Tories should imitate – not attack – Jeremy Corbyn’s land policy

Ever since Labour published its manifesto for the snap election it became clear to me that tackling Jeremy Corbyn is going to require a bit more than simply calling him a bearded Trot. This is because some of his prominent policies, while notionally quite left wing, are actually rather popular with many natural Conservative voters. Renationalising the railways and utilities, ending the automatic contracting-out of public services – you will find plenty of support from people on the right who, while generally sceptical of state intervention, feel that the current arrangements are not a free, open market which offers consumers a genuine choice. Rather they come across as a racket designed to enrich a small band of business interests which have been good at sucking up to government ministers.

So it is with Labour’s plan, announced yesterday, to launch an English Sovereign Land Trust – a body which would be empowered to pick up land for house-building at a price which reflects its current, agricultural value rather than its development value.