Spotlight Manifesto Consultation.

With May elections looming and Your Party struggling to get off the starting block, I’ve been considering what what Spotlight could do to help get things back on track for the left. The first thing I know we can do is to help put together a socialist manifesto – a list of policies that the left can unite around. Having our own socialist manifesto makes it easier on Your Party proto-branches, who might be considering who they’re going to endorse for the upcoming local elections, as it allows them to select candidates who more closely align with their values.

I’ve already made a start and pooled together policy ideas from various left sources, including the All-London Delegate Assembly 12 point Manifesto, The Labour Party 2019 Manifesto, and various contributions from comrades in the Spotlight Your Party Network WhatsApp group. I’m now inviting comrades to provide feedback. Join the debate in the Spotlight Your Party Network WhatsApp group – https://chat.whatsapp.com/L4EG4xsrfJaIIGOBx2uWrt – to propose changes, expand on what we already have and/or suggest any new policy ideas we may have missed.

SPOTLIGHT MANIFESTO (FIRST DRAFT)

This is a live consult. All areas high lighted in red are under consideration

Defence, Policing & Security

We propose an immediate freeze on defence spending at current levels, pending a combined services review with the aim of moving away from a NATO aligned power projection force and instigating a self-defence force posture, redirecting funds to supporting public services (like Health, housing, education, and environment) and growth in a greener economy so we can reduce our reliance of oil & gas, which, ironically, is what most wars are fought over. Defence spending has increased by £2 billion for the 2025/26 financial year (up from £60.2 billion in 2024/25 to £62.2 billion) and is expected to increase to £73.5 billion by 2028/29. This is mostly for “investment spending” (equipment, vehicles and weapons, as opposed to day-to-day running and maintenance). This suggests a trajectory toward greater militarisation and greater reliance on the arms industry and arms trade for economic growth.
Prevent British involvement in wars by introducing a War Powers Act to ensure that no government can bypass parliament to commit to conventional military action. Add new constitutional legislation binding all decisions on Defence, military action and foreign policy to be made in future solely through full consultation with the House of Commons. Introduce a complete arms embargo on all countries guilty of wars of aggression, other war crimes, or human rights abuses, and end all military cooperation with such countries.
Military action should be a last resort and reserved for defensive purposes, and we should associate and cooperate with campaigns and other organisations that share these aims (e.g. CND).
We will revoke all agreements that require the UK to host foreign military bases on UK soil and UK territories, and the UK will no longer operate British Military bases overseas, including on UK territories.
Ditch digital surveillance – Reverse all development of ID cards and facial recognition. No to state monitoring of ordinary people, online and offline, simply for holding legitimate political views that they don’t agree with. Enact constitutional legislation to restrict all state monitoring of ordinary people for our political views, to specified categories of crime prevention, which shall be reviewed every 3 years.
Legislate to protect free speech and our human right to peaceful protest, and to stop police abuse of powers.
Legislate, enacting statutory guidance and an enforceable public duty setting out strict limits for spending of public money on UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Exports to promote and sell wares from the global arms trade to purchasers including public money spent on hosting global arms fairs. Redirect investment into renewable energy and social security spending that makes us truly secure from the effects of climate change and the effects of global capitalism.
Revise guidance for the police on Stop and Search, so that it can only be deployed when credible intelligence is verified by a senior officer above the rank of Sergeant. Set up external monitoring to check this guidance is catching a higher % of criminals, without targeting BAME people.
Review the circumstances requiring judicial warrants. A judicial warrant in the UK is a legal document issued by a magistrate, judge, or Judicial Commissioner, authorizing law enforcement to take specific actions that would otherwise violate privacy, such as conducting arrests, searching premises, or seizing evidence.
The UK’s Prevent strategy faces significant criticism for being disproportionately focused on Muslim communities, fostering mistrust, and infringing upon human rights. Critics argue it promotes Islamophobia, creates a “suspect community,” and is ineffective due to a lack of evidence-based indicators for radicalisation, leading to high rates of unfounded referrals. We will end the Prevent programme.
Overhaul cybersecurity by creating a co-ordinating minister and regular reviews of cyber-readiness, and review role and remit of the National Cyber Security Centre to determine whether it should be given powers as an auditing body.
Review structures and roles of the National Crime Agency. The primary role of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been to lead the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime, protecting the public by targeting criminals who pose the highest risk. It operates as an intelligence-led agency, focusing on disrupting transnational, national, and regional criminal networks.
Bring PFI prisons back in-house and no new private prisons. To avoid legal risk, enormous costs, market instability and service disruptions that would result when cancelling PFI contracts outright, we propose a managed phase out. This would entail 1) No new PFIs issued 2) renegotiate the worst contracts, 3) buy out selected contracts where savings are clear and 4) Develop skills within the public sector, manage remaining contracts, and prepare to manage taking over of assets.
Reunify probation and guarantee a publicly run, locally accountable probation service.
Recruit hundreds of new community lawyers, promote public legal education and build an expanded network of law centres.
Ensure legal aid for inquests into deaths in state custody and the preparation of judicial review cases.
Establish public inquiries into historical injustices including blacklisting and Orgreave and outstanding issues raised by communities in North of Ireland arising from its occupation by armed forces of the British state.
Require judicial warrants for undercover operations and retain the Mitting Inquiry into undercover policing.
Enforce a legal duty of care to protect our children online, impose fines on companies that fail on online abuse and empower the public with a Charter of Digital Rights. Review and monitor the extent to which both online and offline abuse of children and young people has been used by the mass media, political organisation, government and civil service officials to produce and communicate racialised narratives about Muslim and other groups.
British nuclear test veterans and their families, who allege severe health issues from 1950s radiation exposure have still not been provided specific dedicated compensation. Pay a lump sum of £50,000 to each surviving British nuclear-test veteran.
The 2016 Chilcot Inquiry found that the UK’s 2003 invasion of Iraq was not a last resort, as peaceful options were not exhausted, and was based on flawed intelligence. Led by Sir John Chilcot, the report concluded that Tony Blair overestimated his influence on US policy, planning was inadequate, and the invasion and subsequent occupation went “badly wrong,” resulting in at least 150,000 Iraqi deaths and a “humiliating” troop withdrawal. We commit to implementing every single recommendation of the Chilcot Inquiry.
Abolish the police & replace “policing” with an array of specialised multidisciplinary services, with an emphasis on prevention of criminality similar to that found within public health, on the scientific understanding that almost all violent crime is caused by deprivation and exclusion. We propose replacing the current system with multiple specialist services that deal with different kinds of crime, divided into two discrete groups. The first is “immediate response” to deal with domestic incidents, minor theft cases etc. The second group is “long-term response” to deal with things like organised crime. The long-term response service would also be deeply interconnected with other services focused on prevention through education & recommendations to government (Re. prevention of exclusion & deprivation). While replicating some of the work of the police, it also fundamentally alters the nature of policing as a public service.

