General election 2019: what Conservative and Labour manifestos may reveal, from Brexit to taxes and education The election manifestos haven’t been published yet but here’s a glimpse of what might be in them

The December election may have been triggered to try to settle the issue of Brexit, but voters will want to know what other policies the parties are promising.

Although the manifestos haven’t been published yet, here is a glimpse of what might be in them:

Brexit

Conservatives: Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal to be implemented and Brexit to take place on or before 31 January 2020. Australian-style points system for immigration after Brexit.

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Labour: Will promise to renegotiate a deal with Brussels, likely along the lines of remaining in a customs union and closely tied to the single market. Would then put the deal back to the people in a referendum versus remain.

Lib Dems: If the election comes before a second referendum and the party wins a majority, a Jo Swinson government would revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit. If that doesn’t happen, the party still wants a second referendum and would campaign to remain.

Brexit Party: Will insist on taking the UK out of the European Union without any negotiated deal.

Greens: Would push for a second Brexit referendum and campaign to remain.

Plaid: Would push for a second Brexit referendum and campaign to remain in the EU.

Read More: How the tide turned on an early election as Lib Dems and SNP joined Boris Johnson in calling for snap poll

Tax and spend

Conservatives: Investment in an “infrastructure revolution” with money for broadband, roads, the NHS, schools, roads and police.

Labour: Increase income tax rates to 45 per cent for salaries over £80,000 and to 50 per cent for salaries over £123,000. Would spend £250bn on upgrading the UK’s transport, energy and broadband infrastructure.

Lib Dems: The party will reform the tax system including demanding multinational corporations “pay their fair share in taxation”, double spending on innovation and research, and increase spending on public services and entrepreneurship.

Brexit Party: The party has resisted publishing a manifesto in the past, but it is likely to pledge to lower taxes for both individuals and businesses. Would abolish inheritance tax.

Greens: Introduce a Universal Basic Income. Green policies will establish greater community and environmental accountability of major companies. Reform the banking sector. Redistribute income and wealth via “neutral” taxation.

Plaid: Would open a publicly-owned bank, introduce an infrastructure investment programme for Wales and end the business rates system.

Education

Conservatives: The Government recently announced £120m to pay for extension of technical education colleges and £400m for school improvements at academies and sixth-form colleges.

Labour: Would scrap the £9,250 tuition fees. Create National Education Service based on the NHS. Would abolish Ofsted and likely to reintroduce Sure Start centres.

Lib Dems: Reverse cuts to school funding, triple the funding for early years pupil premium for children from disadvantaged backgrounds to £1,000, give teachers a pay rise at least in line with inflation and spend more money on teachers’ professional development.

Brexit Party: Expected to champion the return of grammar schools. Would scrap all interest paid on student tuition fees.

Greens: Extend early years education so academic learning will not start until the age of 6. Will abolish SATs and Ofsted and introduce practical and skills training at 14.

Plaid: Provide free nursery places for 3 year olds. Increase Welsh language education from nursery through to adult learning.

Health and social care

Conservatives: £13bn “Health Infrastructure Plan” to build 40 new hospitals in England, although only £2.8bn and six hospitals will go ahead at first.

Labour: Create a new National Care Service for social care at cost of £6bn. Would scrap prescription charges and would develop a state drug company to develop cheaper drugs. Increase GP trainee numbers in England by 50 per cent.

Lib Dems: Increase income tax by 1p in the pound to spend directly on the NHS and social care, bring mental health waiting times into line with those for physical conditions, and reduce the cost of social care for the elderly.

Brexit Party: Nigel Farage has championed a greater role for private companies to take over running the NHS.

Greens: The Green Party will repeal the Health and Social Care Act 2012 in its entirety. Create a medicines agency to set the price of drugs provided to the NHS.

Plaid: Likely to offer a “carers’ contract”, train 1,000 extra doctors and 5,000 more nurses in the coming years.

Environment

Conservatives: Likely to hail the policies in the new Environment Bill, which has measures to tackle air pollution, improve water quality, impose a tax on single-use plastic items.

