UK

Labour’s disappointing manifesto U-turns

“Labour has abandoned plans to bring back the pensions lifetime allowance, in an £800mn U-turn which will be welcomed by wealthier savers including hospital consultants and headteachers,” reports the Financial Times’ Deputy Political Editor Jim Pickard.

A Momentum spokesperson pointed out that these were bad political choices – especially given that free school meals would cost only £1 billion.

The U-turn is the latest in a series that have emerged since the agreement of Labour’s election manifesto last week. The Clause V meeting was criticised for notably failing to include in the manifesto the introduction of free school meals for all primary school children and the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap – both considered to be key drivers of child poverty.

A Momentum spokesperson said: “We’re deeply disappointed that the Starmer Leadership didn’t take up proposals for free school meals and scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which could easily be funded by new taxes on the super-rich. Under the Conservatives and their austerity regime, more than four million kids are suffering in poverty. We need to kick out not just the Tories, but Tory policies too. Standing alongside child poverty campaigners and friends across the labour movement, we will continue to push for these policies, which represent the essence of real Labour values.”

Keir Starmer resisted both policies, despite concerted pressure from education unions, Labour MPs, child poverty campaigners and even the Archbishop of Canterbury. Yet with the Liberal Democrats now committed to universal free school meals, campaigners are warning Labour of being “outflanked” on child poverty.

The latest Government figures show that 4.3 million children were living in relative poverty as of 2023. Experts say that scrapping the two-child benefit cap, introduced under the post-2015 Conservative Government, is the single most effective measure to tackle child poverty, alleviating poverty for over a million children. Resolution Foundation analysis found that low-income families are losing around £3,200 a year for any third or subsequent child born after April 2017, with six in every ten affected families containing at least one adult in work.

Food Foundation analysis has found that 900,000 children who live in poverty are not currently eligible for free school meals. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was re-elected last month on a pledge for free school meals.  A recent poll of parents found that more than three in four back free school meals for all primary school children, while an Opinium poll last month found that 39% of voters would be more likely to back Labour if they committed to scrap the two-child cap. Both policies could easily be funded through a modest wealth tax.

Kim Johnson, Labour candidate for Liverpool Riverside, said: “The Tory attacks on the working class and public services have driven record rises in destitution and an explosion in in-work poverty. Schools are running food banks, nurses are using them. In the fifth richest economy this should concern and outrage us all. I’ve long-called for policies that will reduce child poverty and inequality, and with a Labour government imminent we need to lay out our plans to tackle child and in-work poverty. Our New Deal for Workers is a great start, but we need to go further and roll out universal free school meals and lift the two-child cap on benefits, policies now supported across Labour’s political spectrum including by Gordon Brown and Torsten Bell. I can think of no greater priority.”

Kate Dove, Momentum Chair, added: “Sadiq Khan has shown the way for Labour. Policies like free school meals are popular and more urgent than ever, amid the Tory child poverty crisis. Labour cannot simply promise a ‘strategy’ on this – we need bold policies like free school meals for all and the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. That’s what real Labour values look like.”

New research from End Child Poverty with Loughborough University highlights the scale of the issue. Two-thirds of election constituencies have a child poverty rate of 25% or more. In these areas at least one in four children is living in poverty. The North of England, Midlands and Wales are particularly affected.

A further U-turn emerged with the finalisation of Labour’s manifesto – the dropping of House of Lords abolition. A Momentum spokesperson commented: “This is yet another disappointing Starmer U-turn. The House of Lords is an anti-democratic institution well past its sell-by date. Years of Tory cronyism underline the need to scrap a system based on patronage among our political elite. Keir was right to pledge to abolish it in 2020 and again in 2022, following strong, detailed proposals from Gordon Brown. But once again, major progressive reforms have been junked by a Labour Leadership which rightly pledges change but seems allergic to enacting it.”

Image: Creator: Labour Party | Credit: Labour Party. Copyright: Labour Party. Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

JUNE 10, 2024 LABOUR HUB