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Jeremy Corbyn to appear on Kerrang! cover

The leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn is set to continue his assault on the youth...
Newstalk
Newstalk

19.44 3 Jun 2017


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Jeremy Corbyn to appear on Ker...

Jeremy Corbyn to appear on Kerrang! cover

Newstalk
Newstalk

19.44 3 Jun 2017


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The leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn is set to continue his assault on the youth vote with an appearance on the front cover of rock music magazine Kerrang!

The issue will be published the day before polls open in the UK general election on June 8th.

Kerrang! Editor James McMahon has called the edition “one of the most important issues we have ever made” with readers urged to “take the power back” and “make Britain a fairer place.”

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It comes after Mr Corbyn appeared on the cover of long running music publication NME – following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain, The Sex Pistols, John Lennon and Daft Punk.

In his NME interview Mr Corbyn picked Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ as his favourite song – and pledged to examine ways to help students paying tuition fees in the region of £9,000 (€10,280) per year.

UK general election

Labour has slashed the Conservative’s lead in polling over recent weeks, following the publication of both party’s manifestos.

The latest YouGov poll has the Tory lead at just three points – although different polling companies are forecasting wildly different results.

At the start of campaigning a number of polls gave the Conservatives almost double the vote share compared to Labour – indicating a landslide victory that would have significantly strengthened Prime Minister Theresa May’s working majority in the House of Commons.

Dementia tax

Many commentators have pointed to Mrs May’s controversial social care policy as contributing to the apparent shift in voter thinking - and Mr Corbyn has called on his rival to reveal the full impact of the plan before voting begins.

Included in the Tory election manifesto, the plan would see pensioners who remain living at home contributing more to the cost of their own social care.

The proposal would see the elderly liable for payment for as long as they have combined savings and property worth more than £100,000.

The scheme would see people forced to sell their homes in order to pay – although if they wish to keep their home, payment can be deferred until after they die, at which point the money would be deducted from their estate.

The plan has been labelled a "dementia tax" as it would see people with conditions that keep them in the home - such as dementia - forced to pay while patients in hospitals would not face the same sanction.

Mrs May appeared to pull back from the plan in recent weeks by adding a ceiling on the maximum amount anyone would be required to pay - however she has been unable to clarify what that ceiling might be.

"Staggering"

This afternoon, Mr Corbyn called the confusion "staggering."

Labour has claimed the plan to means-test winter fuel payments could affect up to 10.8 million pensioners - while people who need social care could face spending up to 42% of the value of their estates if the cap was set at £100,000.

"It is staggering that just six days from polling day millions of pensioners still don't know what's in store for them if they are unlucky enough to get dementia or any other condition that needs care in the home,” said Mr Corbyn.

"The dementia tax is itself unfair but what has made matters even worse is the way Theresa May announced a cap and then failed to say how much it would be.

"Theresa May's only offer to pensioners is insecurity and cuts."

Mrs May was grilled on the issue during an appearance on a special BBC Question Time broadcast last night – however she insisted the reforms were “fair.”

She said taxpayers should not have to subsidise the social care of elderly people who have a "very significant value" property.

She insisted the Conservatives were the “low tax party” however she refused to rule out an income tax rise.

Additional reporting from IRN ...


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