Palestine

Zionism, as a political ideology, is incompatible with our commitment to universal human rights. We acknowledge, unequivocally, that Zionism is racism and pledge to confront it without exception. We recognises the difference between Zionism and Judaism. We recognise that not every Jew is a Zionist and not every Zionist is Jewish. We understand that Zionism is an ethnonationalist ideology that asserts the rights of one specific religious group, over others, through exclusive political domination, subjugation and occupation, of land and people, and we recognise that this is racial discrimination.
Immediately reverse the proscription of Palestine Action, apologise for the horrendous treatment of activists who had been jailed without charge, abused while in jail and had their human rights violated, and pay them reparations.
We will end all trade and diplomatic ties to Israel until they accept a single state solution that meets the approval of the people of Palestine. Israel is an occupation force, they occupy Palestinian land. Palestinians have a right to return to their land. In fact there’s a UN General Assembly Resolution (Resolution 194), passed on 11 December 1948, that recognises the Palestinians right of return to their homes. Article 11 of the resolution reads: “[The General Assembly] Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.” This simple fact – the right of return that Palestinians demand – should make it clear to anyone that they do not favour a two state solution, which has always been an unreachable and unwelcome compromise, dangled as a carrot, by the occupier (and their allies). Palestinians should never have been put in a position where they were forced to negotiate their return to their homes and homelands with their occupiers.
We will require all government Pension funds, councils and publicly owned bodies to boycott and divest from Israeli products and Israeli owned companies and also divest from any investment funds which are themselves investing in Israeli products and companies.
Your Party believes that it’s for Palestinians to decide what a free Palestine should look like.
Any British citizen who has chosen to travel abroad to go fight for the IDF will be immediately detained on their return and investigated for charges under the terrorism act UK and, if found guilty of engaging in, or being complicit in, human rights abuses, terrorist activities and/or genocide, will be given lengthy custodial sentences.
Proscription is a tool of the state to stifle political debate and crush dissent. It has also been heavily abused by the state recently, who have used it to arrest innocent protestors simply for holding placards supporting groups advocating for freedom from occupation or against illegal wars and genocide – all points that happen to be mainstream views. Furthermore, proscription is an ineffective tool and counterproductive for tackling extremism, as extremists tend to go underground and off radar when proscribed. We will legislate to remove proscription.
Israel is a settler colonial state, like Algeria, Zimbabwe, Australia, South Africa & Northern Ireland. We believe colonialism is reprehensible and that it is time to end Israel’s subjugation, abuse, disenfranchisement, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the indigenous Palestinian people. We believe it Is time to end the occupation of Palestine. To help facilitate this process, we will withdraw our support for the Balfour Declaration and, instead, declare our support for a new declaration – one that sees Israel as an illegitimate occupation force.

Taxes & Economics

Introduce emergency legislation to stop the flight of capital by nationalising banks
Dismantle all British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies acting as secret tax havens. Place an obligation on the City of London and Companies House to divulge full details of all such accounts. Introduce a new Wealth Tax. Ensure all Wealth Tax bands and rates are under regular review so they adapt with changes in world prices, as well as the impact of currency speculation and capital exodus, etc
As all land is a natural resource and all land has a locational value. Currently it’s landlords who pocket all the locational value. We will replace the existing Council tax system, which is currently based on outdated property values, and replace it with an annual tax on land values.
Review tax and pension changes implemented by the Tory government
Introduce a windfall tax on oil companies
Tax multinationals, including tech giants.
Boycott corporate tax evaders and unscrupulous for-profit public service providers e.g. Virgin Care, Serco, G4S
Undertake a review of the financial system to allow a reframing of how we view national and local authority public debt – Quantitative Easing for people and not just the banks – allow money creation for UK infrastructure projects.
Restructure all taxation relating to oil & gas, placing all tax burden on a) import, b) production, and removing all tax burden from endpoints. Implement a carbon tax on production (refining) + imports commensurate with the environmental hazard, to be increased steadily in coming years to help ensure a steady shift away from the carbonised economy. Ensure initial take from the carbon tax at least matches the current tax from the preexisting fuel tax ecosystem
We will introduce an Industry wide Automation Tax to generate revenue from developing software and future technologies.
Restore government funding to Councils, but cease government funding to Councils on party lines – a system that undermines the fairness and efficiency of local public services, causes inequity in service provision, erosion of public trust, inequity in service provision, and increased financial instability for local authorities. Local authorities to be well funded by central government to so that they are able to provide the high quality services that we all need in our communities. Well-funded councils will provide services by being able to employ people to provide services on secure, decent, well-paid contracts so that they are valued, recognised and well-rewarded for the important work they do.
Local authority budgeting to be solely on the basis of identifying and meeting need. This is to be achieved by exposing the lies that there is no money, there are legal constraints and that there is no other choice. Needs budget to be drawn up and implemented using reserves, prudential borrowing, diverting the hundreds of millions given to developers and so-called care providers (ending privatisation) and joining with campaigns around the country demanding the return to local government of the tens of billions drained from public services.

