2024 manifesto · published 13 June 2024

What did Labour propose in 2024?

A programme centred on housing, NHS activity and clean power, with selected tax rises and borrowing for investment. The original funding plans and delivery record are separate questions.

Evidence last reviewed 11 October 2026

The same seven issues and source fields are reviewed for all seven selected parties. This is a June 2024 Westminster-election baseline, not a statement of current policy or a forecast. Northern Ireland parties and later devolved-election manifestos are outside this comparison.

Seven issues, the same questions

These are summaries of proposals, not quotations or assessments of whether they were delivered. Open each issue for its mechanism, original estimates, timing and source.

Housing

Build 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, restore mandatory housing targets, and deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Also a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers and immediate abolition of Section 21 'no fault' evictions.

Scope: England (the manifesto states the 1.5 million homes are 'across England'; planning and housing are devolved policy areas).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Update the national planning framework (named in the manifesto as the National Policy Planning Framework), take a brownfield-first approach with prioritised release of 'grey belt' land under 'golden rules', build a new generation of new towns, require strategic planning by Combined and Mayoral Authorities, reform compulsory purchase compensation, and fund additional planning officers.
Published cost
300 new planning officers: £20m in 2028-29. No other housing cost published in the manifesto.
Funding
Planning officers funded by increasing the stamp duty surcharge on residential purchases by non-UK residents by 1% (£40m revenue, 2028-29). Affordable Homes Programme changes to deliver more homes 'from existing funding'.
Timing
1.5 million homes over the next parliament; planning framework updated 'immediately'; Section 21 abolished 'immediately'.
What remains unclear
The manifesto gives no year-by-year build profile and does not state how many of the 1.5 million homes would be social or affordable.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 36-39 (printed pp. 36-39); PDF p. 79 (printed p. 79); PDF p. 127 (printed p. 127)

NHS

Deliver an extra two million NHS operations, scans and appointments every year (40,000 more each week), return to the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard, double the number of CT and MRI scanners, and recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff.

Scope: England (the manifesto states the extra appointments are delivered 'in England'; health is a devolved policy area, with £650m Barnett consequentials listed for the devolved nations).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Incentivise staff to carry out additional appointments out of hours, pool resources across neighbouring hospitals with shared waiting lists, use spare capacity in the independent sector, and create a new 'Fit For the Future' fund for scanners.
Published cost
In 2028-29 (£m): 40,000 more operations, scans and appointments a week 1,010; doubling CT and MRI scanners 250; dentistry package including 700,000 urgent appointments 125; 8,500 new mental health staff 410.
Funding
Revenue from closing further non-dom tax loopholes and investment in reducing tax avoidance (£5,230m in 2028-29).
Timing
Costed at 2028-29, the highest annual cost year; the manifesto says policies would begin 'from day one'. No date given for meeting the 18-week standard.
What remains unclear
IFS: Labour set out no overall NHS spending plan, so it is not possible to judge whether the waiting-time and workforce pledges are credible.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 95-96 (printed pp. 95-96); PDF pp. 126-127 (printed pp. 126-127)

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Tax and spending

No increase in National Insurance, the basic, higher or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT. Abolish non-dom status, apply VAT and business rates to private schools, close the carried interest loophole, raise the non-UK resident stamp duty surcharge, and extend and raise the Energy Profits Levy.

Scope: UK-wide (tax measures); public services spending largely England with Barnett consequentials of £650m listed for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Fiscal rules: the current budget moves into balance and debt falls as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast; every significant fiscal event subject to an independent OBR forecast; HMRC investment to reduce tax avoidance; waste and efficiency savings re-allocated within departmental plans.
Published cost
Additional public services spending £4,835m in 2028-29 (including Barnett consequentials); Green Prosperity Plan £4.7bn annual average across the parliament; £1,460m re-allocated within existing departmental plans (annualised).
Funding
Revenue in 2028-29 (£m): non-dom loopholes and tax avoidance 5,230; VAT and business rates on private schools 1,510; carried interest 565; non-UK resident stamp duty +1% 40; total 7,350. Green Prosperity Plan: windfall tax £1.2bn plus borrowing to invest within fiscal rules £3.5bn (annual average).
Timing
Costings use 2028-29, the last OBR forecast year; fiscal rules apply by the fifth year of the forecast; Energy Profits Levy extended to the end of the next parliament.
What remains unclear
IFS: most of the extra revenue relies on reduced tax avoidance, an uncertain source, and the manifesto does not say what happens if growth disappoints.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 19-21 (printed pp. 19-21); PDF p. 53 (printed p. 53); PDF pp. 126-129 (printed pp. 126-129)

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Work

Implement 'Labour's Plan to Make Work Pay: Delivering a New Deal for Working People' in full, including banning exploitative zero hours contracts, ending fire and rehire, and basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal. Remove minimum wage age bands so all adults receive the same rate.

Scope: UK-wide (the manifesto says the changes will improve working lives 'across the entire UK').

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Legislation after consultation with businesses, workers and civil society; strengthen workers' collective voice including through trade unions; create a Single Enforcement Body; change the Low Pay Commission remit so it accounts for the cost of living. Separately, a youth guarantee of training, an apprenticeship or job support for 18- to 21-year-olds.
Published cost
No cost published in the manifesto
Funding
Not stated (the youth guarantee draws together existing funding and entitlements).
Timing
Legislation introduced within 100 days.
What remains unclear
IFS: it is unclear what making the National Living Wage a 'genuine living wage' would mean in practice.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 43-45 (printed pp. 43-45)

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Education

Recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers, fund free breakfast clubs in every primary school, open 3,000 additional nurseries in primary schools, and provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.

