This week’s Labour conference proudly proclaimed, ‘We’re gonna borrow! That’s what WE do, we will borrow the money!’ They weren’t joking.
Jeremy Corbyn’s speech alone contained £312bn worth of additional spending commitments. No easy feat after they themselves admitted if they came to power it would trigger a run on the pound and near market collapse.
Let’s assume they could find a way to borrow this money. The debt interest alone would cost the same as: 81,000 nurses, 69,000 teachers and 66,000 police officers combined. This economy-wrecking, 1970s hard-left fantasy politics should worry us; it will be our children and grandchildren who will have to pick up the pieces and pay off the debts.
But it isn’t this alone that strikes fear, it is also Corbyn’s new era of ‘kinder, gentler’ politics.
I regularly visit local schools and colleges to explain my role and how Parliament works. I am at great pains to explain ALL political parties have good policies (no-one has a monopoly on getting it right all of the time) and the voters should choose which one suits their own personal priorities.
We are all different. I chose the Conservatives, yet one of my brothers votes Labour and another supports the SNP – we respect each other’s judgements.
But this week showed that Corbyn’s hard left followers do not respect those who have different views.
BBC reporter Laura Kuenssberg required a bodyguard at the Labour Conference in response to abuse and threats; what a disgraceful situation. I once faced a relentless grilling on BBC news from Laura when I was a Minister, as tough as I have ever faced. I admired her professionalism and I respected it was her duty to hold me to account.
The Labour MP for NW Durham made it clear should would not only never be friends with a Tory, but she couldn’t work with any of us in Parliament. Some of my proudest achievements in Parliament such as my campaigns on Financial Education and tackling Payday Lenders have been built on constructive, positive cross-party work – some of those opposition MPs I would happily say are friends.
Then you have John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor who called for a female Minister to be lynched, and to this day refuses to apologise. Is it any wonder then that his loyal hard-left supporters are emboldened to make threats of their own?
We see this abuse rife on Social Media and at Hustings. A daily occurrence for both Conservative and moderate Labour MPs. Labour Conference was dominated by this nasty, ugly politics.
At various events they cheered anti-Semitic views, defended holocaust denial and sold merchandise which mocked injured British Soldiers. Yet the Labour leadership do absolutely nothing. They tolerate it or say the media is making it up.
Next week Corbyn’s followers will head on coaches to our Conference to shout, threaten and spit at delegates. Noticeably there was no such behaviour at Labours Conference in Brighton.
Why? Because we recognise that Conference season should be an opportunity for every party to meet, discuss & share ideas.
Abuse, threats and intimidation against those who have a different view have no place in our democracy. It is ruining the Labour Party. Moderate Labour MPs and supporters need to stand up to this abuse, not turn a blind eye.
