British election campaign to resume on Thursday

"The British people are united in their resolve that terror will not prevail"

London - Both the Conservatives and Labour will resume national campaigning with PM Theresa May and Labour leader Corbyn

By AFP

Published: Wed 24 May 2017, 8:38 PM

Last updated: Wed 24 May 2017, 10:58 PM

Britain's governing Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour said they would resume local campaigning on Thursday for the June 8 general election, after suspending efforts due to Monday's terror attack.

Both the Conservatives and Labour will then resume national campaigning with Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Friday, officials said.

"The British people are united in their resolve that terror will not prevail. It will not prevent us going about our daily lives or derail our democratic process," Corbyn said in a statement.

"Resuming democratic debate and campaigning is an essential mark of the country's determination to defend our democracy and the unity that the terrorist have sought to attack," he said.

A Conservative Party spokesman told AFP on Wednesday: "We will resume local campaigning tomorrow... and national campaigning on Friday".

May and Corbyn spoke early on Tuesday - hours after the attack in Manchester in which 22 people were killed and dozens more injured, to agree to halt all national campaigning out of respect for the victims.

They were joined by the other major parties.

May had been on the defensive in the campaign earlier this week after being forced to amend a key part of her manifesto.