Public Ownership & Job Creation

We will bring energy back under public ownership and community control (this would cost roughly £2.8 billion so we can fund this by scrapping trident which costs roughly £3 billion).
Move to net zero by massively expanding all forms of renewable power generation and generate jobs through public ownership of utilities, transport, and key infrastructure, reinvesting profits into further expansion to create more jobs and improve services. Investment in skills, green manufacturing and green energy, like solar, wind farms and tidal energy, which will also create more well-paid jobs..
We will end cronyism by ending outsourcing of government contracts to profiteering private companies. Instead we will bring vital production lines in-house (including PPE, drugs, medical equipment), to create jobs and keep production costs down.
Make all bus rides free. Expropriate the bus firms, place them under workers’ control. Improve bus links to hospitals. In London, we propose to equalise drivers’ pay with tube workers’ pay.
Take ownership of water companies and tax big corporations heavily for polluting our water ways.
Bring construction apprentice schemes under trade union control, and nationalise the big construction monopolies under workers’ control.
Make bursaries available to women, BAME people, care leavers, ex-armed forces personnel and people with disabilities to encourage them to take up climate apprenticeships.
As part of the program to improve the National Health Service, we will establish a generic drug company and aim to increase pharmaceutical jobs in the UK. We will also seek to form an International Health Alliance with other publicly funded or socialised healthcare systems worldwide. That Alliance will, in collaboration, form an international generics drug supply chain which will support the IHA (and NHS), as well as boost pharmaceutical jobs in the UK. The new IHA will negotiate with pharmaceutical companies as a single purchasing body, strengthening the bargaining power of the NHS and all member health services. The Alliance will also provide a means for leverage against intransigent companies refusing to negotiate lower prices.

Workers’ Rights

Repeal all of the anti-trade union legislation
Move from ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ‘necessary requirements’ for disabled employees
Reverse cuts to Access to Work and supported employment schemes. Increase uptake and increase availability without the use of punitive sanctions.
Have policy making for support at work for disabled people led and shaped by disabled people not by government and big business leaders as in the recent Mayfield review.
Deliver year-on-year above-inflation pay rises for public sector jobs.
Review the operation of Employment Tribunal’s and the Advice and Conciliation Service up until these were disestablished by government. Following consultation with Employment Lawyers, rank and file trade unionists and small Employers’ organisations, devise recommendations for fresh legislation to give workers back legal redress for every category of dismissal, disciplinary action and discrimination. Enhance this compared to before, to include an additional Panel member making the assessment and decision on cases, who is a peer worker for the claimant, together with a representative of organised workers (who is not a paid official), a representative of small Employers and a Solicitor with expertise in Employment and Discrimination Law.
We support workers’ right to education and retraining (with specific protections for single parents). We will replace punitive welfare-to-work requirements with a right to education, recognising learning as socially productive labour. We will ensure single parents can undertake full-time education or retraining without being required to abandon courses for immediate employment. We will maintain access to benefits during study and remove sanctions linked to education participation. We will provide fully funded childcare for single parents in education or in training. We will fund all essential study costs for single parents, including course materials, travel to and from the place of study, and a daily meal for those enrolled in full-time education. We will expand flexible and part-time learning options to accommodate caring responsibilities, and we will support pathways into secure, well-paid sectors through voluntary, not compulsory, guidance.

