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Campaigning gets underway in UK general election

Campaigning is officially getting underway in Britain's general election, with voters going to th...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.08 6 Nov 2019


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Campaigning gets underway in U...

Campaigning gets underway in UK general election

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.08 6 Nov 2019


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Campaigning is officially getting underway in Britain's general election, with voters going to the polls there on December 12th.

This will be the country's first December election since 1923.

The British parliament was dissolved at midnight on Tuesday.

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The campaign is set to be dominated by debate over the country's delayed departure from the European Union.

But so far, it got off to a more personal start - with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn trading jibes.

Mr Johnson launched his Conservative Party's election campaign by comparing Mr Corbyn to Stalin over his "hatred" of wealth creators.

Writing in the UK's Daily Telegraph, he claimed Mr Corbyn demonises billionaires in a manner not seen since the former Soviet leader persecuted landowners in the 1930s.

"They pretend that their hatred is directed only at certain billionaires - and they point their fingers at individuals with a relish and a vindictiveness not seen since Stalin persecuted the kulaks," Mr Johnson wrote.

"In reality they would end up putting up taxes on everyone: on pensions, on businesses, on inheritance, on homes, on gardens."

Mr Johnson also claimed Brexit will unlock "hundreds of billions" of investment into the UK, but Labour would deliver nothing but further delay which would "hold the country back".

His "Stalin" attack is in response to Mr Corbyn declaring at a campaign launch last Thursday that a Labour government would go after a super-rich "elite" who exploit a "rigged system" to benefit themselves at the expense of the many.

Mr Corbyn named five billionaires he would target if he becomes prime minister: Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, hedge fund boss Crispin Odey, chemicals company chief Jim Ratcliffe, media owner Rupert Murdoch, and landowner Hugh Grosvenor.

On Twitter, Mr Corbyn tweeted a picture of the Telegraph's front page, along with the caption: "The nonsense the super-rich will come out with to avoid paying a bit more tax."

Mr Corbyn is returning to the attack with a campaign speech outlining goals for a Labour government - including abolishing in-work poverty and ending the need for food banks.

"I want a Labour government to be judged by whether it changes people's lives for the better after five years," Mr Corbyn will say.

"Judge us on the real change we deliver, the concrete improvements to the lives of millions. We don't have any time to waste."

Claiming he will be a very different kind of prime minister, the Labour leader will say: "For me, real politics isn't about shouting matches in parliament.

"For me, real politics, the politics I stand for, is about sharing power and wealth with people who don't have a lot of money and don't have friends in high places - to take control of their own lives.

"My job as leader, and my party's job, is to champion those people, and bring about real change.

"So if you, the British people, elect a Labour government on 12 December, I will be proud to be your prime minister. Because I will be a very different kind of prime minister.

"Not the kind of prime minister who believes he was born to rule. Not the kind who thinks politics is a game.

"But the kind of prime minister who only seeks power in order to share power - because it isn't about me, it's about all of us."


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Boris Johnson British General Election Campaigning Daily Telegraph Jeremy Corbyn UK General Election

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