Labour Party Manifesto 2010 50 steps to a future fair for all

1. Secure the recovery by supporting the economy now, and more than halve the deficit by 2014 through economic growth, fair taxes and cuts to lower priority spending.

2. Realise our stakes in publicly controlled banks to secure the best deal for the tax-payer, introduce a new global levy, and reform the rules for banking to ensure no repeat of past irresponsibility.

3. Create UK Finance for Growth, bringing £4 billion together to provide capital for growing businesses, investing in the growth sectors of the future.

4. Build a high-tech economy, supporting business and industry to create one million more skilled jobs and modernising our infrastructure with High Speed Rail, a Green Investment Bank and broadband access for all.

5. Encourage a culture of long-term commitment to sustainable company growth, requiring a super-majority of two-thirds of shareholders in corporate takeovers.

6. 200,000 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund, with a job or training place for young people who are out of work for six months, but benefits cut at ten months if they refuse a place; and anyone unemployed for more than two years guaranteed work, but no option of life on benefits.

7. A National Minimum Wage rising at least in line with average earnings, and a new £40-a-week Better Off in Work guarantee.

8. More advanced apprenticeships and Skills Accounts for workers to upgrade their skills.

9. No stamp duty for first-time buyers on all house purchases below £250,000 for two years, paid for by a five per cent rate on homes worth more than £1 million.

10. A People’s Bank at the Post Office; a Universal Service Obligation on banks to serve every community; a clampdown on interest rates for doorstep and payday loans.

11. Spending increased on frontline Sure Start and free childcare, schools and 16-19 learning.

12. An expansion of free nursery places for two year olds and 15 hours a week of flexible, free nursery education for three and four year olds.

13. Every pupil leaving primary school secure in the basics, with a 3Rs guarantee of one-to-one and small-group tuition for every child falling behind; and in secondary school, every pupil with a personal tutor and a choice of good qualifications.

14. A choice of good schools in every area – and, where parents are not satisfied – the power to bring in new school leadership teams, through mergers and take-overs, with up to 1,000 secondary schools part of an accredited schools group by 2015.

15. Every young person guaranteed education or training until 18, with 75 per cent going on to higher education, or completing an advanced apprenticeship or technician level training, by the age of 30.

16. Legally binding guarantees for patients including the right to cancer test results within one week of referral, and a maximum 18 weeks’ wait for treatment or the offer of going private.

17. Preventative healthcare through routine check-ups for the over-40s and a major expansion of diagnostic testing.

18. More personal care, with the right in law to choose from any provider who meets NHS standards of quality at NHS costs when booking a hospital appointment, one-to-one dedicated nursing for all cancer patients, and more care at home.

19. The right to choose a GP in your area open at evenings and weekends, with more services available on the high-street, personal care plans and rights to individual budgets.

20. Access to psychological therapy for those who need it.

21. Provide the funding to maintain police and PCSO numbers with neighbourhood police teams in every area, spending 80 per cent of their time on the beat visible in their neighbourhood; improve police performance through online report cards and ensure failing forces are taken over by the best.

22. Intervene earlier to prevent crime, with no-nonsense action to tackle the problems caused by 50,000 dysfunctional families.

23. Guarantee fast and effective action to deal with anti-social behaviour, including a right to legal injunctions for repeat victims, funded by the police or council who let them down.

24. Expand tough ‘Community Payback’ for criminals who don’t go to prison, giving everyone the right to vote on the work they do.

25. Control immigration through our Australian-style points-based system, ensuring that as growth returns we see rising levels of employment and wages, not rising immigration, and requiring newcomers to earn citizenship and the entitlements it brings.

26. More help for parents to balance work and family life, with a ‘Father’s Month’ of flexible paid leave.

27. A new Toddler Tax Credit of £4 a week from 2012 to give more support to all parents of young children – whether they want to stay at home or work.

28. The right to request flexible working for older workers, with an end to default retirement at 65, enabling more people to decide for themselves how long they choose to keep working.

29. A new National Care Service to ensure free care in the home for those with the greatest care needs and a cap on the costs of residential care so that everyone’s homes and savings are protected from care charges after two years in a care home.

30. A re-established link between the Basic State Pension and earnings from 2012; help for ten million people to build up savings through new Personal Pension Accounts.

31. A golden decade of sport with the 2012 Olympics as a great national and world-wide celebration.

32. Registered Supporters Trusts enabled to buy stakes in their club bringing mutualism to the heart of football.

33. Operational independence for major museums and galleries, with more lottery funding returning to the arts, sport and culture after 2012.

34. Protection for the post offices and pubs on which community life depends.

35. The BBC’s independence upheld; and Britain equipped with a world-leading digital and broadband infrastructure.

36. Achieve around 40 per cent low-carbon electricity by 2020 and create 400,000 new green jobs by 2015.

37. Make greener living easier and fairer through ‘pay as you save’ home energy insulation, energy-bill discounts for pensioners and requiring landlords to properly insulate rented homes.

38. Move towards a ‘zero waste’ Britain, banning recyclable andbiodegradable materials from landfill.

39. Link together new protected areas of habitat; maintain the Green Belt; increase forest and woodland areas.

40. Ensure fairness for food producers through EU reform and a Supermarkets Ombudsman; and support post offices, shops and pubs in rural communities.

41. Referenda, held on the same day, for moving to the Alternative Vote for elections to the House of Commons and to a democratic and accountable Second Chamber.

42. Improved citizenship education for young people followed by a free vote in Parliament on reducing the voting age to 16.

43. Legislation to ensure Parliaments sit for a fixed term and an All Party Commission to chart a course to a Written Constitution.

44. A statutory register of lobbyists, with MPs banned from working for lobbying companies and required to seek approval for paid outside appointments.

45. Stronger local government, with increased local democratic scrutiny over all local public services.

46. Conduct a Strategic Defence Review to equip our Armed Forces for 21st Century challenges, and support our troops and veterans.

47. Use our international reach to build security and stability – combating terrorism and extremism, curbing proliferation, preventing and resolving conflict, and tackling climate change.

48. Lead the agenda for an outward-facing European Union that delivers jobs, prosperity and global influence.

49. Re-energise the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, supporting sustainable growth and combating poverty.

50. Reform the UN, International Financial Institutions, the G8 and G20, and NATO to adapt to the new global challenges.