The Labour Manifesto for the forthcoming election is remarkable in its complete lack of ambition

Beth Winter

The 2019 Labour Manifesto was an inspiration, and I am immensely proud to have stood on it.

For the first time in my life here was a manifesto offering a transformative vision to create a fairer, more equal, greener, socialist society for all based on equality, dignity and social justice, – in my home, Cynon Valley, and across Cymru.

Boris Johnson’s victory was a devastating blow to me, and to socialists everywhere.

Since that election we’ve suffered almost five more years of a Tory UK government. The result is a surprise to no-one; increasing levels of inequality and poverty, especially child poverty; an acceleration in the climate crisis; crumbling public services; the worst cost-of-living crisis in living memory; living standards collapsing.

We must get the Tories out. And if the pollsters are to be believed this will happen at the forthcoming UK General Election when, after 14 years, the Labour Party will take the reigns of power.

Will this mean that socialist vision becoming a reality? The Labour Party manifesto published yesterday sadly suggests not.

Lack of ambition

The manifesto does contain some welcome proposals: the New Deal for Working People strengthening workers’ rights and conditions; a National Wealth Fund to invest in jobs for the future; public ownership of railways; reforming non-dom status; removing tax breaks for private schools; a Hillsborough law, and a commitment to end the injustice of the mineworkers pension scheme.

But in the face of multiple, complex crises, this document is remarkable in its complete lack of ambition.

Economic and environmental prosperity and sustainability

The current neoliberal orthodoxy is failing to deliver for Cymru. The cost-of-living crisis is widening economic inequality, poverty is increasing, and life expectancy is falling.

At the same time, we are witnessing the acceleration of the climate crisis which threatens the very future of our planet as we know it.

These two – economy and climate – are inextricably linked and without transformative change they pose an existential threat to our future.

We need large scale investment to restore our public services, create jobs and build the green industries of the future. That cannot happen within the fiscal straightjacket Labour are putting on themselves.

The Labour Party manifesto describes its economic philosophy as ‘securonomics’ which commits to retaining ‘strong fiscal rules’ and ‘tough spending rules’, albeit with some ‘prudent investment’ to deliver sustained economic growth and wealth creation.

We must fight back against this harmful myth that there is ‘no money left’. Accepting this myth has led to 14 years of austerity, and over 300,000 excess deaths.

Continuing to accept it will only lead to further austerity. The Labour Manifesto will lead to £19bn of cuts, according to the IFS. That is totally unnecessary.

Prosperity Without Growth

We need a fundamental shift in the way ‘economic progress’ is defined and measured. It requires ditching our obsession with GDP growth and replacing it with a new economic paradigm, fit for the 21st century, that focuses on sustainable improvement in the health, wellbeing and prosperity of people and the planet, today and tomorrow.

This is not a new idea, and UK Labour can learn a lot from the Labour-led Welsh Government.

It’s Wellbeing of Future Generations Act reframes prosperity so that it does not include GDP and instead focuses upon delivering healthier, more equal, more interesting, more innovative policies and actions; with higher levels of wellbeing and more environmental sustainability.

Tackling poverty and inequality /Redistribution of wealth and power

At the heart of the 2017 and 2019 manifestoes was redistribution. Disgracefully, the word redistribution is not mentioned once in the 2024 manifesto.

It is past time the wealthiest in our society contributed their fair share, and wealth taxes on ‘the few’ offer tremendous untapped potential to rebuild Britain for ‘the many’.

The tax changes announced by Labour amount to around £7bn in extra revenue and has already been set aside for commendable spending pledges included in the manifesto.

Cymru

That will result in around an additional £195m to the Welsh government by 2028-29.

That might sound a lot, but to put it into context, Welsh Government needs ~£500m from UK Government to make dangerous coal tips safe. Welsh Government are £1bn worse off since the end of EU funding owed (despite promises of not a penny less) and £4bn should be coming our way due to HS2 Barnett consequentials.

£195m is a drop in the ocean compared to what is required in order to address the extreme levels of poverty, inequality and injustice that exists here in Cymru.

The required redistribution of wealth must be accompanied by a transfer of power. Talk of ‘exploring’ further devolution insults the policy of Welsh Government, and the work done by the Constitutional Commission established by Welsh Government.

“Change”

People want and deserve transformative change that will end poverty and inequality and suffering and provide safety for future generations. In the sixth richest nation in the world, this is achievable, it just needs political bravery.

If politics continues to fail to deliver that, the alternative should terrify us all.

The far-right are ascendant, not just here in the UK but across the Western world, peddling their politics of hate, and scapegoating migrants and social security recipients for the problems caused by neoliberalism.

Keir Starmer has the power to change that, but he needs to be bold.

Now is the time for progressive forces in Cymru to work together to develop socialist policies and actions that give people hope and a vision for a kinder, more equal, greener and tolerant society.

It can be done, and once people are presented with that alternative, they will see that they have nothing to lose – they have a world to win.

Beth Winter was most recently the Labour MP for Cynon Valley, and left the Commons on 30 May 2024.