Labour’s 112-page third-term pledge
Wednesday saw the launch of the Labour Party’s election manifesto, Britain: Forward not Back – a 23,000 word, 112-page tome, standing in stark contrast to It’s Time for Action, the Conservatives’ 30-page document.
The whole Cabinet appeared on stage at the Mermaid Theatre in central London at 1100 for the launch, again in contrast to Conservative leader Michael Howard’s solo launch on Monday.
Speeches were delivered by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, John Prescott, Patricia Hewitt, Ruth Kelly, Charles Clarke and John Reid – each of whom outlined a lengthy list of policy promises – followed by a lengthy question and answer session with the assembled press (full story).
Following Alan Milburn’s comments on the radio in the morning, suggesting that Mr Blair would serve out the whole of the next term as Prime Minister if elected, the press was naturally interested in how long Mr Blair planned to stay in office.
But the Prime Minister refused to be drawn, and refused to anoint Gordon Brown as his favoured successor. “What this manifesto shows is that when at that election this party is under new leadership it will continue to be the modern, progressive Labour party of the last 10 years”, he said.
The Conservatives immediately hit back with a press conference fronted by Michael Howard, who dismissed the manifesto as “all talk” and argued that taxes must rise to meet Labour’s pledges (full story). Mr Howard then headed to Nottingham
This was the Conservatives’ second event of the day, following on from a morning press conference with shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin and his deputy George Osborne. They stressed Labour’s record of raising taxes after the last two general elections, but Mr Letwin, when pressed, refused to rule out tax increases under a Conservative government (full story).
Speaking in Manchester, Conservative education spokesman Tim Collins outlined plans to develop more faith schools under a Tory government (full story). In London, party chairman Liam Fox and local government spokeswoman Caroline Spelman launched a new cinema advert, focusing on Labour’s “broken promises”.
At their morning briefing, the Liberal Democrats focused on health. Still without leader Charles Kennedy – who returns to the campaign trail on Thursday – deputy leader Sir Menzies Campbell and health spokesman Paul Burstow highlighted their policy of abolishing charges for personal care for older people (full story).
Mr Burstow also declared, “We will also set up an independent review of prescription charges with the aim of extending free prescriptions to more people living with long term conditions.”
Sir Menzies then headed to Birmingham Hodge Hill, where the Lib Dems almost overturned a giant Labour majority in a recent by-election, and afterwards to Westmorland and Lonsdale.
The Liberal Democrats also confirmed today that their manifesto – which had been expected on Tuesday – will be launched on Thursday at 0730. The evening saw the airing of the party’s first election broadcast, which stressed the Lib Dems’ achievements in government in Scotland, such as abolishing tuition fees and instituting free personal care.
The SNP launched a mini-manifesto on their plans for safer communities, which included a pledge to increase police numbers by 1,500 in Scotland.
Plaid Cymru launched their campaign in their heartland of north west Wales, and held an event with the Children’s Commissioner for Wales at the National Assembly in Cardiff.
