Corbyn urges Scots to reject independence in bid to create ‘safer Britain’
● Labour leader repeats promise to invest in policing and social care as opinion polls see Conservatives’ lead shrink
Jeremy Corbyn has called for Scots to reject independence and stand together to help achieve a safer Britain and “offer hope to people who are crying out for it”.
The Labour leader used a speech to party supporters in Glasgow last night to reiterate his promise to invest in policing and social care in the wake of several opinion polls which have seen Theresa May’s lead shrink.
Mr Corbyn said that a Labour government would work to build a country “that is committed to ensuring our policing is fit for the job – with a determination to have a safer Britain in a safer world”.
He added that his promise to put 10,000 extra police officers on the beat in England and Wales would lead to extra resources being provided to Holyrood to invest in Police Scotland.
The pledge follows an announcement in February by senior officers that the constabulary north of the Border would be cut by 400 over the next ten years to plug a £188 million funding gap.
Mr Corbyn’s address to cheering activists emphasised Labour’s manifesto commitments which party bosses believe are proving popular with the public with ten days remaining until the election.
“We have committed to the biggest house building programme in recent memory just as Scottish Labour has done with their commitment to build 60,000 homes here in Scotland,” he said.
“We have committed to paying people a real living wage of £10 an hour – a policy that will benefit nearly half a million Scots.”
Mr Corbyn said his vision rejected Scottish independence “because we say that if we all stand together things can and will change”.
In a direct attack on the SNP’S record at the Scottish Parliament, the Labour leader claimed it was “a tragedy” that the party had not used Holyrood’s full range of powers to tackle poverty and inequality.
He said: “Recent figures show that the numbers of children living in poverty have gone up 40,000 in the past year, to 260,000.
“That is 260,000 young people here in Scotland right now, as we speak, disadvantaged from the start of their lives as a result of political and economic decisions made at Holyrood and Westminster.
“Yet new stronger powers are available to the Scottish Government – powers the SNP demanded but refuse to use to solve the problems on their doorstep.
“Our mission is first and foremost to make our country one that ends poverty and inequality and ensures that the life chances of a child in Easterhouse or Possilpark are the same as those of the children in Bearsden or the West End.”
Mr Corbyn made a direct appeal to SNP and Conservative voters to read the Labour manifesto and consider its “vision for society”.
He added: “I am confident you will find that only Labour has a plan for an investment driven economy that will deliver for the many not the few. I am very proud of our manifesto for lots of reasons. It is a comprehensive plan to transform Britain for the many not the few. I am particularly proud that it recognises and seeks to develop the imagination and inspiration of all our people.
“Scotland has a powerful tradition of working class writers and artists, who wrote with passion and experience as the voice of the downtrodden against the rich and powerful. That oppositional writing and poetry – from Rabbie Burns to Irvine Welsh – should inspire us all and show what we can achieve.”
Mr Corbyn was speaking at the Fruitmarket in Glasgow on a day when Scottish Labour faced claims it had “given up” on constituencies across Scotland after leaked internal figures suggested the party had barely spoken to any voters in some areas. Reports suggested figures for the number of voter contacts in certain constituencies had plummeted.