Visualising the 2017 UK Election Manifestos
UK 2017 General Elections are just two weeks away (June 8th) and Britain is gearing up to go to the polls for its second General Election in two years.
But with lengthy manifestos and confusing policies, not to mention the odd u-turn, it can be hard to work out which party is saying what.
I found an interesting viz on The Economist that caught my attention for its simplicity and wanted to recreate it. So, here’s the Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and UKIP manifestos at a glance so you can compare each one and perhaps, start to make up your mind on whom to vote.
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Conservative Party manifesto
The Conservatives have pledged to lower immigration, raise the tax-free personal allowance and increase NHS funding in their general election manifesto.
Middle-class pensioners are set to lose benefits under Conservative plans to fund social care while winter fuel payments will be made subject to means-testing.
The Conservatives will also pass legislation to ensure nobody has to sell their home to pay for their care during their lifetime, and new rules will allow pensioners needing nursing home treatment to keep more of their assets.
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2017 manifesto key points
- Winter fuel payments for pensioners will be means-tested and people will pay more towards home care visits to plug the £2.8 billion social care funding gap.
- Pensioners will stop paying for their own care once their savings and assets are down to £100,000. At present only £23,250 is protected.
- But a person’s home will be counted among their assets when they are means-tested for domiciliary care (currently this only applies to people needing residential care) meaning more people will pay.
- No-one will have to sell their home during their lifetime, as they will be able to borrow money which will be paid back from their estate after their death.
Labour Party manifesto
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is pledging to nationalise key industries and take Britain back to the Seventies.
The 43-page document sets out plans to take the energy industry, railways, buses and the Royal Mail back under public control.
It commits Labour to scrapping tuition fees, boosting workers’ rights and reversing a series of benefits cuts – including the so-called bedroom tax.
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2017 manifesto key points
- Hitting 1.2m people earning over £80,000 with rises in income tax
- Bringing the threshold for the 45p rate of income tax down from £150,000 to £80,000
- A new 50p tax will hit all those earning over £123,000
- Raising £19.4billion by raising corporation tax 26 per cent – a rise of more than a third
- Extra resources for HMRC to chase individuals and companies who avoid tax
Liberal Democrats manifesto
The Liberal Democrats are offering pledges to young people, including bus passes and help to get on the housing ladder.
The party is also planning to appeal to so-called Remainers by putting Brexit at the heart of the manifesto and pledging to “give the final say to the British people” by offering a second EU referendum.
The vote on the final Brexit deal would include an option to remain in the EU.
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2017 manifesto key points
- Vow to “protect Britain’s place in Europe” and oppose Brexit.
- Second referendum on the final Brexit deal
- Protection of rights for EU citizens living in the UK
- Retaining membership of the Single Market and customs union
- Retaining the free movement of EU citizens
UKIP manifesto
Ukip has pledged to introduce a “one in, one out” immigration system and to ban the wearing of the burka in public places.
Paul Nuttall launched the party’s vision for government at an event in London as he also committed Ukip to banning the practice of Sharia law in the UK, and to placing a moratorium on new Islamic faith schools.
The party has also promised to cut the UK’s foreign aid budget.
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2017 manifesto key points
- To introduce a “one in, one out” immigration system and set a target to reduce net migration to zero over a five-year period.
- Place a moratorium on unskilled and low-skilled immigration for five years after the UK leaves the EU.
- No amnesty for illegal immigrants.
- To introduce a “social attitudes” test as part of a points-based immigration system which would stop people who believe women or gay people are “second-class citizens” from entering the country.
