May feeling heat as polls show U.K. race is tight

LONDON• Britain’ s main opposition leader castigated Prime Minister Theresa May for refusing to debate him on live television Wednesday, as narrowing opinion polls injected drama into the country’s election campaign.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn joined a multiparty debate organized by the BBC in Cambridge. May has refused to do any live TV debates, and Corbyn had previously said he wouldn’t take part without her.

But buoyed by rising poll ratings — and the chance to make May look evasive — Corbyn changed his mind.

“I invite her to go to Cambridge and debate her policies, debate their record, debate their plans, debate their proposals and let the public make up their mind,” he said.

Corbyn was joined at the debate by representatives of smaller parties, including Liberal Democrat leader Tim Far ron and U. K. Independence Party chief Paul Nuttall.

The Conservatives were represented by Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who accused Labour of having a “money-tree, wish-list manifesto and no plan for Brexit.”

The participants traded barbs over issues from immigration to public spending, but were united in attacking May’s refusal to appear.

“Theresa May called this election because she is taking you for granted,” said Leanne Wood, leader of the Welsh party Plaid Cymru. “She won’t turn up to these debates because her campaign of sound bites is falling apart.”

At a campaign rally in southwest England, May denied she was running scared.

“I’ve been taking Jeremy Corbyn on directly week in and week out at Prime Minister’s Questions” in the House of Commons, she said.

“I think debates where the politicians are squabbling amongst themselves doesn’t do anything for the process of electioneering.”

May called a snap parliamentary election for June 8 — three years early — arguing a bigger majority for her Conservatives will strengthen Britain’s hand in Brexit negotiations.

When campaigning began last month, polls showed the Conservatives up to 20 points ahead of Labour. Since then, the bombing t hat kill ed 22 people at a Manchester concert and some policy missteps have thrown the contest into uncertainty.

The pound f ell below US$ 1 . 28 Wednesday, its lowest level in more than a month, after pollster YouGov suggested Britain could be headed for a hung Parliament in which no party has an overall majority.

YouGov stressed that’s just one possible result of its research, but it follows a trend.

“Every single pollster, using whatever method, has found a rise in Labour support and something of a decline in Conservative support,” said polling expert John Curtice.