This is what Labour is actually going to do for young people, now they’ve won the election

Keir Starmer has won a landslide victory

3 days ago

Keir Starmer and the Labour Party have officially won the election. With a landslide victory of 412 seats, this is the first time they have been in power in 14 years.

But now the Tories are out and we officially have a Labour government, what does this actually mean? And what have Labour actually promised to do for young people? This is everything Keir Starmer and the Labour Party will for for young people now they are set to take power:

The environment

The environment is one of the most pressing issues young people care about. Labour has promised to set up a publicly owned “Great British Energy” where almost all of the country’s electricity will be UK-generated and zero carbon by 2030. It will set up a National Wealth Fund to achieve it. It will also invest in clean energy

Fracking will be completely banned and there will be no new licences set up for coal or North Sea oil. Labour has also promised to ban petrol and diesel by 2030. On water and river pollution Labour will force water companies to clean up rivers and seas and give powers to block bonuses for water company bosses.

Universities

Labour’s manifesto mentions that it will “continue to support the aspirations of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university”.

It adds: “The current higher education funding settlement does not work for the taxpayer, universities staff, or students. Labour will act to create a secure future for higher education and the opportunities it creates across the UK. We will work with universities to deliver for students and our economy.”

Labour also plans to “better integrate further and higher education so that transition between the sectors becomes more seamless for learners.”

Work

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Labour has promised that 18 to 21 year olds will be guaranteed access to training, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Age bands will also be removed from minimum wage, meaning that all ages will be paid the same. It would also ensure that it is a “genuinely living wage”, according to the manifesto.

Zero-hour contracts will also be banned and a landmark Race Equality Act will be introduced to “enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority people”, while disabled people would also get a full right to equal pay.

Mental health

As well as reducing NHS waiting times more broadly, Labour has promised to improve mental health services, particularly for young people, by recruiting 8,500 new mental health staff. These staff will be specially trained to support people at risk. Labour will also introduce new Young Futures hubs for young people which will provide open access mental health services for young people across the country,

Transport

Labour plans to bring railways into public ownership when contracts expire. Its manifesto promises to “overhaul Britain’s railways”. They also promised this wouldn’t cost the taxpayer a penny. These Great British Railways will “deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient services”.

Trans rights

Labour has promised to “modernise, simplify and reform” the laws concerning people who want to legally change gender. It promised this would “remove indignities for transgender people, who deserve acceptance while retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor.”

Labour’s manifesto also, however, commits it to continuing protection for single-sex spaces under the Equality Act. It says it will implement the expert recommendations of the Cass review of transgender healthcare to give those with gender dysphoria “appropriate and high-quality” NHS care.

The party also promises a “full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices” while protecting the freedom of people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity.

You can read Labour’s manifesto in full here.