tony Blair
New Labour’s 2005 manifesto applies
the unchanging values of our party to
the new priorities of the British people.
It is a plan to improve the lives of hardworking families and prepare our
country for success in a fast-changing
world. Our case rests on one idea more
than any other – that it is the duty of
government to provide opportunity and
security for all in a changing world.
Every chapter relates back to that goal:
breaking down the barriers that stop
people fulfilling their talent, extending
opportunity to every corner of the
United Kingdom, building communities
strong and safe for those who play by
the rules. On the firm foundations we
have laid since 1997, our programme
will embed a new progressive
consensus in our country.
This preface is my personal message.
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5
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Eight years ago, I offered new leadership – fresh, idealistic,
energetic, but untested.You voted for change and gave me the
chance to serve. In our first term we banished the demons of
ten per cent interest rates, mass unemployment, wages of
£1.50 an hour, and outside toilets in our schools. We put
Labour values into action. And we banished Labour demons
too: we showed we could run the economy well, cut crime, and
stand up for Britain abroad.We proved our competence.
Four years ago, I said we needed to continue the modernisation of our
economy, coupled with investment and reform to achieve change in
public services. At the end of this second term we have delivered an
unprecedented period of stability and growth, we have increased
investment and we have embarked on a radical programme of reform
to put the people themselves in the driving seat of our public services.
We have made difficult decisions – about health policy, student
finance, and secondary school reform. In the process we have proved
our resilience. Now we go to the people not only having delivered on
our promises, but also setting new and more ambitious goals for our
public services and our country.
Preface Tony Blair
books and computers – and pupils show me, with pride, round their
sparkling new school.
I have met youngsters in Blackpool and London whose lives have been
transformed by the New Deal – once written off, they are now full of
confidence and ambition.
I’ve been to communities in Southampton and Darlington where the
Sure Start programme is helping overcome disadvantage and seen for
myself the remarkable revival of our great cities.
I have met aid workers in Africa who tell me how this country is
improving the lives of the poorest on our planet.
These are not the fantasy of politicians.They are the stories of real life
in our country and abroad. Not for everyone. Not everywhere. But for
enough people and in enough places for us to know it is not a fluke.
Personal prosperity and the good society; the fruit of partnership
between the British people and a government on their side.
Now we have to decide whether to go forward or back.
But Britain can be better still.
I have spoken to NHS staff in Coventry, Edinburgh and Swansea,
who tell me how their new hospital and the new funding is letting them
improve care for their patients.
Britain is on the right track.We will not change direction. Neither will
we rest on our laurels. Our third-term opportunity is to build on the
progress we have made.That progress, first as a party then in government began with the insight that the only way to advance decent
progressive values was to develop a new policy agenda. Our understanding of the world and the great changes underway in our society
led us to reject the false choices of the past.This is the foundation stone
of new Labour.
I have heard teachers in Bexley, Middlesbrough and Sheffield tell me
how they no longer have to work in crumbling classrooms without
I believe that in our third term we can embed a new progressive consensus. One that reflects the mission of our movement, and the hopes
I know the change is possible. Not just because I have studied the statistics, but because I have seen it with my own eyes, across the length
and breadth of the United Kingdom.
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
and values of our people. And as much as the pursuit of this consensus
represents an unprecedented opportunity for progressive politics, so it
will be bitterly opposed by those who seek to take us back to the divisions of the past.
In our third term we will forge an even stronger bond between the
goals of economic progress and social justice. No going back to fiscal
irresponsibility. No going back to a Conservative government that says
mass unemployment is a price worth paying. Going forward instead
to an opportunity economy, spreading prosperity through high
employment and welfare reform, spreading opportunity through
widening access to university and training, spreading ownership
through the Child Trust Fund and expanding homeownership.
In our third term we will make public services safe for a generation.
No going back to one-size-fits-all monolithic services. No going back
to the Tory years of cuts and privatisation. Going forward instead to
services free to all, personal to each: breaking once and for all the dropout culture in education and the waiting-list culture in health, by raising investment and driving innovation through diversity of provision
and power in the hands of the patient, the parent and the citizen.
In our third term we will cement a new social contract with rights
matched by responsibilities. No going back to ‘no such thing as society’. Going forward instead to power and resources in the hands of the
law-abiding majority. A government committed both to abolishing
child poverty and to putting the values of individual responsibility and
duty at the very heart of policy.
In our third term we will show that our national interest can only be
pursued by engaging with the world’s great challenges. No going back
to a Britain marginalised and weak. Going forward to a stronger country in a safer, fairer world. Leading on Africa, leading on the
8
Preface Tony Blair
environment, at the heart of Europe, working together to tackle terror
and spread peace and justice.
We do not duck the tough choices – from independence for the Bank
of England to the tax rise we made for the NHS, to the war in Iraq.We
made decisions because we believed them right – not because they
were destined to be popular.
But we refuse to accept false choices.The British people never wanted
to choose between wealth creation and social justice.They never wanted to choose between national security and overseas aid.They never
wanted to choose between equal rights and protection from crime.
