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General election 2017: Theresa May struggles to defend 'dementia tax' U-turn in BBC interview – as it happened

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 Updated 
Mon 22 May 2017 15.33 EDTFirst published on Mon 22 May 2017 01.45 EDT

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My colleague, Jessica Elgot, points out that the Conservatives are being attacked over their claim earlier in the day that “Jeremy Corbyn, supported by Nicola Sturgeon and Tim Farron, has already said he will accept any deal handed down by the EU”.

The Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesman, Tom Brake responded:

This is an absurd claim from an increasingly desperate Conservative party. David Davis and Theresa May want to impose their extreme Brexit agenda on the country no matter how bad it is for jobs, the NHS and our schools. We are offering the people the final say on Brexit, with a chance to reject a bad deal and remain in the EU.

Corbyn has previously said Labour would vote against a that does not measure up, while Sturgeon has said a bad deal would lead to a second Scottish independence referendum.

May insists she is being honest with voters after 'dementia tax' U-turn

At the end of a testing day, Theresa May faced the BBC’s Andrew Neil in the first in a series of interviews with party leaders. Neil repeatedly pressed her on the Tory social care U-turn, specifics on funding for the party’s manifesto pledges and on honesty in politics.

In the combative interview, May:

  • Insisted there had been no U-turn because the principle of the policy remained the same, despite a cap on social care costs having originally been rejected in the manifesto.
  • Accused Jeremy Corbyn of “scaremongering” over the policy, while insisting that he had not influenced her decision to perform the U-turn.
  • Said she was being honest with the electorate when confronted with quotes from a cabinet colleague that appeared to contradict her position that the manifesto had not changed.
  • Confirmed that an extra £8bn the Tories have promised to spend on the NHS will not be new money.
  • Declined to say how many people would lose their winter fuel allowance if she was reelected, saying it would only be decided in consultation after the election.
  • Said she could be trusted to keep her manifesto promises after Neil listed several key policies she had failed to deliver on.
  • Insisted her cabinet colleagues supported her pledge to cut immigration levels, despite claims to the contrary from the former chancellor, George Osborne.
  • Refused, once again, to rule out rises in income tax and national insurance, saying only in general terms that the Tories wanted low taxes.
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Neil closes by asking how long May intends to remain in No 10. She will only say that she is concentrating on this election and the next parliament. Beyond that, she will not be drawn.

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Neil raises George Osborne’s claim that no cabinet members support the immigration target May has pledged. She denies it, saying “it’s me and my team” that want to control immigration.

Next up: Neil points out that May has failed since entering office to keep her promise on getting net migration figures down. He asks: how can people trust her? May insists her party wants to get it down, while Labour does not.

Neil tries again, asking whether or not May thinks that restating a promise she has repeatedly failed to keep is eroding trust. May says people will need to decide whom they trust: Labour or the Conservatives.

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How many pensioners will lose their winter fuel allowance, asks Neil.

May declines to give a number, saying only that her government will consult on it. “It’s a vague promise, uncosted, you don’t know,” Neil says. May reiterates that they intend to consult. “Wouldn’t you have done that before you came up with it?” Neil shoots back.

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Neil moves on to the “just about managing”. He tells May that, despite her saying she is on the side, things are getting harder for those people. She says she wants a stronger economy with higher paid jobs and lower energy bills.

But Neil persists, telling her that people are being squeezed. “In what way are you on their side?” Again, May tells him that she wants to bring economic prosperity.

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On tax, May says the Tories are a party of low taxes and want to reduce them. But, once again, she avoids the question on whether or not she will she raise taxes, saying only that she wants the tax system to be sustainable.

Neil then asks May about the NHS’s recent troubles. The investment is “too little, too late”, he suggests. May accepts that targets have been missed but says that is not the be all and end all in the health service.

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Planned infrastructure spending of £10bn will be separate and will “come from a variety of sources”, May says.

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