Workers Party 2024 election manifesto: What does George Galloway stand for?

George Galloway's party has set out where it stands on key issues ahead of the general election. The Workers Party of Britain leader, who has 151 candidates standing for Parliament, launched his manifesto titled 'Britain Deserves Better' in Manchester today (June 19).

The party has pitched itself as a 'socialist alternative' to the Labour Party, committing to the redistribution of wealth and power in favour of working people. Mr Galloway said the Workers Party's seeks to 'replace Labour', but admits they are still 'well short' of this.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News earlier in the general election campaign, Mr Galloway said he would be 'disappointed' if his party's haul of MPs is not in double figures. But he warned of the rising popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform UK at the manifesto launch.

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The manifesto, which is 34 pages long, sets out a 10-point programme including 'an end to imperialist wars', 'decent, cheap, secure housing for all' and cheap or free public transport. The programme also includes creating public laundries, creches and dining facilities.

Speaking in Manchester today (June 19), Mr Galloway said that he would pay for his party's pledges by using the £12,000-per-minute that he claims the UK is currently spending on nuclear weapons. He said: "That would pay for that programme and much much more."

Elsewhere in the manifesto, the party commits to a review of policing priorities and refocusing on street safety and estate crime as 'an antidote to policing by Twitter and criminalising speech and thought'. The Workers Party also says it makes no apology for its support for Palestine and the people of Gaza in what it describes as the 'brutal onslaught' which has been 'enabled' by Labour and the Tories.

The party promises a review of defence and foreign policy as well as a referendum on NATO membership. But on the current Middle East conflict, the party's policy is for a 'single state' in which all those born in Israel and Palestine 'can live in peace with equal rights'.

The party also wants a net zero referendum and opposes ULEZ schemes - aimed at cutting pollution - because of the costs they impose on working households and small businesses. Mr Galloway's party also supports free travel on public transport for children.

Mr Galloway has also said his party would build 1m council houses with the manifesto promising to 'override all unnecessary planning constraints'. However, the manifesto also commits to supporting and protecting the rights of those who have invested in property.

The Workers Party also wants a referendum on the future of the monarchy, a voting system of proportional representation and reform in the House of Lords to exclude professional politicians. The party also wants a new law with higher penalties for political corruption.

It comes after the Lib Dems, Conservatives, Greens and Labour published their manifestos last week with Reform UK revealing their's on Monday (June 17). Here is what the Workers Party of Britain manifesto says about the NHS, the cost of living and immigration.

NHS

The Workers Party wants to 'fully renationalise' the NHS and play a 'decisive role' in the pharmaceuticals industry. According to the manifesto, expanding health services to create more capacity and joining them up more with social care is a main aim of the party.

The party also wants a 'massive reduction' in the scale of the administrative and management structure of the NHS. Prevention would be at the centre of the Workers Party's national health strategy which would focus on nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and loneliness.

Mr Galloway's party says it would declare war on ultra-processed food, improve the standard of school meals and invest in health education. Big Food and Big Pharma would be regulated, the party says, to ensure positive outcomes at every level of national health.

Cost of living

The Workers Party would immediately increase the personal tax threshold for the poorest paid, removing tax entirely from the first £21,200 of wages for two million low-paid workers. At the same time they would introduce a one-off wealth tax on estates valued at more £10m to make a start on closing what it calls the 'colossal' gap between the wealthiest 1 per cent and the rest of the population.

The party promises to undertake a major review of pensions policy with the ultimate aim of restoring a life-long commitment through earnings to 'adequate pensions' with all workers having the option of retiring at 60. Elsewhere in the manifesto, the party promises to oppose ULEZ initiatives - that aim to lower pollution - because of the costs they impose on working households and small businesses.

The Workers Party says it will also support free good quality and nutritious breakfast and lunch meals during term-time to all children in school without means testing. The party's 10-point programme also includes high-quality, free pre-school childcare and education.

Immigration

At the manifesto launch in Manchester, Mr Galloway said his party is not in favour of mass immigration, arguing that this is not in the interest of Britain's workers and also harms the countries immigrants come from. However, he said his party does not tolerate 'bigotry'.

The manifesto itself argues that the UK needs to 'turn the telescope around' and 'look at how our own actions as a relatively powerful Western country are creating the flow of asylum seekers'. It sets out seven policies for a 'humane and sustainable' migration policy.

This includes a 'major diversion' of resources from the 'military-industrial complex' towards domestic defence and security structures, national social infrastructure and targeted international development. The party would invest in border security, including an increase in sea-going and coastal patrols, while making visa and citizenship arrangements 'fair and equitable' to discourage organised crime.

The party promises a 'regular calculation' of sustainable migration, with the protection of those most placed at harm by the operations of foreign state terrorism and war prioritised. Economic migrants, except whether there is a labour shortage, would be discouraged.

The Workers Party would also invest in training for refugees to fill gaps in the provision of services to the wider population. The party promises to rebuild social infrastructures - including housing, schools, healthcare and social care - that takes migrants into account.