Jeremy Corbyn declares magic money tree is 'doing really well' in fiery attack on tax avoiders at Budget rally
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Loading... - Sabina Daniels
- 24 Nov 2020
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The magic money tree is "doing really well", Jeremy Corbyn has declared in a fiery post-Budget attack on tax avoiders.
The Labour leader laid into austerity cuts as he joined Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson and 1,500 backers at a rally tonight.
Turning the Tories' slogan about his own spending plans on its head, he told the crowd in West Bromwich: "The magic money tree is doing really well!
"It's in the Cayman Islands, it's in the British Virgin Islands, it's in the Isle of Man, it's in the Channel Islands, and it's absolutely fine".
He added: "those people that are so witty and clever about how they've avoided taxation, I simply say this to them: sadly one day you may be old, sadly one day you may get a heart attack, sadly, one day your house might catch fire.
"At that point, please remember the way you short-changed our public services by avoiding taxation."
Mr Corbyn slammed Tory ministers for failing to say how many of their 300,000 promised new homes a year would be affordable.
He accused the government of "taking a scalpel to public services", adding: "The issues are not complicated.
"People do not sleep rough because they prefer to sleep out on a November night, they sleep out because they're totally desperate."
Earlier his right-hand man John McDonnell used the rally to slam a Tory whip who cracked an "ageist" joke at the Labour leader yesterday.
Andrew Griffiths admitted taunting Mr Corbyn while sitting just behind the Tory frontbench during the Budget debate in the Commons.
"They shouted, they screamed and they abused," Mr McDonnell said of Tory MPs.
"They tried to shout him down at that part of the speech when he exposed in this Budget that there was no money for social care put aside ... and the suffering and anguish that that would cause older people and their families.
"And all he got in return from Tory MPs was derision and abuse - they showed their real face yesterday.
"They showed it in the Budget overall - they showed they're completely out of touch. Out of touch with the real world economy and out of touch with the real world all the rest of us live in."
A heckler made what Labour MPs described as an "ageist" and "inappropriate" joke while Mr Corbyn complained older people "aren't receiving the care they need".
One senior Labour source told the Mirror the heckler said: "You should be in care."
A second senior source claimed the phrasing was along the lines of "put you in a care home".
Mr Griffiths denied saying this, telling the Mirror Mr Corbyn said "there are elderly people in need of help", to which he replied: "That's you!"
Video shows Mr Corbyn's comments were actually: "Over a million of our elderly aren't receiving the care they need."
