Hot Topics: Cost of Living

As part of our campaign to encourage students to TURN UP AND VOTE in the upcoming General Election, we’re researching party manifestos on topics that matter to you based on the Student Manifesto. This is to ensure you can feel informed when making your vote.  

Here is a summary of some of their aims surrounding the cost of living that may in turn impact you as a university student: 

Conservative 

• Keep the Energy Price Cap, lower energy bill green levies and reform standing changes 
• Promise not to change or re-evaluate council tax bands, bring in new property charges or increase stamp duty 
• Cut another 2p off National Insurance by April 2027, abolish the main rate for self-employed people, and pledge not to raise income tax rates or VAT 

Green Party 

• Increase the minimum wage to £15 an hour for all ages, offset for small businesses with a cut in National Insurance payments 
• Give workers equal employment rights on day one, including those on zero-hours contracts 
• Increase universal credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week 
• Remove the upper earnings limit on National Insurance that restricts the amount paid by those earning more than £50,270 

Labour 

• Pledge not to increase existing income tax rates, National Insurance or VAT 
• Turn the minimum wage into a real living wage that takes the cost of living into account, and scrap the age bands for adults 
• Ban ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts and the practice of ‘fire and rehire’ and give workers more rights from the first day of a job 
• Cut energy bills with a National Warm Homes Plan to upgrade five million homes in five years and by generating more clean energy 

Liberal Democrats 

• Cut energy bills with more renewable power and a 10-year emergency homes upgrade programme 
• Introduce a National Food Strategy to tackle rising food costs 
• Protect the state pension triple lock so it rises in line with inflation, wages or 2.5% - whichever is highest 

Reform UK 

• Raise the minimum amount someone earns before paying income tax from £12,570 to £20,000 a year, and the threshold for the 40% rate from £50,270 to £70,000 
• Cut fuel duty by 20p a litre and scrap VAT on energy bills and environmental levies 
• Allow married couples to transfer 25% of their tax allowance - so one person would not pay tax on the first £25,000 earned 

Want to find out more about party manifestos and what your local candidates are saying? Use these tools: 

• Find your local candidates 
• Understand parties based on policies 
• Election Fact Checker 
• Party Manifestos: Conservative, Green, Labour, LibDems, Reform UK