Revealed: The first page of Labour’s manifesto – dedicated to a “Budgetary Responsibility Lock”

The Labour election manifesto is released in Manchester tomorrow (Monday) and the first page of that document has been released this evening – with a focus on “Budget Responsibility”. Outlined on that page is a “Budget Responsibility Lock” which guarantees that every policy in the manifesto is fully funded without requiring any additional borrowing. This is in marked contrast to previous Labour manifestos, which have usually listed new spending commitments on the first page, which Miliband will argue “shows Labour is not only the party of change but the party of responsibility too.”

The lock also commits Labour to:

• Cutting the deficit every year (The first line of a future Labour Government’s first Budget will be that it “cuts the deficit every year”) and having that commitment verified each year by the OBR
• Ensuring that the national debt falls and a surplus on the current budget is secured as soon as possible in the next parliament
• Reducing the national debt and delivering a surplus on the current budget as soon as possible in the next parliament

In addition, Labour will also commit to an independent assessment of all major parties spending and tax commitments (conducted by the OBR) before future general elections. Here’s the first page of the manifesto (click to enlarge):

We’ll have further coverage of Labour’s manifesto (including the launch event) in the days ahead.