Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LABOUR AT LIVERPOOL:
His best yet... but biggest test looming 10 years on.. & time has come for bold leader
THE Labour faithful adored Jeremy Corbyn’s common sense, Left-wing response to the national mood for change.
Yet the real test is winning the votes of millions of folk.
From babies to pensioners, he sketched compelling policies to improve lives in a fairer, supportive, civilised society in what was the best of his four major conference speeches.
The national debate is clearly moving his way. People are sick of Tory austerity leaving workers more than a tenner worse off than a decade ago while public services go downhill.
His mutterings on Brexit reflected his confidence vacuum on a fundamental issue.
But just as another world is possible, so too are the General Election he craves or a Brexit referendum. THIS was a speech a decade in the making, to a country still suffering after the 2008 crash.
His plans are bold but his pitch was simple: only Labour can mend the damage caused by the banks and Tory austerity.
Much of the speech was aimed at areas that voted for Brexit, Corbyn making clear he understood their motives and stood ready to help them rebuild their communities.
Yet it also acknowledged his party must do more to show it is fit to govern – urging members to be more united, reassuring the public his agenda, though radical, was also commonsense.
It shows how far opinions have shifted in 10 years that Corbyn’s agenda is now not just getting a fair hearing but looks increasingly appealing.
Read more at mirror.co.uk/ authors/jason-beattie/ Jeremy Corbyn received a standing ovation as he told Jewish people “we are your ally”.
He said the anti-semitism row over the summer caused “immense hurt”. “But I hope we can work together to draw a line under it.”
Mr Corbyn promised the party would be “implacable campaigners against anti-semitism”.
He added: “Anti-racism is integral to our very being … And it’s part of who I am.” There is “no bigger threat than climate change”, Mr Corbyn warned, before pledging to “achieve a 60% reduction in emissions by 2030”.
He also hailed plans to create 400,000 skilled jobs as part of a green revolution to “help tackle climate change, provide sustainable energy and create skilled jobs in every region” of the UK.
Mr Corbyn added: “And we will go further, with plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by the middle of the century.”