General Election 2015: Labour border clash over cuts in manifesto
The Labour party sought to defend its economic credibility yesterday, even as polling showed them facing a wipeout in their Scottish heartland in the face of anti-cuts campaigning.
A poll conducted by TNS showed the majority of Scots backing the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Support for Nicola Sturgeon’s party has doubled over the last month, with polling showing it on 52 per cent and Labour on 24 per cent.
Much of the SNP’s messaging has had an anti-austerity theme, while Labour are trying to reassure voters south of the border that they can be trusted to reduce the UK’s sky high annual budget deficit.
This tension was shown in a clash between the Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna.
After the manifesto launch Murphy tweeted: “Ed was really clear at the UK manifesto launch today. It’s only Labour that will end austerity.”
However, in a television interview Umunna hit back, saying “The leader of the Scottish Labour Party will not be in charge of the UK budget.”
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said there was no additional clarity in Labour tax and spend policy. Boss Paul Johnson said: “We literally would not know what we’re voting for if we voted for Labour"
Analysis by analytics firm Talkwalker showed that the most mentioned terms across all social media linked to the manifesto launch were “economy” and “taxes”.
Visit our General Election poll tracker to see how each party is faring in the build-up to 7 May.