General Election 2010
Why GMB Members Should Vote Labour
Health
Labour has delivered:
Waiting lists are down by nearly 600,000 since 1997 (from over 1.1m), with the average inpatient treatment wait down from 13.2 weeks in 1997 to 4.3 weeks today
Since 1997 the health budget has risen from £35bn to almost £103bn (2009/10)
A real terms increase of over 100%
Over 89,000 more nurses since 1997
Over 44,000 more doctors
2 million more operations carried out each year
The Tory threat:
The Conservatives would put access to primary care at risk by scrapping Labour’s deal with GPs for extended evening and weekend opening hours
The Conservatives want to scrap the tough targets which have delivered the shortest waiting times since the NHS was established
The Conservatives would allow local hospitals to go bust, and take NHS resources away from the poorest areas
Children and schools
Labour has delivered:
41,000 more teachers than in 1997
Over 120,000 more teaching assistants
Half a million fewer children living in poverty
Free early education guaranteed for every 3 and 4 year old
Over 3,000 Sure Start centres providing help to 2.3 million young children and their families
The Tory threat:
Cutting £200 million from Sure Start – equivalent to 1 in 5 Sure Start centres closing
Cutting £4.5 billion from the Building Schools for the Future programme, putting hundreds of school rebuilding projects at risk
Businesses
Labour is taking action to help people and businesses through the economic downturn; we are targeting investment in a way that will accelerate the recovery:
Over 110,000 orders for new vehicles since we introduced the £300m car scrappage scheme
170,000 businesses have had an agreement to defer over £3bn in tax
Nearly 3,700 businesses have been offered loans totalling over £360m as part of our Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
The Tory threat:
By opposing Labour’s boost to the economy, the Conservatives have set themselves against extra support for families and businesses, as well as investment in communities throughout the country
The Tories are committed not just to spending less in a time of need but also to spend less in the future
Equalities
Labour has delivered:
The National Minimum Wage – introduced and boosted by 60% since 1999
Increased maternity leave to 12 months
Introduced paid paternity leave for the first time
Abolished the discriminatory Section 28 legislation
Introduced civil partnerships
The Tory threat:
Campaigned against the abolition of section 28, calling it a fringe issue
Voted against allowing same sex couples to adopt
Voted against longer paid maternity leave, paternity leave and flexible working
Environment
Under Labour:
Greenhouse gas emissions down over ten per cent since 1997
£1.4 billion of new investment in this year’s Budget to promote a thriving low carbon sector
A legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050
The Tory threat:
The Conservatives would undo Labour’s planning reforms which are paving the way for business to invest in new low carbon energy
International Development
Labour is delivering:
A quadrupling of UK aid – to nearly £9.1 billion by 2011
A quadrupling of support to fair and ethical trade
Funding for 50 million bednets – helping save 790,000 lives
£8.5 billion over 10 years to help more girls go to school
£1 billion up to 2015 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
The Tory threat:
Halved Britain’s aid budget when they were in power – despite pledging to increase it
Crime and justice
Under Labour:
Overall crime is down 36 per cent since 1997
Police numbers up by over 16,000 since 1997, alongside over 16,000 Community Support Officers
Neighbourhood policing is now rolled out nationally – with more than 3,600 Neighbourhood Policing Teams working in our communities
Tougher and more visible Community Payback schemes so that local communities can see that crime is being tackled in their local area, and justice is being done
25,000 more prison places provided and more offenders are being brought to justice
70 per cent more violent and dangerous criminals are now locked up and for longer
The Tory Threat
The Tories would make a sudden £160 million cut from the crime-fighting budget this year, equivalent to losing 3,500 police officers from our streets
Time and again, the Tories vote soft on crime. They have repeatedly voted against tougher penalties and punishments for offenders including five year minimum sentences for carrying an illegal gun and tougher sentences for murder, sexual and violent offences
50 Reasons Why To Vote Labour.pdf