Jeremy Corbyn pledged to take on “the financial speculators, tax dodgers and big polluters” and lead a government on the side of working people as he set out his stall for the expected election.
The Labour leader, who was forced to bring forward his Labour conference speech after the Supreme Court declared the suspension of Parliament was unlawful, insisted he would be a “different kind of prime minister” as he tore into Boris Johnson.
In a hastily-rewritten keynote speech, Mr Corbyn condemned the “harsh and uncaring” Tories and accused Mr Johnson of being part of an “elite that disdains democracy”.
Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said:“Jeremy just set out a transformative plan for every nation, region, city and town in the UK.
“On everything from social care to green jobs, education and worker’s rights, Labour will not just tweak a broken system but remake it in the interests of the people and communities we represent.
“People are desperate for change, when the election comes there’s a real choice.”
In his speech Mr Corbyn:
– Announced Labour would create a publicly-owned generic drugs manufacturer to supply cheaper medicines to the NHS
– Accused Mr Johnson of playing on people’s fears by comparing veiled Muslim women to “letterboxes or bank robbers”
– Promised a green industrial revolution with three new battery plants in South Wales, Stoke-on-Trent and Swindon
– Insisted Labour’s Brexit policy, the subject of a major row at conference, was “not complicated”
– Warned against sending troops to Saudi Arabia, claiming British actions in the Middle East had resulted in “spreading conflicts rather than settling them”.
The Labour leader targeted the Prime Minister over his controversial Daily Telegraph column, telling the conference: “When Boris Johnson compared Muslim women to letterboxes or bank robbers, it wasn’t a flippant comment, it was calculated to play on people’s fears.
“Displays of racism, Islamophobia or anti-Semitism are not signs of strength, but of weakness.”
“We stand not just for the 52% or the 48% but for the 99%,” Corbyn said.
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “Labour supporters will once again be disappointed that Jeremy Corbyn has failed to show leadership and commit a Labour Government to opposing Brexit.”