UK labour leadership slams austerity
Corbyn has urged people across the country not to accept the Tory agenda of cuts and reduced welfare, saying it takes a collective movement focused on achieving equality to counter the Tories. He is seen as the socialist left wing candidate compared to Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper and Andy Burnham. Corbyn has rallied against New Labour ever since its inception under Tony Blair.
The Tory government insists that it is crucial to stay on the path of austerity as they continue to cut public services ever deeper. Corbyn has rallied against this narrative, believing that the Tories have been allowed to control the debate and paint Labour as a party that caused the financial crash.
He believes that “Britain has become a more unequal society, is becoming a more unequal society and austerity is a cover for actually deepening that level of inequality…we have more people than ever using foodbanks, we have a greater number of people being homeless and many people in housing stress.”
Many people in the Labour party have called for a return to the centre ground and to hark back to the days of Tony Blair. Liz Kendall, who is seen by many as the ‘Blairite candidate’ has called for a more pro-business approach to the leadership, believing that Labour should champion the wealth creators in society.
But Corbyn said that a fundamental alternative is needed to the Tory government and a more equal approach to the way the state treats society. He said, “I think we need to rebalance the social direction of this country and austerity is not the way to do it…I think we should not set an artificial objective of running a budget surplus in three, five years, or whatever absolute figure is chosen…I think we should instead set objectives about reducing inequality and expanding the economy, therefore expanding tax income at the same time.”
Andy Burnham is seen by many as the current favourite to take the leadership. Jeremy Corbyn is the rank outsider for the role. But he is the candidate that calls for Labour to regain their socialist principles, a mantra that many traditional Labour voters have been desperate to see for a long time.
[“source – presstv.ir”]