Dubbed policies ‘For the Many, Not the Few’ the Party’s headline pledges include a new top rate of tax for the highest earners and plans to scrap tuition fees for higher education.
For businesses operating in environmental industries – including waste and recycling – certainty over the future of environmental regulations derived from European Union regulations is seen as key a issue going into the June Election. This includes waste and recycling regulations stemming from the Waste Framework, Packaging and Landfill Directives.
Repeal Bill
Theresa May’s government has already pledged to transpose the current framework of environmental regulation set out in EU Directives into UK law through its ‘Great Repeal Bill’ – a piece of legislation that Labour says it will replace with an EU Rights and Protections Bill.
This will ensure that there is ‘no detrimental change’ to environmental protections, the Party’s manifesto claims.
Labour’s manifesto states: “Throughout the Brexit process, we will make sure that all EU-derived laws that are of benefit – including workplace laws, consumer rights and environmental protections – are fully protected without Qualifications, limitations or sunset clauses.”
It adds: “The EU has had a huge impact in securing workplace protections and environmental safeguards. But we all know that for many Brexiteers in the Tory Party, this was why they wanted to Leave – to tear up regulations and weaken hard-fought rights and protections.
“A Labour government will never consider these rights a burden or accept the weakening of workers’ rights, consumer rights or environmental protections.”
Deposit scheme
Elsewhere, the manifesto is somewhat light on specific policies relating to waste and recycling, although Labour does commit to setting ‘guiding targets’ for a plastic bottle deposit scheme.
The policy had been among those to have been included in a leaked version of the document seen last week, and has survived in the official document put out by the opposition party today.
The Labour manifesto states: “We will set guiding targets for plastic bottle deposit schemes, working with food manufacturers and retailers to reduce waste.”
Deposit schemes have been in the spotlight in recent weeks, which some see as a necessary step to reduce plastic waste. Others claim that the measure is costly to implement and detrimental to household recycling services.
A deposit scheme sees the consumer pay a small cash deposit when they buy a drink in a can or bottle, and get the money back when they return the item to a collection point.
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