Boris Johnson and UK business leaders slam Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist manifesto
British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would embark on a multibillion-dollar socialist agenda if he wins the upcoming election, with Boris Johnson and business leaders warning it would destroy years of progress.
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British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been blasted for unveiling a £83 billion ($A157.78 billion) hard-left socialist plan to take state control of key British industries and ramp up taxes on businesses and the rich.
Mr Corbyn’s manifesto for the December 12 election would see university student fees scrapped, nationalisation of a raft of sectors - rail, mail, buses, broadband, water and electricity - and huge pay rises for public sector workers.
The Labour leader also wants to undo decades of economic and trade union reforms started by the late Margaret Thatcher and continued by Labour prime ministers like Tony Blair.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his socialist opponent’s plan had “no economic credibility” whatsoever as business and free-market groups warned Corbyn’s plan could devastate a growing British economy.
Mr Corbyn told supporters in Birmingham on Thursday to ignore business leaders and economists who warn his manifesto would undo years of progress.
“Over the next three weeks they are going to tell you that everything in this manifesto is impossible That it’s too much for you,” the Labour leader said.
“Because they don’t want real change. Why would they? The system is working just fine for them. It’s rigged in their favour.
“Labour is on your side. And there could scarcely be a clearer demonstration of that than the furious reaction of the rich and powerful.”
The Labour manifesto promises a whopping £82.9bn ($157.59bn AUD) in new public spending to boost the green economy, raise civil servants wages and nationalise industries.
Mr Corbyn plans to pay for it all with windfall taxes on big oil companies, targeting the rich by adding VAT to private school fees and taxing their second homes.
But on Thursday, the Labour leader still refused to say which side he would campaign on if a Labour government pushed for a second referendum on Brexit.
Mr Johnson said on the campaign trail that Labour’s policy manifesto was only fantasy until it revealed what it would actually do to deliver Brexit.
“None of this have any economic credibility whatsoever,” the Prime Minister said.
“Corbyn comes centre stage, drum roll, and he completely misses his cue.
“What we want to know is what is his plan to deliver Brexit, what kind of deal does he want to do, and what side would he vote on (in a second referendum)
“Until we have answers to those questions, until we get Brexit done, none of this carries any economic credibility.”
Richer Brits are clearly backing the Tories in this winter election with new figures revealing the Tories raised more than £5 million in donations in the first week of the campaign.
Business groups were quick to criticise the Labour manifesto, despite attacking the Tories for years over Brexit.
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Adam Smith Institute director of research Matthew Lesh warned Mr Corbyn’s plan would scare businesses away from the UK.
“Jeremy Corbyn’s little red book is the most backwards-looking, self-destructive manifesto in Labour’s history,” he said.
“Tens of billions of pounds in higher taxes will scare away entrepreneurs and red tape that will strangle business of all sizes. Everyone will be poorer. Labour is on nobody’s side.”
CORBYN STUNS UK AUDIENCE IN LIVE DEBATE
Mr Corbyn’s dithering Brexit policy stunned the audience of UK voters with his refusal to clearly outline his position earlier this week.
Mr Johnson used every opportunity in the hour-long ITV News debate to promise he would deliver his deal to leave the European Union (EU) if he finally got a working majority in parliament next month, so that the country could finally move on.
But Mr Corbyn stuck to his policy that he would try to negotiate yet another deal with the EU and then hold a second referendum on Brexit.
“I’ve made the position clear. We will have a referendum, we will have a negotiation,” he said.
The Labour leader’s answer was too much for the debate audience in Salford on Tuesday night, who immediately began laughing.
Mr Corbyn has been haunted throughout the election campaign by his refusal to say what he would campaign for if he held a second Brexit poll.
He is considered to be a Eurosceptic while the vast majority of Labour MPs have vowed to do anything they can to ensure Britain stays in the EU.
Mr Johnson aimed all night at his Labour counterpart’s weakness on a second referendum and demanded he tell the British people which side he would really choose.
“He is trying to conceal the void at the heart of his Brexit policy,” the Tory leader said.
“He’s refusing to say which side he would take. The public have a right to know.”
More UK election polls on Tuesday released ahead of the debate showed the Conservatives and Mr Johnson uniting the pro-Brexit vote and expanding their lead over Mr Corbyn’s Labour Party.
Labour is also picking up more votes as they squeeze out minor party rivals and could still be pushed into minority government on the back of deals with pro-EU groups like the Scottish Nationalists.
Mr Johnson made clear in the debate – the first ever of its kind between a prime minister and opposition leader aired in Britain – that the UK would leave Europe in January if he won.
“There’s only one reason we’re having this election and that’s we have a deadlocked parliament that can’t deliver Brexit,” he said.
“People want to get Brexit … we have a deal that is ready to go.
“That’s the choice. Dither and delay, deadlock and division under a Corbyn-Sturgeon coalition with two referendums – another one of the EU, another on Scotland.
“Or we can end this national misery … and get Brexit done.”
Mr Corbyn was also ridiculed by the audience when he talked about some of his far-left socialist policies such as a four-day week.
But he did elicit some cheers from the audience when talking about issues outside Brexit, especially healthcare.
He is attempting a Bill Shorten-style scare campaign over the UK National Health Service, and claimed Mr Johnson would “sell out” the health service to US President Donald Trump in a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States.
Mr Johnson labelled Mr Corbyn’s NHS accusation “nonsense” and sought to tackle the scare campaign head-on.
“This is an absolute invention. It is completely untrue,” the Tory leader said.
“There are no circumstances whatever in which this government or any Conservative government will be on the table in any grade negotiation. Our NHS will never be for sale and I’m amazed how often this comes up.”