Labour’s key message to voters in the general election contrasts Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for the NHS, schools and housing with a Tory government that protects “the privileged few”.
A memo to all MPs, which has been leaked to HuffPost UK, shows the party’s main doorstep pitch will focus on pledges to “give the NHS the money it needs”, a living wage of £10 per hour, guaranteed pensions, a million new homes and reduced class sizes.
The core list of talking points, which reads like a mini-pledge card, does not include details on how Labour would fund its pledges and instead combines attacks on Theresa May’s record with the party’s main priorities.
The full “General Election Script” does make reference to Brexit, but without any specifics on immigration policy, as it attacks the Prime Minister’s threat of a “low wage, tax haven for big business”.
“With Jeremy Corbyn, Labour will stand up for you…We will build a Britain for the many not the few,” the script says.
The only reference to crime is to attack the 20,000 police and 6,000 community support officers cut since 2010, claiming “our safety has been compromised”, but there is no mention of defence policy and only passing mention of the environment through “green industries”.
The script was signed off on Tuesday morning and MPs will be expected to use its key messages on the media and on the campaign trail.
Allies of Corbyn believe that a clearer anti-cuts message, with eye-catching policies on free school meals and £10 per hour living wage, will resonate more with voters than Ed Miliband’s 2015 general election campaign. “It’s all about clear red water,” said one insider.
But with Labour more than 20 points behind the Conservatives in a string of opinion polls since May announced a June 8 election date, it has a big task in turning around perceptions of the party.
One party source told HuffPost UK: “Most of the MPs I know have no intention of using the national messaging because it is awful and are focusing on hyper-local campaigning.”
Several MPs have opted not to use any photos of Corbyn on their election material.
One MP in a normally safe seat told HuffPost this week that they would for the first time use their own name on local posters and leaflets, to put distance between themselves and the leader.