DAVID Cameron was today accused by Jeremy Corbyn of a “systematic dismantling” of Britain’s public services as he continued to brush aside talk of a challenge to his leadership in the wake of Labour’s expected poor results in Thursday’s elections.
The party leader, just 24 hours ahead of his first real electoral challenge, warned that there could be more cuts to come because of a £4.8 billion Budget black hole.
Labour claimed the Conservatives were refusing to set out where the axe would fall but its own analysis suggested the cuts were the equivalent of losing thousands of police officers, nurses and teachers.
Mr Corbyn accused the Prime Minister of overseeing the “systematic dismantling of our public services”. In England, he suggested, this had meant 4,500 fewer firefighters and 18,000 fewer police.
“The Tories’ failed economic policies mean there is now a multi-billion black hole to fill in this Parliament. The Tories can no longer be trusted with our communities. So send them a message on May 5: vote Labour.”
Earlier, the party leader dismissed talk of a challenge to his leadership, declaring: “I’m going nowhere.”
And at a campaign poster launch in London, he stressed that the row over anti-Semitism in his party was “being dealt with" by the independent investigation led by former Liberty chief Shami Chakrabarti.
Mr Corbyn repeatedly refused to answer when asked several times whether or not he thought the row, sparked by online comments from Bradford MP Naz Shah, was an attempt to destabilise his leadership.
And the 66-year-old politician made clear he would carry on if there were a challenge to his control of the party after the elections in Scotland, England, Wales and London amid increasing reports some Labour MPs were ready to mobilise against him.
Senior backbencher Dame Margaret Hodge was said to be considering a request from parliamentary colleagues to stand against Mr Corbyn to trigger a wider leadership contest. She was approached for a comment but did not give one.
Those involved in the potential challenge are believed to be close to signing up the 50 fellow Labour MPs needed to trigger a contest. Much will rest on how well or badly Labour does tomorrow.
Party sources have suggested bad results in Scotland have been “factored in”; Labour could lose its working majority in the Welsh Assembly and, despite the leader’s confidence, election experts believe the official Opposition could lose anywhere between 200 and 300 council seats in England. The only silver lining could come in the form of a Labour victory in the London mayoral race for Sadiq Khan.
Last week, Mr Corbyn cancelled a planned campaign visit to Wales at the request of Welsh Labour as the anti-Semitism row broke. Earlier this week, Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, admitted her party’s campaign in Scotland had been damaged by the anti-Semitism row. The Labour leader was in Edinburgh three weeks ago and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, was in Glasgow at the weekend.
At the poster launch in London, the party leader decried the media’s “obsession” with the longevity of his leadership and, far from losing seats as some analysts predict, his party would gain seats.
Elsewhere, Diane Abbott, his close shadow cabinet colleague, suggested the party leader would easily be able to see off any challenge and dismissed talk of a coup attempt as “silly”.
Meantime, it emerged that Ms Shah has stood down from the Commons home affairs committee as it launched a probe into anti-Jewish prejudice in British life.
She has been suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of an internal investigation into social media posts the MP made before the last general election which have been branded anti-Semitic in tone.
Announcing Ms Shah's move, Keith Vaz, the committee chairman, revealed Mr Cameron and Mr Corbyn had agreed to give evidence to its inquiry.
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