The Conservatives are naturally very much enjoying the Labour leadership contest, and are starting to make use of it in the press, with Matt Hancock warning that Jeremy Corbyn would cost every working household £2,400. It’s the sort of thing the Tories were doing in the general election, slapping often rather arbitrary price tags on Labour’s policies, but Corbyn does make it rather easier for these attacks to gain purchase with voters.
Hancock does say that any Labour leader will cost voters money. And it is not right that the Tories will only benefit if Jeremy Corbyn wins. It is too late for any leadership candidate to put the Corbyn genie back in the bottle, even if someone else wins. If Yvette Cooper or Andy Burnham win, they will still have to spend the next few years dealing with an energised and encouraged hard left in the party who will demand a voice on policies and will object loudly to anything they think is a compromise that takes Labour too close to the Tories.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in