The U.K Ought to Vote for a Labour Government

Due to the imminence of the upcoming election, I will be outlining my opening argument in this round. TheUnexaminedLife will be arguing as Con; I wish him the best of luck! Full Resolution: the U.K ought to vote for a Labour government, opposed to a Conservative one. ==Debate Structure== First round acceptance/opening arguments, followed by rebuttals and closing arguments in the next two. ==Definitions== Ought 1.) used to say or suggest what should be done 1.b) used to indicate desirability *********** (Labour Party) [1.] https://en.m.wikipedia.org... ==Opening Argument== C1.) The Increasing of National Debt Under the Conservatives As it happens, the national debt level has actually increased since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, to an estimated 555 billion pounds. The Office of National Statistics stated that the government borrowed 70.7 billion pounds in the first 11 months of the 2015-2016 financial year [2.] http://www.independent.co.uk... Naturally, if a Conservative government is re-voted for yet again, this national debt level would expand. In fact the Chancellor (as of July 2016), has said himself that the national debt level is likely to increase to 2 trillion pounds; this under a Tory government of course. The reason that I am *highlighting* this is because of allegations of over-spending made by the Cons to Labour; especially in this election. Moreover high national debt levels are obviously not positive things as they contribute to slow growth and increase interest percentages. This graph shows how debt has increased since 2010: Now, some people may claim that the Conservatives *needed* to spent more as a result of the global financial increase, but this claim is unfounded as the debt levels have continued to increase with each passing year; even after the recession was officially over in 2013. [3.] http://www.businessinsider.com... C2.) The NHS Crisis Now, the ongoing crisis with public services is one of the most important and widely discussed issued in this general election. Since the Tories were elected, public services have been significantly underfunded--the money that the Tories have borrowed--has not been focused on the public sector at all; on the contrary, it has be largely cut, both in terms of funding and staff. The NHS is the biggest example of this; with a crisis that is so great that 2016 was declared 'the worst in its (NHS) history.' Ambulance level response times have decreased, with one-third failing to meet targets for critical response calls [4.] https://www.theguardian.com... The article also references the 5 billion pound cuts that the care sector has experienced under the Tories, something that undoubtedly strains the NHS in addition to its own cuts. Once more, the article mentions the number of hospital beds that have been closed--more 13,000 as of January 2017--which directly cuts the capacity of the NHS by 5 million a year. As this graph demonstrates, the cuts to the NHS have been severe, with previous Labour governments investing far more into its National Health Service: This is also extremely detrimental, as with an aging population, the demand for A&E is inevitably rising: The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine published two articles stating that 'relentless cuts' in health and social care could've been responsible for more than 30,000 deaths in 2015. Here is a passage from the article: 'Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 'The impact of cuts resulting from the imposition of austerity on the NHS has been profound. Expenditure has failed to keep pace with demand and the situation has been exacerbated by dramatic reductions in the welfare budget of £16.7 billion and in social care spending.' Further stating: 'To maintain current levels of social care would require an extra £1.1 billion, which the government has refused.' [5.] https://www.rsm.ac.uk... [6.]http://www.ox.ac.uk... The Labour Response: It's important to note that the NHS is itself a Labour creation, first brought to the public in 1948, in the hope to provide accessible and 'good healthcare for all'. [7.] http://www.nhs.uk... So, the NHS is particularly integral to the Labour cause. Jeremy Corbyn has pledged an extra 37 billion of funds towards the NHS and social care service [8.] http://www.independent.co.uk... In terms of how this money would be freed-up, the Labour response is firstly to reduce cuts and use money that from the tax increases that will be made on those earning more than 80,000 pounds a year, an additional increase on 123,00 year salaries, and big corporations. The corporation tax will be an increase of 26%, something that will inevitably raise funds. Through these combined tax increases, Labour has estimated that 48.6 billion pounds will be raised. [9.] https://www.bloomberg.com... (Aneurin Bevan, the Labour Health Secretary responsible for creating the NHS.) To leave this particular contention with an additional quote: 'I know people are impassioned about Brexit and nuclear weaponry and anti-terorrism, but none of that means anything if we cannot give our loved ones respect and care....what would Manchester (reference to recent terror attacks) have done without the NHS?' C3.) The Education Sector Similarly to the NHS, the education sector has also been severely impacted by cuts. The above tax increase would also be used to end the cuts and invest more money into the education system; which at this point is desperately needed. The Education Union has estimated the 99% of schools across the U.K will continue to be negatively impacted, unless education policy is seriously altered. [10.] http://edexec.co.uk... Labour's Education Plan: •An end to cuts •Further school investment •Less bureaucracy •Free schools meals for primary (elementary) school children I mention this last one, as there is a particular issue with concentration levels. In fact, direct correlations have been found with hunger and inability to concentrate and flourish in an educational environment; with 65% of 'hungry' children experiencing behavioural problems, 82% being experiencing tiredness, and 84% experiencing poor academic performance. [11.] http://www.hungerinourschools.org... (See p.3) Onto the next issue, which are crippling university fees. When the Tories came to power, they increased tuition fees to 9,000 pounds per year and in 2016, added a further 250. According to the Social Mobility Charity, the average student is left with an estimated 44,000 in debt. While some of the poorer students, according to the chairman of the Sutton Trust, owning around 55,000 in debt [12.] http://www.bbc.co.uk... In his election manifesto, Jeremy Corbyn has stated that university fees will be abolished--saying that he would enact the policy as early as this Autumn. [13.] http://www.bbc.co.uk... C4.) Renationalisation of Key Services Another feature of the Labour mangoes to, is the pledge to renationalise the rail system, the Royal Mail delivery service, the water system, and the Electric Grid System (I.E electric firms) ; as well as overturning decision to sell parts of the NHS to private buyers and prevent any further privatisation from occurring. By renationalising the water industry, Labour has said that bills we be reduced by 100 pounds a year per household. [14.] http://www.bbc.co.uk... In terms of railways, commuters could save over 1000 pounds per year on their ticket costs [15.] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk... Other reasons to vote Labour: •Ban on fracking •Protection of pension and other elderly benefits •Review on 'benefit cap.' •More police •More border police •A new strategic defence and security review •2% of GDP on defence spending •The maintaining of diplomatic relations with the E.U, and U.N •Guaranteed access to NHS treatment within 18 weeks and A&E within four hours •No increase in National Insurance of VAT •Reduction of the voting age to 16 •Review of the British Constitution •More accommodation for the homeless •Private rental controls •A new stimulus package •A Brexit deal that 'puts the economy and living standards first.' •Investment in the British economy •A new National Investment Bank •Guaranteed equal rights for workers 'We judge our economy not by the presence of billionaires, but by the absence of poverty'-Jeremy Corbyn 'The Independent Labour Party has pioneered progress in this country, is breaking down sex barriers and class barriers, is giving a lead to the great women’s movement as well as to the great working-class movement. We are here beginning the twenty-second year of our existence. The past twenty-one years have been years of continuous progress, but we are only at the beginning. The emancipation of the worker has still to be achieved and just as the ILP in the past has given a good, straight lead, so shall the ILP in the future, through good report and through ill, pursue the even tenor of its way, until the sunshine of Socialism and human freedom break forth upon our land.'-James Keir Hardie, Founder of the Labour Party