Labour general election manifesto 2024: What it means for Greater Manchester and the North

The Labour Party has revealed its general election manifesto, promising to grow the economy, cut NHS waiting lists and bring down energy bills with a new state-owned clean power company. Sir Keir Starmer was joined by his top team at the Co-op headquarters in Manchester city centre to unveil the 133-page document on Thursday (June 13).

The Labour leader did not reveal any major policies that had not already been announced. Asked why there was nothing new in it, he said: "I'm running to be a candidate to be Prime Minister, not a candidate to run the circus."

The manifesto reveals taxes will go up by £8bn a year by the end of the next Parliament. This would predominantly be paid for by closing tax loopholes, ending tax breaks for private schools and a windfall tax on oil and gas giants.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer's election manifesto launch in Manchester dramatically halted by protester

Labour's manifesto also commits to transferring power out of Westminster and give regional mayors more power over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support. The party has also promised to fix one million more potholes across England every year and bring railways under public control.

It comes after other political parties published their election manifestos this week. The Lib Dems launched their manifesto on Monday (June 10), followed by the Tories on Tuesday (June 11) and the Greens on Wednesday (June 12).

Nigel Farage's Reform UK will release its 'contract with the people' in full on June 17. George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain has already published its manifesto.

Here are some of the main headlines from the Labour Party manifesto and what it means for Greater Manchester and the North of England.

Cost of living

Labour has promised not to increase national insurance, income tax or VAT. But the party said it would tackle tax avoidance by large businesses and the wealthy, including with law changes, so that 'everyone pays their fair share'.

The manifesto also commits to maintaining the triple lock on the state pension. However, controversially, the party has not committed to abolishing the two-child benefit cap which was introduced by the Conservatives in 2017.

To cut energy bills, Labour has said it would set up a state-owned clean power company called GB Energy. The party has also promised to invest an extra £6.6bn over five years to upgrade five million homes, cutting their energy bills.

NHS

The Labour Party has pledged to cut NHS waiting times by offering 40,000 more appointments every week. This would be done by incentivising staff to carry out additional out-of-hours appointments, pool resources between neighbouring hospitals to introduce shared waiting lists and use spare capacity in private hospitals for NHS care.

The Labour Party has also promised to 'bring back' family doctors and trial Neighbourhood Health Centres, with GPs, district nurses, care workers, physiotherapists, palliative care, and mental health specialists all under one roof.

The manifesto says that the number of CT and MRI scanners in the NHS would be doubled. The party has also said that patients should expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral for consultant-led treatment of non-urgent health conditions.

As part of a new Dentistry Rescue Plan, 700,000 more urgent dental appointments would be created with new dentists recruited to areas that need them most. A supervised tooth-brushing scheme for 3 to 5-year-olds would also be introduced, targeting the areas of the highest need as part of a shift to focusing on prevention of ill-health.

The party has also promised to create a National Care Service with a 'home first' principle to help people live independently for as long as possible. There would also be a Fair Pay Agreement for workers in adult social care.

An additional 8,500 mental health staff would be recruited and legislation which discriminates against Black people - who are much more likely to be detained than others under the Mental Health Act - will be modernised.

Immigration

Labour has promised to reduce net migration saying that numbers must be 'properly controlled and managed'. The party has pledged to reform the immigration system to make sure it is 'fair' with 'appropriate' restrictions on visas.

According to the manifesto, Labour would end the long-term reliance on overseas workers in some parts of the economy by bringing in workforce and training plans for sectors such as health and social care, and construction. Labour also pledges to go after criminal gangs with hundreds of new investigators, intelligence and police officers.

To tackle the backlog in processing asylum claims, Labour would hire additional caseworkers and end the use of asylum hotels, saving billions of pounds. Labour has said it would also set up a new returns and enforcement unit, with an additional 1,000 staff, to speed up the process of deporting people who do not have the right to stay here.

The North

Labour has promised to transfer power out of Westminster and deepen devolution in places like Greater Manchester, while offering other areas the opportunity to have their own devolution deals. These places would have the chance to gain new powers over transport, adult education and skills as well as housing and planning.

The manifesto also commits to devolving funding for employment support, giving local leaders more control over plans to help more disabled people and those with health conditions back to work. The pledge follows calls from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham for the government to give him the budget for employment support.

The party has also promised to create specialist Technical Excellence Colleges, working with businesses, trade unions and local government in a bid to train people with the skills each local area needs. Labour would also require towns and cities to create Local Growth Plans with major employers, universities, colleges, and industry bodies.

A Labour government would also give mayors more 'flexibility' over decision-making, including on housing and planning. And while councils have not been promised more cash, they would get multi-year funding deals.

The party has also promised to introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which would place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities, and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths. The manifesto also commits to an 'investigation or inquiry' to establish the truth about events in Orgreave during the miners' strikes.