These are the false choices that landed us with economic decline and
social division.
The British people have the capacity to make this a great country. Our
ideals are undimmed: extend opportunity to all, demand responsibility from all, secure justice for all. Our policies are refreshed: never has a
governing party proposed a more wide-ranging programme of change
for the country. Our vision is clear: a country more equal in its opportunities, more secure in its communities, more confident in its future.
It is our social contract: we help you, you help yourself; you benefit and
the country benefits.
So now, I fight my last election as Leader of my party and Prime
Minister of our country. My call is a passionate one: let’s together make irreversible the positive changes that are happening in
our country. Let’s make the values of social justice and a fair deal
for all the governing ideal of our country not just for some time
but for all time. People freed from barriers of class, building a
better future for themselves and for the country. Self-interest
and national interest together.
9
Britain forward not back
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
■ Prosperity for all
New Labour’s record:
The contract delivered
Our country is changing for
the better, because we fulfilled
the promises of our 1997 and
2001 manifestos. Here is what
has changed.
Britain now has a stable, growing economy with the lowest inflation
since the 1960s.
Since 1997, two million more people are in work, and the UK has the
lowest unemployment for 30 years.Tax credits and the minimum wage
are ensuring that work pays for everyone.
Because of this we are saving £5 billion a year on the costs of unemployment – that’s £84 for every citizen in Britain – money that is being
invested in frontline services such as schools and hospitals.
There are over one million more homeowners, saving on average nearly £4,000 a year, thanks to the lowest mortgage rates for 40 years.
Since 1997, average incomes have increased by 19 per cent and the
income of a typical family has increased by 17 per cent, with living standards rising in double digits for every part of the income spectrum.
There are 300,000 more businesses, providing jobs and increased
prosperity.
There are two million fewer children and nearly two million fewer
pensioners living in absolute poverty.
■ World-class public services
Investment in public services is up – an extra £1,000 per pupil per
year in real terms since 1997, and spending on the NHS has more
than doubled to £69 billion.There are over 28,000 more teachers and
105,000 extra teaching assistants and support staff. The National
Health Service now has 79,000 more nurses and over 27,000 more
doctors. And public servants – from nurses to police officers – are better rewarded for their work.
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
New Labour’s record: The contract delivered
Our ten-year-old pupils are ranked third best in the world in literacy
and are the fastest improving in numeracy.
There are record numbers of police, nearly 13,000 more, assisted by
4,600 new Community Support Officers.
Since the introduction of free entry, visits to our national museums
and galleries have risen by 75 per cent.
New powers to tackle anti-social behaviour have been introduced, with
nearly 4,000 Anti-Social Behaviour Orders issued so far and nearly
66,000 fixed penalty notices.
Deaths from heart disease are down by 27 per cent and cancer deaths
are down by 12 per cent.
We have halved the time from arrest to sentencing for persistent
young offenders.
■ A modern welfare state
Thanks to our New Deal, long-term youth unemployment has been
virtually eradicated, with over half a million young people helped
into work.
More than 80 per cent of initial decisions on asylum claims are now
processed in two months.
■ Britain strong in the world
By October 2005, families with children will be on average £1,400 a
year better off as a result of our tax and benefit measures compared to
1997.
Thanks to our reforms pensioner households are on average £1,500 a
year better off, rising to £2,000 for the poorest third.
Maternity leave has increased to 26 weeks and maternity pay has
almost doubled.
There are 1.2 million more older people in employment.The employment rate for people aged between 50 and pension age has increased
by over five percentage points to 70 per cent.
■ Strong and safe communities
Britain’s interests are at the heart of an enlarged European Union, with
economic reform putting jobs first.
Our international aid budget for the world’s poorest countries has
more than doubled.
We have successfully pressed for the restarting of world trade talks
which will focus on the needs of developing countries.
Our strong, effective and responsive armed forces are ensuring the
defence of Britain’s interests.
We introduced greenhouse-gas trading to cut pollution – the first
country to do so – reducing emissions by 9.8 million tonnes in the first
two years.
Crime has fallen by 30 per cent overall, with almost five million fewer
crimes a year than in 1997.
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Britain forward not back
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Chapter 1
Economy: Rising prosperity in
an opportunity society
Forward to increased prosperity,
not back to boom and bust
1979-1997: Interest rates average over
ten per cent
1997-2005: Britain, the fourth largest economy
in the world, with the longest ever
period of continuous growth
2010: Full employment in every region
and nation
Labour’s economic record is unprecedented – the highest
employment ever, longest period of uninterrupted growth in
modern history, lowest sustained interest and inflation rates
for a generation. Our economic policies will build on the platform of stability and growth in three ways: entrenching a lowdebt/high-employment economy which generates investment
in public services; supporting enterprise and wealth creation
by making Britain the best place to do business; and helping
every part of Britain and every person in Britain to contribute to and gain from the strength of our economy. And
as we work globally to tackle climate change we recognise
the challenge and the opportunity of achieving sustainable
development at home.