Scope: England (devolved policy area; the manifesto refers to the skills system 'in England' and lists Barnett consequentials for the devolved nations).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
End the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools to invest in state schools; review bursaries and retention payments; replace Ofsted single-word grades with report cards; launch an expert-led curriculum and assessment review; establish Skills England.
Published cost
In 2028-29 (£m): 6,500 new expert teachers 450; free breakfast clubs 315; teacher and headteacher training 270; mental health support for every school 175; over 3,000 new nurseries 35; Ofsted reform 45.
Funding
Revenue from applying VAT and business rates to private schools (£1,510m in 2028-29); the manifesto states teachers are 'paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools'.
Timing
Costed at 2028-29; policies begin 'from day one' per the fiscal plan. No delivery date given for teacher recruitment.
What remains unclear
IFS: the manifesto makes no commitment on core school, college or higher education funding, only on specific new programmes.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 10 (printed p. 10); PDF pp. 81-85 (printed pp. 81-85); PDF p. 127 (printed p. 127)

IFS scrutiny of this programme

Energy

Clean power by 2030, set up a publicly-owned company Great British Energy capitalised with £8.3 billion over the next parliament, and invest an extra £6.6 billion in a Warm Homes Plan to upgrade five million homes. No new oil and gas exploration licences, no new coal licences, and a ban on fracking.

Scope: UK-wide for Great British Energy (headquartered in Scotland); the manifesto says elements of the Warm Homes Plan and British Jobs Bonus will be devolved.

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar and quadruple offshore wind by 2030; Great British Energy co-invests in clean power and local generation; Warm Homes Plan grants and low interest loans; extend the Energy Profits Levy to the end of the next parliament, raise it by three percentage points, and remove investment allowances.
Published cost
Annual average across the parliament: Great British Energy £1.7bn; Warm Homes Plan £1.1bn; National Wealth Fund £1.5bn; British Jobs Bonus £0.3bn; Green Prosperity Plan total £4.7bn including Barnett consequentials.
Funding
Windfall tax on oil and gas giants (£1.2bn annual average) plus borrowing to invest within fiscal rules (£3.5bn annual average).
Timing
Clean power and renewables targets by 2030; Great British Energy capitalisation and Warm Homes investment over the next parliament; private rented homes to meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030.
What remains unclear
The manifesto gives annual averages rather than a year-by-year profile and does not quantify the bill savings it says households would receive.

Original manifesto · PDF pp. 51-56 (printed pp. 51-56); PDF p. 128 (printed p. 128)

Immigration

Reduce net migration and reform the points-based immigration system. Create a new Border Security Command, scrap the Rwanda scheme, hire caseworkers to clear the asylum backlog and end asylum hotels, and set up a returns and enforcement unit with an additional 1,000 staff.

Scope: UK-wide (reserved policy area; not stated explicitly in the manifesto).

Mechanism, cost, funding and source
Mechanism
Appropriate restrictions on visas and linking immigration and skills policy; barring employers who flout employment law from hiring abroad; strengthening the Migration Advisory Committee; workforce and training plans for sectors such as health and social care and construction; counter-terrorism style powers for the Border Security Command; new returns arrangements.
Published cost
Re-allocated within departmental plans (annualised): asylum backlog measures £155m; Border Security Command £75m.
Funding
Border Security Command funded by scrapping the Rwanda scheme; asylum backlog measures funded by ending use of hotels for asylum accommodation.
Timing
Not stated
What remains unclear
The manifesto commits to reducing net migration but gives no target figure or timescale.

Original manifesto · PDF p. 17 (printed p. 17); PDF pp. 41-42 (printed pp. 41-42); PDF p. 129 (printed p. 129)

What was costed, and who would pay?

The party published a costings table or separate document. This records publication, not independent validation, complete policy coverage or guaranteed funding.

Revenue in 2028-29 (£m): non-dom loopholes and tax avoidance 5,230; VAT and business rates on private schools 1,510; carried interest 565; non-UK resident stamp duty +1% 40; total 7,350. Green Prosperity Plan: windfall tax £1.2bn plus borrowing to invest within fiscal rules £3.5bn (annual average).

These are the party’s 2024 estimates, not today’s receipts or spending. Annual and whole-parliament amounts, different price bases and different geographies cannot be added or ranked as though they were the same.

Independent scrutiny and implementation limits

Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2024-06-13

a top-up of almost £5 billion to day-to-day public service spending in 2028-29 (mostly NHS and schools), slightly more than matched by permanent tax rises scored at just over £7 billion a year, mostly from reduced tax avoidance. Green investment of £23.7 billion over the parliament (about £4.7 billion a year), with £17.5 billion borrowed over five years. With no overall NHS or schools funding plans and unprotected services still facing real-terms cuts, the manifesto does not say where extra money would come from if growth disappoints.

What would implementation need to resolve?

These are the issues identified in the dated source review, not forecasts of markets, health outcomes or an election result. Later policies need a separate assessment.

Housing
The manifesto gives no year-by-year build profile and does not state how many of the 1.5 million homes would be social or affordable.
NHS
IFS: Labour set out no overall NHS spending plan, so it is not possible to judge whether the waiting-time and workforce pledges are credible.
Tax and spending
IFS: most of the extra revenue relies on reduced tax avoidance, an uncertain source, and the manifesto does not say what happens if growth disappoints.
Work
IFS: it is unclear what making the National Living Wage a 'genuine living wage' would mean in practice.
Education
IFS: the manifesto makes no commitment on core school, college or higher education funding, only on specific new programmes.
Energy
The manifesto gives annual averages rather than a year-by-year profile and does not quantify the bill savings it says households would receive.
Immigration
The manifesto commits to reducing net migration but gives no target figure or timescale.

What happened at the election—and since?

These proposals were published for the July 2024 general election. Election results, present voting intention and government delivery are different measures; use the linked evidence pages for each.