Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour tries to confound expectations with tough-sounding manifesto front page

Labour’s manifesto launch today sees the party seeking to confound expectations. Even though the party would prefer to fight a comfortable election campaign on the NHS, the fact remains that no party has won when behind in the polls on both the ratings of its leader and on the economy. And so the first page of the party’s manifesto, which was released last night, says this:

‘Our manifesto begins with the Budget Responsibility Lock we offer the British people. It is the basis for all our plans in this manifesto because it is by securing our national finances that we are able to secure the family finances of the working people of Britain.’

That last in particular sounds like the kind of thing the Tories have been saying for a little while. The Budget Responsibility Lock means, in the words of that first page:

‘Every policy in this manifesto is paid for.

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