Kendall sets out plans to deal with the five big issues Labour must prioritise

Leadership hopeful Liz Kendall has today outlined five causes that she believes Labour must prioritise to build a fairer country. But in an article in today’s Independent, she says that the party first needs to win back the public’s trust: “Unless we can restore that, we won’t deliver on the causes we believe in.”

The Leicester West MP argues that “Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have a monopoly on hope” as she lays out five broad areas where she wants to see Labour take action to “establish a positive vision of the more equal and just Britain we’re fighting for”. The fives areas are:

1. Ending inequality from birth

Kendall says she supports investing £1 billion into early years education, funded by reversing the Inheritance Tax cut announced by Osborne in his recent Budget. She also argues for a fairer access to the curriculum for children with special education needs by extending the support they receive in schools.

2. Eliminating low pay

Kendall’s pledge to build a “living wage society” has been reaffirmed, using her plan to by extend the remit of the low pay commission so it can drive up pay. She also slams George Osborne’s living wage “con” and pledges to restore working tax credits and reverse the Tories’ planned anti-trade union legislation. She is also in favour of trade union reforms, such as allowing strike ballots to take place online, and would give public sector workers a pay rise, paid for using proceeds from Margaret Hodge’s review of Britain’s £100 billion tax relief bill.

3. Building a caring society

The Shadow Care minister favours helping carers by increasing their wages, ensuring they are paid for travel hours, and stop them having to pay out of their own pocket for uniforms. But she also wants to see families given a greater choice in choosing their carers, and close Assessment Treatment Units to stop mistreatment, such as the Winterbourne View scandal.

4. Sharing power with people

She says she wants “to win power to give it away”, through “radical” devolution that would see more power and responsibility over welfare, housing, health, education, transport and economic growth move away from Westminster. Kendall argues for a more federal Britain – and recently argued in favour of the creation of an English Labour Party.

5. A future of hope for young people

The abolition of student grants, revealed in the Budget, should be stopped, Kendall argues – ensuring that young people are able to attend university regardless of their financial background. She says “We must unleash the talents of young people in every corner of Britain, so they have the skills, networks, chances and choices to get the jobs of the future.” She also wants to see an ambitious plan for the Paris climate change summit, and more serious action taken in the UK to build on the 1.4 million green jobs expected by 2020.