Corbyn: Labour is the natural party of business

JEREMY Corbyn has made a bold attempt to claim the mantle of “the natural party of business” for Labour.

On the eve of the party’s annual conference in Brighton, Mr Corbyn said the Conservatives had “failed business and failed the economy” by starving the country of investment in their seven years in power.

He said that Labour wanted to “work together” with businesses to create “the kind of economy we want”.

The launch of the new Labour Business campaign came as Mr Corbyn claimed his party now represents “the mainstream” of British politics, with the Government in “disarray”.

June’s general election, which saw Labour gain 30 seats as Theresa May lost her majority in the Commons, had “changed politics in this country”, he said. Mr Corbyn added that Labour was already making preparations for an early general election, in which it plans to target top Tories including Amber Rudd, Boris Johnson and Iain Duncan Smith.

“We are now the mainstream,” he told The Guardian. “The Government lacks any sense of direction. They are hiding behind parliamentary power grabs to avoid scrutiny.”

Vowing to “challenge the Tories at every step” he said Labour was already selecting candidates in key seats and putting detailed policy papers together for an early poll.

In a video message for Labour Business, Mr Corbyn said: “For too long the Conservatives have got away with the false claim that they are the party of business. The truth is they have failed business and failed the economy. Seven years in office and they have delivered falling investment, falling productivity and falling living standards.