May’s ‘Brexit election’ is hit by terror, Corbyn’s rise
NAILBITER TODAY Gap between Conservatives and Labour has been narrowing by the hour
It is easy to forget amid the terror attacks in Manchester and London that Thursday’s midterm election was supposed to be a “Brexit election” – Prime Minister Theresa May has been struggling to retain the focus, but it has gone way beyond – and it shows in her ennui.
In mid-April, a massive win for the Conservatives and May was assumed. Few believed Labour and its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, would pose any challenge to May.
Three things since then have changed perceptions — terror attacks in Manchester and London, and the remarkable rise of Corbyn, who was supposed to be unfit for politics in the age of television. Opinion polls have swung. The gap between the two has been narrowing by the hour to the point that even Corbyn’s critics in his party now concede that there is a reasonable chance of emerging as the single largest party, if not an outright win.
A meme soon went viral: “June will be the end of May”.
The last few weeks have seen Corbyn change the discourse beyond Brexit to issues like health, education, social care and the rising number of food banks in the country under Tory rule.
Labour’s manifesto took the challenge further by pitching the line “For the many. Not the Few”.
The manifesto struck a chord, particularly the promise to re-nationalise public services, to borrow more to increase investment and abolish tuition fees in higher education. Young voters who face more than £40,000 debt on completing degrees have flocked to him. In contrast, May has been on the backfoot, having to defend her record on security after the two terror attacks. (Labour)
Before moving to parliamentary politics, the 68-year-old was elected seven times from the London constituency of Islington North, considered a bastion of the left-leaning middle class
Corbyn was mostly unknown till September 2015, when he was catapulted to become leader of the main opposition party
He is seen as one of the most rebellious Labour MPs, having voted against his party more than 500 times during his parliamentary career
Before becoming prime minister, she had the longest tenure in a century as home secretary, seen as the graveyard of political careers
As home secretary, she had a massive impact on sensitive issues such as immigration, which affected many Indians
The 60-year-old wants to win a mandate for her vision of Brexit, and a big majority will allow her to ignore critics inside and outside her party during the two-year process to exit the EU
Popular for his jokey-matey personality, he was first elected to parliament in 2005 and at 46, is the youngest party leader
Farron has promised to hold another referendum on the final deal before Brexit. He has also vowed to make it difficult for May to force “hard Brexit”
He faces an uphill task to revive his party’s fortunes — from winning 57 seats in 2010 and forming a coalition with David Cameron's government, the party could only muster eight in
2015