General Election polls: Race for No 10 is back on as parties accused of failing to make honest promises

Theresa May at the G7 summit in Italy
REUTERS
Robin de Peyer26 May 2017
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The General Election race tightened today as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn were both accused of failing to publish “honest” promises.

A damning verdict by the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies came as an opinion poll electrified the battle by showing Labour catching up to within five points.

The pound dropped 0.6 points against the euro as investors took fright at the increased possibility of a high-tax Labour government following the YouGov survey. It put Mrs May’s party on 43 per cent, with Mr Corbyn nipping at her heels on 38 per cent.

On the first day of full-scale campaigning since Monday’s bombing in Manchester, Mr Corbyn came under fire from his own side and the Tories for linking terrorist attacks in the UK with foreign interventions such as the Iraq invasion. As the party leaders took the gloves off again:

Back on the campaign trail: Jeremy Corbyn
AFP/Getty Images

The IFS tore holes in both parties’ manifestos, saying that “neither sets out an honest set of choices” and taxes would probably rise whoever wins. The independent experts were particularly scathing about shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s tax and spending plans, saying they contained a £9 billion black hole in finances as well as “mistakes” and wrong assumptions.

Mrs May’s promise to slash immigration would “cause considerable economic damage”, warned the IFS, and cost the Government £6 billion a year in lost revenues.

Mr Corbyn was attacked by Labour grandees including Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, for his speech implying that terror attacks such as the Manchester bombing may be caused by British foreign policy. Mr Clarke said he could not “believe that Jeremy Corbyn is prime ministerial material”. Security minister Ben Wallace branded Mr Corbyn’s speech a “totally inappropriate and crassly timed” intervention.

At the G7 summit of world leaders in Sicily, Mrs May urged tougher action against terrorism. She warned: “The fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet.” She said Islamic State was losing ground in Iraq and Syria but that its “ideology is spreading online”.

Ministers revealed that 15,000 people have been investigated by the security services as possible terrorist suspects.

Eight suspects aged 18 to 38 remained in custody today in connection with the Manchester bombing. Thousands of police officers are being deployed over the bank holiday weekend to protect crowds at events including tomorrow’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

Mrs May told the G7 that social media companies such as Facebook were allowing extremists to run “hateful propaganda that is warping young minds”. She said: “Corporations have a social responsibility to now step up efforts to remove harmful content.”

Mr Corbyn’s speech caused dismay among Labour candidates. Mike Gapes, candidate for Ilford South and an ex-chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said: “[IS] hate us for what we are. Not for what we do. Our foreign policy is used as justification for their crimes. It is not the reason.”

The YouGov poll was carried out yesterday and on Wednesday, reflecting the Tory U-turn over social care funding and reactions to Monday’s bombing.

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