■ The new Labour case
Our economic record has finally laid to rest the view that Labour could
not be trusted with the economy.We are winning the argument that
economic dynamism and social justice must go hand in hand. In the
future the countries that do best will be those with a shared purpose
about the long-term changes and investments they need to make – and
have the determination to equip their people for that future. So, we
approach new challenges with a progressive strategy for growth. In our
third term we will build new ladders of social mobility and advancement on the firm foundations of stability, investment and growth.
■ Low debt and high employment
In the last eight years we have pioneered a British way to economic stability. Our economy has grown in every quarter with this Government.
Interest rates have averaged 5.3 per cent since 1997, saving mortgage
payers on average nearly £4,000 per year compared to the Tory years.
Only with Labour, which constructed this framework, will this
continue.We will maintain our inflation target at two per cent.We will
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
continue to meet our fiscal rules: over the economic cycle, we will borrow only to invest, and keep net debt at a stable and prudent level.
■ Public spending and taxation
The longest period of uninterrupted economic growth in modern
times has enabled the Government to deliver the longest period of sustained investment in public services for a generation. Social security
bills for unemployment have been halved since 1997, saving £5 billion
a year, and we are also saving £4 billion a year on debt interest payments. Over the ten-year period 1997-98 to 2007-08, real-terms
investment per year in education will have risen by 4.8 per cent and in
health by 6.5 per cent.
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
clothes, books, newspapers and public transport fares.We will continue to make targeted tax cuts for families and to support work. As a
result of personal tax and benefit measures introduced since 1997, by
October 2005 families with children will be on average £1,400 a year
better off in real terms. Living standards in Britain have been rising, on
average, by 2.5 per cent per year since 1997 – a total increase of
nearly 20 per cent.
We want a tax regime that supports British business.That is why we
have cut corporation tax to its lowest ever level, introduced the best
regime of capital gains tax in any industrialised country, and introduced a new Research and Development tax credit.
■ Full employment
‘We are winning the argument that
economic dynamism and social
justice must go hand in hand.’
Every pound we invest goes further because of our drive for efficiency
and reform. Labour will complete the implementation of Sir Peter
Gershon’s recommendations to improve public-service efficiency
and root out waste, liberating over £21 billion for investment in frontline services.
Labour believes tax policy should continue to be governed by the
health of the public finances, the requirement for public investment
and the needs of families, business and the environment.
We will not raise the basic or top rates of income tax in the next
Parliament.We renew our pledge not to extend VAT to food, children’s
16
Our goal is employment opportunity for all – the modern definition of
full employment. Britain has more people in work than ever before,
with the highest employment rate in the G7. Our long-term aim is to
raise the employment rate to 80 per cent. And, as we move more people from welfare to work, the savings on unemployment benefits will
go towards investing more in education.
We will make work pay.With Labour’s tax credits a family with two
children pays no net tax until their earnings reach £21,000.
We will implement the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission
to raise the minimum wage to £5.05 from October 2005 and £5.35
from October 2006.
The New Deals and the creation of JobCentre Plus have made a major
contribution to cutting unemployment. The active welfare state
created since 1997 is working.
The Tories trebled the number on incapacity benefits. We will help
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
people who can work into rehabilitation and eventually into employment, recognising the practical assistance to disabled people of the
Access to Work scheme.We will build on the successful Pathways to
Work programme and reform Incapacity Benefit, with the main elements of the new benefit regime in place from 2008.The majority of
claimants with more manageable conditions will be required to engage
in both work-focused interviews and in activity to help them prepare
for a return to work.Those with the most severe conditions will also be
encouraged to engage in activity and should receive more money than
now. We will continue to welcome new independent and voluntary
sector partners to provide job-seeking services.
■ Supporting enterprise
Government does not create wealth but it must support the wealth
creators. That is why our priorities are the national infrastructure of
skills, science, regulation and planning, and transport.The economy of
the future will be based on knowledge, innovation and creativity.That
applies both to manufacturing and services.
In a fast changing global economy, government cannot postpone or
prevent change.The modern role for government – the case for a modern employment and skills policy – is to equip people to succeed, to be
on their side, helping them become more skilled, adaptable and flexible for the job ahead rather than the old Tory way of walking away
leaving people unaided to face change.
Successful manufacturing industries are vital to our future prosperity.
The Labour Government backs manufacturing: from launch investment for Airbus A380 Super Jumbo to the successful Manufacturing
Advisory Service helping 13,000 of our smaller manufacturing businesses in its first year. In a third term we will continue to do so.
Public procurement is a big opportunity for business in Britain and
18
‘In our third term we
will build new ladders
of social mobility and
advancement on the firm
foundations of stability,
investment and growth.’
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
the source of many jobs.We will promote a public procurement strategy that safeguards UK jobs and skills, under EU rules, to ensure that
British industry can compete fairly with the rest of Europe.
Britain has some of the strongest capital markets in the world.We are
determined they – and our financial services industry – should
prosper.We will ensure that companies have the right framework of
corporate governance and relationships with the institutions that invest
our pension funds and savings in them.
