Labour’s 50 top

achievements
1. A rising national minimum wage - the annual 13. Nearly 3,500 Sure Start children’s centres have
increase benefits one million people a year. been opened - almost six in every constituency,
reaching two million children and their families.
2. The shortest waiting times since NHS records
began, with three million more operations 14. There are over 42,400 more teachers and
carried out each year than in 1997, including 123,000 more teaching assistants than in
more than double the number of heart 1997.
operations.
15. Around 3,700 schools have been rebuilt or
3. Over 44,000 more doctors, 89,000 more nurses significantly refurbished, with new and improved
and over 100 new hospitals built. classrooms, laboratories and kitchens.

4. Over three-quarters of GP practices now offer 16. A free nursery place for every three- and four-
extended opening hours for at least one evening year-old, and free fruit for most four- to six-year-
or weekend session a week. olds.

5. Free prescriptions for people being treated 17. The number of registered childcare places has
for cancer or the effects of cancer, plus a been doubled to more than 1.5 million, one for
vaccination against cervical cancer for teenage every four children under eight years old.
girls.
18. More young people are attending university than
6. The NHS can now guarantee that you will see ever before.
a cancer specialist within two weeks if your GP
suspects you may have cancer. Whatever your 19. The number of people starting an apprenticeship
condition, you will not have to wait more than 18 has more than doubled, with 234,000 starting
weeks from GP referral to the start of hospital one in 2008/09, compared to 75,000 in 1997.
treatment – and most waits are much shorter
20. Educational Maintenance Allowance of up to
than this.
£30 per week is helping young people stay in
7. Twenty-two million people are benefiting from education.
real tax cuts to boost their income this year.
21. In 1997 more than half of all schools saw less
8. Twelve million pensioners are benefiting from than 30% of their pupils get five good GCSEs
increased winter fuel payments of £250 or £400 including English and Maths. Now only 270
for over-80s, with free eye tests for over-60s and schools fail to reach this benchmark and we are
free TV licences for over-75s. guaranteeing that no school should fail after
2011.
9. Nine hundred thousand pensioners have been
lifted out of poverty by pension credits. 22. We have increased school funding to support
the delivery of higher standards. Between
10. Half a million children have been lifted out 1997/98 and 2009/10, total funding per pupil
of relative poverty, with measures already in has more than doubled - from £3,030 to £6,350
motion to lift a further half a million out of in real terms.
poverty.
23. The Northern Ireland peace process.
11. The New Deal has helped over two million
people into work. 24. The UK is now smoke-free, with no smoking in
most enclosed public places.
12. Over three million child trust funds have been
set up. 25. The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are now
21% below 1990 levels, beating our Kyoto
target.
26. Britain now has more offshore wind capacity doubled - UK aid helps lift an estimated three
than any country in the world. Wind last year million people out of poverty every year.
provided enough electricity to power two million
homes. 39. Up to 100% of debt has been cancelled for the
world’s poorest countries.
27. We have invested over £20 billion in bringing
social housing to decent standards. 40. We launched the £1.5 billion housing pledge to
speed up the delivery of new affordable housing
28. Rough sleeping has dropped by two-thirds and and embarked on the biggest programme of
homelessness is at its lowest level since the council house building for 20 years.
early 1980s.
41. We set up the Swimming Challenge Fund to
29. Free off-peak travel on buses is available support free swimming for over-60s and under-
anywhere in England for over-60s and disabled 16s.
people.
42. Fox hunting, fur farming and the testing of
30. Since 1997 overall crime is down 36%, domestic cosmetics on animals have been banned.
burglary down 54%, vehicle-related crime down
57% and violent crime down 41%. 43. We led the campaign to win the 2012 Olympics
for London. Today the programme remains
31. A new flexible points-based system to ensure on time and on budget with over 40% of the
only those economic migrants who have the construction programme completed and all
skills our economy needs can come to work in major venues under construction.
the UK.
44. Free admission to our national museums and
32. Police numbers up by 16,000 since 1997, galleries.
alongside more than 16,000 police community
support officers 45. Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland, an elected mayor and assembly for
33. Every community now has its own dedicated London and directly-elected mayors for those
neighbourhood police team, easily contactable cities that want them.
by the people who live in that community and
working with them to agree local priorities and 46. A new right of pedestrian access to the English
deal with people’s concerns. coast has been created, so that every family has
the opportunity to enjoy the length and breadth
34. The age of consent has been equalised and of our coastline.
Section 28 has been repealed.
47. In the last four years Labour’s work overseas
35. Through the introduction of civil partnerships, has helped over seven million people in
Labour has for the first time given legal sub-Saharan Africa access clean water and
recognition to same-sex partners. Lesbian and sanitation.
gay couples now have the same inheritance,
pension and next-of-kin rights as married 48. In Europe we signed the Social Chapter and
couples. introduced measures including: four weeks’
paid holiday; a right to parental leave; extended
36. Stronger protection against disability maternity leave; a new right to request flexible
discrimination in employment and better access working; and the same protection for part-time
for disabled people to goods, services, facilities workers as full-time workers.
and premises.
49. We led efforts to agree a new international
37. We have strengthened the Race Relations Act convention banning all cluster munitions.
and introduced aggravated sentences for racially
motivated crimes. 50. We introduced the first ever British Armed Forces
and Veterans Day to honour the achievements of
38. Britain’s overseas aid budget has more than our armed forces – both past and present.

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