This post though is to look at some of the more important policy areas - to summarise what those areas mean and what the party policy is on them. Please bear in mind when reading these that the DRP is set up to reflect the views of its members. If you see anything you're not sure about or even disagree with - tell us! We want and need to know what you think. This party is about you!
So... There are 6 key policy areas to cover in this post. For ease I will quote from the party manifesto wherever possible. The policy areas are:
- Homelessness: the manifesto says: "For one of the richest countries in the world it’s disgusting to know that 400,000 of us are homeless. We will do everything we can to end homelessness once and for all. This does not mean massive tax increases. It means giving a helping hand, and letting homeless people themselves get back on their feet. It means: working with charities and organisations; empowering the homeless to choose how they build a new life; tackling the causes with long term guidance, counselling, support, education and training; supporting effective ‘staging programs’, where continued support is provided for the homeless as they progress stage by stage towards a new life; tax relief schemes for construction companies who can provide low cost accommodation for the homeless and having the guts to do the plain obvious, like putting empty homes to use. Yet it also means wider reforms to the system. GDP is only one contributing factor to happiness and quality of life. Introducing more effective measures of welfare would insist that politicians act to help the most vulnerable within our society, and recognise how rising living costs are affecting people."
- The disabled: The manifesto says: "There are many chronic and degenerative medical conditions that are not officially recognised by the Department of Work and Pensions, despite being recognised by the majority of first world countries. We would accept, and formally recognise all medical conditions that have been documented by the medical community, and where these have not yet been recognised, but where evidence suggests their existence, the party would discuss their inclusion."
- Modern day slaves: The manifesto says: "In 2006 Labour proposed to rescind the rights of migrant domestic workers, and refused to sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. In 2010 the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats refused to endorse an EU directive seeking to tackle sex slavery. Slavery is alive and well today, and we intend to fight for its abolition. There are 27 million slaves in the world today, more than at any time in human history, and 15,000 of those are in the UK!
To abolish slavery we need to act together with other nations around the world (for example by endorsing the EU directive referred to above) to tackle trafficking, and we also need to ensure that more people know that this is an issue, and more police have the expertise to act."
- Those living in poverty: The manifesto says: "Persistent poverty – defined as living at least three years out of the last four in poverty – is high in the UK compared to the rest of Europe. Between 1998 and 2001, 11% of UK citizens lived in persistent poverty, compared to 5 per cent in the Netherlands, 6% in Germany, and 9% across Europe as a whole. We aim to tackle this persistent poverty, and especially structural poverty that is passed down generations, through: job creation, micro‐credit programmes, giving more educational options to those with need, especially to adults willing to study in their spare time, creating a minimum pension through minor redistribution, developing a new system of child benefits that gives money not only to struggling parents, but also to the children when they enter adulthood, supporting ex‐offenders into work, improving community facilities, and improving infrastructure. Ending poverty will create wealth and increase economic productivity in the long term. But in the short term costs will be covered through changes in our tax system, cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, and reducing the size of our bureaucracy through scrapping New Labour’s top down targets and decentralising power."
- The mentally ill: The manifesto says: "Major depression is the number 1 psychological disorder in the western world. Alongside mounting levels of stress, it’s growing in all age groups, and will be the second most disabling condition in the world by 2020, behind heart disease. The cost to our society is already in the billions, so not only is it the moral thing to help; it’s also the best financial decision. This is why we favour: extra funding to tackle mental illnesses; a Government campaign to educate people about symptoms, and what they should do when they see the signs; and a long term plan to provide a support network that gives people in every workplace, and every educational institution, access to psychological support."
- The physically ill/wounded: This policy is in development currently. We will update this accordingly when the policy is finalised.
