The Labour Party have published their manifesto as the 8 June General Election approaches fast, and Conservative Party figures have spoken out with claims that they've found nine spending commitments without funding within the manifesto. This is not the Tories' first smear campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, and it's getting tiresome.
Tories pored through the manifesto seeking holes
The Tories went poring through Labour's manifesto when it was released today and as soon as they discovered nine proposals without funding in place, they wasted no time in telling the voting public.
However, some of these 'unfunded' proposals have in fact been funded: Labour have already explained that they will pay for four nationalisation plans (water, rail, Royal Mail, and energy) with its borrowing-funded infrastructure programme (which is fine, because it's an investment and not current spending). But the Tories were too quick to badmouth Corbyn to think that one through.
And two of the other proposals the Tories claim lack funding aren't even big deals: undoing the spending cuts made to a union training initiative and organising a commission on lifelong learning. What's that? That's like nothing. So, that leaves three more to have some validity. The Conservatives claim Labour has provided no funding plans for its 3,000 new prison guards, but the savings they're making in the Ministry of Justice budget could pay for this, so use your head, Tories.
The manifesto can't contain everything. Writing a manifesto is hard, especially when it has to be drawn up so quickly thanks to Theresa May's snap decision to have an election.
However, the Tories were kind of right about the other two. But seven out of nine, that's not bad. But Corbyn will have to do something to make room for the estimated £93 billion cost of not raising the state pension age beyond 66 and whether or not the money set aside for benefit increases will be used to cover the costs of not maintaining the proposed tax credit cuts. But still, seven out of nine, that's not bad on such a tight schedule.
