
The general election is only ten days away and the polls currently put the Tories on the brink of a hung parliament, a slim majority or a comfortable majority after December 12th.
There are five main parties standing candidates across the UK; the Conservative Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party and the Greens.
So what would these parties do if they found themselves in the position of forming a government? Here is a brief summary of the main parties’ manifestos.
Conservative Party
- Increase the number of nurses by 50,000
- ‘Get Brexit done’ in 2020, with no extension of the transition period
- No increase to income tax, VAT or National Insurance
- Increase pensions by at least 2.5% per year
- Introduce a points-based immigration system
- Build a new rail line between Manchester and Leeds
- Reach net zero emissions by 2050
Labour
- Increase the health budget by 4.3% and cut private provision within the NHS
- Renegotiate the Brexit deal and put it to a second referendum against Remain
- Raise the minimum wage to £10 an hour for all workers over 16
- Reach net zero emissions in the 2030s
- Nationalise the National Grid, water companies, gas firms, Royal Mail, rail networks, and the broadband arm of BT
- Abolish the charitable status of private schools and scrap tuition fees
- Build 100,000 council homes a year
Liberal Democrats
- Stop Brexit by revoking Article 50 (should the party form a majority government)
- Spend £7bn more on the NHS through an extra penny on income tax
- Generate 80% of electricity from renewable energy by 2030
- Introduce a frequent flyers tax
- Legalise cannabis
- Recruit 20,000 more teachers
Green Party
- Spend £100bn a year to cut emissions and remove fossil fuels from the economy
- Scrap tuition fees and write off student debt for ex-students
- Introduce a basic income for everyone of £89
- Second referendum on Brexit with Remain on the ballot
- Ban single-use plastics
- Replace the voting system with a proportional system
- Invest £6bn more in the NHS and reduce private sector involvement in the health service
Brexit Party
- Leave the EU with no extension to the transition period at the end of 2020
- Reduce annual immigration with a points-based system
- Cut VAT on fuel and reduce corporation tax
- Provide free broadband in deprived regions of the country, as well as offer free wifi on public transport
- Scrap inheritance tax, HS2 and the license fee
- Reform the Supreme Court into an American-style system