Jeremy Corbyn: Labour is 'primed and ready to roll' for another election
Jeremy Corbyn has warned the Conservatives that Labour is 'primed and ready to roll' for another general election.
In his leader's speech at the party conference in Brighton he accused the Conservatives of fuelling personal abuse of shadow home secretary Diane Abbott and vowed a wholesale scheme of nationalisation.
He promised to take utility companies into public ownership and said the 'capitalist system still faces a crisis stemming from the crash'.
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He told Labour delegates: 'Now is the time we developed a new model of economic management to replace the failed dogmas of neo-liberalism.'
Traditionally, party leaders use their mainstage conference speeches to reach out to undecided voters outside the hall as well as the party faithful within it, tailoring their messages to suit a wider audience. However, Corbyn made no concessions in that direction, reflecting the view expressed toward the end of his speech that the political centre ground had shifted his way.
In a wide-ranging address he hit out at the Conservative government's 'coalition of chaos', which he said was tearing its manifesto and itself apart. Labour, he said, was 'the party of unity'.
He said there was a concerted effort by some sections of the media to trash Labour. 'One paper devoted 14 pages to attacking the Labour Party,' he said. 'The following day our vote went up nearly 10 per cent. Never have so many trees died in vain.'
He was scathing about the Conservative's record on Brexit, saying: 'I have a message for the Cabinet – for Britain's sake pull yourself together or make way.' Corbyn said: 'This ragtag Cabinet spends more time negotiating with each other than with the European Union.'
He promised more money for the police and other public services, saying: 'Scrapping the public sector pay cap isn't an act of charity, it is necessary to keep our public services strong.'
Addressing foreign policy issues, he said: 'We cannot be silent at the cruel Saudi war in Yemen, while continuing to supply arms to Saudi Arabia.'
He called on Aung San Suu Kyi to 'end the violence now against the Rohingya in Myanmar' and to allow the UN and international aid agencies into Rakhine state. 'The Rohingya have suffered too long,' he said.
Corbyn criticised President Donald Trump for his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, describing it as 'alarming'. 'In fact, action on climate change is a powerful incentive to investiment in green industries,' he said.
He was damning about Trump's domestic agenda, saying: 'The values we share are not served by building walls, banning immigrants on the basis of religion, polluting the planet, or pandering to racism.'
He described Trump's speech last week to the UN, in which he threatened North Korea with war, as 'disturbing' and 'not a speech that should have been made'.
He added: 'If the special relationship means anything, it must mean that we can say to Washington: that way is the wrong way.'
He drew sustained applause when he said: 'Let's give real suport to end the oppression of the Palestinian people.' He spoke of the need to 'move to a genuine two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict'.
The buoyant mood in the conference chamber reflected Labour's belief that it is on the verge of an electoral breakthrough. At least one poll showed it four points ahead of the Conservatives.