Corbyn addresses Labour Conference with important key note speech
7462 Mins Read
Jeremy Corbyn closed the Labour conference on Wednesday with a plea to his party to end its bitter internal divisions and focus instead on a “radical” transformation of Britain’s “broken” economic system.
The leftwing Labour leader walked on to the conference stage in Liverpool to a familiar refrain of enthusiastic activists chanting “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn”, but his keynote speech was that of a leader trying to convince sceptics outside the hall that he can actually become prime minister.
His speech encapsulated Labour’s mood on Merseyside: a growing swagger that the party is winning the big economic argument, but a fear that its internecine feuding may stop it putting socialism into practice.
Corbyn also tried to bridge the party’s yawning divide over Brexit, hinting that, if there were to be a second referendum, it could include the option to stay in the EU — an outcome favoured by the vast majority of his activists.
He said the party would push for an election if Mrs May’s Brexit strategy foundered, adding: “Failing that all options are on the table.”
He also tried to reassure Labour’s pro-Brexit voters in its traditional heartlands that the party was not trying to wreck Brexit altogether, making a new offer to Mrs May that he would back her if she negotiated an exit deal on his terms.
“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,” he said.
FT’s analyst Sebastian said the speech offered a coherent analysis of the challenges facing the nation. It echoed the demands for radical change. It offered a vision for life beyond Brexit. The prescriptions may be populist and anti-business by nature — all broad soundbites, little substance — and major announcements were absent. But it succeeded in making his radicalism appear like the new normal.
As Mr Corbyn put it: “People in this country know that the old way of running things isn’t working any more.” Even among the governing Conservatives, few would dispute that. The greatest change this year was in the leader’s confidence and conciliatory tone. Ever since he rose to the Labour leadership three years ago, he has operated inside a bunker. Internal opposition to his leftwing positions meant that he was constantly under attack and on the defensive. There was no desire to reach out to internal opponents. Now he is arguing that “Labour is a broad church and can be broader still”.
