Corbyn extols ‘socialism for 21st century’
Party remains divided despite leader’s plea for unity
LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn was attacked by his own MPs over immigration as he set out what he said was a programme of “socialism for the 21st century”.
In his keynote speech to the party conference in Liverpool he also appealed to his divided party to come together and end the “trench warfare” of recent months.
But before his speech Labour MPs lined up to attack his stance on migration.
Overnight his team had briefed that he was relaxed about the issue and did not want to reduce the numbers coming to the UK.
A number of senior Labour MPs said that his stance ignored the verdict of the EU referendum.
Many Labour supporters had rejected the call to stay in the EU, they said, in part because of their concerns over immigration, they said.
Former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper even warned that Labour risked failing to help “desperate” refugees if it adopted a “tin ear” to resolving the country’s concerns.
In his speech Mr Corbyn also told the party faithful that his ultimate aim was not as a protest group but a government in waiting.
His comments followed warnings from his own deputy Tom Watson of the need to focus on winning power.
The Labour leader also called on his party to unite to take on the Conservatives in a General Election potentially as early as next year.
Following accusations of bullying and anti-Semitism among some of his own supporters, he pledged “firm action” against intimidation and vowed to fight against “prejudice and hatred of Jewish people”.
He confirmed plans for a £500 billion “National Investment Bank” to support infrastructure projects, a £50 million Migrant Impact Fund, to funnel cash to areas of high migration and a £10 an hour or more living wage.
Labour would also scrap “punitive” benefit sanctions including the “degrading” work capability assessment. He also proposed that business pay for Labour’s proposed National Education Service, in part through a 1.5 per cent hike in corporation tax.
But he attempted to reach out beyond his traditional base by pledging a review of tax and social security rights for self-employed people. He also promised to ban UK arms sales to countries with terrible human rights records, saying that he would start with Saudi Arabia.
Mr Corbyn said his pledges were “not the Ten Commandments” and would be open to further consultation. But he said they showed “the direction of change we are determined to take, and the outline of a programme to rebuild and transform Britain”, and offer “greater equality of wealth and income, but also of power”.
“That’s not backward-looking, it’s the very opposite. It’s the socialism of the 21st century.”
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said the speech was a “genuine programme to halt rampaging inequality”.
But there was a negative reaction from business leaders.
Adam Marshall, acting director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said many would “be concerned that Jeremy Corbyn is already reaching for the tax lever by asking businesses to pay for his education plans”.
Conservative chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin said Labour were offering to “spend, borrow and tax even more than they did last time”.