'Radical and Ambitious' Labour Manifesto Promises to Transform UK

Jermey Corbyn's Labour Party introduced a bold set of proposals Thursday in a paperbound manifesto as the United Kingdom approaches national elections scheduled for December 12. 

The manifesto (pdf), which was introduced at a packed event at Birmingham City University Thursday, addresses the climate crisis, housing, a changing economy, and more—funded by taxes on the country's richest people and corporations. 

"This Labour Manifesto is more than just a book," tweeted Labour candidate Laura Pidcock. "It represents real hope for communities up and down these four nations."

As Labour promoted the manifesto on social media, Corbyn took to Twitter with a 60-second video that crammed in as many of the agenda's policies as possible. 

The manifesto aims to deliver what Corbyn called "the most radical and ambitious plan to transform our country in decades"—one underpinned by funding from a huge tax increase on the country's wealthy. Labour promised to increase taxes by £82.9 billion if elected, with the increase coming from the top 5% of earners in the U.K. 

£11 billion would come from taxes on the fossil fuel industry, earmarked for a "just transition fund" to help the country make the change to a green economy without suffering job losses. 

The document covers a range of ambitious plans, including:

• Increasing spending on the National Health Service by 4.3% a year;
• Renegotiating Brexit and holding a new referendum on leaving the European Union, one that would be legally binding;
• Expanding free schooling, continuing education, and nursery care across the U.K.;
• Free broadband for all by 2030; and
• Abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with a Senate

The manifesto also promises a new foreign policy direction, including an audit of the U.K.'s colonial history.

Author Naomi Klein tweeted that "having this kind if vision on the international stage would be a game changer."