Sharon Hodgson MP: Youth investment, social care reform and public control: a new era of politics that will work for every postcode
Last month, the Labour Party Conference took place in Liverpool, where our new Prime Minister announced the Government’s plans to bring hope back once and for all. Drawing a line under a “decade of division”, Andy Burnham pledged to put Britain back on track.
The Prime Minister shares my vision of a country where opportunities and investment are not exclusive to one area but spread fairly, allowing talent to thrive in every postcode.
His unwavering belief in the potential of unity and hope has inspired the need to dream big with the future of Britain, something I am incredibly grateful and excited to be a part of.
Central to hope is investment in the next generation, and Labour has already put young people at the heart of ambitious economic growth, creating thousands more college places and delivering 50,000 new youth apprenticeships.
The interim Milburn review revealed that nearly one in eight young people are not in education, employment or training. This cannot continue, and this Labour Government understands that.
The Prime Minister’s plans announced at conference take this further and will allow young people to focus on their futures and enter the property ladder – something many are unable to do independently now.
This includes granting councils greater powers over housing, meaning private rentals could move over to council ownership if they are failing and not looked after.
The right to buy council properties will be removed for any new social homes, but not applied to existing properties retrospectively and new powers will mean that landlords who rent out poor-quality properties will be ordered to improve them.
Young people deserve to be given a chance to own their own homes as a genuine prospect rather than a distant dream.
They deserve to be able to write their own stories, and it is only this Labour Government that is prioritising this.
Reforming the social care system is another vital part of a hope which restores confidence in a social contract that guarantees care and dignity at the end of life, free from unnecessary worry.
For too long, carers have been neglected, corridor care has plagued the NHS, and patients have been let down.
Pensioners have no choice but to spend their savings and sell their homes to afford care.
Labour sees a new way forward with the announcement of plans to unveil a new National Care Service, to bring a new era of care that protects people’s homes and savings, putting people at the centre of it.
It is time for change in the care system, and this Government will deliver.
It is this Labour Government that will at last unite the country and put people at the heart of our policies. I look forward to seeing what the next year brings for the UK, and the North East, under Andy Burnham’s leadership.