Labour Manifesto leak: right-wing press accuses Corbyn of taking Britain back to the 70s

Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of taking Britain ‘back to the 1970s’ after several national newspapers reportedly gained access to a leaked copy of Labour’s manifesto for the General Election.

Several right-wing papers, including the Daily Mail and The Telegraph, claimed that Mr Corbyn’s election pledges include the re-nationalisation of energy firms, railways and Royal Mail.

It is also claimed that Labour will create a National Investment Bank, alongside a Ministry of Labour that will hand huge power to trade unions.

Controversially, the manifesto also supports the renewal of the Trident missile system – despite Jeremy Corbyn being vehemently against the use of nuclear weapons.

Describing the manifesto, a Labour source told the Telegraph that it was ‘Ed Miliband’s manifesto with hard left hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top.’

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A similar tone was taken by the Daily Mail, who described the pledges as a ‘new suicide note’, in reference to Michael Foot’s Labour manifesto of 1983, which was famously dubbed ‘the longest suicide note in history’.

The leak was also reported in left-wing newspapers including The Daily Mirror, who also claimed to have seen a copy of the manifesto.

But while their right-wing counterparts accused Mr Corbyn’s ideas of being in the past, The Mirror claimed that ‘Jezza’ would ‘fix rip-off Britain’ by choosing to ‘boost NHS, schools and scrap tuition fees’.

The Guardian, meanwhile, described the manifesto as a ‘transformational programme’, but warned that it could threaten to divide the party when it is discussed at a National Executive Committee meeting that will be reportedly held later today.

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In a statement, Labour refused to comment directly on the link but did not rule out its authenticity.

A spokesperson for the party told The Telegraph: ‘We don’t comment on leaks. Our policies will be laid out when we launch our manifesto which is a plan to transform Britain for the many, not the few.’