■ Skills at work
Our reforms to 14-19 education (see chapter 2) will raise the quality
and quantity of apprenticeships and vocational education.We are now
putting in place a comprehensive and ambitious strategy to help everyone get on at work:
* All adults to get free access to basic skills in literacy,language and numeracy.
* A new national programme, working with employers, to ensure that
employees who did not reach GCSE standard (level 2) at school will get
time off for free training up to level 2.
* A new partnership between government and employers to fund workplace
training at level 3 (technician level)
* A genuinely employer-driven training system – in every sector there will
be a Sector Skills Council determining the training strategy and a leading
edge Skills Academy.
* A nationwide system of advice – bringing together support on skills, jobs
and careers – helping people to get on at work.
* A strong partnership with trade unions to boost workplace training including a new TUC Academy and continued support for Union Learning Reps.
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
Looking ahead, we are committed to a ten-year strategy on science
and innovation that will continue to invest in our science and industrial base at least in line with trend GDP. Our ambition now is to raise the
UK’s total private and public sector investment in research and development, as a proportion of national income, from its current 1.9 per
cent to 2.5 per cent by 2014.
Our pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are world leaders.
We have created one of the world’s best environments for stem-cell
research. We have now passed legislation to protect our researchers
from the activities of animal rights extremists.
Across a range of environmental issues – from soil erosion to the depletion of marine resources, from water scarcity to air pollution – it is
clear now not just that economic activity is their cause but that these
problems in themselves threaten future economic activity and growth.
We will continue to work with the environmental goods and services
sector – which is already worth £25 billion to the economy to promote
new green technologies and industries in the UK and internationally,
and use the purchasing power of government to support environmental improvement.
■ Competition, planning and regulation
Competition is a driving force for innovation. Our competition regime
has been toughened with independent competition bodies and
stronger penalties.
To the benefit of business and household consumers we are liberalising the postal services market, while protecting the universal service at
a uniform tariff.
■ Supporting science
The alliance of scientific research and business creativity is key to our
continued prosperity.
20
As we said in our policy document Britain is Working, we have given
the Royal Mail greater commercial freedom and have no plans to
21
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
privatise it. Our ambition is to see a publicly owned Royal Mail fully
restored to good health, providing customers with an excellent service
and its employees with rewarding employment. We will review the
impact on the Royal Mail of market liberalisation, which is being progressively introduced under the Postal Services Act 2000 and which
allows alternative carriers to the Royal Mail to offer postal services.
We have reformed our energy markets to make them open and competitive. And we are a leading force in the campaign to make Europe’s
energy markets the same. Our wider energy policy has created a
framework that places the challenge of climate change – as well as the
need to achieve security of supply – at the heart of our energy policy.
We have a major programme to promote renewable energy, as part of
a strategy of having a mix of energy sources from nuclear power stations to clean coal to micro-generators.
We will only regulate where necessary and will set exacting targets for
reducing the costs of administering regulations. We will rationalise
business inspections.The merger of the Inland Revenue and Customs
and Excise will cut the administrative costs of tax compliance for small
businesses.
We will take further action in Europe to ensure that EU regulations are
proportionate and better designed.We strongly support the creation of
an EU single market in services to match the single market in goods –
and want an effective directive to provide real benefits to consumers
and new opportunities to British business.We will protect our employment standards. In developing the directive we will want to avoid any
undermining of our regulatory framework.
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
in processing cheques and other payments and, if necessary, will legislate to ensure this early in the next Parliament.
There are many bank accounts that are lying dormant and unclaimed,
often because people have forgotten about them or because the owner
has died.We will work with the financial services industry to establish
a common definition and a comprehensive record of unclaimed assets.
We will then expect banks, over the course of the Parliament, to either
reunite those assets with their owners or to channel them back into the
community.
An effective planning regime protects the environment while promoting economic growth – and does so quickly and responsively. In the
next term, we will ensure that our planning system continues to protect the sustainability of local and regional environments – and we will
continue to develop a regime which is simpler, faster and more responsive to local and business needs including the need to create jobs and
regenerate our cities.
■ Fostering entrepreneurship
There are 300,000 more businesses now than in 1997.We are tackling
barriers to financing for small and growing businesses – especially
enterprises in deprived areas. Through Business Links we will offer
start-ups, social enterprises and small businesses access to tailored
intensive support and coaching.To foster the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, by 2006 every school in the country will offer enterprise education, and every college and university should be twinned with a
business champion.
■ Modern transport infrastructure
We will continue to work to protect the rights of consumers, bringing
forward proposals to strengthen and streamline consumer advocacy.
We look forward to action from the banking industry to remove delays
22
An efficient transport system is vital to the country’s future, to our
economy and to our quality of life.We welcome the freedom that additional travel provides and support the continuing development of a
23
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
competitive and efficient freight sector. Investment, better management
of road and rail, and planning ahead are vital to deal with the pressures
on the system in a way that respects our environmental objectives.
