Corbyn
We will do something very special. We will win tomorrow... for the many not the few
JEREMY Corbyn today urges voters to do “something special” and pull off a shock Labour victory.
In an eve of election appeal he says only by voting Labour will people be able to rescue the country from five more years of Tory austerity.
And at the close of a campaign punctuated by two terrorist atrocities, he tackles head on claims he is soft on security.
“We can do something very special on Thursday,” says Mr Corbyn looking remarkably fresh-faced following what must have been a gruelling campaign.
“We can have a future of hope for the many not the few.
“Or we can go down the road of five more years of inequality and cuts. If that happens we will have lost a huge opportunity.”
But is the alternative, a Labour government under Prime Minister Corbyn, a real possibility? “Listen,” he says, fixing us with a very long, very certain, blue-eyed stare: “We are going to win.”
Certainly the polls have shown the gap between the Conservatives and Labour getting narrower.
Throughout the campaign Mrs May has demonstrated aloofness, refusal to accept scrutiny and dithering over the social care plan. Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn has stayed confident about his left-wing offering. He says: “I want a Government that is serious about tackling injustice and inequality. And everywhere we have been we have had huge numbers of people coming forward in support: young, old, black, white, gay, straight, able bodied, disabled, everybody coming together in our campaign. It’s been a fantastic atmosphere.”
They are people, he warns, who have an enormous amount to lose if the Tories do win tomorrow.
He paints a bleak portrait of what life will be like if Theresa May and the Tories get back. “Five years of
Tory Government will be more children in poverty, more homeless people, school classes getting bigger and bigger, increased waiting times and waiting lists,” he says.
Mr Corbyn fears there will also be “more and more people, mainly women, forced to give up jobs to care for people who should be helped by the social care system”. He says the “alternative is Labour’s vision for a fairer society”.
The Labour leader explains: “This would see the top 5% of earners, big business and corporations pay a bit more in tax to fund schools and hospitals.
“The financial crash of 2008-09 has been paid for by public services and public sector workers and communities. We are doing things the other way round.
“We are going to invest in those services and those people.’
Except for the top 5% who are unlikely to be among Mr Corbyn’s natural fan base, it seems an attractive offering.
So what is it about the campaign, or about himself, which has kept him behind in the polls? Is he still essentially preaching to the converted? He says: “We went to Leamington Spa on a Monday afternoon which is literally Middle England.
“And we had 100 or so Labour members turn up but then we had hundreds and hundreds of other people too. And they came along, not to heckle and shout, but to listen because they hadn’t heard this before.”
PROUD
He’s clearly most proud of his ability to engage with ordinary people in their masses wherever he goes.
Quite the opposite to guarded and uptight Mrs May.
Mr Corbyn says he was “brought up to be polite” so couldn’t possibly get personal about her campaign. Although he describes it as not “strong and stable” but simply “cut off ”.
He says he is best described as “hopeful and inclusive,” adding: “I’m much happier being with the people rather than presenting myself at a distance,” he says in clear reference to Mrs May. “My team get very, very angry with me every single day because we always get behind schedule because I’m always talking to people.
“If you are in public life you have got to give time to the people who put you there. If you get too far away from them you are not very effective. You shouldn’t cut yourself off,” he says.
The election campaign will remain etched on public memory because of what Mr Corbyn calls the “abominable” attacks in Manchester and London.
Fallout from these led to questions about Mrs May’s time at the Home Office and also Mr Corbyn’s opposition to Trident nuclear weapons and his voting record on anti-terror legislation.
The charge has been put time and again that he is soft on security. Is it true? “I think it’s unfair and some of it is completely wrong,” he says.
“Yes, I have had many criticisms of anti-terror legislation, not because I support terrorism but because I think police, security and everybody else must be legally accountable.”
He pledges Britain will be safe in his hands. “The first priority of a Government is to keep its people safe and that means being serious about the threats and risks,” he says. “The Tories cutting 20,000 police officers in the last six years has made the situation worse and more dangerous. We will invest in police and the security services.”
But he absolutely dismisses Tory suggestions that more police along with other public spending will be reliant on the services of a “magic money tree”.
STRONG
“It’s all very realistic,” he says. “You would be amazed at the number of things John McDonnell refused to allow in the manifesto as he said we cannot afford it. You’d be surprised how strong John can be with a red pen.
“I saw a side of John I have never seen,” he says perhaps only half-jokingly.
In less than 48 hours the future will be clear. Mr Corbyn says he expects to spend Friday morning planning the structure of a Queen’s Speech which could transform Britain into a fairer country than it has been in years.
“I want a Government that is serious about tackling injustice and inequality,” he says. “It can be done.”
We get behind our schedule every single day because I’m always out talking to people