The leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, will arrive in Birmingham this morning to release the long-awaited details of his General Election manifesto for 2019.
School of Media students from the university will be reporting live from the event, as members of the shadow cabinet will join the party leader in the Parkside Atrium.
The manifesto is set to include promises of free broadband for all homes and businesses by 2030, more money for the health service and a fresh Brexit referendum.
Mr Corbyn called the fresh plans a “manifesto of hope” that were “fully costed”, involving no tax increases for 95% of taxpayers.
He issued a warning to supporters that his vision for government would be met with opposition in the remaining three weeks leading up to the December 12 polling day:
“Over the next three weeks, the most powerful people in Britain and their supporters are going to tell you that everything in this manifesto is impossible.
“That it’s too much for you. Because they don’t want real change. Why would they? The system is working just fine for them. It’s rigged in their favour.”
Promises to boost NHS spending and social housing
On Brexit, the party will keep to the position decided at its autumn conference of renegotiating an exit deal with the European Union by March and then putting those terms to a public vote within another three months, with Remain as an option.
The manifesto will contain intentions to significantly boost NHS spending, create a £10 minimum hourly wage for all, and tackle climate change by creating jobs in a “green industrial revolution”.
A spree of social house building – the largest since the 1960s – will also feature, with a £75 billion plan, paid for through borrowing, to construct 150,000 homes a year.
Conservatives pledge
Yesterday the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, made a tax cut promise while on the campaign trail, vowing to lift 2 million low-paid workers out of making National Insurance contributions altogether by raising the threshold from £8,628 per year to £9,500.
Manifestos already launched by Liberal Democrats and Greens
The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have already publicised their plans for government this week, with Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson declaring that her pro-EU party was not a “one-trick pony” after announcing a wide-range of incentives, including plans to provide childcare for all pre-school children over the age of nine months.
In what appeared to be an acknowledgement of the squeeze the Lib Dems have experienced in the polls, Swinson acknowledged it would be a “big step” for her to get to Number 10 following months of insisting she was a credible contender for prime minister.
Students studying BA (Hons) Journalism and MA Multiplatform and Mobile Journalism will be reporting live from the launch this morning. Students from media, PR and events courses with the School of Media will be filming proceedings alongside national news crews.
To follow the action follow #bcujournos on Twitter and Instagram, or @BCUJournalism, and @BCUMedia