We have doubled transport spending since 1997 and will increase it
year on year – committing over £180 billion in public money between
now and 2015 as well as private investment. The Eddington Review
will work with the Government to advise on how this investment
should be targeted – in particular, where transport is vital to underpin
economic growth.
We are now taking charge of setting the strategy for rail to further raise
the standard of service and reliability. We will examine options for
increasing capacity, including a new generation of high-speed trains
on intercity routes and a new life for rural branch lines as community
railways.We are committed to continuing to work to develop a funding
and finance solution for the Crossrail project; and will look at the feasibility and affordability of a new North-South high-speed link.
We will support light-rail improvements where they represent value
for money and are part of the best integrated transport solution. To
that end, we are working with cities across the country and have committed £520 million to Manchester for Metrolink.We will support the
continuing upgrade of the London Underground and the extension of
the East London line.
Major investment is planned to expand capacity on the M1, M6 and
M25.We must also manage road space better.We are examining the
potential benefits of a parallel Expressway on the M6 corridor.We will
introduce car-pool lanes for cars with more than one passenger on
suitable roads and explore other ways to lock in the benefit of new
capacity. We will complete the introduction of Traffic Management
Officers to keep traffic flowing. Because of the long-term nature of
24
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
transport planning, we will seek political consensus in tackling congestion, including examining the potential of moving away from the current system of motoring taxation towards a national system of
road-pricing.
We will give all over-60s, and disabled people, free off-peak local bus
travel and give local authorities the freedom to provide more generous
schemes.We will continue to support growth in bus provision including innovation in school transport, with greater opportunity for local
authorities to control their bus networks where they are demonstrating
value for money and taking strong measures to tackle congestion.To
facilitate improved public transport provision, we will explore giving
Passenger Transport Executives greater powers over local transport.
We will continue funding local authorities and voluntary groups to
make cycling and walking more attractive.We are committed to reducing child deaths and serious injuries on the road by 50 per cent, and we
will continue to work to reduce dangerous driving, especially drink
driving and uninsured driving. We will work with industry to make
travel on public transport safer and more secure.
Government will continue to support technological innovation to
reduce carbon emissions such as the hydrogen fuel-cell buses in
London.We will explore the scope for further use of economic instruments as well as other measures to promote lower vehicle emissions.
We will continue to support air travel by implementing the balanced
policies set out in our aviation white paper.We are committed to using
the UK’s 2005 presidency of the European Union to promote the
inclusion of aviation in the EU’s emissions trading scheme.
For shipping, our introduction of the tonnage tax has led to a trebling
in size of the fleet since 1997. We want more ships to fly the British
25
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
flag, to boost jobs and training, and to increase shipping and port
capacity.
■ Opportunity for all
We are determined to spread the benefits of enterprise to every community in the country. Every regional economy has different strengths,
and Regional Development Agencies now play an essential role in
regional economic development.
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
■ Fairness at work
Since 1997, the Labour Government has introduced new rights for
people at work and new opportunities for trade unions to represent
their members.We see modern, growing trade unions as an important
part of our society and economy.They provide protection and advice
for employees, and we welcome the positive role they have played in
developing a modern model of social partnership with business representatives.The Labour Party has agreed a set of policies for the workplace (the Warwick Agreement) and we will deliver them in full.They
will be good for employees and for the economy.
‘Our economy has grown in every
quarter under this Government.’
We have given local authorities a direct incentive to promote local
business creation, allowing them to keep up to £1 billion over three
years of increased rate revenues to spend on their own priorities.
The Local Enterprise Growth Initiative will work through local
authorities to remove barriers to enterprise in the most deprived
areas of England.
In 1997, many parts of our towns and cities were suffering from
deeply entrenched and multiple disadvantage.To tackle this we established a ten-year programme, the New Deal for Communities,
empowering local communities – and this is already delivering
improvements in education outcomes and crime reduction.
No area in our country should be excluded from the opportunity to
get ahead, to benefit from improving public services, and to be secure
and safe. We will maintain our commitment to tackling issues of
worklessness, low skills, crime, poor environment and health in our
poorest neighbourhoods.
26
We have introduced, for the first time, an entitlement for every
employee to four weeks’ paid holiday, and we propose to extend this
by making it additional to bank holiday entitlement.
■ Promoting equality at work
A strong economy draws on the talents of all.We have extended legislation to protect people from discrimination at work to cover not only
gender, disability, race and ethnicity but also religion and sexual orientation and – from 2006 – age. Labour has transformed legal rights for
disabled people.We will empower disabled people further by joining
up services and expanding personalised budgets.
We will take further action to narrow the pay and promotion gap
between men and women. The Women and Work Commission will
report to the Prime Minister later this year.
We will implement the National Employment Panel’s report on measures to promote employment and small business growth for ethnic
and faith minorities. We will take forward the Strategy for Race
Equality to ensure that we combat discrimination on the grounds of
race and ethnicity across a range of services. The Equalities Review
reporting to the Prime Minister in 2006 will make practical
27
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
recommendations on the priorities for tackling disadvantage and promoting equality of opportunity for all groups.
