Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used his appearance in Swindon today to underline his policy of scrapping zero hours contracts and introduce a £10 living wage. He also pledged to bring in a triple lock to protect pensions, cut class sizes and prioritise comprehensive education.
Addressing a meeting at the Central Community Centre in Emlyn Square he said: “We are 72 hrs into this election campaign. 72 hours into the opportunity of our lifetimes to challenge the inequality and injustice that exists in Britain today.
“We have had seven years of a Tory government that has slashed local government spending, that has slashed our health service spending, that has created a social care crisis across the whole country and diminished the chances and opportunities of so many of our children for the future.
"This election is about what happens to this country; it is about what happens to the people of this country.”
Galvanising support for the election battle ahead, he added that within the few hours of Theresa May announcing that she wanted to call an election, 2,500 people joined the Labour party.
"This election is about what happens to this country, it is about what happens to the people of this country.
“Why do we allow this form of employment in this country? A Labour government would end zero hours contracts. There are, in Britain, six million people working for less than what is the inadequate living wage at the present time. I want these people to be paid properly. I want people to have that security at work and knowing what their income would be. So I’m very proud that a Labour government would introduce a living wage of £10 an hour.”
He also talked of introducing legislation to protect small businesses who are owed large sums of money in unpaid bills by the larger companies.
“Small businesses struggling to survive because they can’t get the cash flow because the big companies don’t pay them on time or don’t pay within the agreed period. So we will introduce legislation to protect and encourage small business because we are serious about the diversity of our economy and the need to encourage growth in all areas of this country.”
And he added that the party was “utterly determined” to protect working time directives and ensure tariff free access to the European market in the future.
“Without that tariff free access, Honda, BMW and all those big manufacturers would then have a tariff put on products they sell to Europe. We all know what the impact of that would be in Swindon and for many other towns and cities all over the country.”
He also pledged to challenge the rising retirement age, low pensions and loneliness of people in later life - adding that Labour would guarantee the triple lock on the state pension.
Mr Corbyn also addressed the other end of the age spectrum, hitting out at what he claimed was Tory underfunding of state schools and citing examples of where parents had been asked to make voluntary donations to shore up school funds.
“The same government manages to find money for free schools and put money aside to open selective grammar schools. So you see the contrast, where their priorities are. Cutting the school budgets overall and then spending money on selective education for the few.”
And hitting out at grammar schools, he said: “Selective education sounds absolutely great, providing you are selected. Children at 11 are divided between those who get to grammar schools and those that don't. I thought the idea of dividing children in that way was over - utterly forgotten; because in my book every child matters.”
He pledged that Labour would priorities funding to cut class sizes and develop comprehensive schools.
“The news that's coming out today is that the class sizes are rising all over the country. 500,000 children are now being taught in supersized classrooms of over 36 it's pretty obvious to me that if you are in a class of 36 you are not going to get a great deal of attention from the teacher compared to a smaller class of 30 or under.
“We don't think it's a good idea to destroy and break up local education authorities and put everything into the department of education and schools. I want a community of education. I want schools to work with each other rather than compete against each other.
"This campaign is about sending out a message - a Labour government will invest in the future of Britain. We will establish a national investment bank to build the infrastructure we need to develop the manufacturing industry that we need.
"Above all it's about our vision of the kind of society and kind of world that we want it to be. I don’t want to live in food bank Britain. I don’t want to live in a society where so many of our children are hungry and ill fed that they have to go to a lunch club during school holidays in order to get something to eat. Poverty is not inevitable. Our strategy is about economic development social justice all across Britain. It's about the kind of society we want to live in."
Mr Corbyn’s speech received a guarded welcome from those at the event. Labour councillor Derique Montaut, who represents Liden, Eldene and Park South said: “I think he helped remind the party of the values that Labour stands for. It was a good speech.”
Gerry Hannon, from Swindon was said: "I think he spoke brilliantly. When he spoke about not wanting to live in food bank Britain, that was pretty powerful.”
And former post office worker Carol Heavens, 76, who described herself as an active member of the Labour Party said: “It was a good speech, but I would like to see him reaching out to those people in the middle ground. He needs to make sure that he speaks to the majority of people who are in the middle to make sure that he appeals to them and brings them along with him.”
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