Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to wrongfoot Theresa May backfires as he is pummelled during TV debate
JEREMY Corbyn’s bid to wrongfoot Theresa May with a surprise TV election debate appearance backfired last night.
The leader took a prime-time pummelling from all six opponents.
He had pledged to stay away from the BBC One showdown, along with the Tory leader and SNP chief Nicola Sturgeon.
With just hours to go he pulled his tactical U-turn and declared: “Come on Prime Minister, come and have a chat.”
But the 90-minute joust quickly descended into an ugly shouting match as opponents leaped at the chance to savage him.
During the Cambridge University grilling, in which the seven politicians lined up like contestants on Anne Robinson’s Weakest Link quiz, Mr Corbyn:
- Was forced to fend off repeated attacks on his tax hike plans;
- Admitted he tried to block 17 different counter-terror laws since becoming an MP in 1983;
- Refused to pledge to bring down sky-high immigration;
- Was humiliated for having no clear position on Brexit.
The leaders of four more parties took part — Lib Dem Tim Farron, Ukip’s Paul Nuttall, the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood.
The most withering assault on Mr Corbyn came from Tory Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
She repeatedly accused him of having “a magic money tree” to pay for a manifesto wish list of “tempty, shiny election promises”.
Ms Rudd said: “It’s as though he thinks it’s some sort of game. Well it’s not like that. This is people’s hard-earned money and we will protect that, we will not roll the dice.
“I know there is no payment you don’t want to add to, or tax you don’t want to rise.”
The veteran socialist hit back to accuse the Tories of plotting five more years of austerity.
He was then set upon by Mr Nuttall, who said of his spending plans: “Businesses will leave this country. That means less tax, less jobs and more unemployed — that’s what happens if you vote Labour.”
At one point an exasperated Mr Corbyn moaned: “There’s two of them coming at me now, I’m not sure which one I can take.”
Ms Rudd branded his voting record against new terror laws as “chilling”, adding: “You are very good at defending terrorists.”
On Brexit, Mr Corbyn came under fire for being weak from Leave and Remain supporters.
The SNP’s pro-EU Westminster leader Angus Robertson declared: “Why don’t you stand up to the Tories and say we want to stay in the Single European Market because it matters to jobs of people in Britain and in Europe?”
Even the debate’s host, BBC presenter Mishal Husain, stunned Mr Corbyn by reminding him of his earlier gaffe over childcare.
She said: “Are you absolutely sure your sums add up?
“It was only yesterday that you couldn’t remember the cost of one of your policies.”
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Under-pressure Mr Corbyn also gaffed on the economy, claiming Britain has “the lowest growth rate of any industrial country”.
In fact, the UK last year grew faster than all major Western nations apart from Germany.
Mr Farron also stumbled by admitting: “I know that to persuade you to vote Liberal Democrat I have to give you some really good reasons.”
Challenged over her refusal to take part, Mrs May said: “I’ve not been off the television screens.
“I think debates where the politicians are squabbling among themselves doesn’t do anything for the process of electioneering.
“I think it’s about getting out and about, meeting voters and hearing directly from voters.
“I’m interested Jeremy Corbyn seems to be paying far more attention to how many appearances on telly he’s doing, when he ought to be paying a little more attention to thinking about Brexit negotiations.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted after the debate: “There you have it folks — a horrifying glimpse into the shambolic coalition of chaos that would put Jeremy Corbyn into No10.”
He added: “Amber is spot on, Theresa will deliver for UK.” Brexit Secretary David Davis called Ms Rudd a “voice of calm”.
But Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry claimed Mr Corbyn had been “passionate, principled and Prime Ministerial”.
She added: “You can either have a Prime Minister like that or you can have a Prime Minister who’s hiding behind the curtains at No10 and just switching on Bake Off.”
There were questions for the BBC last night as Ms Husain at times struggled to keep control.
Thousands of viewers also took to social media to complain about audience bias as they clapped and cheered points made by Mr Corbyn and jeered Ms Rudd and Mr Nuttall.
The BBC said polling company ComRes recruited an audience “representative of the country demographically and politically”.
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Lady Thatcher— Britain’s first woman PM — famously saw off Labour repeatedly after getting to No10.
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