We need a Labour government with a plan to help working people

Whether it is cutting the top rate of tax for millionaires, scrapping hundreds of sure start centres or introducing the disgraceful bedroom tax, you need little evidence that David Cameron and his government have been no different to Major, Thatcher and Heath before them.
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The Labour Party. The clue is in the name. We always have been and always will be the one Party of Britain that will stand up for working people.

We have achieved great things together as a Labour Party and a labour movement. We founded the NHS, introduced the Equal Pay Act and brought in the National Minimum Wage - fighting on the side of working people and their families all while the Tories were busy prioritising the interests of the absolute richest. And today, as the difference between the two Parties could not be clearer, that is undoubtedly still the case.

Whether it is cutting the top rate of tax for millionaires, scrapping hundreds of sure start centres or introducing the disgraceful bedroom tax, you need little evidence that David Cameron and his government have been no different to Major, Thatcher and Heath before them.

It is for these reasons and thousands more, that we need a Labour government. But not just a Labour government, a Labour government with a plan to help working people.

That is why the launch of our workplace manifesto - A Better Plan for Britain's Workplaces - is so crucial.

It sets out clear policies that will make a difference to the lives of thousands of working people and their families all over the country - tackling trade union issues head-on. From banning zero-hours contracts to introducing 25 hours of childcare a week for three and four year olds, and from closing loopholes that allow employers to pay agency staff less than permanent ones to the scrapping of employment tribunal fees.

This is a manifesto which will make people better off and bring some much needed justice to the workplace.

And it's not just in the here and now that people will feel the benefit. It also sets out how we aim to right some of the historic injustices against working people including launching a full review into blacklisting in the construction industry and releasing all the papers concerning the 'Shrewsbury 24' trials.

This document is a game-changer as it will look at reforming the workplace to ensure that working people are at its heart. That means introducing sector bodies to tackle low pay and productivity, putting employees on remuneration boards and opening up company books to show how much top executives are paid compared to the rest of a firm's workers - ensuring that they are held to account.

This manifesto really is a breakthrough for working people and their families across Britain.

It sets out how we can make our country a better, fairer and more equal place - both at home and in the workplace. But it won't be done unless we get the Tories out and Ed Miliband into 10 Downing Street.

This alone should inspire trade unionists across the country to get out, campaign and vote Labour on 7 May.