Jeremy Corbyn declares 'Labour is back as the voice of the working class'
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn vowed to do far more to give a “real voice” to working class communities who feel their views are ignored.
He hit out at 30 years of the establishment claiming that class does not matter, which he said had led to living standards falling while a tiny minority at the very top of society have become more wealthy.
Speaking at the Unite policy conference, he said: “Labour is back as the political voice of the working class.”
He told delegates in Brighton: ”We need to do far more to give a real voice to working class communities who feel they aren’t heard in politics often older people living outside the big cities in areas hit by decades of failed economic policies."
(Image: PA)
He added: “For thirty years, the media and the establishment tried to tell us that class doesn’t matter anymore and that we should ditch any idea of representing and advancing the interests of the working class.
“We’ve seen where that’s got us. Trade union membership and living standards falling while inequality and insecurity grow.
“That’s why it’s so important that Labour is back as the political voice of the working class in all its diversity across Britain and we will be campaigning on the issues that matter to communities that have been held back and ignored across the country in the weeks and months to come.
“Labour exists to represent the large majority of the population the many, not the few: lower and middle income voters, the skilled and unskilled: nurses and teachers, shop floor workers, builders, designers, technicians and professionals in every community, region and nation.
“Working class issues are our issues: jobs, homes, health, education.”
He said Labour would negotiate a new and comprehensive customs union with the EU after Brexit and a strong relationship with the Single Market to ensure frictionless trade and keep skilled jobs in this country.
"We would seek to build a sensible working relationship with our European partners in sharp contrast to the posturing of the Conservatives which is clearly now threatening skilled jobs in this country."
Mr Corbyn said pay was lower in real terms today for most people than it was 10 years ago.
He added: "While most people have seen their wages and living standards fall over the last eight years, a tiny minority at the very very top of society have become ever more wealthy.
"They're doing better at helping themselves to the wealth created by everybody else and being handed still more from the public purse as under this Government they've been rewarded with one tax giveaway after another."