To fix our schools and our environment, we must invest in both. There is no shying away from the need to fund a sustainable future.
INVEST IN EDUCATION
- Providing a major boost to primary and secondary school budgets (circa 30%) using proceeds from various funding streams including corporation tax, fuel duty freeze, vat from online trading and tech tax
- Establishing an effective and widespread apprenticeship/vocational/skills training programme, publicly and independently monitored, to realise potential and to develop the necessary skills for jobs, productivity and growth
- Supporting youth programmes and school curriculums that promote peaceful conflict resolution, mentoring and jobs for youth at risk
- Urgently reviewing the student loan system
LIFE LONG LEARNING
- Re-establishing the early childhood sure start programmes that provided the foundations for education
- Looking to lifelong learning programmes. As our population ages in relative terms, we will have a great source of expertise and capability leaving the jobs market that could be used to assist new firms, new companies.
INCENTIVISE RESPONSIBILITY
- Creating a Community Action Service programme, a citizen service for young people consisting of one year of social, community or military service for young adults. This will bring a wide range of benefits to the youth across the country and across social divides. Providing training and practical qualifications, improving communication, leadership and teamwork skills and encouraging young people to experience life around the country
- Seeking to engage our retired or retiring people through volunteering and potentially rewarding this service through credits that might be invested in and spent on activities
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
- Investing in infrastructure and sustainable, renewable solutions to energy needs, developing investment in green technologies, for example through subsidies and tax incentives or by incorporating green technologies into new developments
- Borrowing for longer term investment in our infrastructure to help create greater wealth through technology-enabled developments, such as: rolling out electric charging points nationally, increasing wind investment and using our strength as an island nation and a more coherent regional transport networks including reviewing HS2
TACKLE POLLUTION
- Supporting the implementation of a New Clean Air Act to help treat the epidemic of air pollution
- Reducing the many different types of pollution in the UK to encourage business to invest in creating clean jobs, and business and households to increase recycling
- Allowing delivery companies to reduce road tax liability by ensuring their vehicle fleets meet best-in-class emissions standards
CARBON REDUCTION
- Ensuring that UK environmental regulations are equal to or stronger than existing EU regulations
- Recognising that nuclear energy has a lower carbon footprint, but being cautious about encouraging investment in major new nuclear power-generating facilities. New, potentially smaller, nuclear plants may mitigate some of these problems
- Embracing modern technology like electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles
Many of the issues raised with us on the Listen to Britain tour boiled down to incompetent or careless decisions made by politicians. People are tired of paying the price for bad decisions made without due regard for the longer-term impacts, despite compelling evidence to the contrary or simply because they were politically expedient. The failure of governments to properly fund education was seen as a particularly perverse decision. The fundamental future success of our people and our country wrapped up in a single issue. Cutting corners on education funding now sets our young people up to fail in the future and hard-wires lower productivity into our future economy.
Major change is needed, including an end to austerity because it is holding back our lives. We must have investment in the broader infrastructure of skills, training, education, prepare and encourage the fourth industrial revolution with AI and the skills/tech connectivity needed whilst also focussing on national transport networks. Research and development is the foundation of our current living standard, we must continue to invest in that which makes us stronger and smarter. To guarantee our future wellbeing and to master the environmental and social challenges of tomorrow, technical and scientific progress is key.
Renew knows that climate change is a critical issue facing the UK and the world. Clean air is a human right. Green issues are as important for global balance as they are diverse, encompassing various issues such as clean energy, climate change, the circular economy, sustainable farming and food processing, habitat destruction, air pollution, environmental protection, pollution prevention and biodiversity. Therefore, strong commitments and actions from all stakeholders are needed to achieve the targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement. Ultimately, Our vision is to live in a world in which climate responsibility is part of the solution. We envisage a world where individuals, corporations and public entities take more responsibility for the future of our planet. Economic profit and growth should not prevail over the wellbeing of people and the environment.
We also recognize the vital need for the UK to have cheap, secure and sustainable sources of energy for our economic growth. Moving to a low carbon-producing world to reduce climate change has many challenges but also opportunities. It also requires a diverse range of public and private sector activities. Renew believes, however, that moving to a low-carbon world will bring with it a wide range of commercial opportunities. The UK has no long-term sustainable option but to invest in renewable energy sources and the UK must provide international leadership in the global efforts to reduce climate change.
We have a responsibility to pass on a healthier planet to the next generation, ending the cycle of environmental damage that has continued for too long.