Corbyn-led Labour ‘national tragedy,’ claims Theresa May
THE STATE of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn is a “national tragedy” and the Conservatives must target young voters and beat it in the “battle of ideas”, Theresa May said last night.
The Prime Minister claimed Labour was allowing antiSemitism to “grow unchecked”, is ambiguous when Britain’s security is threatened, and sees members targeting moderate MPs for deselection and harassment.
Mrs May was speaking at the launch of a new report by centreright think tank Centre for Policy Studies, which recommends scrapping national insurance contributions for lower earners while also slashing taxes for higher paid workers to ensure everyone keeps at least 51p in every pound that they earn.
It comes with the PM’s position under constant pressure from Tory MPs on all sides, many of whom believe she cannot lead the party into another general election following last year’s disastrous snap poll which saw the Government lose its majority.
Setting out her vision for the Tories, Mrs May said: “The real intellectual energy today is to be found on the centre-right and because Conservatism is a broad church and we value intellectual diversity, those new ideas come from a variety of different perspectives.
“That is one of our strengths on the centre-right – we are not hidebound by doctrine or shackled to an ideology.
“Of course, we are always guided by our principles – security for families and the nation, freedom of thought, action and speech, and opportunity for everyone in society to make the most of their talents.
“And guided by those principles, we take a practical approach to the world as we find it.
“It is about conserving the best of our inheritance, but being unafraid of change and indeed being ready to lead change in a Conservative direction.”
Mrs May said her party must beat Labour in the battle of ideas and target younger voters.
“This is not a Labour Party that Keith Joseph or Margaret Thatcher would have recognised,” she said.
“Anti-Semitism growing unchecked, equivocation when our country’s security is threatened, moderate MPs are the target for deselection and harassment.
“What has happened to Labour is a national tragedy.
“But it would be a national calamity if they were ever able to do the same to our country.”