Carwyn backs Corbyn to be the next PM

JEREMY CORBYN is ready to be Prime Minister, one of Labour’s most powerful politicians has declared.

Outgoing First Minister Carwyn Jones backed the party’s UK leader for No 10 as the Tory government struggles with its Brexit negotiations.

He is the right man to “reject the mess the Tories are making”, said Mr Jones, who steps down as First Minister and Welsh Labour leader in December after nine years.

Asked if he thought Mr Corbyn was ready for Downing Street, he said: “Yes I do.”

He urged the Labour leader to work harder to attract older voters.

And Mr Jones also fuelled claims he wants a seat in the House of Lords after he stands down.

Endorsing Mr Corbyn for Downing Street, Mr Jones pointed to the party chief ’s recent success in highlighting Brexit splits at the top of Government.

He said: “I think he struck a very, very telling blow on the Prime Minister making the point about the weakness of the current UK Cabinet.

“At the moment we have what seems to be several different Prime Ministers who are trying to run the country, and Jeremy would be a better alternative than any of them.”

Mr Jones has had a sometimes tense relationship with Labour’s Londonbased operation.

There was widespread dismay at what Cardiff saw as Mr Corbyn’s lack of enthusiasm to campaign to Remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.

But he surprised critics at last year’s snap general election, denying the Tories a majority and boosting his own position.

Asked how Mr Corbyn could win more support and propel Labour to office, Mr Jones urged: “He needs to stick to his guns – it worked. It was a very curious election campaign, it started off very difficult and it changed when Theresa May launched her party’s manifesto – and it changed because Jeremy went out there and really thumped the tub and spoke to so many people. He got a lot of young people particularly on his side.”

Mr Jones pinpointed two areas his UK counterpart needed to target to win power.

“Firstly the Midlands, where we didn’t do well in the election, and secondly, we’ve got to work on a very strong package for older people because clearly older people – they didn’t as a rule vote for us, younger people did,” he said.

“I don’t think we have to make a choice between the older and younger generation, so we really have to work hard as a party on offering a very good package for people who are a lot older.”

Mr Jones announced his decision to quit as First Minister and Welsh Labour leader in April, amid ongoing criticism of his handling of allegations against former cabinet minister Carl Sargeant.

Mr Sargeant took his own life in November, days after being suspended by Labour. An inquest will examine the circumstances of his death.

Speaking about his decision to resign, Mr Jones said the “time was right” and insisted he was quitting “at a time of my own choosing”, adding: “That in politics is unusual.”

He hopes to be remembered as a politician who attracted huge foreign investment into Wales, and “as the person who moved Wales from being a country that had an Assembly with very limited powers to a proper parliament with proper powers that the people of Wales deserved – and that we used those powers in that people would have wanted”.

But asked how he thinks he will be remembered, he admitted: “It’s for other people to judge, I suppose.”

Mr Jones is tipped for the House of Lords after giving up his Bridgend seat at the next Assembly election.

He ruled out standing as an MP – but left the door open to joining the Upper Chamber.

“I wouldn’t like to be in a position where I’m not involved at all in politics, but I don’t want to be full on,” he said.

“We’ll wait and see and what happens.”