Labour sees no economic case for building new nuclear power stations

Labour sees no economic case for building new nuclear power stations.TransportLabour’s goal would be to win more passengers and freight for rail. There would be more effective and accountable regulation and Labour would ensure public subsidy best serves the public interest. A new rail authority would be created to provide a strategic programme for the development of the railways. London Underground would not be privatised but a new public/private partnership would be created to improve it. Bus services would be regulated and more bus lanes provided.Labour remains unconvinced about the need for 44-ton lorries. There would be a strategic review of the roads programme.The countrysideLabour favours a moratorium on large-scale sales of Forestry Commission land.

There would be a free vote in Parliament on whether hunting with hounds should be banned.Arts and cultureLabour proposes to set up a National Endowment for Science and the Arts to sponsor young talent. Well-known artists would be encouraged to support young talent by donating copyright and royalties to the fund. Labour would review the distribution of lottery proceeds and aim to ensure the lottery is administered efficiently. When the current contract runs out, Labour would aim to seek an efficient, not-for-profit operator. Labour proposes a new millennium commission to support a range of education, environment and public health projects after the Millennium Exhibition is finished.SportLabour would bring the policy of forcing schools to sell off playing fields to an end. It would back the bid to host the 2006 soccer World Cup and aim to attract the Olympics to Britain.MediaThe regulatory framework for media and broadcasting should reflect the realities of a far more open and competitive economy and enormous technological advances.Political reformThe right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords would be ended as the first stage in a process of reform to make the Lords more democratic.

Life peers will continue to be appointed, with an emphasis on crossbenchers and Labour says no political party should seek a majority in the House of Lords. Prime Ministers’ Question Time would be made more effective.There would be a referendum on the voting system for the House of Commons. On the funding of political parties, Labour would ban foreign donations and ask the Nolan committee to consider how the funding of political parties should be regulated and reformed. A Freedom of Information Act would lead to more open government.DevolutionLabour would enact legislation as soon as possible after the election to allow the people of Scotland and Wales to vote in separate referendums on proposals for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh assembly.The referendums would take place not later than autumn 1997 and, if the vote is in favour, Labour would introduce substantive devolution proposals in Parliament.Local governmentLocal decision making should be less constrained by central government and more accountable to local people. Councils would have a new duty to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of their areas. To ensure greater accountability, there would be annual council elections with a proportion of councillors elected every year.

Although universal council-tax capping would go, Labour would retain reserve powers to control excessive rises.Councils would not be forced to put services out to tender. Every council would be forced to publish a local performance plan and the Audit Commission would get additional powers to monitor performance and efficiency.London would get a strategic authority and a mayor, both directly elected, which would take responsibility for economic regener- ation, planning, policing, transport and environmental protection.Labour would establish regional chambers, where there was clear popular consent.Northern IrelandLabour would continue a bipartisan approach. It is committed to reconciliation between the two traditions and a political settlement which could command the support of both.EuropeLabour has set out a detailed agenda for reform, leading from the front during the UK presidency in the first half of 1998. Labour would aim for rapid completion of the single market, enlargement of the European Union, reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, greater openness and democracy in EU institutions, retention of the national veto and signing the Social Chapter. Any decision about the single currency would be preceded by a referendum.DefenceLabour would conduct a review to consider how the role of the armed forces should be adjusted. Labour would retain Trident and press for multilateral negotiations towards reductions in nuclear weapons.Labour would work for implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and ban the import, export and manufacture of all forms of anti-personnel landmines with an immediate moratorium of their use.International relations and aidLabour would press for a reform of the UN, including an early resolution of its funding crises and a more effective role in peace-keeping.A cabinet minister would lead a new department of international development.

Labour would make the protection and promotion of human rights central to foreign policy.. Tony Blair’s big claim for his manifesto yesterday was that it “does not promise the earth,” an unusual line for any party leader to take four weeks before the voters go to the polls. In fact, New Labour: Because Britain Deserves Better is full of promises, for everything from more flexible mortgages to safer cycle routes around schools.
However, what distinguishes the manifesto from its 1992 forerunner is the absence of big spending pledges or tax hikes.Five years ago, Neil Kinnock was able to promise pounds 5 more for every pensioner, pounds 9.95 on child benefit, pounds 1bn for the NHS and a national minimum wage of pounds 3.40 per hour. The list went on: pounds 25m for new ambulances, pounds 20m for reading recovery programmes for pupils, pounds 30m to eliminate outside toilets in schools, pounds 600 funeral payments on request and free eye tests for all.There were also promises of better pay for public-sector workers, a new top tax rate of 50 per cent for those earning over pounds 40,000, the restoration of benefit rights to 16 and 17 year-olds and a return to full grants for students.The 1997 manifesto does contain specifics, but they are of a different sort. Many of them are tame specifics, designed not to frighten off nervous first-time Labour voters and without price tags attached. A Low Pay Commission to look at the minimum wage, a review of pensions, cuts in NHS bureaucracy to raise money, regional development agencies to help business. All are meant to be reassuring, immune to the intrusions of the Conservatives’ prying calculators.The language of Labour’s new document is thrusting, almost 1980s in its tone.