Labour's manifesto launch - 8 in the morning, April 12th

Manifesto

* The Labour manifesto pledge to transfer power over every hospital to local managers, while hospitals that fail to raise standards within three years will be taken over.

* All public sector workers will be expected to speak English and failing police chiefs will be easier to sack, reports the Times.

* Peter Mandelson says the manifesto is “pro-business”.

* The manifesto was previewed in a speech by Ed Miliband yesterday.

* Ed Miliband said this morning that public services will be at the heart of the manifesto.

* If you haven’t already seen it, watch Labour’s new party election broadcast.

* Sally Bercow on what the Conservatives really think of wives.

* One week in, and I don’t really know who David Cameron is, writes Jackie Ashley.

Alex Smith

Alex is the founder and CEO of The Cares Family. He was editor and first director of LabourList in 2009-2010, during which time he established the site as the number one Labour blog, and later an aide to Ed Miliband.

View all articles by Alex Smith

‘As metro mayors gain power, Labour must tighten political accountability’

Last year, the government published a White Paper in which it stated that it would put mayors ‘front…

Patrick Seyd

22nd February, 2026, 10:00 am

Gordon Cragg / GVI Post Box. Hadley, Telford / CC BY-SA 2.0

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor – week ending 22 February 2026

Read what people have been writing to our editor about this week. Find out how to share your…

LabourList Staff

22nd February, 2026, 6:00 am

Comment

‘The coastal towns where young people have been left behind by Whitehall’

Britain is an island nation, yet for too long we have turned our backs on the places that…

Helena Dollimore MP