Jeremy Corbyn says he would “open discussions” with Scottish Government on Scotref
CONSERVATIVE leader Theresa May was subjected to a grilling on education cuts on last night’s (29 May) special televised election event, as fallout from the party manifesto continues to haunt her party’s campaign.
The Sky News programme saw May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn face questions interviewer Jeremy Paxman and a studio audience, and represented the relaunch of election campaigning proper after a week that saw bomb attack at the Manchester Arena (22 March) and the death of 22 mainly young concert goers.
Questioned by an audience member over manifesto commitments not to deal with growing financial problems in the English school system, May said: “Nobody can guarantee the real terms per funding increase.”
Red Tory Manifesto? How Conservative policy will impact the working class
Her comments were jeered by audience members who said she had “clearly failed” to provide for public services. The audience burst into laughter when May said that Labour’s policy commitments weren’t costed, after weeks that have seen backtracking on some policies and a refusal to cost others.
The programme, which was not a head to head as May has refused to debate Corbyn, also saw the Labour leader face questions from the audience on his association with members of the IRA in the 1980s, and his own leadership abilities. He maintained that he urged the Republican movement towards peace talks during the Troubles.
In an interview on Bauer and Global radio stations (29 May) Corbyn said he would “open discusssions” with the Scottish Government about an second referendum on Scottish indpendence, which has been called for by the Scottish Parliament.
The election campaign has seen the Tories polling lead, by some polls, shrink rapidly from 25 to just five points in a matter of weeks.
The SNP will today release their 2017 Election manifesto, which is expected to focus on their pledge to protect Scottish interests, including opposition to austerity and hard Brexit.
The election will be held on Thursday 8 June.
Besides Brexit: The 5 key issues facing the electorate in #GE17
Picture courtesy of Youtube/Sky News
Check out what people are saying about how important CommonSpace is: Pledge your support today.
