We are ready to govern says Corbyn in conference speech
JEREMY Corbyn declared Labour now represents “the new common sense” and is ready to govern.
At Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, Mr Corbyn called on Prime Minister Theresa May to call an early general election, which he said could see him in 10 Downing Street by this time next year.
The Labour leader said his party was “ready to take charge” and deliver “a real alternative to the people of Britain - a radical plan to rebuild and transform our country”.
At the conclusion of the four-day gathering, Mr Corbyn set out a range of plans including:
• A green jobs revolution” to create 400,000 skilled jobs in windfarms and home insulation;
•A■ extension of free childcare;
•Workers’ seats on company boards, and the creation of employee shareholding funds;
•A■ end to the “racket” of privatisation and outsourcing;
•Pub•ic services with “fairness and humanity” at their heart;
•A new tax on second homes to pay for house-building;
•A foreign policy driven by progressive values and international solidarity, with no more “reckless wars, like Iraq or Libya”.
He said: “Change in our country is long overdue.
“Every month this Government remains in power, the worse things get.
“We will rebuild the public realm and create a genuinely mixed economy for the 21st Century. And after a decade of austerity, the next Labour government will confront the challenge of rebuilding our public services.”
Union leader Mark Serwotka hailed Mr Corbyn’s programme as “a transformative and radical socialist vision for the country”.
But business leaders were not impressed and voiced alarm.
The director general of the CBI, Carolyn Fairbairn, warned that “policy built on ideology and diktat” would “harm those who can least afford it by driving down investment, productivity and pay”.
At the end of a conference dominated by Brexit, Mr Corbyn confirmed that Labour MPs will vote against Theresa May’s Chequers plan and keep the option of a second referendum on EU withdrawal “on the table”.
But he left no doubt that a general election is his preferred outcome, sending a message to the Prime Minister.
He said: “Brexit is about the future of our country and our vital interests.
“It is not about leadership squabbles or parliamentary posturing.
“If you deliver a deal that includes a customs union and no hard border in Ireland, if you protect jobs, people’s rights at work and environmental and consumer standards – then we will support that sensible deal.
“But if you can’t negotiate that deal then you need to make way for a party that can.”