Today we present further policies in this manifesto, as part of the journey of rebuilding our country.
Every policy that follows in this manifesto is fully costed and fully funded.
No policy commitment in pursuit of Labour’s missions matters unless we uphold the first duty of any government: to keep the country safe.
Peace and security are hard earned.
They require constant vigilance.
Over the last 14 years geopolitical tensions have risen, while the Conservatives have hollowed out our armed forces.
Now Putin is attempting to break European security with his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Labour will meet this challenge by strengthening our armed forces and protecting our national security.
Our commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent is absolute.
It is a vital safeguard for the UK and our NATO allies.
As the party that founded NATO, we maintain our unshakeable commitment to the alliance, and we will apply a NATO test to major defence programmes to ensure we meet our obligations in full.
In recent years, threats to our safety and security have multiplied and diversified.
Alongside greater conventional threats, we are faced with the growing emergence of hybrid warfare, including cyber-attacks and misinformation campaigns which seek to subvert our democracy.
From the Skripal poisonings to assassination plots by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, threats from hostile states or statesponsored groups are on the rise, but Britain lacks a comprehensive framework to protect us.
Labour will take the approach used for dealing with non-state terrorism and adapt it to deal with state-based domestic security threats.
Terrorism remains a significant threat.
Labour will also ensure the police and intelligence services have the powers and resources they need to protect the British people from terrorism and hostile espionage.
Britain is a tolerant and compassionate country.
We have a proud tradition of welcoming people fleeing persecution and abuse.
Schemes like Homes for Ukraine, Hong Kong humanitarian visas, and the Syrian resettlement programme have provided important routes for refugees seeking sanctuary.
But the system needs to be controlled and managed and we need strong borders.
The small boats crisis, fuelled by dangerous criminal smuggler gangs, is undermining our security and costing lives.
Rather than a serious plan to confront this crisis, the Conservatives have offered nothing but desperate gimmicks.
Their flagship policy – to fly a tiny number of asylum seekers to Rwanda – has already cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
Even if it got off the ground, this scheme can only address fewer than one per cent of the asylum seekers arriving.
It cannot work.
Chaos in the Channel has been matched by chaos at home.
The Conservatives’ unworkable laws have created a ‘perma-backlog’ of tens of thousands of asylum seekers, who are indefinitely staying in hotels costing the taxpayer millions of pounds every week.
Labour will stop the chaos and go after the criminal gangs who trade in driving this crisis.
This new Command will work internationally and be supported by new counter-terrorism style powers, to pursue, disrupt, and arrest those responsible for the vile trade.
We will hire additional caseworkers to clear the Conservatives’ backlog and end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.
We will negotiate additional returns arrangements to speed up returns
And we will also act upstream, working with international partners to address the humanitarian crises which lead people to flee their homes,
and to strengthen support for refugees in their home region.
Every commitment a Labour government makes will be based on sound money and economic stability.
This is a non-negotiable principle for our changed Labour Party.
Siren voices may claim that there are no limits on what government can spend, or that tax cuts pay for themselves.
We reject this flawed ideology that was tested to destruction by the disastrous Conservative ‘mini budget’.
The British people are still paying the price of those unfunded commitments through higher mortgage costs, and taxpayers continue to foot the bill through higher interest payments, meaning less money for investment and public services.
The impact was not confined to these shores.
The Conservatives’ recklessness sent a signal of instability across the world that damaged our standing, making Britain a less attractive place for business to invest.
The chaos is not over.
The desperate Conservatives have now made yet more unfunded tax cuts and spending promises at a scale beyond the ‘mini budget’.
This would be devastating for families across the country.
Our approach is based on strong fiscal rules which will govern every single decision we make in government.
Our fiscal rules are that: The current budget moves into balance, so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues
These rules allow for prudent investment in our economy.
This represents a clear break from the Conservatives who have created an incentive to cut investment;
a short-term approach that ignores the importance of growing the economy.
Labour will strike a balance between prioritising investment and the urgent need to rebuild our public finances.