There are some promising policies such as a rise in the minimum wage to £8, the scrapping of zero-hour contracts, repeal of the Social and Health care bill, reversal of the 50p tax cut, repeal of the bedroom tax and exclusion of the NHS from the EU-US trade agreement.
However, I would not exactly call these policies progressive. Yes they will hopefully improve the lives of those on low incomes, but they will do little to bring about real social change. Or enable those from all sections of society to enter into positions that have for so long been dominated by the upper classes, particularly white men.
For me real social change begins with education, and unfortunately the education policy seems to be more focused up moulding our children into ideal neo-liberal subjects rather than giving them real opportunities to think critically and challenge social reproduction.
The focus of Labour Party education policy is on vocational education, rather than levelling the playing field by supporting and adequately funding a comprehensive education system.
Schools will still exist in a fragmented system with LEA schools given the same powers as Academies. Giving more powers to schools really means giving more powers to head teachers, and in many of the academies I know head teachers have used these powers to implement significant changes, such as extending the school day, without negotiation with staff, parents or students.
Thus the education policy, like many of the other policy areas, echoes neo-liberal logic — personal responsibility, individualism and retreat of the government.
