London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Dec 06, 2025

Labour unveils 'radical' plan to remake Britain

Labour unveils 'radical' plan to remake Britain

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn unveiled his party’s election manifesto on Thursday, setting out radical plans to transform Britain with public sector pay rises, higher taxes on companies and a sweeping nationalisation of infrastructure.

Voters face a stark choice at the country’s Dec. 12 election: opposition leader Corbyn’s socialist vision, including widespread nationalisation and free public services, or Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s drive to deliver Brexit within months and build a “dynamic market economy”.

Speaking in Birmingham, Corbyn set out his crowd-pleasing plans, offering something for almost everyone in Britain - from help to parents with young children to free university education and more money for elderly care.

In a speech punctuated by applause and standing ovations from supporters, he promised to stand up for ordinary people against the “bankers, billionaires and the establishment” who were fighting to keep a system “rigged in their favour”.

“Labour’s manifesto is a manifesto for hope, that is what this document is - a manifesto that will bring real change,” Corbyn said, describing his approach as the most “radical and ambitious plan” in decades.

Lagging in the polls, Corbyn hopes his message of change will drown out criticism of his Brexit stance, which even some in his party say lacks the clarity of Johnson’s vow to “get Brexit done”.

Instead, the Labour leader says he will get Brexit “sorted” in six months, with a new exit deal put to a second referendum as a way to bring the country together.

Hoping to avoid comparisons with Labour’s 1983 socialist-inspired manifesto described later by a then Labour lawmaker as “the longest suicide note in history”, Corbyn rejected suggestions he was harping back to the 1970s.

He was instead offering “a green industrial revolution”, an ambitious plan that, he said, could be paid for in part by taxing the richest in Britain.

The manifesto showed an extra 82.9 billion pounds of spending, matched by 82.9 billion pounds of revenue-raising measures.

“It’s impossible to understate just how extraordinary this manifesto is in terms of the sheer scale of money being spent and raised through taxation,” said Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies independent think-tank.

He said Labour plans to raise the revenue required from taxes on high earners and corporations were “simply not credible”.


SPEND, SPEND, SPEND

Both parties have promised to end economic austerity and spend more money on public services before the election, which will determine how, when and even whether Britain leaves the European Union.

Brandon Lewis, a Conservative minister, said Labour would go on “a reckless spending spree which would take a sledgehammer to the British economy”.

Most pollsters put the Conservatives in front, but few are prepared to predict a victor.

Labour could be in a position to form a minority government if Johnson’s Conservatives fall short of outright majority and rivals are prepared to support Corbyn as prime minister.

But to implement its manifesto in full the party would need an even bigger turnaround in the election race to claim a majority of its own. One polling expert described the chances of this as “close to zero” on current evidence.

Held after three years of negotiations to leave the EU, the December election will show how far Brexit has torn traditional political allegiances apart and test an electorate increasingly tired of voting.

Labour has put at the forefront of its campaign its attack on “vested interests”, taking aim at Johnson, who was educated at England’s elite Eton public school, has considerable personal wealth and whose party has rich backers.

Among the proposals, Labour said it would bring in a windfall tax on oil companies, de-list companies that do not contribute to tackling climate change and increase public sector pay by 5%.

The manifesto also promised to reverse privatisations begun by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, by nationalising rail, mail, water, and BT’s broadband network to provide free internet for all.

Those pledges have been mocked by the Conservatives, with Johnson calling plans to nationalise broadband as a “crazed Communist scheme”.

While business groups welcomed investment in infrastructure, they warned many of Labour’s policies risked damaging business and the economy.

“Command and control isn’t the way,” British Chambers of Commerce Director-General Adam Marshall said.


But Corbyn is defiant.

“If the bankers, billionaires and the establishment thought we represented politics as usual, that we could be bought off, that nothing was really going to change - they wouldn’t attack us so ferociously,” he said. “But they know we mean what we say.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Promises ‘Full-Time’ Education for All Children as School Attendance Slips
UK Extends Sugar Tax to Sweetened Milkshakes and Lattes in 2028 Health Push
UK Government Backs £49 Billion Plan for Heathrow Third Runway and Expansion
UK Gambling Firms Report £1bn Surge in Annual Profits as Pressure Mounts for Higher Betting Taxes
UK Shares Advance Ahead of Budget as Financials and Consumer Staples Lead Gains
Domino’s UK CEO Andrew Rennie Steps Down Amid Strategic Reset
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
×