UK PM promises Brexit ‘gift’ for Christmas
London, November 24
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will promise to bring his Brexit deal back to Parliament before Christmas when he launches his Conservative Party’s manifesto on Sunday, the cornerstone of his pitch to voters to get Brexit done.
With less than three weeks before Britain heads to the polls on December 12, the governing Conservatives and opposition Labour are trying to tempt voters with different visions but several pledges to spend more on public services. Johnson’s manifesto aims at drawing a distinction with Labour, which has promised to raise taxes on the richest and big businesses to fund a big expansion of the state, by vowing not to increase taxes if the Conservatives win the election.
Opinion polls show Johnson’s Conservative Party commands a sizeable lead over the Labour Party, although large numbers of undecided voters mean the outcome is not certain.
“My early Christmas present to the nation will be to bring the Brexit bill back before the festive break, and get parliament working for the people,” Johnson will say, according to excerpts of his speech that he will make at an event in the West Midlands region of England. Contrasting with Labour’s unabashed tax-and-spend approach, Johnson’s manifesto titled ‘Get Brexit Done, Unleash Britain’s Potential’ will pledge to freeze income tax, value-added sales tax and social security payments. Johnson will also announce a 3 billion pounds ($3.85 billion) National Skills Fund to retrain workers and an extra 2 billion pounds to fill pot-holes in roads.
Finance Minister Sajid Javid told Sky News that the Conservatives’ plan would be accompanied by a very detailed financing document and that the governing party would balance day-to-day spending and keep debt low.
But Labour spokesman Andrew Gwynne said Johnson’s plans were “pathetic”. “This is a no hope manifesto, from a party that has nothing to offer the country, after spending 10 years cutting our public services,” Gwynne said. — Reuters
Survey: 41% prefer Conservatives
London: Support for Johnson's Conservative Party narrowed by three points in a Survation poll on Sunday, with 41% of respondents saying they would vote Conservative compared with 30% for Labour. The poll, due for release on Monday but was published on Twitter by the Independent newspaper's chief political commentator John Rentoul, said support for the Conservatives was down 1 point compared with last week. Reuters
