The Tories try to brand Labour's moderate and reasonable proposals as extreme and hard left. Puzzled?

My letter to the EADT published 23 February 2019:

Dear Editor

The Conservative candidate for Ipswich makes wild and unsubstantiated claims about Labour's policies describing them as far-Left, Marxist, etc.

Perhaps he would like to explain how and why he thinks the ten main points from Labour's 2017 manifesto are extreme.  Here they are:

1. Scrap student tuition fees 
2. Nationalisation of England's nine water companies. 
3. Re-introduce the 50p rate of tax on the highest earners (above £123,000) 
4. Income tax rate 45p on £80,000 and above 
5. More free childcare, expanding free provisions for two, three and four year olds 
6. Guarantee triple lock for pensioner incomes 
7. End to zero hours contracts 
8. Hire 10,000 new police officers, 3,000 new firefighters 
9. Moves to charge companies a levy on salaries above £330,000 
10. Deliver rail electrification "including in Wales and the South West". 

One might quibble about details but all these policies are moderate and reasonable.  It is only because  the Tory Party has moved so far to the right that such obviously middle of the road, social democratic policies, common throughout Europe can be branded as extreme.  

I doubt this Tory candidate has much in common with the three MPs who have just left the Conservative Party because it has been hi-jacked by the far-right in the form of ERG.