What does labour stand for?

The Labour Party is a centre-left party founded in 1900 to represent working people and trade unions. It stands for social justice, strong public services such as the NHS, workers' rights and a mixed economy. Labour won the 2024 general election with 411 seats and is currently the party of government.

Labour grew out of the trade union movement and socialist societies. It first formed a government in 1924. The 1945 to 1951 Labour government created the NHS and much of the welfare state. Its Clause IV once committed it to common ownership of industry. This was rewritten in 1995 under New Labour, which governed from 1997 to 2010. It has links to unions.

Labour's 2024 manifesto focused on economic growth, clean energy by 2030, NHS waiting lists, more teachers, housebuilding and stronger workers' rights. In government it has brought rail operators back into public ownership and passed the Employment Rights Act 2025. It added VAT to private school fees and removed the two-child benefit limit. It also created Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean energy company.

Labour remains a broad coalition, from social democrats to democratic socialists. In July 2026 it chose a new leader, who became Prime Minister. The party has struggled in the polls. It lost ground to Reform UK, the Greens and nationalist parties in the 2026 local, Scottish and Welsh elections. Its trade union links remain strong. Debates continue over its direction.

In government since July 2024; Andy Burnham became PM in July 2026. Platform: keep the fiscal rules, help with energy bills and bus fares, a free National Care Service, a rethink of EU ties and a move to proportional representation.

Key pledges

• No rise in the rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT on working people (2024 manifesto)
  The headline rates of income tax, employee National Insurance and VAT stay where they are. Other taxes, and frozen thresholds, can still change.
• Council tax surcharge on homes in England worth over £2m from April 2028
  Homes in England worth over £2m pay a yearly charge on top of council tax, in bands of roughly £2,500 to £7,500. The money goes to central government.
• Stick to the fiscal rules to get borrowing and debt down
  The government promises the day-to-day budget will balance by the end of the decade and that debt will be falling. Investment can still be borrowed for.
• Remove the 5% VAT on household electricity bills from October 2026 to the end of April 2027
  The 5% VAT on household electricity is removed for seven months over winter. Gas bills still carry VAT.
• Clean power by 2030 and no new licences to explore new oil and gas fields (2024 manifesto)
  Aim for a power grid run almost entirely on clean sources by 2030 and stop new exploration licences in the North Sea. Existing fields keep producing.
• Cap single bus fares in England outside London at £2 throughout 2027
  A single bus journey in England outside London costs no more than £2 for all of 2027. The government pays operators the gap.
• Scrap the digital ID scheme
  The planned national digital ID, to be used for checking the right to work, is dropped.
• Fight the next election on replacing first past the post with proportional representation
  The party would ask voters at the next election to back a new voting system where seats match vote share more closely.
• From April 2030 replace the triple lock with an adjusted lock: inflation or 2.5%, plus a link to wages over time
  The state pension would rise by inflation or 2.5%, whichever is higher, and keep pace with wages over the long run. The wages leg of the triple lock is dropped.
• A National Care Service in the next parliament, with free personal care for over-65s who need it
  Personal care such as washing, dressing and help eating becomes free for over-65s who need it. Accommodation in care homes would still be charged.
• Build 1.5 million homes in England this parliament, and help first-time buyers with a 2.5% deposit
  England aims to build 1.5 million new homes over five years, about 300,000 a year. First-time buyers could get a mortgage with a very small deposit.
• Let English mayors keep more local revenue, starting with business rates from 2027, then a share of income tax
  Mayors in English regions keep more of the business rates raised locally from 2027, and later a share of income tax.
• Earned settlement: the standard wait for settlement doubles to 10 years, with stricter English rules
  Migrants would normally wait 10 years rather than five before they can settle for good. Faster routes would exist for those who contribute more.
• Finish deals on food trade, the EU electricity market and a youth scheme, and set out options up to rejoining
  Agree deals with the EU to ease food checks, join its electricity market and let young people live and work in each other's countries. Bigger steps are left open.
• Defence spending at 2.6% of GDP by 2027, on the way to the NATO goal of 3.5% by 2035
  Defence spending rises to 2.6% of national income by 2027, then towards 3.5% by 2035. This follows the NATO goal set in 2025.
• 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs in England (2024 manifesto)
  Put 13,000 extra police officers and community support officers into local patrols in England.