The Minor Parties and their Manifestos
Minor party manifestos aren't going to become official government policy, but they can be a useful proving ground for some new ideas. the government can adopt some of those policies as a quid pro quo for support on other issues, or they can steal them outright and take the credit. Unless you're a party member you don't care either way, as long as they're good ideas.
In that spirit, I'm going to review some of the good ideas from the minor parties, and some of the ones that sound like good ideas but aren't.
This is just my opinion, but please tell me why if you think I'm wrong, otherwise I'll never learn.
Lib Dems:
Jo Swinson took some stick at the beginning of the campaign for trying to make out she's a challenger for PM - she isn't, but the Lib Dems could be a majority government one day. Their policies are generally pretty centrist and mainstream, but they can't think beyond local government or the next election cycle. They need to build strategies that will get them there in fifteen to twenty years, not five.
Anyway, the policies...
What I like:
- Legal, regulated selling of cannabis. It works in many parts of America and seems to have made kids less likely to smoke, it's probably ready to be tried here.
- A penny on income tax - at least they're being honest, and in isolation would help reduce the deficit.
- Reduce the wait for payments on Universal Credit from five weeks to five days. This is the number one problem that people coming to Citizens Advice had with the new regime. If they can't do this then the system isn't ready and shouldn't be rolled out until it is.
What I don't like:
Plenty. The expansion to free childcare sounds like a great idea until you realise that the current scheme is bankrupting providers. The renewables targets sound great, except they're just going to throw money at it, which means we'll end up with out-of-date tech when the market could provide the answers given time and investment in battery technology. The gig economy measures are just more state and government interference in a system that is already too complicated. The skills wallet is a gimmick, making HE loans more widely available would drive better behaviours. Gambling levies, minimum unit alcohol pricing, auditing food security, so much of their agenda is surprisingly illiberal, nanny-state meddling.
The Greens
What I like:
- Universal Basic Income. I am still undecided whether this is actually a good idea or not. It tries to solve the dilemma that a rich society like ours should never let anyone be destitute, but everyone should always be better off when they work to support themselves. It's an idea that needs to be tested.
- Voting reform. Again, this is something I'm still undecided on, but we need to talk about Proportional Representation seriously.
Brexit Party
They're not just a one-issue party any more, despite only being invented last Tuesday!
What I like:
- Voting reform, including abolishing the unelected House of Lords. As above.
- Reform business rates. This is something little understood outside local government, and does not work well. Not so keen on the online sales tax idea though.
- Reduce import tariffs. Death to mercantilism!
- Exempt small business with profits under £50,000 from Corporation tax.
- Change Planning to help housebuilding. Increasing the supply is the only way to fix the housing problems in this country, and the planning system is a big part of doing that.
What I don't like:
Reducing Immigration. I think that this one should be buried. Immigration should be what the country needs it to be. Australia wants more immigration to bring in skills it lacks, Germany wants more to rectify demographic imbalances. Sometimes Britain will want more for these and other reasons, sometimes we will want less. Arbitrary targets, either way, are stupid.
