Labour's Bills

A Summary of The Most Important Labour Bills

The King has announced Labour’s new packed legislative agenda and key policy plans, which contains 40 bills that will hopefully kickstart their five-year government of the country and deliver everything that the public voted them in for. From tidying up the mess after the Tories to actual nation-changing laws, I will list and explore the main bills, which also hit their manifesto pledges from my previous article in the Election Selection series.  

Economy 

Economic stability and growth will be the cornerstone of Labour’s economic policies. It will ensure all significant tax and spending changes are subject to an independent assessment and bills will be brought forward to strengthen audit and corporate governance, alongside investments in pensions: a Budget Responsibility Bill; this will set out that all such fiscal measures come with an independent assessment by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the National Wealth Fund Bill; Labour will create a £7.3bn capitalised fund to spread investment into the country; and the Pension Bill, which will cover measures that will help those in retirement get more money. 

These new bills will help the party to seek a new partnership with both business and working people and help the country move on from the recent cost of living challenges by prioritising wealth creation for all communities.

Housing 

Labour wants to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing by pledging to build 1.5 million new homes to improve living standards and make sure younger people can buy a house. They will also pursue sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies. This will happen through these bills: the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is intended to speed up the rate of which we are building these houses and punish councils that fail to get moving with a penalty; the Renter’s Rights Bill, which will introduce an end to ‘no fault’ evictions and the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, which attempts to reform the leasehold system, including a ban on extortionate ground rents. 

Health

The Government will improve the National Health Service as a service for all, providing care based on need, not the ability to pay. It will reduce the waiting times, focus on prevention and improve mental health provision for young people, by ensuring mental health is given the same attention and focus as physical health—although there is no bill on this. The Mental Health Bill will update and modernise the Mental Health Act to fit the twenty-first century to help easily identify people who need to be detained and treated. 

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will also be introduced to progressively increase the age at which people can buy cigarettes and impose limits on the sale and marketing of disposable vapes, which is something Rishi Sunak was adamant on doing if his party was re-elected. Alongside this, they also want to restrict the advertising of junk food and energy drinks high in caffeine to children. 

Immigration and Crime 

Labour will seek to make streets safer and strengthen the border, although this was not a huge priority in their manifesto. They want to approach the situation pragmatically by making certain the level of net migration is properly controlled and managed: the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is intended to limit the number of unofficial channel crossings, with other enforcement measures introduced. 

Regarding crime, the Crime and Policing Bill will be brought forward to strengthen community policing, give the police greater powers to deal with anti-social behaviour and strengthen support for victims. The Terrorism Protection Bill will improve the safety and security of public venues (like the Manchester Arena) and help keep the British public safe from terrorism.

Education and Childcare

There was no mention of scrapping the two-child benefit cap, which has been a contentious topic within the party recently as the latest figures show that around 1.6 million children are missing out on thousands of pounds a year due to the two-child benefit cap; instead, they are introducing a Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will improve living standards and education for children, by creating more breakfast clubs and reducing the prices of school uniforms. The party wants to reduce child poverty and ensure all children are fed well, clothed, warm and under a roof. In addition, a Skills Bill has been created, which will bring together employers, unions and others to try to boost teacher skills training. 

There are many more bills than this, but I have picked out the main ones which are more important to the whole country. Some bills are also missing (like lowering the voting age or new public spending and revenue raising), which will cause some controversy. Nonetheless, the pledges and bills the party has set out are decent and achievable; they now need to act and deliver.