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It\u2019s a big few weeks for U.K. politics as the countdown (now at 21 days) to the general election is on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This week, the front-running parties in the election\u2014the Labour and Conservative (or Tory) parties\u2014launched their manifestos. Each group revealed its plans if elected into power, including on taxation, healthcare reform, housing and education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at the top policies from each party\u2019s manifesto, where they stand on these key topics, and the different directions they take.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two parties differ the most on this topic, with the Tories wanting to slash taxes, while the Labour party wants to hike them.<\/p>\n
Conservatives: <\/strong>Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged over \u00a317.2 billion ($22 billion) in tax cuts as the tax burden has climbed to its highest since World War II as a share of the economy<\/a>. The measure will be funded by a sizable welfare spending cut and any savings accumulated from cracking down on tax evasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tax cuts include a reduction on National Insurance contributions, which could cost the Treasury about \u00a310 billion ($12.8 billion) in lost tax income.<\/p>\n Labour: <\/strong>Unlike Sunak\u2019s plan, Labour\u2019s Keir Starmer wants to raise<\/a> about \u00a38.5 billion ($10.9 billion) through tax increases such as VAT and windfall tax hikes, in addition to tapering down tax breaks for non-domiciled individuals. The taxes target different areas from what Sunak outlined, and Starmer made it a point to delineate the two things.<\/p>\n Starmer wants to cap corporate taxes at 25%. Relatedly, the party wants to close a loophole that allows private equity managers to pay a lower rate of capital gains tax on investment returns<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT,\u201d Starmer said when launching his manifesto Thursday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conservatives: <\/strong>The Tories\u2019 measures<\/a> are targeted at making education more accessible, like introducing free schools for children with special needs. They also want to increase school spending in \u201creal terms per pupil,\u201d Sunak said.<\/p>\n The party announced a more nuanced plan to raise the threshold at which families must pay tax for childcare benefits.\u00a0The Tories said in the manifesto<\/a> that they\u2019re eyeing mandatory National Service \u201cfor all school leavers at 18, with the choice between a competitive placement in the military or civic service roles.\u201d<\/p>\n Labour: <\/strong>Starmer, too, has many measures aimed at the education system and U.K.\u2019s youth. For one, he wants to recruit 6,500 new teachers to overhaul the education system, funded by tax breaks offered to private schools. <\/p>\n Separately, the Labour Party also plans to lower<\/a> the voting age threshold and support parents with free breakfasts at primary schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conservatives: <\/strong>The Conservatives set out ways they\u2019d help boost first-time home ownership. They also want to introduce a so-called \u201ctriple lock plus<\/a>\u201d system guaranteeing that pensioners\u2019 state tax isn\u2019t subject to any tax levies and that they receive tax-free allowances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Labour: <\/strong>Labour has pledged to invest more pension money<\/a> in U.K. companies. To support that effort, it plans to set up a National Wealth Fund with \u00a37.3 billion ($9.3 billion) to attract private sector investment in addition to public investment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Conservatives: <\/strong>The Conservatives plan to increase NHS spending<\/a> above inflation to expand the recruitment of nurses and doctors. The group also plans to spend \u00a32.4 billion ($3 billion) on training more medical professionals by the end of the next parliament and wants to address the \u201csick note culture<\/a>\u201d by offering more mental health services.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n While it\u2019s unclear how they plan to achieve this, the Tories also want to introduce artificial intelligence in hospital operations and improve NHS productivity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Labour: <\/strong>Starmer\u2019s plan is to significantly cut the NHS wait times\u2014with 40,000 new appointments opening up each week. The effort, he said on Thursday, would be funded by doubling down on tax avoidance cases and \u201cnon-dom loopholes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nChildren and education<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Houses and pensions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Health is wealth<\/strong><\/h2>\n