UK Chancellor George Osborne has called on the opposition Labour MPs to defy their leader Jeremy Corbyn and vote in favor of a harsh new fiscal charter.
Osborne asked them to back the legislation, which seeks to force future government to run a budget surplus — effectively enshrining austerity into law.
Many say the chancellor Osborne is seeking to exploit a rift between the Labour leadership and the MPs, who remain skeptical of Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity platform.
“I call on all moderate, progressive Labour MPs to defy their leadership and join with us to vote for economic sanity,” Osborne said.
Some MPs say Osborne’s gambit amounts to a “political stunt.”
The budget cuts plan has already sparked harsh criticism from economists.
Economist Michael Burke called the legislation “ridiculous.”