Week three of the general election is seeing the competition get serious. The candidates are now all confirmed, voting registration closes on the 26th and the manifestos are coming out.
This week we’ve had the Green and the Lib Dem manifestos. The Labour one came out today and Boris Johnson seemed to leak part of his National Insurance plan whilst out campaigning.
Tuesday saw the first live TV debate with the SNP and Liberal Democrats losing their High Court bid to join in.
In a rather futuristic stage, Johnson and Corbyn were asked questions, focusing on Brexit and the NHS.
Corbyn was asked three times which way his government would campaign in the second referendum he’s promoting, but he dodged the question.
However, Johnson’s performance was stumbling as he struggled to answer questions and the Conservatives hindered their own campaign as CCHQ changed their Twitter name to “factcheckUK”.
People have asked why the Conservatives would choose to do this when it was obvious what they’d done and only seemed to make them untrustworthy.
By far the best question of the night was when Ben West asked which gift they would leave each other.
Corbyn shot back immediately, saying he would buy Johnson A Christmas Carol, the Dickens novel about a rich man persuaded by others to give more to the poor.
Johnson, however, took the political line, saying he would leave a copy of his Brexit deal under Corbyn’s tree and maybe some damson jam – to which Corbyn replied he made his own.
We’ve also had a manifestation of manifestos. Here’s the key points from each:
What’s in the Green manifesto?
- Promoting a Green New Deal for energy, housing, transport and industry to reach net zero by 2020.
- Fighting for a People’s Vote on the 2016 referendum.
- £6 billion funding per year for the NHS until 2020.
- £4 billion funding for schools and scrapping league tables.
- Replacing the first past the post voting system with proportional representation, like the European election model.
What’s in the Liberal Democrat manifesto?
- Revoke Article 50 or campaign for a People’s Vote, if they don’t get a majority.
- Free universal childcare for 2-4 year olds, starting at 9 months if both parents work.
- 1p on income tax to spend on health and social care.
- 80% reliance on renewable energy by 2030.
- Regulated legalisation of cannabis.
What’s in the Labour manifesto?
- Negotiate a new deal with the EU in three months and have a referendum six months later.
- Real living wage of £10, the current London rate.
- Scrap tuition fees.
- Create one million jobs in a Green Industrial Revolution, achieving key carbon reductions by 2030.
- Free full fibre broadband, but no increase for 95% of taxpayers.
What is expected in the Conservative manifesto?
- Pledges of funding for the NHS and more police.
- Cut National Interest around the basic income bracket.
- To “Get Brexit Done” and leave by the 31st January.