Which party to choose?
With the general election closer than ever, all the main party leaders are looking for a way into Downing Street. Here Alfie Lovett goes over some key points in the party manifestos, and also mentions the main flaws in each party leader.
Conservatives:
The favourites to win, the Conservatives have been in power since 2010. Johnson claims he will be able to deliver Brexit by the end of January, although we must consider he tried and failed to do this with the Halloween deadline. He plans to invest £20.5bn into the NHS, and employ 50,000 more nurses (though a number of these are actually retentions, not new staff). Johnson also claims that there will be no more VAT or income tax rises, and will implement 20,000 more police officers in the next 3 years to England and Wales. However, Johnson has a long history in politics. Those who have witnessed him in action claim he is ‘lazy’ and ‘pays no attention to detail’, as well as showing serious indiscretion. He is also racist, one example being a couple of years ago when he said Muslim women in head scarves looked like ‘letter-boxes’. Conservatives also oppose the vote for 16-year-olds.
Labour:
Labour have been closing the large gap between Conservative voters and their voters in the past few weeks, reportedly gaining support from many former Lib Dem voters. If Labour win, we will have another Brexit referendum. They will put up the minimum wage for workers each hour to £10. They will invest £400bn into the national transformation fund, which includes energy, transport, the environment, hospitals, schools and housing, as well as an extra £75bn for council homes. They also want the UK to become carbon neutral by 2030. However, Corbyn – like Johnson – is a controversial figure, dating back to the 1980s, where he was often accused of being an IRA sympathiser for his efforts to encourage all-party peace talks. He is also a communist-sympathiser, writing for the Morning Star, a communist newspaper. In recent months, Corbyn has been criticised for failing to deal effectively with anti-semitic individuals within the Labour party.
Liberal Democrats:
The Liberal-Democrats, or Lib Dems, have gained support recently through pro-EU remainers. If elected, Swinson will put an end to Brexit, revoke article 50 and spend the money on public services. They will invest £100bn over 5 years to tackle climate change, and they will put a 1p rise on income tax to invest in the NHS. They also want to invest £10.6bn in schools and hire 20,000 more teachers. However, Swinson has been called ‘undemocratic’ for desiring to go back on the 2016 Brexit referendum majority, and criticised for agreeing to Johnson's December snap election.
Green:
Green Party have been the climate change party, with the strongest policies on it, but usually not enough voters to make what they offer a reality. They plan to put £1 trillion into climate change over the next decade, pursuing net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. They look for a structural transformation of how the economy works to provide the possibility for greener ideas to happen, also creating 1 million new jobs this way. For Brexit, they plan to have another referendum, campaigning to remain. Also, they plan to abolish university tuition fees. Greens would discourage transport by air and road, and tax things shipped from overseas, like coffee or bananas, which could lead to significant price rises. They believe that it is time to put the protection of the planet before people's convenience.
https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/
https://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/
Conservatives:
The favourites to win, the Conservatives have been in power since 2010. Johnson claims he will be able to deliver Brexit by the end of January, although we must consider he tried and failed to do this with the Halloween deadline. He plans to invest £20.5bn into the NHS, and employ 50,000 more nurses (though a number of these are actually retentions, not new staff). Johnson also claims that there will be no more VAT or income tax rises, and will implement 20,000 more police officers in the next 3 years to England and Wales. However, Johnson has a long history in politics. Those who have witnessed him in action claim he is ‘lazy’ and ‘pays no attention to detail’, as well as showing serious indiscretion. He is also racist, one example being a couple of years ago when he said Muslim women in head scarves looked like ‘letter-boxes’. Conservatives also oppose the vote for 16-year-olds.
Labour:
Labour have been closing the large gap between Conservative voters and their voters in the past few weeks, reportedly gaining support from many former Lib Dem voters. If Labour win, we will have another Brexit referendum. They will put up the minimum wage for workers each hour to £10. They will invest £400bn into the national transformation fund, which includes energy, transport, the environment, hospitals, schools and housing, as well as an extra £75bn for council homes. They also want the UK to become carbon neutral by 2030. However, Corbyn – like Johnson – is a controversial figure, dating back to the 1980s, where he was often accused of being an IRA sympathiser for his efforts to encourage all-party peace talks. He is also a communist-sympathiser, writing for the Morning Star, a communist newspaper. In recent months, Corbyn has been criticised for failing to deal effectively with anti-semitic individuals within the Labour party.
Liberal Democrats:
The Liberal-Democrats, or Lib Dems, have gained support recently through pro-EU remainers. If elected, Swinson will put an end to Brexit, revoke article 50 and spend the money on public services. They will invest £100bn over 5 years to tackle climate change, and they will put a 1p rise on income tax to invest in the NHS. They also want to invest £10.6bn in schools and hire 20,000 more teachers. However, Swinson has been called ‘undemocratic’ for desiring to go back on the 2016 Brexit referendum majority, and criticised for agreeing to Johnson's December snap election.
Green:
Green Party have been the climate change party, with the strongest policies on it, but usually not enough voters to make what they offer a reality. They plan to put £1 trillion into climate change over the next decade, pursuing net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. They look for a structural transformation of how the economy works to provide the possibility for greener ideas to happen, also creating 1 million new jobs this way. For Brexit, they plan to have another referendum, campaigning to remain. Also, they plan to abolish university tuition fees. Greens would discourage transport by air and road, and tax things shipped from overseas, like coffee or bananas, which could lead to significant price rises. They believe that it is time to put the protection of the planet before people's convenience.
https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/
https://www.whoshouldyouvotefor.com/