four-year freeze on benefits would continue. The freeze – due to run until 2020 – is widely recognised to be a key driver behind forecasts of rising poverty to come, as the bottom 20 per cent of society sees its incomes fall. But Labour, after a day of confusi-
Labour has been accused of failing to wage an all-out war on poverty, after the party said the Government’s punishing
on, which marred its mani-festo launch, finally admitted it would not end the freeze if it wins the election. After Jeremy Corbyn flip-flopped on the issue, shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour shouldn’t “pro-mise things it can’t afford”.