JEREMY Corbyn has officially unveiled Labour’s manifesto for the General Election on June 8 at a launch event in Bradford.
The document reveals that Labour intend to raise at least £4.5billion by taxing people earning over £80,000 a year.
Labour have also pledged to ban zero hour contracts to guarantee workers a “number of hours each week.”
But what does the Labour manifesto mean for the Irish in Britain? Here are some of the key pledges…
Abortion for Northern Irish women
Labour say they will continue to ensure a “woman’s right to choose a safe, legal abortion” – and will work with the Stormont to extend that right to women in Northern Ireland. Under the current system, hundreds of Northern Irish women travel to Britain each year for terminations.
The manifesto makes no such pledge to extend equal marriage to Northern Ireland, where progress on gay marriage has been blocked for many years.
No hard border
Labour say they will “ensure there is no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.” Since the Brexit result last June, fears have persisted that the ‘invisible’ border between Ireland and the North could be replaced with heavy border checks.
No more tuition fees
Labour say they will abolish university tuition fees and reintroduce maintenance grants for university students. After the Brexit result in June, there were fears that thousands of Irish students in Britain could face costly non-EU fees as result of the Brexit vote.
Guranteed rights for EU staff in the NHS
Labour say they will immediately “guarantee the rights of EU staff working in our health and care services”. Irish staff make up the fourth largest nationality among the 1.3 million workers of the NHS.
The party have also pledged to spend an extra £37billion on the NHS, partly funded by the income tax rise. It would include £10billion of capital funding to make sure that NHS buildings and IT systems are “fit for the modern day”, amid concern over last week’s cyber-attack.
Labour say these plans will take one million people off NHS waiting lists, guarantee access to treatment within 18 weeks and guarantee patients can be seen in A&E within four hours.
Protecting the Good Friday Agreement
Labour say they will “continue to fully support the principles and structures inherent within the Good Friday Agreement” – which the party says was “one of the greatest achievements of Labour in office.” The provisions of the Good Friday Agreement include the free movement of people, goods and services across the island of Ireland and official recognition of the Irish language.
The manifesto makes no mention of the status of the Common Travel Area between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain. In January, the Government’s Brexit Minister David Davis guaranteed “without qualification” that the Common Travel Area would remain.
Labour’s manifesto categorically adds that "Freedom of movement will end when we leave the European Union."
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