Corbyn reveals he expects to win if country returns to polls

THERESA May was yesterday accused of “squatting” in Downing Street as Jeremy Corbyn vowed he was ready to move in. The Labour leader said it is “quite possible” the hung Parliament chaos could force the country back to the polls – and next time he expected outright victory. His confident statement came as Tory big beast Michael Heseltine warned his party it was offering Mr Corbyn a path to No10 unless it tackled its Brexit civil war. Meanwhile, a poll put Labour ahead of the Tories for the first time in years and a separate survey found Mrs May and Mr Corbyn were now level among voters over who would be the best PM. Vindicated Mr Corbyn yesterday vowed Labour was “ready any time” there was another general election. He told the BBC’S Andrew Marr Show: “I think it’s quite possible there’ll be an election later this year or early next year, and that might be a good thing because we cannot go on with a period of great instability. “We have a programme, we have support and we’re ready to fight another election campaign as soon as may be.” Mr Corbyn also revealed Labour has raised millions of pounds as he sought to reassure activists the party has the funds available to fight another snap campaign. The 68-year-old, whose energy in the gruelling election run-in was widely praised, shrugged off questions about whether he was still committed for the long term. He grinned: “Look at me, I’ve got youth on my side.” One of Mr Corbyn’s most senior allies backed up his insistence he could soon be in power amid confusion over a deal between the Tories and the DUP. Asked if Labour was preparing for government, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry told Sky News: “Yes, we have to be, we have to be absolutely on our toes.” Dismissing claims Mr Corbyn lost the election after securing 262 seats, compared with the Conservatives’ 318, she predicted Tory chaos could open the door to a Labour administration. She said: “Let’s see how the Tories do, let’s see if they are able to hold it together and if not we will step up, we would love the opportunity to serve. “We’ve got Theresa May squatting in Downing Street, we’ve got a full rebellion in the Conservative Party. “They have a manifesto that’s been completely repudiated by the public and indeed by Tory MPS themselves.”

CONFIDENTJEREMY Corbyn yesterday