Labour declines to rule out coalition deal
JEREMY CORBYN has refused to rule out forming a coalition government with the SNP and the Liberal Democrats if voters return a hung parliament later this month.
The Labour leader told a reporter “you’d better ask me on June 9th” when asked whether he would put together a government backed by other parties if he fails to win a majority.
It follows shock Yougov analysis showing Theresa May could be on course to lose seats in the election, forcing her out of Downing Street.
Labour would be the largest party, according to the research, but Mr Corbyn would not win enough seats to govern alone and would need the support of Nicola Sturgeon and Tim Farron.
Earlier this week Ms Sturgeon hinted that she would support a “progressive alliance” in Westminster in order to keep the Conservatives from being
‘What you have been reading is a document that was discussed between researchers in our teams’
re-elected, but the idea is controversial because the Scottish National Party is seeking a second independence referendum. Mr Corbyn said he would “open discussions” on the issue if elected, leaving the door open to a second ballot. Emily Thornberry last night also refused to rule out a Labour coalition with the SNP, saying: “I’m not dealing with hypotheticals.”
It came as Theresa May warned a leaked Labour policy document shows Mr Corbyn wants “uncontrolled migration” to the UK after Brexit, as the Labour leader confirmed plans to bring back a controversial visa system for unskilled migrants has been discussed within the party. It came after The Daily Telegraph revealed papers showing Labour plans to reinstate the tier-three visa system for foreign low-skilled workers, as well as plans to introduce a green card and allow spouses of those already here to move to the UK more easily.
Asked about the leaked document yesterday Mrs May said: “I want to ensure we are controlling migration because too high uncontrolled migration puts pressure on our public ser- vices but it also lowers wages at the lower end of the income scale.”
Mr Corbyn said: “What you have been reading is a document that was being discussed between researchers in our teams. Our policy is in our manifesto.”
Mr Corbyn has also given an interview to the NME in which he appeared to commit millions of pounds of money to helping those who have already paid their student fees but are left with high levels of debt. He said: “I’m looking at ways that we could reduce that, ameliorate that, lengthen the period of paying it off, or some other means of reducing that debt burden.”