Johnson, Corbyn Unveil Voter-Pleasing Plans: U.K. Campaign Trail
Johnson, Corbyn Unveil Voter-Pleasing Plans: U.K. Campaign Trail
After a couple of days in which neither Boris Johnson’s Conservatives nor Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party have covered themselves in glory, the two parties on Friday are announcing voter-pleasing measures as they seek to invigorate their campaigns.
Johnson is announcing new visas to fast-track foreign doctors and nurses into the country after Brexit, while Corbyn is unveiling a package of measures to improve working conditions for women, including a plan to reduce the gender pay gap and grant extra maternity pay. Both parties will hope the conversation moves to discuss their policies after they were hit by a slew of negative headlines: The Conservatives this week had one minister quit and another made insensitive comments about the victims of a deadly fire. While Corbyn on Thursday faced criticism from a Jewish newspaper and a former Labour lawmaker.
Coming up:
- Labour shadow cabinet member Shami Chakrabarti will tour broadcast studios touting the party’s policies on improving working conditions for women.
- Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson will visit the Scottish constituency of North East Fife -- the most marginal in the country, which her party lost by just two votes to the Scottish National Party in 2017.
- Adam Price, leader of the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru Party, will campaign in Pontypridd, one of 60 seats in which other pro-EU parties have stood down; in this case the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.
The Polls:
- A Survation poll for the Economist in the Labour-held constituency of Gedling in central England shows Labour’s Vernon Coaker down 10 points on his 2017 result at 42%, with the Conservatives down almost 6 points on 37%, and the Brexit Party, which didn’t exist in 2017, on 13%.
- Here’s a summary of recent polls.
Catching Up:
- Dueling Chancellors Outline Spending Pledges
- Britain’s Election Gamble -- What You Need to Know
- Carney flags risks to growth from Brexit and weaker global economy
- German banking giant moves trades to Frankfurt from London
- Wrong Again? Mistrust of U.K. Election Polls Punish Gilt Yields
The Markets:
- The pound weakened slightly on Thursday and was little changed in early Friday trading. The currency has stayed within a tight range for the past few weeks even as the Bank of England made a sudden shift toward a cut in interest rates.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, ;Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Chris Kay
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