■ Thriving rural areas
Since 1997, Labour has made it more difficult to close rural schools,
put in £750 million to support rural post offices and introduced a
50 per cent rate relief on village shops.Through our £51 million Rural
Bus Subsidy Grant we have delivered over 2,200 new bus services in
rural areas this year.
We set targets for the creation of affordable homes in rural areas, which
we have now exceeded.We will explore how to ensure a proportion of
all new housing development is made available and affordable to local
residents and their families.
Because of our success in achieving extensive reforms in the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP), 2005 will be the first year for decades when
farmers will be free to produce for the market and not simply for subsidy. We will continue to push for further reform of the CAP in the
next Parliament, starting with the sugar regime.
Economy: Rising prosperity in an opportunity society
industry to create a sustainable long-term future for the fishing communities of the United Kingdom. We have reformed the Common
Fisheries Policy and will continue to protect the marine environment
and ensure fish stocks and their exploitation are set at sustainable levels.
We will introduce the Animal Welfare Bill as soon as possible in the
new Parliament.
The choice for 2010
The Conservatives are the party of high interest rates, high inflation, mass unemployment and house repossessions.Their taxand-spend promises do not add up; and they would cut £35
billion from public investment. With new Labour, Britain can
seize the opportunities of globalisation, creating jobs and prosperity for people up and down the country.We can only do so if
we build a clear sense of shared national economic purpose, not
just around economic stability but also investment in infrastructure, skills, science and enterprise.The choice is to go forward to
economic stability, rising prosperity and wider opportunities
with new Labour. Or go back to the bad old days of Tory cuts,
insecurity and instability.
We will continue to promote the competitiveness of the whole food
sector, and assure the safety and quality of its products.We will introduce an explicit policy for schools, hospitals and government offices to
consider local sourcing of fresh produce.We will continue to improve
the environmental performance of agriculture, rewarding every farmer
in England for environmental protection and enhancement work
through our new Stewardship schemes.We will also promote biomass,
bio-fuels and non-food crops.We will work to tackle diffuse water pollution through addressing impacts across water catchments without
the costs falling on water customers.
Under difficult circumstances, Labour is working with the fishing
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Britain forward not back
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Chapter 2
Education: More children
making the grade
Forward to personalised learning,
not back to mass failure
1997: 42nd in the World Education League
2005: Third best in the world for literacy at age
ten and fastest improving for maths
2010: Every 16-year-old offered school, college,
training or apprenticeship
Education is still our number one priority. In our first term,
we transformed recruitment, training and methods of teaching, with record results in primary schools. In our second
term we have driven fundamental reform in secondary provision – more teachers and support staff, more money, specialist schools and the Academies programmes. Our plan now is
to tailor our education system to individual pupil needs, with
parents supporting teachers and support staff in further raising standards.That means music, art, sport and languages as
well as English and maths in primary school; a good secondary school for every child, with modern buildings and excellent specialist teaching; catch-up support for all children who
need it; the guarantee of a sixth-form place, apprenticeship
or further education at 16; sufficient quality and quantity in
higher education. At each stage we send a clear message –
every child has a right to a good education, but no child has
the right to disrupt the education of other children.
■ The new Labour case
For generations our country has been held back by an education system that excelled for the privileged few but let down the majority.
Every child can and should be able to fulfil their potential. We will
achieve this by uniting our commitment to equal opportunities for all
children with a reform programme which gives every child and young
person, from pre-school to sixth-form or apprenticeship and beyond,
the personalised package of learning and support they need. In a third
term, we will entrench high expectations for every child, ensure the
flexibility of provision to meet all needs and make parents true partners as we aim for the highest ever school standards.
■ Every pupil with better teaching
There is no greater responsibility than teaching the next generation.
Head teachers, teachers and support staff deserve support and
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31
Education: More children making the grade
‘Our plan now is to
tailor our education
system to individual
pupil needs, with parents
supporting teachers and
support staff in further
raising standards.’
respect.There are now over 28,000 more teachers and 105,000 more
support staff than in 1997; graduate teacher applications are up 70 per
cent; average salaries are up by more than 30 per cent.The remodelling of the school workforce is benefiting staff and helping to tailor
provision to pupil need.We will now go further – to intensify in-service training for teachers, to widen further routes into teaching, to help
more teachers and pupils get the benefit of the range of support staff
now working in schools, from learning mentors to music and arts
specialists. The goal is clear: every pupil with extra support in their
weakest subjects and extra opportunities in their strongest.
We want to see every pupil mastering the basics. If they are not mastered by 11, there will be extra time in the secondary curriculum to get
them right: schools will be judged on how pupils do in English and
maths at the ages of 11, 14 and 16.
We want every pupil to be stretched, including the brightest, so we will
develop extended projects at A-level, harder A-level questions to challenge the most able, and give universities the individual module marks
– as well as overall grades – of A-level students.
