Public Services

The UK pensions system is unsustainable. Today’s workers need to build personal pensions and today’s pensioners need to remain protected. The welfare system keeps people trapped in poverty through high benefit withdrawal rates. The policies to address these problems are:

• Redirect most NICs to workers personal pension pots and offer a reduced personal pension that is means tested. The state pension is maintained for those who need it to ensure no pensioner goes underwater. No triple lock.

• Pension contributions will be invested automatically into SIPPs into large index funds by default, with workers having the freedom to change their investments in their SIPP. This replaces pension funds as they historically underperform markets. Previous arrangements with pension funds remain.

• Change the withdrawal rate to 20p for every £1 worked to make working worth it.

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Public transport should be the viable option for every person:

• Every region in the UK to have a TfL-like authority that sets timetables and ensures efficient procuring of buses and trams with control over fares to ensure accessible transport.

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The NHS should be resilient while providing employment domestically to the millions of people struggling to find a job in the country:

• Increase domestic training pipelines and capacity while reducing reliance on healthcare visa workers.

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Education shouldn’t be punished with debt. Graduates on average tend to earn higher over their lifetimes and therefore paying more tax revenue, making university education an economic investment as well as an investment in having an educated country:

• Wipeout of all student loans, providing an effective tax cut worth billions for the working class.

• Fully funded university entitlement for every home student (up to 1 bachelor’s and 1 master’s).

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Academics and work qualifications shouldn’t be seen as separate:

• Practical professional employable qualifications to be offered in schools, including the Care Certificate and CSCS (construction card).

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Corporations shouldn’t let billions of kilograms of perfectly good food go to waste while 1 in 5 people is struggling to put food on the table due to poverty:

• Mandatory leftover food redistribution directly or through food bank networks at the end of the day, when applicable to usable food to reduce food waste.

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Personal drug use is a healthcare issue, not a crime. Addicts deserve to be treated with dignity as patients rather than criminals:

• Decriminalise drugs (similar to the Portugal model). Dealers to still be prosecuted, and small personal possession to be met with healthcare referral.