LAST week’s leak gave a flavour of what was to come, but yesterday the electorate got the opportunity to consider Labour’s offer to the country at the forthcoming General Election officially, and in full.
Jeremy Corbyn described his party’s manifesto as “a programme of hope”, launching the document alongside a slogan that talked of “the many, not the few”. And, with this in mind, a t least a few of the policies contained thereof are likely appeal to many people up and down the UK.
The re-nationalisation of the railways, higher taxes for those earning more than £80,000 and a new tax on the City of London are all likely to be popular not only with traditional Labour voters in England and Wales, but with many in Scotland too, especially among those on the Left who moved to the SNP.
Moreover, the scrapping of tuition fees, an expansion of free childcare and billions in extra funding for schools and hospitals – paid for, according to Labour, by the increase in taxes mentioned above – will appeal to many down south, not least because such pledges mark a genuine change in direction from the austerity of the last seven years. No one can now claim the UK’s two main parties do not offer different visions to the country.
Scotland doesn’t feature prominently in the manifesto – Mr Corbyn has never displayed much of a feel for Scottish politics - but it’s clear that the party’s new approach has been influenced by Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale. As recently as March, Mr Corbyn was saying a second independence referendum would be “absolutely fine”; the party is now officially opposed to it. And there was also a pledge to consider federalism – as favoured by Ms Dugdale – but no promise to pursue it. Expect choruses of “too little, too late” from many in Scotland on that particular point.
In the round, however, this is perhaps a more credible - and certainly a more populist - manifesto than many would have expected from Mr Corbyn and his team. It offers a focus on traditional Labour territory rarely seen in recent years, but mostly steers clear of the more extreme Left-wing agenda many had expected.
The biggest problem for Labour remains, of course, the credibility of Mr Corbyn himself. Even if they like what they see in the manifesto, many voters will likely be turned off by a leader they view as shambolic, out of touch and weak. There is surely little point in bemoaning the cult of personality that dominates the current political agenda; the fact is, it matters. And on that score Theresa May is winning hands down. Following last week’s manifesto leak Labour experienced a small bounce in the polls, but nowhere near what it would need to present a serious challenge to the Tories on June 8.
If, as expected, Mr Corbyn loses the election, he must step aside and let someone else in his party offer the sort of broad appeal and genuine opposition he could not. Who that someone might be remains unclear, of course.
But with the Brexit negotiations ahead likely to be precarious, and so much at stake for the whole country, an effective opposition - and opposition leader - has never been more in need.
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