■ Every school with more money and effective leadership
Since 1997, school funding has risen by £1,000 per pupil. Education
spending that was 4.7 per cent of national income in 1997 will rise to
5.5 per cent this year.We will continue to raise the share of national
income devoted to education. And we will continue to recognise the
additional needs of disadvantaged pupils.We will also ensure fundamental reform in the way the money is spent. Funding will be allocated on a multi-year timescale.There will be a dedicated national schools
budget set by central government, with a guaranteed per pupil increase
for every school. Heads and governors will be in control. Successful
schools and colleges will have the independence to take decisions
about how to deploy resources and develop their provision. Schools
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
will work together to raise standards. New provision will be created
where standards are too low or innovation is needed. Local authorities
have a vital role in championing the parent interest and providing support services.
A strong, effective governing body is essential to the success of every
school and governors must be given support to help them play this
role.We will allow more flexibility in the structure of governing bodies, including the ability to have smaller governing bodies, of ten
members or less, to streamline management while strengthening the
position of parents.
Education: More children making the grade
■ Enriching primary schools
International studies show that our ten-year-olds are the third highest
achievers in literacy in the world and the fastest improving in maths.
Three-quarters of 11-year-olds now reach high standards in reading,
writing and maths.We will intensify our literacy and numeracy programme to help an extra 50,000 pupils achieve high standards at age 11,
reaching our targets of 85 per cent of pupils succeeding at the basics.
All primary school children will have access to high-quality tuition in
the arts, music, sport and foreign languages.We have set aside funds
for this purpose, working with head teachers to develop support programmes and modernise the school workforce.
■ Parents as partners
Our aim for the education system is to nurture the unique talents of
every child. But children and schools do best with real and effective
parental engagement. Parents should have the information and
support they need to encourage their children, from the first reading
book to the key choices they make at 14 and 16. And parents should
be central to the process of assessing school performance and driving
improvement, as well as their vital role in promoting good behaviour
and raising the quality of school meals (see chapter 4).
All schools should have good home-school links, building on the new
school and pupil profiles. Some schools are using ICT to make contact between parents and schools easier and better for both sides.We
will encourage all schools to follow suit.
We have abolished infant class sizes of more than 30, and almost all
primary schools have gained improved facilities since 1997. We will
now upgrade primary schools nationwide in a 15-year Building
Schools for the Future programme, including under-fives and childcare facilities where needed. Primary schools will become the base for
a massive expansion of out-of-school provision (see chapter 6).
Foundation schools operate within the local family of state schools, and
are funded in the same way as others, but manage their own assets and
employ their staff directly.We will allow successful primary schools, like
secondary schools, to become foundation schools by a simple vote of
their governing body following consultation with their parents.
■ Every secondary school an independent specialist school
Ofsted now actively seeks the views of parents when undertaking
inspections. Ofsted will be given new powers to respond to parental
complaints and where necessary to close failing schools or replace failing management.
We want all secondary schools to be independent specialist schools with
a strong ethos, high-quality leadership, good discipline (including school
uniforms), setting by ability and high-quality facilities as the norm.
The way to achieve this is not a return to the 11-plus or a free-for-all
on admissions policies. It is to ensure that independent specialist
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35
Education: More children making the grade
schools tailor education to the needs, interests and aptitudes of each
pupil within a fair admissions system.
‘…we will entrench high
expectations for every
child, provide the flexibility
of provision to meet all
needs and make parents
true partners as we aim for
the highest ever school
standards.’
There are over 2,000 specialist schools – schools which teach the entire
national curriculum and also have a centre of excellence.Their results
are improving faster than those of non-specialist schools. We want
every secondary school to become a specialist school and existing specialist schools will be able to take on a second specialism. Over time all
specialist schools will become extended schools, with full programmes
of after-school activities.
Every part of the country will benefit, over fifteen years, from the
Building Schools for the Future programme.This is a once in a generation programme to equip the whole country with modern secondary
education facilities, open five days a week, ten hours a day.
Good schools will be able to expand their size and also their influence
– by taking over less successful schools. We will develop a system to
create rights for successful schools to establish sixth-form provision
where there is pupil and parent demand, extending quality and choice
for local students.
Britain has a positive tradition of independent providers within the
state system, including church and other faith schools. Where new
educational providers can help boost standards and opportunities in a
locality we will welcome them into the state system, subject to parental
demand, fair funding and fair admissions.
We strongly support the new Academies movement. Seventeen of
these independent non-selective schools are now open within the state
system; their results are improving sharply, and 50 more are in the
pipeline. Within the existing allocation of resources our aim is that at
least 200 Academies will be established by 2010 in communities where
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The Labour Party manifesto 2005
low aspirations and low performance are entrenched.
We will encourage more small schools and boarding schools as ways of
helping the most disadvantaged children.We will make sure schools in
deprived areas receive the resources they need. To enable all young
people to enjoy the opportunities previously enjoyed by the few, we are
developing a nationwide week-long summer residential programme
for school students.We support partnership between the state and private sectors to bridge the unhealthy historic divide between the two.
