UK election campaign begins with Corbyn attack on 'rigged system'
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[October 31, 2019]
By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition
Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, kicks off his election campaign on
Thursday with a vow to take on Britain's "rigged system", which he said
was run by a privileged elite of tax dodgers, billionaire owners and bad
bosses.
On the day Britain was supposed to leave the European Union, both Prime
Minister Boris Johnson and his main opponent, Corbyn, are on Thursday
pitching their starkly different visions for world's fifth largest
economy ahead of a Dec. 12 election.
In a sweeping challenge to the Western capitalist consensus, Corbyn said
the election was a once-in-a-generation chance to overthrow what he cast
as a corrupt elite which profited by exploiting workers, lying to the
public and polluting the environment.
"This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our
country, take on the vested interests holding people back and ensure
that no community is left behind," Corbyn, a 70-year-old veteran
socialist campaigner, said in remarks released by his party.
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Corbyn named prominent billionaires such as landowner Hugh Grosvenor,
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, Ineos CEO Jim Ratcliffe, hedge fund
manager Crispin Odey and U.S. media tycoon Rupert Murdoch as
representatives of Britain's "rigged system".
He proposes nationalization of rail, mail and water services and much
higher taxes on the bankers who have made London the pre-eminent
international financial capital.
The first December election in Britain since 1923 will be one of the
hardest to call in years. Brexit has variously fatigued, enthused and
enraged swathes of voters while eroding loyalties to the two major
parties.
A five-year flurry of two historic referendums - on Scottish
independence in 2014 and Brexit in 2016 - and two national elections in
2015 and 2017 delivered often unexpected results that ushered in
political crises.
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![](../images/103119pics/news_s39.jpg)
Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the
House of Commons in London, Britain October 30, 2019. ©UK
Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS
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UK UNDER THREAT
Johnson, who has failed to deliver on his "do or die" promise that
Britain would leave the EU on Oct. 31, is pitching the election as a
chance to get Brexit done, and he will accuse Corbyn of threatening
the United Kingdom's future.
Johnson says Labour's plan to hold another referendum on Britain's
membership of the bloc, and the possibility of Labour agreeing to
another referendum on Scottish independence, risk ripping the United
Kingdom apart.
"Today should have been the day that Brexit was delivered and we
finally left the EU," Johnson said in pre-prepared remarks provided
by his office.
"But, despite the great new deal I agreed with the EU, Jeremy Corbyn
refused to allow that to happen – insisting upon more dither, more
delay and more uncertainty for families and business."
Johnson, who was hailed by the U.S. president as Britain's Donald
Trump, will visit a school, hospital and police unit to argue that
Britain needs to deliver Brexit so it can move on and focus on
investing in public services.
The Conservatives are ahead of Labour by an average of about 10
percentage points in polls this month, indicating a majority in the
650-seat parliament for Johnson, though pollsters admit their models
are imperfect with turnout a key variable.
(Writing by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge; editing by John
Stonestreet)
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