GE2025: Where political parties here stand on the key issues
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With Singapore heading to the polls soon, all signs point to an intense contest among the political parties – not only for parliamentary seats, but for primacy in the ideas they champion.
Insight looks at what the three parties in Parliament have espoused over this term of government: from raising revenues and dealing with the cost of living, to housing affordability and calibrating the foreign workforce.
Singapore voters can’t afford to ignore harsh new global realities
On a daily basis, we see signs aplenty that the international order we have known since World War II is coming undone.
Look no further than the last 10 weeks of President Donald Trump’s second stint in the White House.
Where the parties stand on key issues ahead of GE2025
The way the Government ought to collect and spend public funds has been a fundamental source of differences between the PAP, WP and PSP, the three parties currently represented in Parliament.
This was made plain when MPs from the three parties debated the necessity, timing and extent of the hike to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in November 2022, after the Government first gave notice in 2018 that it intended to do so.
Proposals 3 parties in Parliament have put up to deal with cost-of-living pressures
The cost of living is a key concern for many Singaporeans. Global inflation rose sharply in 2022 following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and remained high after that due to energy, food, and supply chain disruptions.
With the issue being top-of-mind, the three parties in Parliament have all put forward proposals in this term of government to keep prices in check.
How parties are dealing with concerns over housing needs
Higher home prices fuelled by Covid-19 related construction delays have led to greater anxieties among Singaporeans, including worries by prospective home owners of being priced out of the market.
Given such concerns, the matter of how to keep housing accessible and affordable has been debated in Parliament multiple times over this term of government, with political parties putting forth a varied range of solutions.
Balancing need for foreign talent with aspirations of Singaporean workers
When it comes to foreign talent, the PAP, WP and PSP agree on one thing - that Singapore needs them. Where they differ is on the numbers, roles they can take up, and safeguards needed so that Singaporeans get a fair shot to thrive in the workforce.
The topic remains hotly debated, with the last five years marked by sea changes to the Republic’s foreign talent framework, accompanied by measures to lift the local workforce.
