JEREMY CORBYN'S SOCIALIST VISION CLOSES THE GAP - PART 3 IN THE ROAD TO CORBYN

The Tory lead over Labour stood at 20 percentage points when Theresa May called this General Election. That was one key reason why Lynton Crosby, her strategist, said that she should go to the country. Wipe out Labour now - before the economy hits the rocks and the people start blaming the Conservative government.

We go to the polls on June 8 and that Tory lead has already been cut by fifteen percentage points in a couple of weeks. The Tories know by now that they have blundered. May will suffer the consequences after the Election. The knives are already being sharpened. When Tories rid themselves of a leader who has reached  their sell-by date, they are ruthless. Meanwhile, they will be gnashing their teeth at having gifted Jeremy Corbyn the space and time to tell the country about his vision - Labour's vision - of socialism for the 21st century. And the people are not fools. Despite the media's best efforts, the message that there is a better way of running the country - in the interests of the many, not the few - is getting through. A political meme has formed that can take Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party into government.

The leader on the roll ... Jeremy Corbyn - May 2017

I was struck by the pro-Corbyn tone of so many of the letters published in last Saturday's 'Guardian' and intended to focus on one letter in particular in a post soon after. The Manchester atrocity has delayed that action until now but sharing this particular letter with you still seems an important  thing to do. I have already cancelled my subscription to the Guardian with effect from September because I  cannot stand the anti-Corbyn bias in this supposedly left-of-centre newspaper. The Morning Star now graces our table each day. But there will  be aspects of the paper I will miss, not least the Letters pages.

And so to the letter. It's from Sheila Spencer in Newcastle and contains fifteen bullet points. It appears under the headline: Why poorer people should vote Labour. She begins by agreeing with a




Guardian columnist who said that many people living with poverty say they won't vote. (Although that may be changing even as you read this post.) But Sheila Spencer continues with a strong refutation of the idea that Labour has said little to appeal to people on benefits. She then provides these fifteen bullet points as 'just a few examples' of what Labour's manifesto offers them. Here they are:

1. Scrapping the bedroom tax immediately (the draft law was ready before the 2015 General election.)
2. Scrapping the sanctions regime.
3. Reinstating housing benefit for unemployed 18- to 21- year-olds. 
4. Scrapping cuts to  bereavement benefits.
5. Increasing employment and support allowance (ESA) by £30 per week.

A pause at this point for a picture - and a chance to reflect on why poorer people should have had to suffer in the first place. What is there in the Tory psyche that leads them to inflict pain and hurt on the needy? 

Labour Party activists in Penzance in 2016 - I'm holding one of the banner poles.

 

1. Ending the six-week delay in paying out to new universal credit (UC) claimants.
2. Ending the "rape clause" for mothers claiming UC for more than two children.
3. Replacing the work  capability and personal independence payment assessments with a humane and personalised service.
4. Ending the constant reassessments for people with severe long-term conditions.
5. Keeping the pensionable age at 66.

Five more instances of the reality behind the smokescreen of  "strong and stable" government. How can May still be seen as a more credible prime-minister than Jeremy Corbyn when she and her Party are capable of misgoverning with such inhumanity and callousness? There are those who have taken their own lives after experiencing our Tory so-called 'welfare' system.  

For the many - not the few - Penzance people power - 2016 - demonstrating against the failure to accept child refugees. The local Tory MP, Derek Thomas, supported the ban on child refugees - within hours of demonstrations such as this across  the country, Cameron had  done a 'U' turn and said we would accept children. When May became PM she reneged on that promise in yet another 'U' turn. Perfidious Albion under the perfidious Tories!

 

1. Building a large volume of council and housing association homes - at least 100,00- a year, at truly affordable rents.
2. New private tenancies will be for three years, with limits on rent rises.
3. Keeping tax and national  insurance payments as they are unless you are pretty well off.
4. Increasing the minimum wage to £10 an hour, for everyone aged 18 and over.
5. Giving more money to local authorities, protecting libraries, post-offices, pubs and local  shops.

As Sheila Spencer concludes, what's not to like? A Labour government will change the lives of the poorer people for the better. and we will all live  in a better and healthier society.     

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