Housing

Circulate the labour 2019 manifesto pledge of nationalising housing and ending rough sleeping, as part of a Public Consultation to review Housing legislation and regulations. Devise an overall strategy based on this consultation, to introduce new legislation and binding regulations. Carry out a survey of unoccupied housing, focusing on its quality of build, geographical distribution, ownership and tenure, ecological sustainability, accessibility and suitability for different housing needs. Carry out whatever improvements are feasible for these dwellings and devise a framework for making necessary and fair changes in their existing ownership.
Initiate a large scale programme of requisition of industry and land, in order to enable a decade-long programme of social housing construction with a target of 150,000 new builds per year. In planning this, consult with architects who have designed ecologically sustainable and fully accessible housing, and organise a competition for the best, fully costed, designs to meet the full range of differing housing needs.
Carry out a widespread consultation with Housing Charities & campaigning groups, and with groups and organisations representing private renters, and base legislation on recommendations arising from this, covering the right to buy, evictions, the appropriate levels of council rents, the role of Housing Associations, improving tenancy rights & tenants’ autonomous organisations, fair waiting lists, and measures to ensure that all social housing remains within public ownership in perpetuity, whilst introducing measures to ensure such housing is under the direct control of tenants and building workers.
Expand the direct labour organisation (Council-run construction and maintenance department) to the level appropriate to the overall housing strategy, ensuring decent conditions of work, training opportunities, and full trade union rights for the workforce.
Review commissioning of adequate supported housing provision for disabled people, domestic abuse victims and for people with mental health problems, under a new supported housing regulator and register.
New minimum accessibility standards for new builds and public buildings – legal requirements of accessibility to public buildings and incentives for private sector.
Undertake a full review of building safety regulations, commission an overhaul of all publicly owned properties to ensure they meet safety and accessibility standards, and legislate to ensure all private landlords also make the required changes to bring their properties up to the latest safety standards.
We will support, and help to roll out nationally, successful local initiatives working to eradicate homelessness by providing homeless people with access to food, homes, education, retraining and jobs.
We think it’s important that local people have a real say in (and involvement in) the design, production and maintenance of their neighbourhoods. We would support local people wanting to organise and take on land, create visions and build social housing estates, with profits folded back into providing community facilities or services (projects like Civic Square in Birmingham, Lilac in Leeds, Knowle West in Bristol, Octopus in Plymouth, Granby Four Streets in Liverpool and many others). We will, therefore, support local initiatives by non-profit community-led organisations working to provide social housing connected with local wellbeing services & regeneration initiatives.
Homelessness has a significant impact on autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and others with neurodivergent conditions or complex support needs. It can result in unnecessary hospitalisation and reduced quality of life. We commit to a national programme to provide access to safe, appropriate, high-quality, community-based supported housing (close to an individuals’ home community wherever possible, so we maintain access to family, friends, and existing support networks), that would enable Neurodivergent People and People with Learning Disabilities to live independently with appropriate levels of support. We will also take a needs-based approach to access, rather than making it contingent on formal diagnosis, as we recognise that there are barriers to diagnosis and delays within existing systems, and we also recognise the need to prioritise access for people currently placed in inappropriate accommodation, such as mental health and inpatient settings. We also commit to ensuring that community based support is trauma-informed and person-centred and includes health and social care services, including mental health care, daily living assistance, and community inclusion.
We will overturn the criminalisation of squatting and remove the civil procedures for evicting squatters from commercial property. We will replace this with a community-led registration of possession which brings together the local community, the local housing dept, the previous owner and the squatters to determine the future use of the property. Future use will be determined, on a case by case basis, by clear parameters such as local needs, the wishes of the local community, the housing needs of the squatters and of the local community and the previous owner’s plans for the property. Alternative suitable accommodation must be provided for the squatters in the event they are not granted continued use. Where they are successful, the owner will be compensated, and compensation will be determined by a number of factors, including market value, the wealth and means of the property owner, the funds available to the local housing dept to convert/make safe the property before it can be put to community use.
We will end the Bedroom Tax.

