2021 Manifesto FINAL DRAFT - Flipbook - Page 29
Economy
Able students from the least welloff areas are far less likely to go
on to further and higher education
than their richer counterparts, so I
will continue to oppose tuition
fees for further and higher
education and cuts to the
Education Maintenance
Allowance. I will also champion
the creation of an internship
programme, developed in
collaboration with local
businesses and universities,
aimed at lifting young people who
can’t afford further or higher
education out of poverty.
Arts and culture
While education is about ensuring
young people can live rich and full
lives in general, it is not just about
preparing them for work.
In the same way, we need to
recognise the huge contribution
that arts and cultural
organisations make not only to
our quality of life, but also to our
economy. We must ensure that
they are supported and that we
safeguard their future. With
funding streams continuing to
disappear, and low levels of
disposable income in the
surrounding area the survival of
many institutions is at risk.
Trialling totally new
approaches
As we are facing long-term and
entrenched problems, we must be
prepared to try brand new
approaches to unleash a new
wave of innovation and end the
stifling of creativity. For example,
it’s high time that the UK saw a
trial of Universal Basic Income
(UBI), so I will lobby central
government to do so right here, in
the West Midlands.
UBI is a policy that could tackle
low pay (and the perils of the gig
economy, where many people are
one pay cheque away from
disaster), job insecurity and the
complex benefits system. More
than that, it means that people
are free to be entrepreneurial and
set up businesses without running
the risk of losing everything.