‘We will believe again, we will hope again’ – those were the words of the Prime Minister on the stage at Labour Party Conference this week.
As All Together Now by The Farm played out across the conference hall there was a sense of togetherness, that for the first time, we all had a sense of direction about what the country needs and how to get there. Mixed with difficult decisions, the hope was beaming out to showcase that a better tomorrow could be coming.
The Prime Minister has set out a clear direction for the country to break with ‘politics as usual’ and draw a line on a decade of division. He vowed to take on the issues that have been ignored by politicians for too long, including social care and youth unemployment to create a Britain for all of us; no matter who we are or where we’re born.
It’s no secret to how we have arrived in this position. Our political opponents will want to point to the last 2 years, but the fact is that the last 40 years have brought so much pain to our country and specifically the North East. The ‘left behind’ town mentality can be felt in almost every former pit village across the region, and even in my constituency, people still tell me about the lasting legacy of the closure of Consett Steel Works and the impact it has had on the town.
Whether it is deindustrialisation, deregulation, privatisation, austerity or the impact of Brexit, the fact is that for many people in the North East and the UK, people feel the weight of having less opportunities on their doorstep, whilst feeling like those at the top continue to profit.
That is where Andy Burnham addressed the nation from, the feeling that things can get better and we change course.
Ending the Thatcher-era ban on government ownership of water companies will help in The Prime Ministers determination to deliver public control of the essentials of life. Alongside that, reforms to our energy sector seeking to serve the public interest. Setting up a new Great British Grid, a body sitting within Great British Energy to help improve competition, speed up grid connections for businesses, support reindustrialisation and drive down bills.
A Government driven with a purpose, to end the years of directors profiting off the publics need to heat, eat and live.
Within health, the announcement of a new social care system, free at the point of use. Older people have been let down for too long, families are forced to pay eyewatering sums to ensure that those who they love receive the right form of care. Providing free personal care for older people will help ease a burden that many of us have faced in our lives and will let people live with the dignity and care they deserve.
Funded through changes to the pensions triple lock. Far from this being something that is taking away from people’s pensions, it is adding to it. Taking away the cost of care will unburden many of the elderly and give them peace of mind. Whilst still committing to guaranteed rises in the state pension every year in line with inflation or 2.5%. Keeping an eye on average earnings along the way to ensure pensioners are not left behind.
And a radical shake up of our housing system. For too long, private landlords have taken advantage of a shortage of council housing to exploit private renters. We will back councils with the powers to call time on rogue landlords and compulsory purchase properties that fall below acceptable standards and where landlords have refused to make improvements. Not only will this directly improve the condition of long-neglected properties, it will bring more homes into council ownership. Which will build on the huge social housing program that this Labour Government has already embarked on.
Those words – ‘we will believe again, we will hope again’ sit within every policy announcement made across the Labour Party Conference and they are more that words, they’re a direction for our country that can benefit us all.