Priorities

The People’s Party aims to eliminate poverty and injustice in Iceland so that everyone can live a dignified life. Quality of life is not the exclusive right of a select few!

Let's stop taxing poverty

  • We propose raising the tax-free threshold to ISK 450,000 per month for those with low incomes through a “declining personal tax credit.”

  • The declining personal tax credit works such that after reaching the tax-free limit, the personal tax credit decreases in proportion to income increases until it phases out at a certain upper limit.

Housing for all

  • We will establish a new housing loan system emphasizing fixed, long term, non-indexed interest rates to ensure predictability.

  • We will develop new land for housing construction in Úlfarsárdalur and expedite development in Keldnaholt and Blikastaðaland to end the housing shortage.

  • We propose removing the housing component from the consumer price index, as it keeps inflation high.

  • We aim to limit the purchase of apartments by investors and rentals to tourists.

  • We will improve tenants’ legal security, for example, by implementing rent controls.

  • We will take decisive steps to create a loan environment comparable to that in our neighboring countries by abolishing the indexation of housing loans, thereby reducing inflation fluctuations and creating conditions for lower interest rates, to the benefit of consumers.

A humane social security system

  • We will establish a new social security system.

  • We will ensure by law that disabled individuals, and senior citizens receive ISK 450.000 per month in disposable income, tax-free and without reductions.

  • We will ensure that the amounts of social security benefits and tax-free allowances henceforth follow wage developments as reflected in the wage index of Statistics Iceland.

  • We will guarantee disabled individuals a tax-free and non-reducible Christmas bonus before December 1 each year.

  • We will eliminate unjust residence-based reductions.

  • We will guarantee that disabled individuals will be permitted to test the labor market for two years without reductions in their benefits.

  • We will ensure that the age supplement (formerly the age-related disability supplement) remains lifelong instead of ceasing at age 67.

  • We will abolish unnecessary and burdensome legal provisions that require social security recipients to submit data on their spouse’s income, as authorities already have access to that information.

  • We will make sure that pensioners abroad will retain their personal tax credits.

  • We will revoke the “work capability assessment”, which the government has enacted and is set to take effect next autumn if unchanged.

A worry-free retirement for older people

  • We will correct the accumulated erosion of living standards that developed during the governance of the Social Democratic Alliance and worsened under the Independence Party, ensuring that the welfare of older people aligns with the wage index.

  • We will ensure that the amounts of social security benefits follow the wage index.

  • We will increase the special tax-free allowance for pension income to ISK 100,000 per month.

  • We will abolish reductions of old-age pensions due to employment income. People should never be penalized for wanting to work.

  • We will ensure that couples have the right to continue living together even if only one of them is allocated a nursing home space.

  • We will initiate a major campaign to build nursing homes and eliminate all waiting lists for nursing home spaces.

  • We will establish the Office of the Representative of the Elderly, which the Parliament has already approved but the government has refused to establish.

  • We will abolish value-added tax on assistive devices, whether wheelchairs or hearing aids.

  • We will ensure equal rights for pensioners to personal tax credits regardless of residence.

  • We will abolish regulations requiring public employees to retire at age 70. Those who wish to work longer should have the choice to do so.

  • We will ensure increased housing supply for older people.

Strengthening the country's economic management

  • We will reduce unnecessary government expenditures, such as purchasing expensive office properties and the proliferation of task forces in the public sector.

  • We will save funds by simplifying public sector procedures and utilizing suitable premises instead of renting the most expensive properties on the market.

  • We have demonstrated in practice that we stand against waste and self-serving practices in public administration:

    • We said no to the sale of the state’s stake in Íslandsbanki.
    • We said no to the increase of fixed taxes during times of inflation.
    • We said no to the reduction of the bank tax.
    • We said no to subsidizing private media.

  • We will reduce unnecessary bureaucratic requirements that make it harder for sole proprietors, small and medium-sized enterprises to operate their own businesses.

  • We propose raising the bank tax and seeking funds where there is an abundance of it.

Improved healthcare services for all

  • We will ensure funding for the healthcare system, which is one of the biggest tasks in the coming years and decades.

  • We will review the organization, division of tasks, and utilization of facilities and human resources within the healthcare system across the country to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

  • Everyone has the right to healthcare services in, or as close as possible to, their home area. People must never be discriminated against due to their place of residence.

  • It is necessary to ensure that the wages and working conditions of all those working in healthcare institutions align with what is standard in our neighboring countries if we are to tackle the long-standing staffing problems.

  • We will adapt the education system to meet the staffing needs of the healthcare system in the coming years.

  • We will resolve the discharge problem of the National Hospital by launching a national initiative to build nursing homes.

  • We will keep fees to a minimum for healthcare services, essential medications, and assistive devices.

    Mental Health and Treatment Resources

  • We will begin without delay the construction of new facilities for the mental health services of the National University Hospital and Akureyri Hospital, ensuring no one who needs help is turned away.

  • We will increase funding for treatment options.

  • We will build comprehensive and humane treatment facilities for all those battling addiction who need help.

  • We will eliminate all waiting lists for any form of medical treatment.

  • We will do everything in our power to combat the untimely deaths of hundreds of young people who lose their lives while waiting for help.

  • We will make psychological services free of charge and accessible to all who need them in schools across the country.

The Nation Shall Enjoy Its Resources

  • We will incorporate a natural resources clause in the Constitution of Iceland.

  • FULL PRICE must be paid for access to our national resources. The country’s resources are public property, not the possession of a select group of wealthy individuals.

  • We will prioritize energy for the country’s households and the basic infrastructure of society.

  • We will prevent energy shortages by increasing energy production and ensuring fair electricity prices for households and small businesses.

  • We will ensure that Landsvirkjun (the National Power Company) will always remain in the public ownership.

  • We will legislate a ban on land purchases by foreign billionaires.

A Sensible Education Policy

  • We aim to make teaching a desirable profession by improving teachers’ wages and working conditions.

  • Reading instruction needs to be strengthened, and our priorities and methods reviewed.

  • More teachers need to be added to “inclusive schools” to achieve the intended results of the policy; otherwise, the approach must be reconsidered.

  • We need to increase support for students with special needs.

  • We will strengthen Icelandic language instruction for immigrants and their children.

Resonsibility in Asylum Seeker Affairs

  • We will align Icelandic legislation on asylum seekers with that of the Nordic countries.

  • We will take full control of our borders and ensure monitoring of airline passenger lists.

  • We will grant authorities the power to deport individuals with asylum who commit crimes.

Strengthening Coastal Fisheries

  • We will allow unrestricted handline fishing for small boats.

  • Residents of fishing villages shall enjoy increased rights to utilize marine resources, positively affecting fishing towns across the country.

  • We will fix the utterly flawed regional quota system established by previous governments.

  • We will ensure coastal fishing for 48 days in the summer and add fishing days in the spring and autumn. Coastal fishermen shall decide themselves when to fish on these days.

  • We will review the methods of the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute regarding fisheries advice.

  • We will amend the law to stipulate that all catches must go to market to ensure fair compensation for fishermen.

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