Corbyn makes last-ditch appeal to younger voters
Jeremy Corbyn made an appeal for young people to register to vote yesterday and sought to win them over with twin pledges to help students with fees and pour money into Britain’s arts, music, film and theatre.
The deadline to sign up to vote passed at midnight and the Labour leader tried to catch the attention of the nation’s younger voters with promises to establish a £1 billion cultural capital fund and to write off the first year of tuition fees for university students in England starting in September.
Mr Corbyn is calculating that the more young people who vote, the more chance he has of gaining the keys to 10 Downing Street.
He appeared alongside award-winning actress Samantha Morton and deputy leader Tom Watson in Hull, the UK’S 2017 City of Culture, to promise that Labour will invest in a network of “creative clusters” in Britain.
It would also protect and invest in live music venues, ensure entry to museums and galleries remain free, and fund a £160 million arts pupil premium for every primary school in England.
In its cultural manifesto, Labour said the Tories have left English schools with 600 fewer music teachers, 1,200 fewer arts teachers and 1,700 fewer drama teachers since taking power in 2010.