Health & Welfare

Return to full public ownership and properly fund the NHS. Bring GP, Dental and Opthalmic services and the care sector under the same umbrella.
We will phase out PFI contracts. To avoid legal risk, enormous costs, market instability and service disruptions that would result when cancelling PFI contracts outright, we propose a managed phase out. This would entail 1) No new PFIs issued 2) renegotiate the worst contracts, 3) buy out selected contracts where savings are clear and 4) Develop skills within the public sector, manage remaining contracts, and prepare to manage taking over of assets.
Carer’s allowance should not end when a parent or carer reaches retirement age. It should be non means tested and should not be counted against other benefits. We will repeal overlapping benefit legislation to facilitate Carers Allowance being paid alongside State Pension as part of more comprehensive benefit reform.
Make accessibility and inclusivity for disabled people a legal requirement for larger companies and support smaller businesses to make changes through a government funded initiative.
We will commit to infrastructure improvements and legislation to make our public spaces more accessible for the disabled. This will include more accessible public transport (including levelling train platforms) so people don’t have to book special help to bring ramps to get wheelchairs and scooters onto trains, public toilets with disabled access and drinking taps and fountains, in parks and public spaces, will be a legal requirement for local councils. ‘No Pavement Parking’ will be strictly enforced, and we will implement measures to reduce sensory overload within public spaces etc. This includes making public spaces fragrance-free. Many fragrances are carcinogenic and have negative consequences for allergy sufferers.
No more car-parking charges in hospitals (for both patients and staff) and, where needed, invest in expanding parking facilities.
As well as providing free bus services with improved links to hospitals, we will provide additional support for people who are not able bodied and are therefore unable to use the bus service. We propose offering a subsidised Taxi service that can collect patients from home, drop them at the hospital entrance and then collect them from the entrance and return them back home. This would be an alternative to the traditional inhouse service that would require investment in a fleet of vehicles that need to be maintained and insured, and replaced every few years (plus the added cost of hiring drivers). Also, with an inhouse service there’s the question of availability and having to pre-book whereas, with a taxi, you can call them up the same day (no pre-booking required).
Get rid of Universal Credit and let’s have a proper review of the benefits system so we can prioritise a person’s need over cost cutting measures.
The Work Capability Assessment should be abolished and we should go back to GP and hospital consultants’ assessment of illness and disability.
Introduce ‘Right to food’, a publicly funded food system, grounded in living wages and social security, and democratic food governance, that ensures universal free school meals, free nutritious foods delivered to elderly, fair pay for community food workers, open access to emergency food, and community control over food environments and public land so that food justice, based on care, replaces reliance on charity and multinational food corporates who make our communities sick.
Make women’s sanitary products free.
Free abortion and contraception on demand.
Boost funds, expertise and resources to make free gender-affirming healthcare more accessible.
We will significantly increase funding for mental health services, which has been overlooked for too long. We will improve access to, and significantly reduce waiting times for, mental health diagnostic capabilities and service provisions, across the UK, and we will place greater focus on the effective treatment of trauma, which will also reduce the need to keep people on medication for extended periods of time.
Overhaul of the pharmaceutical sector to lower costs, establish a state-owned generic drugs company to manufacturer to produce generic, affordable versions of essential, high-cost medicines and the use of Crown Use licensing to override patents on high-priced medicines and allow the production of cheaper generic alternatives if companies refuse to set fair prices.
Abolish all prescription charges in England.
Roll out pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication to prevent HIV.
Resisting patent extensions and changing the incentives to ensure public research funding benefits public health, with urgent attention given to chronic syndromes and under researched conditions, rather than just private profit.
Create a National Care Service and completion of a full review and recommendations for long-term sustainable funding of the care sector. This should be led by workers, service users and their relatives / carers to improve the outcomes of meeting individual support needs, independent living, community integration and equality of rights and opportunity for disabled and elderly people and based on the social model of disability not purely medical and health based.
Set up a task forces led by disabled people and minorities themselves to address health inequalities between the general population and these groups.
Reverse the discriminatory earned settlement proceedings and access to essential benefits being linked to immigration status.
More safe legal routes to claim asylum – abolish the harmful and ineffective ‘one in one out’ policy – reverse the expansion of harsh detention conditions and increased sanctions to asylum seekers – allow them support to work and live on a living wage.
Negotiate a controlled disengagement from Palantir and similar, intrusive, software applications that have been introduced to the NHS but have failed to reach significant take up, due to trust issue.
We will introduce a Universal Basic Income, and Universal Basic Services.
We will support community growing projects and free community cooking classes across the country. We will create allotments on brown belt land, provide seeds and access to gardening tools. We will also set up a mentoring programme so that communities can learn how to grow and cook their own fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as spend more time outdoors and be more physically active.
We support statutory menstrual and reproductive health leave. We recognise the impact of menstrual and reproductive health conditions, such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, and PMDD on an individuals’ ability to work, and we will legislate to ensure those affected are supported to remain in employment without penalty. We will develop a policy in consultation with people directly affected, workers, and relevant organisations such as Endometriosis UK, IAPMD UK and trade unions, to ensure our plan will be shaped by lived experience whilst also delivering as a universal public right. Any employee who provides appropriate medical certification should be able to access leave without unnecessary barriers with guaranteed full pay. Leave granted under such conditions will not count towards sickness absence, or offer grounds for disciplinary procedures, and employers will be required to provide reasonable adjustments, including flexible working where possible. We will also support improved access to diagnosis and treatment through investment in NHS services.
We will set up an Independent National Benefits Advisory Service (INBAS) to assist benefit claimants. This will be an independent team of expert legal advisors, trained to offer advice and support to individuals and families needing to claim benefits from the DWP. They will assess a claimant’s needs and qualifications, before advising them of which benefits they’re eligible for. They will also be able to assist claimants with making their claims and intervene where they feel the DWP has made the wrong decision on a claim. INBAS will be totally independent of the DWP and will provide free legal support to claimants if the dispute is referred to The Tribunal Service. INBAS will have a team of professionally qualified benefit advisers specifically to support all PIP claimants to make their initial claim and provide further support to appeal negative decisions to include representation at HMCTS where appropriate. The INBAS service will have an outreach arm that can also support PIP claimants who are unable to attend in person, either through an online service or through home visits.
Set up and properly fund a task force, led by female medical researchers and medical professionals, to address the health care inequalities between men and women.
We will end the involvement of private contractors in the PIP application/assessment process, and in any other benefit system that we hope to introduce to replace the current system, following a full independent review (including the qualifying criteria, assessment process, and administration). This review will be conducted by qualified medical, care and legal professionals and will also include disabled representatives. Ultimately, our objective will be to provide non means-tested financial support to all people with disabilities to enable independent living with a good quality of life. Whether we choose to modify the current system or introduce something new, independence payments will be rated after inflation has been taken into account. Assessments will be carried out by people who know the claimant and their condition, such as their GP and, where appropriate, specialist doctors who understand the needs of a patient with a specific condition and how that will impact their lives. Under no circumstances should medical professionals be under any pressure, or incentivised, to fail people. As well as medical requirements, assessors will be asked to consider a person’s social needs, and consult with disability groups. If we choose to keep but update the current PIP system, we would start by reversing the recent changes to PIP. We will then conduct a thorough review of the application process to make it simpler and easier for people to apply. Again, we will prioritise a person’s need over any cost cutting objectives. We will also put an end to the abusive and degrading behaviour of some PIP assessors, as well as their misrepresentation of a claimant’s capacity to work and perform everyday functions. Disability payments are awarded where claimants have additional costs due to the nature of their disability and where they need help in order to facilitate independent living. All allegations of abuse or degrading behaviour by PIP assessors will be investigated thoroughly and may result in legal action being taken against them. Additionally, successful claimants should not be required to endure constant monitoring of their monthly expenditures. We will commit to an annual medical review for any claimant whose condition is expected to change over time, unless otherwise prompted as a result of a change of circumstances by the claimant, or a medical professional. We will also commit to bridging the gap between needs and funding and we’ll direct those funds to where it can make the most difference in people’s lives, including on disability-related expenses (DRE), rather than spending money on more administration staff to run care charging systems. We will also aim to facilitate a road map to fully independent living, as outlined by disability groups, by making direct payments to claimants so they can use the funds to better suit their personal needs, rather than maintain the currently inadequate one-size-fits-all approach.

