Corbyn hits the Tories with a knockout blow that says everything we need to know about his priorities

Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson
Ed Sykes


Labour has just unleashed some powerful pledges on its National Education Service. And in one knockout sentence, party leader Jeremy Corbyn said everything we need to know about the difference between Labour and Tory priorities.

Investment in ordinary people or investment in billionaires?

Corbyn first said that “by ensuring the ultra-rich pay their way, we can provide training to everyone who needs it”. And then, with a clear reference to Conservative Party plans to save wealthy citizens billions of pounds, he insisted:

Personally, I’d rather give a break to a worker who wants to learn than give a tax break to the billionaire who wants for nothing.

To clarify, he stressed “that’s the difference between Labour and the Conservatives”. He also revealed that “it makes me angry when I hear of schools closing on a Friday because they can’t pay their bills, while the government can afford multi-billion-pound tax giveaways to corporations and the very richest”.

‘We can’t afford not to invest in people’s education’

Labour’s education-secretary-in-waiting Angela Rayner, meanwhile, knows the power of lifelong education. Because it ‘changed her life’:

And in her speech about adult education on 12 November, she insisted:

The Conservatives say that we cannot afford these measures. They are wrong. We cannot afford not to do it. We cannot afford not to invest in the most valuable asset we have – the people of this country.

I know from my own life that knowledge is power and I wouldn’t be here without it.

For that reason, she promised:

as part of Labour’s National Education Service, we will deliver a new, fully-funded right to lifelong learning.

Labour shared some of its main pledges on Twitter:

Tory priorities vs Labour priorities

Boris Johnson’s Conservatives seem to think that the time is right to give money away to billionaires. And their time in power over the last decade has shown that the right to education for ordinary people is pretty low down on the Tory list of priorities.

Even the BBC has previously torn apart the Tories’ appalling record on education, for example:

The public broadcaster has also pointed out that Johnson’s tax cuts for the rich would cost “£9.6bn a year”:

In short, Tory priorities are quite clear. Starving schools across the country of much-needed funding is OK, but taxing the ultra-rich minority a bit more is utterly unacceptable.

On the other hand, Corbyn’s Labour will – as Rayner said – “invest in the most valuable asset we have – the people of this country”. This will empower the whole country to face the challenges of the future – and that’s precisely what we need right now.

Featured image via Wikimedia – Sophie J. Brown / YouTube – BBC News

We need your help ...

The coronavirus pandemic is changing our world, fast. And we will do all we can to keep bringing you news and analysis throughout. But we are worried about maintaining enough income to pay our staff and minimal overheads.

Now, more than ever, we need a vibrant, independent media that holds the government to account and calls it out when it puts vested economic interests above human lives. We need a media that shows solidarity with the people most affected by the crisis – and one that can help to build a world based on collaboration and compassion.

We have been fighting against an establishment that is trying to shut us down. And like most independent media, we don’t have the deep pockets of investors to call on to bail us out.

Can you help by chipping in a few pounds each month?

The Canary Support us
  • Show Comments

    1. History shows us that it is rare for an affluent person to create wealth by innovation or invention. History shows us that inspired people from poor families with education can and do create the future technologies that drive economies. Failure to educate all levels of people, regardless of their affluence, is discarding potential creators of new technologies, business’ and employment opportunities.

      Wealth is no guarantee of intelligence. The current occupant on number 10 is proof of that. Failure to invest in every child’s education ignores the probability that we are discarding potential captains of industry, academia and politics, upon which Britain’s future surely depends.

      Vote Labour. For the many (poorer people), not the (very wealthy) few.

      Report comment

    Leave a Reply

    Join the conversation

    Please read our comment moderation policy here.

Related articles