‘Imagine the state we’d be in if Corbyn had been in charge’ is the view from the ‘red wall’ according to a Guardian piece published today.
Among those who deserted the Labour Party in December the recent economic stimulus rolled out by Rishi Sunak seems reason enough for them to keep faith in the Tories.
Despite the UK having the highest death rate in Europe and there being wide condemnation over the ruling administration’s handling of the crisis a meal deal looks to be all it takes to get voters back on side.
Andrew Twentyman, owner of Twentyman’s Pizza, said the ‘dosh for nosh’ deal will make a real difference for families eating in his joint and, as a result, his hard-pressed business.
“The government has basically invested in us”, he said. “Half the businesses in the UK are effectively now part-government owned.”
A socialist in conservative clothing
The pizza shop owner, who supplied the Guardian with their aforementioned leading line, seemed blissfully unaware of the irony of chastising Jeremy Corbyn and then crediting a scheme that has all the hallmarks of his leadership written all over it.
The emergency socialism rolled out to deal with coronavirus crisis would have undoubtedly been rolled out by Labour had they won the general election in December, and you can imagine there would have been a few improvements elsewhere to boot.
Mr Corbyn would have prioritised COBRA meetings over everything else, and he would have been guided by the science rather than an unelected chief advisor.
He would have reversed decades of NHS underfunding and neglect and would have made sure it had been better resourced to face the crisis.
What’s more, he would have made sure nurses and other key workers were paid fairly and supported, rather than just applauded.
Credit where it is due
Much of Mr Sunak’s pledges have been timely and proportionate, but to suggest Labour wouldn’t have followed a similar course is absurd.
The Conservatives have deployed ‘Covid socialism’ in response to the crisis and much of their economic measures should be lauded.
But they’re socialist in conservative clothing – minus the leadership of a man who would have shown strong leadership in the face of adversity.
Related: 10,000 jobs axed in one morning as scale of job crisis becomes clear
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