Global
WHITONOMICS ISSUE 8
A tale of two parties A brief comparison of the differences between the labour and conservative economic policies Hasnain Mirza At the time this article was being written it was confirmed that a general election would be taking place. The Conservatives and Labour still remain the two major parties that look set to fight it out over becoming the next party to take the country forward. Previously Labour governments under Blair and Brown have been more centrist, yet now the British people have a genuine choice between left and right, being represented by Corbyn and Johnson respectively, this has evidently been displayed in the economic policies that both present. Firstly, according to the BBC, Johnson has declared he will provide an initial boost of 1 billion pounds to the NHS, with another 850 million being shared over the next 5 years between 20 hospitals in England. According to the BBC, this is in contrast to promises of Labour in the build up to the 2017 general election where they pledged to provide the NHS with an extra 7.4 billion pounds a year which would have been an extra 37 billion pounds for the NHS for the next 5 years if they had got into power at the time. These figures are being quoted from the BBC which is arguably ‘unbiased’, yet the Telegraph states that the current number 10 is planning on carrying forward his predecessor Mrs May’s plans of giving the NHS an additional 20 billion pounds by 2023. During the EU referendum campaign Mr Johnson pledged an extra 350 million pounds a week for the NHS due to not having
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party.
to pay EU membership fees, which would equate to an extra 18.2 billion pounds a year for the NHS, yet the Telegraph reports that under existing government plans the NHS will receive an extra 7.3 billion pounds this year and 11 billion pounds the year after. Boris Johnson’s track record must be considered to view such figures with an orderly amount of scepticism. The recent front-page headlines of Johnson’s “biggest hospital building programme in a generation, “that would build 40 new hospitals across the UK has in fact proved to be just 6, with them all not being new as it includes refurbishments of existing hospitals. It was recently uncovered that Johnson’s 40 new hospitals plan would only come into effect if the Tories would win the next 2 elections. Now turning back to Labour’s plans for the NHS. This includes abolishing prescription charges as Corbyn states that prescription charges force people to decide be12
tween paying for a prescription or risking their lives. This policy, Mr Corbyn would say fits nicely under Labours tagline of for the many, not the few. In the midst of a climate emergency that is a threat to our very existence, few would argue against both parties proposed green policies and how effective they may be as a serious factor in deciding who to vote for. The Independent has reported that Boris Johnson is planning on scrapping the environmental standards that were a part of Mrs May’s deal that were in line with the EU , in order to increase the chances of a trade deal with Trump. In late September, according to the Guardian in preparation for the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN in New York, Mr Johnson had, ‘unveiled a combined £1.2bn in funding for new efforts to tackle the climate emergency and protect endangered