Education & Child Welfare

We will deliver Education for life. We will also abolish tuition fees and reinstate grants.
Instead of closing schools and sacking staff, we will cut class sizes and raise school budgets, especially for SEND and SEMH provision. Then we will place them under the control of educators, parents and students.
Bring Academies back under local authority supervision, with control vested in representatives of parents, students, teachers and the local community.
All private schools should become part of the publicly-owned educational sector. They should be opened up to students of all backgrounds, irrespective of levels of academic achievement, not those with the deepest pockets. Given the calibre of leaders these schools have produced over recent decades, it’s clear that deep pockets do not instil intelligence or foresight. Similarly all private faith schools and Special Needs schools should be state owned and adhere to a national curriculum, devised by a wide consultation process. We commit to providing more special needs teaching facilities for areas where needs are not currently being met. We will also invest in Pupil Referral Units (PRU) for those pupils who did not get the early years education they needed.
Youth Clubs can support young people with their aspirations. They provide a safe space where young people can connect with other young people in their community, as well as a place where they can get access to health services, help to develop their aspirations and assistance with finding, and getting organised for, work. We will rebuild, refurbish and open new-build Youth Clubs for every neighbourhood and bring their provision up to date through creative and recreational technology, under the supervision of young people, experts in the development needs of young people, youth workers and community representatives. Create a national college for the training of new youth workers and research into the field and ensure that wage levels reflect the great responsibility involved.
To break the hold of criminal gangs over young people and stop police harassment of youth, we will legalise recreational drugs under a public monopoly, made safe and regulated by experts in drugs and psychology. We will also deliver healthcare and enhanced mental health support and guidance to vulnerable young people.
We will introduce legislation to require social media companies to implement changes and added protections for vulnerable children, and young people, by removing algorithms that feed psychologically harmful content. We will clamp down on abusive, racist and misogynistic content creators and will require companies to introduce algorithms that could actually help identify potential groomers. We will also enact legislation setting down statutory guidance for the media on the reporting and coverage of grooming and paedophilia.
To improve inclusion and accessibility, in addition to raising school budgets (especially for SEND and SEMH provision), we will undertake a review of all educational provision in order to determine how we can include and support neurodiversity at all levels.
We will consult widely with educational experts, representatives of parents, young people, teachers, including university lecturers, and industry professionals, on the national curriculum and wider activities in schools, colleges and higher and adult education. We will positively promote the rights and inclusion of all groups, as well as the development of curiosity, critical thinking, empathy and mutual respect. We are determined to ensure that children leave school with actual skills and practical knowledge.
Implement recommendations of the Survivors Trust’s National Inquiry into Childhood Sexual Abuse without delay.
We will abolish Private Boarding Schools. Typically seen as centres of socialization for the next generation of the political upper class, reproducing an elitist class system, with strong adherence to social roles and rigid gender stratification, they attract families who share a sense of entitlement to social class or hierarchy and power and who value power and hierarchy for the socialization of their children. There are some exceptions of boarding schools that provide schooling for children from remote communities, such as the Hebridean islands, where there are no secondary schools locally. These schools will be publicly owned, they will adhere to the national curriculum and opened up to children from all backgrounds and communities.
We will introduce a programme that will convert inner city spaces into Urban Food Forests which, asides from helping to address food insecurity more locally, will provide places of enjoyment and learning for young children. These places will offer children the opportunity to learn about nature and how to forage for all manner of edible fruits, nuts, berries and plants. Schools can use these spaces to educate children about vegetable and fruit cultivation, and then inspire children to cultivate their own kitchen gardens at school, or at home.

Central Government restructure

Clean up politics and make all forms of lobbying and second jobs for MP’s illegal (unless it’s a professional job that they had before they became an MP, such as a medical or teaching professional, for example).
Get rid of the House of Lords and replace it with…
a) Another elected chamber,
b) A sortitioned second chamber
c) An appointed apolitical scrutiny panel of professionals who are experts in their respective fields (medical, care work, scientific, construction, agricultural, industry, education, transport etc), who can check over any bills or amendments for flaws or contradictions.
Abolish the Monarchy, the Privy Council, Star Chamber, honours system (Order of the Garter) etc and all feudal relics which retain influence over the lives of working class people. This includes a system of land tenure which essentially dates back to 1066.
Your Party will work towards the dissolution of the current undemocratic parliamentary system of government which represents a veil, behind which a tiny elite own the nation’s wealth and use it to entrench their power. It will be replaced by a grassroots system of democracy in which working class people own the wealth of the country and decide how that wealth is distributed to meet need.

Local Councils

Introduce ‘No – Cuts’ People’s Budgets, based on real needs arising from popular assemblies and meetings with unions, tenants and community organisations.
Boycott and Divest from any companies tied to countries engaged in human rights abuses, or theft of land and/or resources, or occupation, or genocide, or apartheid.
No job cuts or downgrading – real pay rises and a 4-day week. We need more council jobs and decent pay to deliver better services and cut unemployment.
To help reduce pollution, and potentially make our cities carbon negative, we need to expand parks, allotments & wild areas, introduce more pedestrianisation, boost recycling services and introduce/retain congestion charges. We should also introduce municipal car, bike and scooter hire schemes and improve infrastructure for cyclists to encourage more people to cycle, such as building more bicycle lock-ups in neighbourhoods (most people don’t have garages so storing a bicycle is a barrier), and take over water companies so that they can be brought under workers’ and consumers’ control.
Introduce free council childcare, canteen and laundry facilities for all.
Create cross-disciplinary anti-austerity research and resources group on the concept of preventative support – to create evidence on how spending more money on early intervention and prevention reduces future costs across all public services
Create and establish a mechanism that allows people to hold their local authority to account for failures in implementation of legislation, without the need for a judicial review.

