The British People’s Alliance: The Party of Labour

The British People’s Alliance is the only party in the tradition of Attlee, Bevin, Morrison, Bevan and Gaitskell

Social Justice: A unified benefits, pensions, student funding, and minimum wage system, so that no one’s income falls below half national median earnings. Progress towards giving every household a base of real property from which to resist both over-mighty commercial interests and an over-mighty State.

A permanently higher rate of corporation tax on the banks and the privatised utilities, with the money spent on reimbursing employers’ National Insurance contributions for workers aged 25 or under and 55 or over, and with strict regulation to ensure that no cost is passed on to workers, consumers, communities or the environment.

A ban on any company paying any employee more than ten times what it pays any other employee, with the whole public sector (including MPs and Ministers) functioning as one for this purpose, its median wage pegged permanently at the median wage in the private sector.

Every public limited company to have one non-executive director appointed by the Secretary of State for a fixed term equivalent to that of other directors, and responsible for protecting the interests of workers, small shareholders, consumers, communities and the environment.

Public Transport: Renationalisation of the railways, uniquely without compensation in view of the manner of their privatisation, as the basis for a national network of public transport free at the point of use, including the reversal of bus route and (where possible) rail line closures going back to the 1950s.

Workers’ Rights: Building on the statutory right of every worker to join a trade union and to have that trade union recognised for collective bargaining purposes by giving every trade unionist so recognised the statutory right to take industrial action in pursuit of a legitimate grievance, including strike action, and including solidarity action of a clearly secondary character (such as a work to rule in support of a strike) within a single industry or corporation.

Local Government: Abolition of all remaining vestiges of Compulsory Competitive Tendering, of the capping of councils, and of the power of central government to rule local services ultra vires.

A Real NHS: Freezing of prescription charges, and restoration of free eye and dental check-ups.

Peace and Disarmament: Removal of all nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons from British soil and waters. A total ban on the sale of arms abroad. Removal of foreign forces from British soil and waters. Restoration of British overall control of our defence capability. No more participation in neoconservative wars. Immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq.

British Independence: Restoration of the supremacy of British over EU law. Use of this to restore Britain’s historic fishing rights. No EU law to apply in the United Kingdom without having gone through exactly the same parliamentary process as if it were a Bill which had originated in our own Parliament. The show-stopping Empty Chair Policy until the Council of Ministers meets in public and publishes an Official Report akin to Hansard.

Disapplication in the United Kingdom of any ruling of the European Court of Justice by resolution of the House of Commons, giving this country the same level of independence as is rightly enjoyed by Germany through her Constitutional Court.

Non-application of any ruling under either the Human Rights Act or the European Convention on Human Rights unless and until ratified by such a resolution.

No need for a referendum on further European integration, since Parliament to do its job properly and just say no.

Freedom: Repeal of the Civil Contingencies Act. Repeal of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act. Restoration of the situation whereby a Bill which runs out of parliamentary time is lost at the end of that session. No further extension of detention without charge. No identity cards. No control orders. Repeal of existing erosions of trial by jury and of the right to silence, of existing reversals of the burden of proof, of provision for majority verdicts (which, by definition, provide for conviction even where there is reasonable doubt), and of provision for Police confiscation of assets without a conviction. Repeal of the Official Secrets Acts.

A Real Voice: A real voice for Scotland, Wales, the North, the Midlands, the less chi-chi parts of the South, and those very many people in Northern Ireland who want to vote for social democracy within the United Kingdom.

The unions to identify 10 "dream" policies and 10 "nightmare" policies, with 10% funding to any candidate (regardless of party, if any) for subscription to each of the former, minus 10% for failure to rule out each of the latter. Union and other money to fund development and delivery of a qualification for "non-graduates" with life and work experience who aspire to become MPs.

The British People’s Alliance: The Only Heirs of John Smith