Once a year, the Labour Party holds its annual conference where MPs, Councillors, Trade Unions and members come together to shape our future policy positions. This year it was a particularly important Labour Conference as it could be the last before a General Election.
This was a Labour Party that is ready to serve and lead the country to a brighter future, and I’m proud to be part of our aspirational platform as Shadow Minister for Veterans and Defence People, standing up for the Armed Forces community.
A Labour government will have a transformative impact in Luton and right across society. Our plan revolves around five key missions. A Britain with higher growth, safer streets, cheap British power in your home, more opportunities in our communities and an NHS no longer on its knees.
Under this Conservative Government, criminals are less than half as likely to be caught as they were under the last Labour Government, 90% of crimes now go unsolved and knife crime has gone up by 70% in eight years. We have seen the acute impact in Luton. Labour’s mission to take back our streets will halve crime, halving serious violence and incidents of knife crime. Our community policing guarantee will put more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on our streets in Luton.
Labour will also make Britain a green energy superpower, switching on Great British Energy, a new publicly owned energy company. This will cut costs for billpayers, saving them up to £1400 a year, harness clean British power and create good British jobs.
Our plan for government will also give young people in Luton more opportunities. Breaking down barriers with a modernised childcare system providing every primary school pupil with a healthy breakfast. We will recruit 6,500 new staff for schools, paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.
Owning your own home shouldn’t be out of reach, but after 13 years of Conservative Government and skyrocketing inflation, for many of my Luton south constituents it is. I was pleased to see Labour’s commitment to get Britain building again, building 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament, and giving affordable housing the biggest boost in a generation.
Constituents regularly contact me about their struggle to get doctors and dentist appointments. Labour will rebuild our NHS. We will do this by putting more neighbourhood health services on people’s doorsteps, diagnosing, and treating people in our communities. Labour will boost capacity and cut waiting lists, and we will pay staff properly to do it. More operations, more appointments, and more diagnostic tests.
I’m looking forward to talking to people in Luton South about how a Labour Government will transform our town, and the country.
