Commit to keeping libraries open and reinstating Sure Start
Libraries and Sure Start centres play an important role as community hubs and boosting literacy, but they have been one of the biggest victims of austerity.
The Green Party pledged to invest an extra £5bn over five years to fund keeping local museums, theatres, libraries and art galleries open and £1.4bn per year to invest in Sure Start centres.
The Tories promised to extend the community ownership fund to allow communities to take control of libraries as well as vaguer promise to “protect our national heritage”.
Free bus travel for under-23s
The cost of transport is a barrier to young people getting on in work and education, so our Blueprint for Change called for political leaders in Westminster to take bold action to make travel free for under-23s. It was only the Greens who made a similar pledge, promising to scrap fares for under-18s. Outside of the main Westminster parties. George Galloway’s Workers Party is campaigning on free bus travel for children as is the case in London.
Outlaw high-cost credit
Our Blueprint for Change called for high-cost credit to be outlawed in the first 12 months of the next government to prevent predatory lenders from taking advantage of people struggling during the cost of living crisis and driving them into debt. Instead, we wanted leaders to commit to making loans and credit sources affordable, equitable and fair but there was silence in manifestos.
Simon Dukes, chief executive of the Fair Credit Charity, said: “While the sub-prime lending sector has contracted in recent years there are still exploitative lenders who cause misery with their disingenuous, inflexible practices – harming households’ finances, causing stress and anxiety, and setting them up for future difficulties by ruining their credit scores. We are disappointed to see that the main parties’ manifestos do not commit to tackling the issue.
“However, it is important that any attempts to curb those practices does not simply drive even more people towards illegal lenders. This is why it is vital that government encourages more investment into ethical lenders such as Fair for You, which is owned outright by the Fair Credit Charity. This investment is already being made by organisations like Fair4All Finance, but there needs to be more of it.
“Mainstream banks also have a role to play – the Fair Credit Charity also published a whitepaper earlier this month calling on the banks to consider their responsibility to society when it comes to credit, instead of leaving people with few options but those exploitative or illegal lenders – if the industry does not do so voluntarily, we support calls for a Fair Banking Act is needed to enforce this change.”
Safe routes on immigration
With both the prime minister and opposition promising to ‘stop the boats’, and off the back of a rejuvenated Reform UK, immigration has become one of the hot topics of this election. Neither Labour or Conservative manifestos made a pledge to offer safe routes to sanctuary for those fleeing danger, persecution and war. Instead that was left to the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and Greens.
Two-child benefit cap
The two-child benefit cap limits universal credit and child tax credit for a family’s first two children, costing an estimated £3,000 for each additional child. The End Child Poverty Coalition’s research shows that scrapping the policy would lift 300,000 children out of poverty almost overnight. Despite that, the Conservatives and Labour declined to commit to scrapping it, leaving the pledge to the Lib Dems, the Greens and the SNP. Labour’s silence attracted particular criticism as even populist firebrands Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage have voiced support for axing the policy.
Rent controls and a basic income
Both policy measures that remain divisive five years after Jeremy Corbyn included them in his 2019 manifesto, Starmer steered clear of a basic income or rent controls pledge. Both featured in Plaid Cymru and Green manifestos. Siobhan Donnachie, London Renters Union spokesperson, said: “If the next government does not make urgent and wide-reaching interventions, the housing emergency will deepen and ordinary people will pay the price. We need rent control now.”
No recourse to public funds
The no recourse to public funds (NRPF) policy prevents people subject to immigration control from accessing state support. In reality, this “hostile environment“ drives people into destitution and experts argue that it is virtually impossible to end rough sleeping while it exists. Despite this, Plaid Cymru committed to scrapping the policy in name while the SNP also pledged to lobby Westminster to allow asylum seekers to work.
Nick Beales, head of campaigning at Refugee & Migrant Forum of Essex and London, said: “Any incoming government should prioritise scrapping the NRPF policy. This punitive measure is one of the worst excesses of the hostile environment, and causes serious harm to British citizen children, long-term UK residents and those with exceptionally strong UK family ties.
“The policy has been shown time and time again to force families into destitution and the courts have repeatedly found it to be unlawful. Rather than repeatedly tinkering with the policy to try and comply with court orders, our next government should acknowledge the harm it has caused and scrap it entirely.”
Housing First
Plaid Cymru was also the only party to mention Housing First in their manifesto despite speculation Labour would commit to a national programme rolling out the model further in England. Housing First is widely credited with having a big impact on ending street homelessness in Finland and sees rough sleepers given a home alongside support for as long as they need. Three Westminster government pilots in England have been running for seven years but face an uncertain future beyond funding to 2025.
Disability benefits
The Big Issue has extensively covered the harrowing experiences faced by people navigating the disability benefits system. Nothing in the Labour or Conservative manifestos promised to deal with the scandal.
The Greens pledged to raise disability benefits by 5% and stop unfair personal independence payment (PIP) tests. The Lib Dems – whose leader Ed Davey has spoken about the issues facing carers on the campaign trail, citing his experiences with his disabled son John – promised to reform PIP assessments. The SNP said the party scrap proposed punitive welfare reforms for sick and disabled people.
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