■ Good discipline
Every pupil has the right to learn without disruption; no teacher should
be subject to abuse or disrespect. We have given head teachers the
powers needed to maintain discipline and the highest standards of
conduct.Violent behaviour, including the use of knives will not be tolerated.We are also working with schools and teacher organisations to
implement a zero tolerance approach to lower-level disruption. The
number of places in out-of-school units has almost doubled, and the
quality of provision has been enhanced. We will give head teachers
within each locality direct control of the budgets for out-of-school
provision, so they can expand and improve it as needed. We will
encourage more dedicated provision for disruptive and excluded
pupils, including by charities and voluntary groups with expertise in
this area, and no school will become a dumping ground for
such pupils.
Parents have a duty to get their children to attend school. We have
introduced parenting orders and fines and will continue to advocate
truancy sweeps.
Education: More children making the grade
schools; for others, it will be in special schools. Parents should have
access to the special education appropriate for their child. It is the role
of local authorities to make decisions on the shape of local provision, in
consultation with local parents.
■ No more dropping out at 16
The historic problems of our education system at 14-plus have been an
academic track that has been too narrow and a vocational offer too weak.
We are determined to raise the status and quality of vocational education. Beyond the age of 14, GCSEs and A-levels will be the foundation
of the system in which high-quality vocational programmes will be
available to every pupil. Designed in collaboration with employers,
specialised diplomas will be established in key areas of the economy,
leading to apprenticeships, to further and higher education and to jobs
with training.We will review progress on the development of the 14-19
curriculum in 2008.
We will not let economic disadvantage stand in the way of young people staying in education beyond the age of 16. We have rolled out
Educational Maintenance Allowances, providing lower income students with a £30-a-week staying-on allowance.We believe that everyone up to the age of 19 should be learning, so we will expand
sixth-form, college and apprenticeship places, and ensure that all 16to 19-year-olds in employment get access to training.
We believe that every 16- to 19-year-old should have dedicated supervision and support, including in the further education sector.We will
support sixth-form colleges and expect FE colleges to have dedicated
centres for 16- to 19-year-olds.
■ Special educational needs
Children with special educational needs require appropriate resources
and support from trained staff. For some this will be in mainstream
38
Further education is vital to vocational lifelong learning. Achieving a
transformation of FE colleges requires both our increased investment
39
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Education: More children making the grade
and serious reform. Every FE college will develop a centre for vocational excellence, and we will establish new skills academies led by
leading entrepreneurs and employers from the relevant skill sectors.
Sir Andrew Foster’s review will help shape the reform process.
The number of PhD students in the UK has risen by nearly 10,000
since 1997, and we are carrying through a 30 per cent increase in average PhD stipends to make doctoral research still more attractive to
high-flyers.
■ Children’s Trusts
We will incentivise all universities to raise more charitable and private
funding for student bursaries and endowments.
Ofsted reports show that local government is continuing to improve
the vital services on which schools and families rely. Education and
social services should collaborate to help youngsters, especially the
most vulnerable, achieve their potential. Local government should be
the champion of parents and high-quality provision, including special
needs education, school transport, and other support services.We are
reforming local education authorities to form Children’s Trusts to provide seamless support to children and families and work in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors.
■ World-class higher education, open to all
Universities are critical to Britain’s future prosperity.We need a bigger,
better higher education system.We are investing £1 billion more in the
science base, and increasing public spending on higher education by
34 per cent in real terms. But graduates and employers must also play
their part. Our funding reforms will generate £1 billion of extra funds
by 2010; the abolition of up-front fees and the creation of grants will
help poorer students. A quarter of the income from the new student
finance system will go to bursaries for students from poorer families.
The maximum annual fee paid by students will not rise above £3,000
(uprated annually for inflation) during the next Parliament.
The choice for 2010
Under their last government the Conservatives spent more on
unemployment and debt interest than on education.Their priority now is to take at least £1 billion from state schools to subsidise private education for the privileged few. In addition they
would allow a free-for-all in school admissions – including an
extension of selection – for five- and 11-year-olds, cap the number of pupils who can succeed at GCSE and A-level, and reduce
places in higher education.The choice for 2010 is forward with
new Labour: pupils with quality and opportunity through the
system from three to 18; parents with the confidence that where
there is no improvement there will be intervention; teachers
knowing that quality will be supported and rewarded; and
employers with a system that gets the basics right and provides
the skills that industry needs. Or back with the Tories to an education system designed to look after the few but fail the many.
As school standards rise we maintain our aim for 50 per cent of young
people to go on to higher education by 2010. Two-year foundation
degrees in vocational disciplines have a key part to play.
PhD students are vital to universities and the nation’s research base.
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Britain forward not back
The Labour Party manifesto 2005
Chapter 3
Crime and security:
Safe communities, secure borders
Forward to neighbourhood policing,
not back to rising crime
1979-1997: Recorded crime had almost doubled
2005: Almost 13,000 more police officers
2010: A neighbourhood policing team in
every community