Owen Jones is right in saying how Labour should
play the Tories at their own game, and, "as a top priority", adopt a policy of
"message discipline" (Let`s hammer our the anti-austerity message until the
Tories` ears bleed,14/10/15). But why not take this a step further, and adopt
some of the terminology, too? If Labour also had a "long-term economic plan", it
would not only stop the silly Tory game of point-scoring by including the words
in their obsequious, so-called questions at PMQs, but enable re-nationalisation
of railways and energy to be viewed as essential, if the huge annual
£93bn corporate welfare bill is to be reduced.
Jones suggests that the "work penalty" should be
mentioned by Labour politicians at every opportunity, but this lets the Tories
off too lightly. Viewers/listener/readers need to be reminded, too, of Hunt`s
accusation that British people don`t work hard enough, especially perhaps,
teachers putting in 60 hours a week, and doctors and social workers fleeing
their impossible targets to work abroad. The fact that £375bn of quantitative
easing was given to banks to kickstart the economy back in 2010, but doing no
such thing, should be in Labour`s armoury, when outlining Corbyn`s plans for
funding infrastructure.
A challenge to the Tory nonsense about
borrowing has to be made; a government that supposedly worries so much about
future generations` debt is perfectly happy for graduates from ordinary
backgrounds to leave university owing up to £40,000, and to encourage young
people to take out massive mortgages to get on the housing ladder. One rule for
young people, another for governments, even though interest rates have never
been lower!
Corbyn is popular because he is different; his
Labour can show it is different, too, by throwing "every bit of artillery" it
has at the Tories` preposterous economic claims.
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