The Telegraph does not seem a natural home for Jeremy Corbyn, but today the Labour leader has written an article for the right-leaning newspaper explaining why its readers should vote Labour.
It comes after Mr Corbyn has faced criticism within his party for failing to reach out to to voters outside of the traditional left.
In an effort to defy his critics, Mr Corbyn has attempted to win over Telegraph readers – of whom 70 per cent voted Conservative in last year’s general election – by writing about the NHS, tuition fees, transport and public services.
Here’s how he tried to appeal to your average Telegraph reader:
Voters like you have been taken for a ride
“Over the last six years you’ve been deceived on a scale not seen since Bernie Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme. Time and again you’ve been told that to build a strong economy we had to tighten our belts and cut public funding. Today we have the utterly self-defeating reality of rapidly declining public services while our debt is going up.”
You shouldn’t have to pay for your children’s student fees
“It makes no sense that we saddle future generations with billions of pounds worth of debt because they chose to go to university. These young people should be looked to as our future economic assets, not cash cows.”
You might think privatising the NHS has worked – it hasn’t
“The next Labour government would end the pointless and expensive internal market in the NHS that, according to independent health economists, costs over £3 billion per year. Let’s stop giving away money to £1,000 a day management consultants and put that back in to our NHS.”
Hard working commuters like you shouldn’t put up with Southern Rail
“Long before Southern Rail cut over 300 services it is legally contracted to deliver, its passengers were facing a woefully inadequate service: delays, overcrowding, cancellations, late running trains were the norm. Yet instead of recognising the plight of millions of passengers and telling Southern Rail where to get off, the Government continues to support them with our money.”
The Government can actually be trusted with public ownership
“Don’t doubt that Governments can’t run railways. In 2009, following the collapse of the National Express rail franchise for the East Coast Mainline, the Government took over operation of the service. In five years of “public ownership”, the publicly run East Coast Trains had one of the highest rates of punctuality, offered the best price on tickets and made £1 billion – every penny of which went back to the Government.”
Tories, it’s time to think again
“Even if you don’t think of Labour as your natural political home, if you value your NHS, care for the elderly, want an education system for all and a public transport system that works for its passengers, then it may be time to think again.”
