MAY SOARS AHEAD IN POLLS... NO HOPE FOR CORBYN
THERESA May was last night soaring high in the opinion polls while Jeremy Corbyn pleaded for people not to write off his election chances.
The Labour leader used his first campaign speech to insist Conservative victory was not “a foregone conclusion”.
Vowing that people power could overturn the establishment and its “rigged system” that worked in favour of the rich, he told the event in London: “Things can, and they will, change.”
It came after the first poll since the Prime Minister announced the General Election gave her a 24-point lead over Labour – a nine-year high.
YouGov said the Conservatives had 48 per cent support, with Labour on 24 per cent.
The Lib Dems were on 12 per cent and Ukip had seven per cent.
Mrs May’s lead over Mr Corbyn as to who would be best Prime Minister was also up, with 54 per cent endorsing her and only 15 per cent the Labour leader.
Just 24 hours after Parliament cleared the way for Mrs May’s surprise election Labour MP Helen Goodman appeared to admit defeat was inevitable.
She said: “I don’t think that this election is about changing the Government. I think this election is about preventing the Tories from getting such an overwhelming majority that there is no possibility of dissent in this country.”
Giveaways
The Tories claimed Labour economic policy was already in chaos after a senior figure appeared to distance herself from a threat by shadow chancellor John McDonnell to tax the rich more.
Mr McDonnell said corporations and the rich – who he defined as people earning more than £70,000 to £80,000 a year – should “pay their way more”.
However, he insisted he was not saying people in that bracket would pay more under Labour and he signalled his target was tax giveaways for the better off in areas such as inheritance and capital gains taxes.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, yesterday insisted Labour would not pick off groups of high earners.
She said Labour was not yet able to set out details of its proposals but admitted: “There are many people on £70,000 who may well feel that their circumstances are such that they are not rich and I understand that.
“But they are certainly on a higher income – it’s just a matter of maths – than those on £26,000.”
A Conservative spokesman said: “Twenty-four hours into this campaign and Labour are already in a state of chaos on the economy.
“They couldn’t manage the nation’s finances, they’d weaken the economy and they’d put our nation’s future at risk.”
But a Tory campaign source said: “We take no great comfort from our position in the published polls.
“Public polls measure national support for the parties, but the election will be decided in a handful of marginal seats. There is clear historical evidence that the reported Tory lead could actually be non-existent, and if the vote is distributed unfavourably we could easily lose our working majority. We only need to lose six seats