Fighting fascism, racism, misogyny, abuse and systemic injustice

Demand full equality for all!
Introduce anti-racist education in workplaces, estates, schools and colleges.
Sack or evict those who persist in racist abuse or attacks.
Support Black, Jewish, Muslim and ethnic minority self-defence – and stewarding of anti-racist events.
Block immigration raids and deportations.
Defend migrants, black and Asian people, LGBT people and women against illegal harassment and attacks from far-right gangs and the state.
Assert our lawful rights to march and meet by convening and training an organisation of stewards dedicated to our legal, digital and physical defence, as well as rapid response networks.
Legislate for stronger action against people who attack, and institutions who punish, the LGBT+ community.
Overturn the Supreme Court ruling – Trans women are women. Respect the right to self-identity and for people to use the public facilities that align with their gender identity.
Introduce legislation to update the current laws around gender identity, that will respect the right to self-identify
All councils should be required to run local facilities with Trans inclusive policies.
Introduce equal pay for work of equal value.
Better police training on domestic abuse, offences arising from coercive control and historical abuses
Sack misogynist and racist police officers and staff.
Disbar misogynist and racist legal professionals.
Set up and support a national movement of working-class women to challenge misogyny online, at work, and in the home.
Boost funds to refuge and protection services for all victims of abuse.
Respect the recent UN resolution and offer a formal apology for the trans-atlantic slave trade as well as other crimes during the colonial period and work towards reparatory justice, which should include the return of stolen goods.
Ensure that black and Asian soldiers who fought in Britain’s colonial armies receive a full apology and look at ways to compensate them for the discriminatory demob payments they received compared to their white counterparts.
Implement Isabelles Law to establish a National Police Misconduct Body and a public misconduct register.
Provide support services and create facilities for victims failed by police, as a result of breaches of the Victims Code, to enable them to seek reparations for damages in law.
Improve accessibility to the court system for refugees, the disabled, migrants and for minoritised victims. We should be commissioning and funding more ‘by and for’ services and increasing provisions for children and families, and those with no recourse to public funds
There should be a legal requirement that provides access to Individual Sexual Violence Advocates, and Independent Domestic Violence Advocates, and therapeutic support, within an appropriate time frame, and for police to have minimum training standards on trauma and on the complex needs of these groups.
Bring in full decriminalisation of sex work – accompanied by stronger protections and support for trafficking and abuse victims in support services. Provide victims with access to benefits and healthcare and police liaison.
Set up a task force, led by those with direct experience of working with victims, to research and address reasons why people enter the sex industry in order to better advocate for changes to policies on poverty and inequality. They can then request the support required to create resources and support groups (led by the above) to support those wishing to retrain or exit (as done by National Ugly Mugs).
Set up a firewall to prevent the sharing of details (of sex workers and migrant workers) with immigration enforcement, and other authorities, when victims seek healthcare and social support.
Appoint a Commissioner for Violence against Women and Girls, establish an independent review into shamefully low rape prosecution rates, establish a National Refuge Fund, ensure financial stability for rape crisis centres, reintroduce a Domestic Abuse Bill, improve the safety of the family court system for domestic violence victims and prohibit their cross-examination by their abuser.
Rescind all legislation that works to deny people their human rights and their right to freedom of speech. Conduct a root and branch review of the judicial system to identify if, and how, the system operates to disenfranchise and persecute people, and communities, for their beliefs, or culture, or identity, or racial background, or gender identity, or political views. Remove all obstacles to fair and equal treatment, identified by the review, including members of the Judiciary who have demonstrated a track record of targeting people, and communities, on any of the above grounds.

Foreign Policy

We oppose Imperialism because we understand that it is the process of military conquest, pacification, the establishment of mechanisms of rule, and of the maintenance & administration of rule, the expropriation and exploitation of the people and resources of the territories conquered, and the means used to secure, maintain, and deepen that rule. This was the broad pattern of European colonialism, but is also largely true of neocoloniaism, both of which are phases in Imperialism. Imperialism is also the midwife of racism, including Zionism & Islamaphobia.
We oppose all so-called Development Aid, Structural Adjustment Programmes, International Institutions like the IMF, the expropriatory practices of transnational companies in the global south and the flow of Western funds and weaponry to warlords operating in conflict zones. Re recognise that Overseas Development Aid is a euphemism, in that aid is meant to and does benefit the state that provides it; the state receiving the aid usually gets it in kind rather than in ways which give it any discretion as to how to use it to benefit the people in whose name it is claimed to be given.
We will disestablish all Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.
We actively oppose all settler colonialist states, not just Israel, because they are all based on the ethnic cleansing of indigenous peoples, racist segregation, repression and racialised vilification of them. We therefore support all organised attempts by the oppressed and marginalised peoples to fight back against such states, such as those of Hamas, the Kurdish paramilitaries, the ‘Latinos’ of the US, the migrants of western Europe, the Zapatistas of Chiapas in Mexico, the indigenous movements of Amazonian and other peoples, such as the Uygars, the Sami and the native Irish.
We actively oppose the spread of reactionary ideas in the global south by US-based & funded Evangelical Christian groups, resulting in the increased repression, harassment and murder of LGBTQ+ people, a brake on the struggle of women and girls in the global south for civil and legal equality and full access to education.
We actively support campaigns for reparations by colonised peoples, in part-compensation for their mass enslavement, ethnic cleansing, the expropriation of their resources and for the ecological damage caused by Imperialism.
We actively oppose all military invasions, coups and attempts at “regime change” by rich, imperialist countries in the global south. We will support states in the global south, however locally repressive they may be, that fight back, economically or militarily against Imperialist aggression, provided the people of these states share and own this decision to fight back. This is why we support the fightback against the current Imperialist aggression inVenezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Iran, Lebanon, Syria and territories held by the Kurdish people.
In line with our international commitments, we seek to share our resources, (economic, educational and medical ) with those nations requiring our assistance. In solidarity with the international community, we seek to strengthen humanitarian efforts against poverty, disease, natural disasters and the devastating effects of climate change. We are committed to scientific advancements that benefit all humanity such as better food production /distribution and access to water purification processes and free availability of medicine (at cost) to combat those diseases that disproportionately affect the poorest in our society. We propose to allocate a minimum of 1% GDP annually in foreign aid to those nations that would most benefit from this assistance.

