Another spending pledge ... 20,000 new teachers

JEREMY CORBYN has promised to recruit 20,000 new teachers, as Labour was last night accused of misleading families by saying they will save almost £7,000 if the party wins power.

In a fresh spending spree, Labour will today promise to launch a huge teacher recruitment drive that will include training as many as 25,000 unqualified staff currently working in schools.

Labour claims the additional staff will be funded as part of a wider £25 billion cash injection for schools over three years, which will be paid for through additional tax raising measures.

The party has also said it will spend £7 billion on repairing school buildings, funded by borrowing, and will cap class sizes at 30 pupils. It came as a former adviser to Mr Corbyn yesterday accused Labour of lying to voters over claims that a raft of policies contained in its manifesto would save the “average household” £6,716.

Labour claimed that the savings would come from reduced energy, water and broadband bills, as well cheaper annual rail tickets, childcare, medical prescriptions and free school meals.

But Tom Hamilton, Labour’s former head of research and briefing, said: “Anyone who tells you Labour will put £6,716 in your pocket is lying to you, it’s as simple as that.”

His comments were echoed by Full Fact, a charity that verifies claims made by political parties, which said that Labour’s figures “do not reflect an average family, or the costs of price inflation over time”. A spokesman for the charity said: “On rail fares, it’s highly unusual to have one season ticket holder in a household, let alone two, as Labour claims – just five per cent of people in England use a train three or more times a week.

“On childcare, Labour’s figures don’t account for government support for childcare costs.”

Mr Corbyn was also reprimanded by the UK Statistics Authority over his claim that violent crime had doubled under the Conservatives.

Sir David Norgrove, the head of the watchdog, stated that there had in fact been “little change in overall violent crime over recent years”.