UK polls: Labour Party manifesto leaks, promises major shift to left

BRITAIN’S MAIN opposition Labour Party will promise to renationalise rail and mail services and take some of the energy sector into public hands, betting that a shift to the left will win over voters in next month’s election.

According to a leaked copy of its draft manifesto, Labour, under its leader Jeremy Corbyn, will return to policies echoing those of three decades ago, promising to hike taxes on Britain’s highest earners and companies to fund education and health.

“It gives us an opportunity to point to a vision of a different kind of Britain, a fairer Britain, a more equal Britain, a Britain on the side of the many, not the few,” Andrew Gwynne, Labour’s campaign chief, told Sky News.

The draft was leaked to newspapers, a sign of the divisions that have deepened in the party under Corbyn.

Corbyn did not comment on the leak but told reporters the manifesto would be published in the next few days. “We have just unanimously agreed the contents of it. We have amended a draft document that was put forward,” hesaid.“ourmanifestowillbean offer, and we believe the policies in it are very popular, an offer that will transform the lives of many people in our society.”

By moving to the left, Labour has possibly cleared the way for PM Theresa May to take control of the centre ground of British politics and appeal to traditional Labour supporters. REUTERS