An idiot’s guide to the political party manifestos - GQ.co PA Photos An idiot’s guide to the political party manifestos By Rupert Myers 05 May 15 Unsure of who to vote for, but don't have the time to wade through the waffle of party manifestos? GQ brings you the condensed practical guide to the offerings of our major political parties The Labour Party manifesto Unlike Labour's six main pledges,
south african tycoon buys new look fashion retaile, their full manifesto hasn't yet been chiseled into a stone tablet.Winners: people on low pay or zero-hours contracts and students. Labour will introduce a lower rate of tax for the lowest earners, ban zero-hours contracts and increase the minimum wage. Tuition fees will also go down to ?6,000 a year.Losers: Non-doms and high earners. Labour will scrap non-dom status and reintroduce the 50p rate of tax.Most likely promise to be broken: Labour's NHS spending commitment to invest ?2.5 billion more than the Conservatives is already toast. Made before they knew how much the Conservatives would spend on the NHS, Labour seem to have abandoned this pledge already.Conclusion: This is a modest but redistributive budget which will hit businesses and higher earners. Businesses have already come out in large numbers to attack Labour's approach. By trying to regain economic credibility, Labour have sacrificed progressive policies for a pitch which is dressed up to look economically competent.The Conservative Party manifesto Rex Features The cover contains most if not all of the likely successors to David Cameron if he doesn't win the election, including a frightening stare from Theresa May.Winners: families with children and the NHS. Despite Conservative proposals to reign in public spending, the NHS is guaranteed the spending it needs to survive, and parents of 3-4 year olds will receive 30 hours of free childcare per week. Losers: People reliant on benefits. The details of a likely ?12 billion cut to the welfare budget are missing from the Conservative manifesto. While the party pledges full employment, it is relying on their track record in government to reassure voters that these cuts won't hurt.Most likely promise to be broken: 7 days a week GP access. Conservative pledges on the NHS are more generous than Labour's, doubtless a reaction to perceived weakness on healthcare spending. The Conservative track record on NHS reform is mixed.Conclusion: The Conservatives know that their welfare reforms have been relatively popular, and they are demanding trust from the electorate to finish the job. The manifesto is less redistributive than Labour's,
discount nfl jerseys, and relies on their economic competence to gloss over the fine detail of how they're going to balance the books. The Conservatives are trying to spend their brownie points on the economy to buy the voters' trust on the NHS.The Liberal Democrats manifesto Rex Features The most pleasingly designed of the manifestos, it's also by far the longest. This is padded out with large graphics and blank pages.Winners: low earners and school pupils. The Liberal Democrats want to continue their work on the increase of the tax-free allowance, seeking to take it to ?12,500, and spend an additional ?2.5 billion in the classroom with guaranteed education funding until the age of 19.Losers: Corporations and defence. The Lib Dems want to raise an additional ?1 billion from banks and end the continuously-at-sea nuclear deterrent.Most likely promise to be broken: ten new garden cities. The Lib Dem plan on housing include the central planning and building of 300,000 new homes a year in new garden cities. This seems over-ambitious.Conclusion: The Liberal Democrats have matched Conservative NHS spending plans and earmarked large sums of money for education. If Nick Clegg survives as an MP,
nfl jerseys cheap, he clearly sees the role of a future Liberal Democrat as part of a coalition government taking control of education, and cementing the legacy of increases to the tax free allowance. It's a manifesto designed as a negotiating tool, and one which could be geared to either Labour or the Conservatives. The Green Party manifesto Not so much a raft of implementable policies as a direction of travel,
nfl jerseys wholsale, the Greens are really just flying some ideas up the flagpole to see who salutes.Winners: Members of ISIS and polar bears. Being a member of Islamic State would be legal under the greens, and reducing global warming would be their top international priority.Losers: The armed forces. Defence spending would be slashed under a Green government, which somewhat clashes with that plan to legalise membership of terrorist organisations.Most likely promise to be broken: You could pick any of them, but promising an "end to austerity" is probably the least convincing, when even the Labour Party accepts that government spending needs to be tightened.Conclusion: The Greens promise to return the railways to public hands, end austerity, prevent more than two degreees of global warming, and give everyone better insulation. There isn't much they don't promise, but then they are offering to literally save the planet. An incredible manifesto.The UKIP manifesto Rex Features Give it a few years and Farage will probably denounce this one as drivel, too. He's already had to defend it for featuring "one and a half" black people.Winners: Eurosceptics. UKIP's answer to almost everything involves reducing immigration and leaving the EU. This will reduce pressure on public services and save the country billions of pounds while apparently having no real impact on our economy or exports.Losers: Migrants and third children. Migrants would have to wait five years to claim benefits under UKIP plans, which would also restrict child benefit to the first two children.Most likely promise to be broken: UKIP's policy to negotiate a "bespoke" treaty with the EU once we leave is very much a "having your cake and eating it promise" from Nigel. Having spent his career deliberately offending Brussels, it's doubtful that a man who has burnt almost all of his bridges in Europe would be able to deliver a happy, beneficial settlement on behalf of the UK.Conclusion: This document serves as a bargaining tool to persuade David Cameron to accept UKIP support in exchange for Farage's demands. Only the 2% NATO Defence spending target is a realistic price for UKIP's support, and there may not be the money for even that.Need more information? Read the party manifestos in fullLabour: "Britain can be better" (86 pages)Conservatives: "Strong leadership, a clear economic plan, a brighter, more secure future" (84 pages)Liberal Democrats: "Stronger Economy. Fairer Society. Opportunity for Everyone" (158 pages)The Green Party: "For the common good" (86 pages)UKIP: "Believe in Britain" (76 pages) Follow Rupert Myers on Twitter: @RupertMyers