Labour: Aims for 60 per cent of UK energy to come from zero-carbon or renewable sources by 2030 and would build 37 state-owned offshore windfarms.

Lib Dems: Cut air pollution to prevent 40,000 premature deaths every year, ban fracking, more than double the amount of electricity from renewable sources to 80 per cent by 2030, insulation retrofits for 30m properties by 2022, with the fuel poor first in line.

Brexit Party: Likely to push ahead with fracking to limit reliance on overseas fossil fuels. Would also seek to protect the natural environment.

Greens: Reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. Increase the country’s Paris Agreement commitments. Make the case for compensation for climate-related loss and damage and begin to pay such compensation.

Plaid: Expected to make housing stock more energy efficient, create a new Wildlife Act for Wales.

Transport

Conservatives: £220m for bus upgrades including Britain’s “first ever all-electric bus town”, road improvements for the A66, A46 and A428.

Labour: Bring the railways back under state ownership and reverse cuts made to 3,000 bus routes.

Lib Dems: Expansion of electric car use, including giving greater powers to councils to change planning rules to make it easier for green transport use including cycling, electric cars and public transport.

Brexit Party: Would scrap HS2 and introduce free wifi on all public transport.

Greens: Would reduce reliance on “inappropriate transport modes”, such as cars and planes. Would promote transport planning to increase take up of walking, cycling and public transport.

Plaid: Will promise to create a Wales-wide transport system.

Law and order

Conservatives: 20,000 more police officers and more armed with tasers, longer jail terms for violent criminals and foreign offenders who flout deportation.

Labour: Likely to match the Conservatives pledge to boost police officer numbers by 20,000. Will recruit more border guards to increase security. Likely to retain the Human Rights Act.

Lib Dems: Spend an extra £300m a year on local policing and offer sanctuary to 50,000 Syrian refugees and 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children by 2022.

Brexit Party: Would seek to limit the role of the state.

Greens: Likely to pledge to increase the number of local police stations and introduce more local governance of police forces.

Plaid: Likely to reverse cuts to legal aid and create a justice system that reflects the needs of Wales.

Work and welfare

Conservatives: Raise the National Living Wage to £10.50 in the next five years for over-21s.

Labour: Cut the average working week to 32 days within ten years, but without a loss of pay. Zero hours contracts and unpaid internships would also be banned. Union legislation would be repealed. Introduce a UK-wide minimum wage of £10 an hour.

Lib Dems: Consult on a “genuine” Living Wage, introduce “good employer” kitemark for firms who pay a living wage and avoid unpaid internships, reform employment rights for the gig economy and stamp out abuse of zero hours contracts by allowing formal right to request a fixed contract, and scrap employment tribunal fees.

Brexit Party: Has previously said it would protect those “genuinely in need”.

Greens: Would introduce a Citizen’s Income to make work more flexible. Would increase workers’ rights, would work towards a 35-hour average working week.

Plaid: Would ensure a Living Pension for all.

Foreign affairs/defence

Conservatives: New Royal Navy warships will be built in the UK, securing thousands of shipyard jobs.

Labour: Would boost pay in the armed services, improve housing for forces families and increase support for services children. Would immediately recognise the state of Palestine.

Lib Dems: Suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia and control arms exports to countries with poor human rights records and defend international cooperation “against the rising tides of nationalism and isolationism”.

Brexit Party: Likely to bolster armed forces spending and slash overseas age budget.

Greens: Would pursue unconditional nuclear disarmament and a policy of minimum intervention. Would focus on building peace with other nations.

Plaid: Likely to call to scrap the Trident nuclear weapons system.

A note on Scotland

The SNP will approach the election differently, as it only has candidates in Scotland, and many policy areas are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Nicola Sturgeon has made clear that a second Scottish independence referendum in 2020 will be at the heart of the party’s manifesto, also offering Scots the chance to avoid Brexit by rejoining the EU.

Boris Johnson would likely resist her demand; Jeremy Corbyn would be more likely to agree, especially should he need SNP support to become PM. The SNP is supportive of a second Brexit referendum, but would like Scotland’s Remain vote to be given more weight than it was in 2016.