Theresa May in direct appeal to Labour voters unhappy about Jeremy Corbyn
2 min read
Theresa May has reached out to Labour voters “appalled” about the direction of the party under Jeremy Corbyn and urged them to vote Conservative.
The Prime Minister said she would lead a “party for the whole country” - although she admitted the Tories would have to “do more than demonstrate the flaws of Corbynism” to win over voters.
But Labour said Mrs May was “clearly spooked” by their party's pitch to the country and was “resorting to desperate pleas in an attempt to revive her failing administration”.
It comes after the PM made a bid for the political centre ground in her closing Conservative party conference speech, attempting to paint the party as a home for “moderate, patriotic” voters.
In an article for the Observer today, she doubled down on her overture by urging Labour supporters “to look at my government afresh”.
“They will find a decent, moderate and patriotic programme that is worthy of their support,” she wrote.
Mrs May argued that anti-Semitism in Labour had grown under the watch of Mr Corbyn and noted the Labour MPs who are being targeted for deselection by left-wing members.
But she added: “To be that party for the whole country, Conservatives must do more than demonstrate the flaws of Corbynism.
“We need to offer a positive and optimistic vision of the better future that our policies will deliver.”
She reiterated policies from her conference speech about building more homes and lifting the cap on the amount councils can borrow to fund new social housing - as well as her pledge that austerity would end.
But Labour chair Ian Lavery said: "The Tories have spent their entire time in power running down our schools, local services and NHS, while gifting huge tax breaks to big business.
“The Prime Minister is clearly spooked, so is resorting to desperate pleas in an attempt to revive her failing administration. The British public won't be fooled.”
Elsewhere, Mrs May was handed a boost as a new poll revealed twice as many voters (32%) think she is the best person to lead the Conservative party compared with her rival Boris Johnson.
But according to the Opinium poll for the Observer, the two main parties are neck and neck on 39% - with the Tories unchanged since the last survey by the pollster and Labour up three points.
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