Tories ‘pitting old against young’

JEREMY CORBYN has accused Conservatives of risking a “war between generations” with a manifesto that pitches young against old.

The Labour leader called on Theresa May to ditch an “anti-pensioner package” which inflicted a “triple whammy of misery” on older voters by cutting protections for the state pension, means-testing winter fuel allowance and forcing them to pay for home care.

Speaking at a Labour rally in Birmingham, he insisted a better deal for pensioners mustnotcomeatthe expense of the “left-behind generation” of younger people, but should be funded through higher taxes on top earners and big business.

“There is no trade-off between young and old – and there should be no trade-off,” Mr Corbyn said.

“Society should not be setting the future of our young against security for the old. We have the wealth to offer a decent, secure life for all.”

Setting out Labour plans to abolish university tuition fees and build homes for young people, Mr Corbyn said his vision was “not a war between generations, it’s a unity between generations to create a better society for all”.

Shadow Cancellor John McDonnell said voters had insisted there was “all to play for” ahead of June 8, despite the Tories narrowing but still double-digit lead over Labour in many pre-election polls.

“Let’s win this election, let’s carpe diem (seize the day), let’s seize this opportunity, with courage and determination, we can win this election despite what they throw at us.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “The biggest threat to every generation in this country is getting Brexit wrong. Get Brexit wrong and we get everything wrong – from looking after our elderly to paying for our children’s education.

“Our nation’s economic security and our standing in the world depends on getting the Brexit negotiations right.

“If anyone is thinking about lodging a protest vote because of Jeremy Corbyn’s scare campaign, here’s the thing that’s genuinely terrifying: if Theresa May loses just six seats then we will have a hung Parliament with Jeremy Corbyn as our prime minister, in charge of Brexit and propped up by the Lib Dems and SNP.”