Labour Conference 2015: Jeremy Corbyn's Speech

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

It's the moment Labour supporters had been waiting for, Jeremy Corbyn's leader's speech at the party's annual conference. Ahead of the controversial politician making the speech, it had been expected that Corbyn would be stressing that he loves his country; an act of patriotism many deemed necessary after the Labour leader made headlines for not singing the national anthem at a ceremony commemorating the Battle of Britain about two weeks ago.

There was thunderous applause as Corbyn walked on stage at the convention centre in Brighton, an applause so long that the politician jokingly asked, "Any chance we can start the speech?", before thanking his supporters for the warm welcome.

The jokes continued in the beginning of the speech, as Corbyn made light of the headlines he'd generated over the last few weeks including reports he would welcome an asteroid wiping out humanity, and that a distant relative of his owned a workhouse.

He then once again thanked all those in attendance, particularly the supporters in his own constituency of North Islington. He revealed that the Labour party has received 50,000 new members since his election as leader, and plans to start the resurgence of the party with the upcoming local government elections. Corbyn even thanked Ed Miliband, the leader of the party during Labour's disastrous general election in 2015, commending him for withstanding "tawdry" media attacks during his campaign.

Then came the reinforcement of ideas Corbyn has discussed in the media as of late; the idea of open debate in the Labour party, something not all have been comfortable with but the leader insists is a good thing explaining that he, "doesn't believe anyone has a monopoly on wisdom." The idea of 'kinder', 'honest' and 'straight-talking' politics, terms which many of Corbyn's supporters have used to describe the party under his leadership.

A big fear that some of Corbyn's supporters have had as of late, is that he would sacrifice his more radical views thanks to his new position in the party. Likely as a result of this Corbyn made a point of saying that he's not going to stop standing up for human rights, opposing oppressive regimes and being an individual activist in his new role as leader. Whether this will be enough to comfort those alarmed to see Corbyn's change in views on the European Union, and his likely defeat on the issue of Trident remains to be seen.

Next came a direct request to Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene in Saudi Arabia and stop the beheading and crucifixion of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, an issue that he recently wrote an open letter to Cameron about. He would later also urge the PM to save the SSI steel plant in Redcar.

Corbyn went on to discuss the economy, and criticised the Conservatives for building a "feeble" economic recovery on "house price inflation, asset inflation, and more private debt." He calls for more investment in the UK infrastructure, as well as for a national investment bank and a Green New Deal.

After, Corbyn moved onto education and said that Labour would make every school accountable to local government education authorities, while also promising not to bring back selection claiming to have aspirations for all children not just a few.


Things turned topical when Corbyn addressed the current refugee crisis, saying he was proud to speak at the "refugees welcome" event and proud of those raising money for refugees in Calais. He decried the government's response as not good enough, referencing David Cameron's controversial plan to transport 20,000 refugees to the UK directly from camps in Syria over the next several years.

Corbyn is a well-known opposer of military action and so it was hardly surprising to see him talk of the need for a strong military to work on humanitarian missions, possibly with the UN. He still doesn't believe inn spending #100 billion on renewing Trident, however that decision may well be taken out of his hands in the interest of saving jobs. He praised President Obama for reaching a deal with Iran and showing the other ways in which conflicts can be resolved, while agreeing with Paddy Ashdown that the government lacks a diplomatic strategy on Syria.

Corbyn then talked of the Labour party itself, describing his election as a political eartquake - similar to the language we heard Nigel Farage use to describe UKIP's surge in the time before the general election. The leader of the party then said that Labour must embrace a modern left movement to build a society for the majority, before using a well-received analogy to highlight the media's coverage of the party which he would argue was distorted. He said that if Labour was a football club, sports reporters would be asking how it can survive with 160,000 new young and optimistic fans.

He continued to pick apart the media's arguably quite hostile reaction to Corbyn's appointment as leader, saying political commentaries are failing to understand the new type of politics that he's pioneering. What has been perceived as splits in the party as adult disagreements that can be resolved through discussion: he described it as "grown-up politics." Along with that comes the previously discussed concept of "kinder politics" as Corbyn expressed his beliefs in treating people with respect rather than abusing them.

Corbyn announced his first big campaign as leader to be stopping the Conservatives plan to remove up to two million people from the electoral register, a move he believes is an attempt to gerrymander 2016's mayoral election. He said that Labour must act to ensure these people keep their right to vote. Corbyn then continued to criticise the Conservative party, highlighting that Prime Minister David Cameron has broken his promise not to cut tax credits while finding the money to reduce the inheritance tax.

It was at this point that the long-speculated patriotic language came out, as Corbyn stressed how proud he is of the United Kingdom - particularly the NHS and the BBC, two organisations that have come under difficult times under the Conservative government.

Corbyn returned to policy next, saying Labour would consider opening up maternity pay to the self-employed and confirming that the party is committed to a fully integrated, publicly owned railway. Corbyn also argued the case for an extensive new housebuilding program, after describing the idea of owning their own house as a distant fantasy for most young people. He then reinforced his views on mental health, stressing that he would make it a real priority for the party as it's something that could affect as all.

Corbyn wrapped up by promising that all policy work will be underpinned by Labour's values, explaining that Labour came into existence to challenge the idea that the poor should be grateful for what they get and not aspire for more: "Labour says you may be born poor, but you don't have to stay poor."

Corbyn ended his speech with a rallying cry to put the people's values back into politics, and received a standing ovation from the packed conference hall.

What did you think of Corbyn's first speech as Labour leader? Please let us know in the comments section below:

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