Labour give one paragraph to tourism in manifesto
Labour published its election manifesto today with only a brief mention of tourism, despite the election coming in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
Only on page 15 of the 47-page document is the industry acknowledged with a single paragraph. But even then there are no firm pledges or promises.
It reads:
"Tourism is a vital, growing industry for Britain with 1.8 million employees, and links to the museums, arts and heritage that people want to enjoy.
"We will support well-targeted promotion, regional programmes linked to RDAs [Regional Development Agencies], and high-quality information via the Internet.
"Traditional tourist resorts face special problems, so we have extended the assisted map area to include many seaside resorts and have negotiated an extension to the European Union regeneration funding so that seaside towns throughout the country can start rebuilding their economy."
Elsewhere, Labour briefly says it will support village pubs with rate relief and overhaul licensing laws.
Ironically, a photograph of a catering student illustrates the section of the manifesto covering education and employment.
On more general points, Labour pledges to:
Increase the minimum wage to £4.20
Develop the Small Business Service advice body and "cut red tape"
Have a referendum on the Euro
Extend and increase paid maternity leave to £100 a week for six months
Introduce paid paternity leave
Extend food-labelling legislation
Web links
