Rent caps, tuition fees and electoral reform: Labour leader Keir Starmer answers your questions
Watch Keir Starmer answer questions from social media users in an interview with ITV News Politics reporter Lewis Denison
Sir Keir Starmer has suggested to ITV News he would like to get rid of university tuition fees if he wins power, but said the UK will only have enough tackle NHS waiting lists.
The Labour leader said fees "don't work well for either students or for universities" but he's been forced to take a "political choice" to avoid reforming them for now.
Sir Keir was speaking to ITV News while on a visit to a GP surgery in the East Midlands, where he pledged to end the 8am scramble for doctor appointments by training more of them, and updating the NHS app so slots are easy to book and rearrange.
The man expected to be elected Britain's next prime minister in less than two weeks time answered questions on a range of topics, sent in to ITV News by social media users.
All the leaders of the other main parties have also submitted themselves to this format of questioning with the ITV News social media team, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expected to take part before the election on July 4.
University tuition fees
University was free across the UK until 1998, when Tony Blair's Labour government required students to pay £1,000 a year for tuition.
The cost of higher education has increased significantly since then, although it remains free in Scotland, with students in the rest of the UK now paying £9,000 a year.
But Sir Keir suggested to ITV News that he would like to remove, or at least reduce, the cost of tuition if the country could afford it.
"I don't think they work well for either students or for universities, so that does need to be changed," he said.
"But I need to be really clear as we go into this election, we can't afford to simply get rid of tuition fees altogether. It's a straight choice.
"There's only money available to either bring down the waiting lists in the NHS, that's desperately needed, or to spend it on other things, like getting rid of tuition fees."
"I've taken the choice, the political choice that we spend on the NHS, to get our waiting list down."
Part of his plan to do that involves creating Neighbourhood Health Centres, which would bring family doctors, physiotherapists, mental health specialists, dentists, district nurses, care workers and health visitors under one roof.
Appointments at the centres would be available on evenings and weekends as well as week days.
Electoral reform
Millions of people are not expected to vote in this year's General Election, and many of the people ITV News has spoken to said the reason is they don't feel their vote counts.
That's partly because of the UK's First-Past-the-Post (FPP) election system, which is a winner-takes-all format where runners up get nothing.
The main criticism of FPP is that the number of votes for a party does not translate into an equivalent number of seats because only the winner in each constituency gets representation.
So a party could get millions of votes by finishing second in areas across the country but get no seats in Parliament.
The UK is the only European nation other than Belarus which uses FPP, but Sir Keir thinks it is the best option.
"It's the right system. It has given a strong government in this country and we are not making any changes to it," he said.
Britons were asked in a 2011 referendum whether they wanted to replace FPP with the Alternative Vote system but rejected it.
Another popular alternative favoured by smaller parties is Proportional Representation, which would link the percentage of votes to the number of seats.
Cannabis decriminalisation
Cannabis is currently a Class B illegal drug, meaning someone convicted of possession could end up in jail for five years, however several countries have recently moved to decriminalise it.
A majority of US states have now legalised the drug either entirely or for medical use. In 2018, the UK allowed doctors to prescribe medicinal products using cannabis compounds but they are heavily restricted.
Sir Keir does not think the UK should change the law any further.
Asked if he'd ever consider decriminalisation, he said: "No, we're not considering decriminalisation of cannabis or any drugs.
"It's really important that we keep the drug laws as they are at the moment. So no plans there at all."
Solving the housing crisis
Sir Keir has made solving the housing crisis one of his top priorities if he gets into Number 10, but it does not appear rent caps will be part of the plan.
He has, however, pledged to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, if elected.
To achieve this, the party has vowed to reform planning rules to build homes on the so-called grey belt, which it describes as poor quality land, car parks and wasteland.
The party also plans a ban on no-fault evictions, introducing legal protections for tenants when it comes to mould, and putting an end to rental bidding wars and upfront payments.
On the idea of rent caps, he said: "I think we do need to deal with the fact that rents are going through the roof.
"I wouldn't bring in a cap, but I would certainly stop landlords being able to force tenants effectively to sort of bid against each other, which just means the rent goes up and up and up."
Israel and Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the Middle East conflict has previously caused unease among some in his party, with the leader facing criticism for not calling for an immediate ceasefire sooner.
The party also faced setbacks in the local elections in some previously safe areas, particularly those with large Muslim populations, and his stance on Gaza is expected to play a big part in the General Election too.
He has been under pressure to call for the UK to end arms sales to Israel, in response to the country's assault on its neighbour following the October 7 terror attack by Hamas.
But he avoided the question when speaking to ITV News.
Asked if he'd end the arms trade with Israel if he becomes prime minister, the Labour leader said: "We need to have a cease fire straight away, and that needs to allow for much needed humanitarian aid to get into Gaza."
Instead, he outlined his manifesto commitment to for a "political settlement" to recognise a "viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel".
The Labour manifesto says: “Palestinian statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. It is not in the gift of any neighbour and is also essential to the long-term security of Israel.
“We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."
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