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 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.that both present.

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 between 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

Boris Johnson, leader of the Conservative party. species.’ While at the UN general assembly, Johnson would use his speech to announce a £1 billion funding for high tech initiatives, in order to provide more renewable energy and lower pollutant levels. There will be £200 million expenditure going towards the protection of endangered species, including the black Rhino and Sumatran tiger. However, critics have highlighted that Johnson’s plans are simply not substantial enough to seriously tackle the climate problem. Greenpeace has labelled these plans as ‘a flop’ which shows a lack of world leadership on the issue and fell well short of the vision required. The World Wildlife Fund charity praised the plan, but warned that only focusing on technological solutions for the climate emergency would be insuffiof the population actually trust our politicians. Therefore, to make informed judgements we have to look at statistics, such as the voting records of politicians on bills and motions from the climate change act in October 2008 to the Heathrow Expansion in June 2018. The Guardian gave a climate change percentage score to all currently serving politicians. For example, quite alarmingly, Boris Johnson was present in 5 votes and voted positively in 0 of them, so he got a score of 0% while Jeremy Corbyn got a score of 92%. The cabinet has a combined score of 17%, but the shadow cabinet have a combined score of 90%. To put it bluntly, to trust this Conservative government to sufficiently act on climate change

based on the data is questionable. Finally, we need to examine both parties’ broader economic policies. Johnson wants to add an extra 20,000 police officers, making our streets safer, yet in real terms this does not make up for the tens of

thousands that had been cut from our forces since the Tories came into power in 2010, which Labour argue has subsequently been a factor in

cient. According to a study conducted the country. According to the ONS, by the pollster Ipsos-Mori, only 17% crime rates in England and Wales

leading to the sharp increases in crime we have been seeing all across have been increasing year on year, from a 3% increase from March 2014 to March 2015, to 8% and then 10% increases for the following years. In terms of corporation tax, Johnson is looking to continue the trend of decreased corporation tax under a Conservative government. The rate had been cut from 28% in 2010 to 19% today and due to fall again to 17% next year. Johnson has not specified exactly how much he would want to cut corporation tax, but is in favour of the general idea, stating that it

would lead to increased revenue for firms, subsequently leading to increased consumption and investment, plus higher wages to counteract a government estimate that an extra one-point percentage cut in corporation tax would cost £ 3.1 billion in 2022-2023. Labour, however plan to increase the rate of corporation tax from 19% to 26 %, improve workers rights and re-nationalise Royal Mail, rail, water and energy. Corbyn has also pledged to take on the tax dodgers for which he accuses the conservative government has failed on. An analysis by Global Witness discovered that 87,000 properties in the UK, with 40% of them in London are anonymously owned by firms registered in tax havens, has a value of over £100 billion, these are the kind of acts Corbyn states are depriving our stuttering public services that he has pledged to rebuild by chasing down the tax dodgers, including big corporations such as Amazon. However, with respect to the ‘super rich’ tax dodgers, they are planning on leaving the country ‘within minutes’ if Corbyn gets elected, which does beg the question as to how Corbyn would then hold these people accountable. Overall once again as in the 2017 General Election, the British people face a stark choice. Yet there

is one key difference, Corbyn’s opponent is Johnson and not May. Only time will tell how great an impact this will make as although Johnson is a populist leader that is not timid with his choice of words, this approach also comes with its consequences and in comparison, to May, Johnson has faced a lot more scrutiny.