Support for Farming, Fishing, Rural and Coastal Communities

We will set up a government body, The FFRC Communities Dept., with the remit of tackling the problems that uniquely affect the farming, fishing, rural and coastal communities.
To tackle supermarket price fixing, one of the responsibilities of the FFRC will be to intervene on behalf of farming communities to set minimum market prices for farming produce. This will ease some of the pressure on farmers by setting a reliable bottom line and making it easier to plan ahead.
The FFRC dept. will also help manage temp-labour resources by setting up a system to register people looking for temporary labouring jobs in farming and fishing communities (students looking for work during the holidays, European migrant farm workers for example) and introduce a fast track visa type system so farmers have fast and easy access to a seasonal labour force when they need it.
We will also support other devolved governments to help them set up similar schemes if they choose to.

Confronting the Climate Crisis

Following the nationalisation of the energy industry, we will prioritise transitioning away from fossil fuels. This will be achieved through huge investment in renewables [and nuclear?]. We will ban the establishment of new oil and gas drilling sites. The establishment of new oil and gas power stations will be banned. Where possible, fossil fuel power plants will be decommissioned. However, we will make sure people working in the fossil fuel industry on oil rigs, power plants etc. are prioritised for employment in green energy with fully funded retraining if needed.
We will aim to reach below net-zero net emissions [NOT terrestrial emissions]. This will include the carbon footprint of imported products. This will help offset past emissions as well as current emissions of other countries unable to transition to net-zero quickly due to the impacts of colonialism.
We will shift our food production to a green, sustainable industry through a nationalised industry policy that includes offering grants to farmers so we can phase out unsustainable farming practices that are bad for the soil, such as harmful herbicides and insecticides
The UK forestry standard is not fit for purpose – it does not require that forestry be sustainable, only that any negative impacts are mitigated. For example, it permits permanent and continuous damage to soil, asking only that damage be repaired as best as possible. It does not establish standards more specific than on impact, making them largely unenforceable. To fix this, we will commission a review of the standard to update it to require that forestry be sustainable indefinitely, as well as making the standard enforceable to ensure this is fulfilled. In addition, the amount of woodland in the UK will be expanded to 25% of total land area in the UK
Roughly 40% of carbon emissions come from the construction, operation, or maintenance of buildings. Construction practises will be updated to minimise carbon emissions, and housing standards will be updated to improve insulation and reduce carbon emissions due to heating. Similar standards will be created for other similar non-residential buildings, such as offices and shops, to further reduce operational carbon emissions. Funding will also be provided to improve existing homes to reduce energy use.
Transportation is estimated to account for between 20% and 40% of carbon emissions, with around 70-75% of this coming from road transportation. Most of this is due to cars being used as the primary means of transportation, which is inefficient and resource-intensive. To reduce car use, we will make all local bus and train use free, and significantly lower the cost of train travel. More investment into the public transport sector will also be used to make trains and buses much more reliable. In addition, we will expand cycling infrastructure to make cycling a feasible means of transportation, and review the highway code to explore methods of making cycling safer.
The impacts of the climate crisis have begun to make themselves clear. The UK now sees more extreme weather, with intense flooding and droughts. In addition to reducing the global climate crisis, we must also mitigate its impacts by improving our water management. We will buy fields in high flooding areas and convert them to woodland to improve water capture and reduce flooding. In addition, we will improve the capacity of reservoirs by building new reservoirs and rebuilding or repairing decommissioned reservoirs, to mitigate the impacts of drought. Water use will also be considered as part of transitioning to sustainable agriculture.
Air and water pollution are major issues in urban areas. Raw sewage dumping is a major issue affecting our waterways, and field runoff often contains herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers that pollute downstream rivers. Sustainable farming practises will involve reducing and limiting the use of pollutants, and we will expand sewage treatment facilities with the aim of completely eliminating the practise of dumping raw sewage. Air pollution is largely a result of car use – microplastics in the air are mostly from car tyres, and petrol cars also release various other toxic pollutants. Our expansion of public transport and cycling infrastructure will improve this significantly. We will also fund research into other alternatives to petrol cars which do not use rare earth minerals, which are a finite resource and mined using child and slave labour. We will reduce plastic pollution by expanding recycling infrastructure, and will implement a transition period followed by a ban on certain plastics as packaging for certain goods – replacing single use plastic wrapping for food with wax paper etc

Media Reform

Mainstream media has been subject to corporate influence for a number of decades now. Wealthy businessmen have realised that they can buy up platforms in order to control what gets reported and how its interpreted. This is the complete antithesis to traditional objective journalism. There is rarely any effort at impartiality and reports are often devoid of facts, but still get passed off as factual reporting. Unlike traditional journalism there is rarely any research undertaken, nor any attempt to properly investigate a story and, far too often, journalists choose to churn out highly subjective opinion pieces. Over recent years, this has tipped over into highly political narrative control and even propaganda. Opinion pieces are not necessarily a new phenomenon and have been common place both on the left and right of the political spectrum. Unfortunately, as a consequence of Wealthy businessmen buying up more and more platforms, the narrative has now shifted significantly to the right. To revive objective reporting and restore the politcal balance, and trust in the media, we will nationalise the mainstream platforms and set up cooperatives of industry experts to run them in accordance with traditional journalistic principles, focused entirely on fact based reporting.
We will establish a journalistic code of conduct and set up a new body to investigate any breaches of code. Anyone found to be in breach of the code may be subject to a fine or, where there has been a serious indiscretion, subject to a disciplinary and, potentially, even fired from their role. If there is any suggestion that the breach may have involved any illegal conduct then the matter will also be referred to the police for further investigation.

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