Don’t know who to vote for? Here’s a very simple guide to what each party is promising

Pledges and promises are coming thick and fast from every party as the general election approaches. 

Struggling to keep up with who is saying what?

Here is a summary of where the main parties stand on major issues.

For a more in-depth look at what each party has pledged, scour our manifesto checker.

Tax

Conservatives – They have promised to knock another 2p off national insurance, so by 2027 workers would pay 6% of their earnings between £12,570 and £50,270.

The party says its ambition is to get rid of national insurance completely, which they have pledged to do for self-employed workers by the end of the next parliament.

They have also promised a “triple lock plus” for pensioners, meaning they would raise the tax-free pension allowance every year, so pensioners do not end up having to pay income tax on their state pension.

Labour – It has pledged not to raise taxes “for working people”, with no increase in the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, national insurance, or VAT.

It will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25%. This is the main tax paid by businesses on profits – it was raised by the Conservatives from 19% to 25% in April 2023 after the party had steadily cut it down from 28% in 2010.

Liberal Democrats – It plans to reform capital gains tax, increasing the tax-free allowance, introducing three rates of tax and making the rate you pay based solely on your captial gains, rather than gains plus income.

It also wants to reverse the Conservatives’ tax cuts for banks, impose a one-off windfall tax on the “super-profits” of oil and gas producers, and increase taxes on social media giants and companies like Amazon and Google.

Greens – It would introduce a wealth tax of 1% on individuals’ assets above £10m and 2% above £1bn.

Reform – It would raise the income tax threshold from £12,570 to £20,000, reduce the tax on buying property and abolish Inheritance Tax on all estates under £2m. It would also reduce the main rate of corporation tax to 20%.

NHS and social care

Conservatives – They have committed to increasing NHS funding above inflation every year and recruiting 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors.

They have promised to build or modernise 250 GP surgeries and “unlock” 2.5 million NHS dentist appointments by incentivising private dentists to take on NHS patients.

Labour – The party says it will cut waiting times by adding 40,000 more appointments every week. It will also double the number of cancer scanners and add 8,500 new NHS mental health staff.

It has promised 100,000 extra dental appointments for children.

Lib Dems – They have pledged £1.1bn on hospitals and other NHS infrastructure and promised 8,000 more GPs.

They say they want to introduce free personal care for those that need it, increase carers’ minimum wage and boost carers’ allowance by £20 a week.

Greens – The party says it wants to increase the NHS budget by £8bn in the first year, rising to £28bn by 2030.

It wants to provide guaranteed access to an NHS dentist, legalise assisted dying and increase carers’ pay.

Reform – It would cut tax for frontline healthcare staff for three years, offer tax relief on private healthcare, and provide some NHS patients with vouchers for private treatment.

Defence

Conservatives – The party wants to boost defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.

Labour – It will set out a path to the same 2.5% target.

Lib Dems – They would raise defence spending every year of the parliament, also with an ambition to spend at least 2.5%.

Greens – The party would cancel Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

Reform – It would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by year three, and then 3% within six years. It would recruit 30,000 army staff.

Immigration

Conservatives – They have promised legal migration will fall every year by putting a cap on the number of people who can move to the UK.

The party wants to move forward with its Rwanda plan, putting people who arrive on small boats across the Channel on monthly flights to the African nation.

Labour – The party wants to ban employers from recruiting from overseas as default and make sure more UK workers are trained. It would reform the points-based immigration system and bring in more restrictions on visas.

On illegal migration, it has said it will scrap the government’s Rwanda plan, and focus on stopping people-smuggling gangs and beefing up border security.

Lib Dems – It will tackle people-smuggling, lift the ban on asylum seekers working and scrap the government’s Rwanda scheme.

Greens – It wants to help migrants “put down roots”. It would end the minimum income requirement for spouses of work visa holders and provide safe routes for those fleeing persecution.

Reform – It would freeze non-essential immigration and bar international students from bringing dependants. It says it would detain and deport those arriving illegally, and pick up migrants in small boats and take them back to France.

Housing

Conservatives – They have pledged to support people getting on the housing ladder with policies specifically for first-time buyers: no stamp duty on homes up to £425k, a new Help to Buy scheme and 5% deposits.

Labour – The party plans to build 1.5 million new homes and create new towns. It has also promised to end no-fault evcitions and stop developers selling new flats as leasehold.

Lib Dems – They also want to ban no-fault evictions and make three-year tenancies the default. They want to build 380,000 new homes, including 150,000 social houses.

Greens – 150,000 new social houses are also on the Greens’ agenda, along with ending Right to Buy, controlling rents and ending no-fault evictions.

Reform – It wants to go further than the Tories on stamp duty, abolishing it for houses under £750k. It would fast-track new housing on brownfield sites.

Education

Conservatives – The party has pledged to protect day-to-day spending per pupil, ban mobile phones during the school day and introduce 30 hours’ free childcare from nine months old.

For 18-year-olds, national service will become compulsory, with a choice between military or civic duties.

Labour – It will recruit 6,500 new teachers in key subjects, establish 3,000 new nurseries, and introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school. It will also charge private schools VAT.

Lib Dems – The party will put a mental health professional in every school, increase funding and create life-long skills grants to spend on education and training.

Greens – The party wants a £2bn pay uplift for teachers. It would scrap university undergraduate fees, which are currently £9,250 per year.

Reform – It wants children to be taught about their heritage, and plans to ban “transgender ideology” in schools. It would also provide a 20% tax relief on private education to “reduce pressure on state schools”.

Economy

Conservatives – Tax cuts are the centre of its plan to reignite economic growth, while at the same time the party wants to reduce borrowing and debt.

Labour – The party says its plan focuses on wealth creation. It will be “pro-business and pro-worker” and introduce a new industrial strategy, which will end short-term economic policy.

Lib Dems – It wants a better relationship with the European Union and an industrial strategy focused on renewables and other sectors.

Greens – It wants to raise taxes for the wealthy, invest more in health, and bring railways, energy companies and water providers back under state control.

Reform – It would reform the planning system, speed up house building and infrastructure projects and cut red tape, including employment laws in order to make it easier to hire and fire workers.

European Union

Conservatives – The party says it will “build” on its post-Brexit relationships in Europe, including through new defence treaties.

Labour – The party wants to reset, deepen and improve its relationship with Europe.

Lib Dems – It has promised to “fix the UK’s broken relationship”, ultimately resulting in seeking to join the single market. EU membership remains its longer-term objective.

Greens – It wants Britain to rejoin the European Union as soon as possible.

Reform – It would scrap the more than 6,700 EU regulations which Britain retained after leaving the bloc. It also plans to abandon the so-called “Windsor Framework” deal with the EU and renegotiate the EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Climate

Conservatives – The party says it wants to cut the cost of tackling climate change, while sticking with its 2050 net zero target. It pledged to treble offshore wind, scale up nuclear, partly through using new Small Modular Reactors, and promised no new green levies or charges.

Labour – It will aim for clean power by 2030 by doubling onshore wind, tripling solar power and quadrupling offshore wind. It will establish state-owned Great British Energy, backed by £8.3bn, and it will not issue new licences for oil and gas fields in the North Sea.

Lib Dems – It has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 at the latest.

Greens – The party wants to stop all new fossil fuel extraction in Britain, phase out nuclear power, and rely increasingly on wind power plus solar.

Reform – It plans to ditch the net zero target and related subsidies and fast-track licences of North Sea gas and oil. It was also fast-track clean nuclear energy.