The 2024 Labour Manifesto is now online!
I am genuinely excited by loads of it, especially the green policies and the expansion of workers’ rights, but probably the most important part of it is the stuff aimed at economic growth.
What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Inspired to volunteer? Some more sensible, moderate emotion?
I think that’s how manifestos should be read - as a statement of intent, but we all know that manifesto pledges are held as unbreakable vows. I mean, look at the LibDems still suffering the fallout over things said in a manifesto 14 years ago. They didn’t even win the election to be able to act on it.
They also haven’t got long to try multiple things. Take the carbon zero electricity by 2030 pledge. Our carbon per kWh has been dropping for a long time, but not at a rate that gets to zero in 2030. That’s just 5.5 years. Hinckley Point C might come online in that time frame, but Sizewell C would take 10 years minimum. So it’s not about replacing the gas power stations with nuclear. It’s about going all in on carbon capture, solar and wind from day 1 to get anywhere near in just 5 years.
I pick that example because I feel I understand the domain, but I’m sure there’s other examples. Trying a bad plan and realising it’s failing takes time. Starting with a better plan is faster.
I’m not sure they would even start with a bad plan. Starmer seems like the kind of person who would look at whether a plan is good or bad before even starting it.
I would anticipate a massive amount of both offshore and onshore wind farms - we know those work, and with onshore wind farms in particular, we know they’re pretty quick and cheap to get up and running (I recall reading a while back that it’s possible to get an onshore wind farm built and producing electricity in less than 12 months), and the main barrier to them has been all the old people being all NIMBY about it. Just having a blanket ban on “but it spoils my view!” as a valid objection to planning permission would do so much good.