LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of peppering his pitch to party conference with policies “pinched” from the SNP.
In his keynote address, Corbyn said his party was “ready to take charge” and deliver “a real alternative to the people of Britain”.
READ MORE: How the SNP must respond to Jeremy Corbyn's speech: Be radical
He set out plans for a “green jobs revolution” which would create 400,000 skilled jobs in wind farms and home insulation.
There was also a commitment to extend free childcare in England and Wales.
In addition, there were promises to give workers seats on company boards, and the creation of employee shareholding funds.
Corbyn also promised an end to the “racket” of privatisation and outsourcing, and a new tax on second homes to pay for housebuilding.
The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, attacked Labour for having “pinched policies wholesale from the SNP Government”.
“They have forgotten about how they would afford them – with a self-inflicted multi-billion-pound Brexit black hole making a mockery of their spending plans,” he said.
Blackford also criticised the party for threatening to stymie another vote on Scottish independence.
READ MORE: Corbyn says he will back May on Brexit if conditions are right
“By threatening to block Scotland’s democratic right to hold a future independence referendum, Labour are demonstrating the same old arrogant and ignorant approach that has alienated their traditional supporters and will see them decline further into irrelevance,” he warned.
There was criticism too from the Skye MP on Corbyn’s offer to back May over Brexit if she came back from Brussels with a deal that kept Britain in the single market and prevented a hard border in Ireland.
Blackford was unconvinced: “Jeremy Corbyn may have been forced into saying he would not accept a no-deal Brexit – but he remains committed, like the Tories, to taking Scotland out of the EU against our will.
“That reckless plan to drag Scotland off a hard Brexit cliff edge, outside the single market and customs union, would deal a huge body blow to the Scottish economy – destroying jobs, and causing lasting harm to the incomes and living standards of millions of people.”
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The Labour leader’s offer was also poorly received by the Tories.
Party chair Brandon Lewis said: “Jeremy Corbyn has shown at every turn he is unfit to govern.
“All he offers are failed ideas that didn’t work in the past and would leave working families paying the price with higher taxes, more debt and more waste – just like last time.
“He confirmed Labour are opening the door to rerunning the referendum, which would take us all back to square one. And he didn’t even apologise to Jewish people for his total failure to tackle the anti-Jewish racism that is rife in the Labour Party.”
However, there was support from Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI director general, who said that “much of Labour’s vision for a more sustainable and fair country” was absolutely right. “Business not only supports it but holds many of the keys to making it a reality,” she said.
However, Fairbairn added this could only happen if “Labour invites business into the tent”. She said: “Continual public barbs and backward-facing policy are deterring entrepreneurs and investors, at a time when we need them most.”
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