Tag: Jeremy Corbyn

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 17 December 2019.

May I join the Prime Minister in remembering the horror of what happened at London Bridge just three weeks ago? It is the third time in the last two general election campaigns that we have witnessed appalling and depraved terrorist attacks on our communities. Our hearts must go out to the families of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt. When the Prime Minister and I attended a memorial event at the Guildhall, I had the honour of meeting many of the students who had been at college with Jack, and they were just devastated. In his memory, they wanted his work and his message to carry on. We should also remember the very good words of his father David about how proud he was of his son on that day. That attack was an attempt to damage our democracy, to halt the process. It did not succeed and it never should succeed, because we have to make sure that our democracy is fully intact.

I would like to offer my congratulations to the Prime Minister on winning the election and being returned to office, and I want to pay tribute to those Members, from my party particularly, who sadly lost their seats in the election and therefore will not be here. In particular, although many will be remembered, obviously Dennis Skinner is somebody who comes very much to mind on this occasion.

In the campaign, the Prime Minister made many promises and therefore has tremendous responsibilities to live up to. He will be judged on whether he keeps those promises by the communities that he has made them to. Our job in the Labour party will be to hold the Government to account and stand up for the communities ​we represent and for the more than 10 million people who voted for our party in the general election. Because that is what parliamentary democracy is about—holding the Government to account and representing the people who sent us here on their behalf.

I also offer my congratulations to the hon. Member for Worthing West (Sir Peter Bottomley) on taking up his position as Father of the House. I first encountered him at the Woolwich West by-election in 1975. I was a trade union organiser at the time, and I made a very strong recommendation to all the members of my union that they should vote for the Labour candidate, not him. I do not want to embarrass the hon. Gentleman, but some of them went to see him and said, “He seems such a very nice man. We might well vote for him.” I do not want to tarnish his reputation further, but whenever I was trying in the past to get an all-party consensus together on an early-day motion—sometimes a difficult task—he would often give it a Conservative character by supporting such moves. I thank him for that and wish him well as Father of the House.

May I take this opportunity to welcome all newly elected Members to the House? It is a very daunting day for them—their first day here after being elected to this place on behalf of their constituents, with all the responsibility that goes with that. There is no greater honour than to be elected to this House to represent our constituents, and one of the greatest strengths of our political system is that every one of us represents a community and every one of us has a constituency. We are here to represent the homeless and the desperate as well as those who are better off and lead more comfortable existences. We are here to represent all of them, and that surely ought to be the watchword of our House and our democracy.

This is the first time that a majority of Labour MPs are women, and I congratulate them all on being elected. Twenty of the 26 newly elected Labour MPs are women, which compares rather favourably to the Conservative party’s performance in that regard. This is also the most diverse Parliament in history, and I am proud that 41 of the 65 black and minority ethnic MPs are on the Labour Benches. I know they will do a fantastic job representing their constituencies and wider community interests.

Finally, Mr Speaker-Elect, I offer my warmest congratulations to you as you resume your place in the Speaker’s Chair. It is great to see you back. Your role goes beyond the pomp and ceremony, as you well understand. I am keen to work with you, as many others are, on all the issues facing this House. This House cannot function without Members’ staff and House staff—vsecurity, administration, caterers, cleaners and officials—who do so much good work here; they all make a contribution to ensure that our democracy functions properly. But there is also enormous pressure on MPs, staff and many others, and I know that you take very seriously the mental health and wellbeing of us all. I hope that we in this House ensure that that is taken seriously.

Mr Speaker-Elect, there are portraits of all your predecessors in Speaker’s House. One of the most famous, of course, is Speaker Lenthall, who resisted the autocracy of Charles I in support of the freedoms of Parliament. Our democracy needs you as a Speaker who will stand firm against abuses of power by the Executive or anybody else. In doing so, you are defending the rights not just of this House, but of millions of people who put their faith ​in a democratic system to elect a Parliament, and therefore a Government, who are answerable to them. Our rights and freedoms are always precious, but also often precarious. Democracy is not a given. It is something that we have to extend and defend. I am sure that you, in your role as Speaker-Elect—and hopefully Speaker very soon—will do exactly that. I congratulate you on your election and look forward to working with you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, on 15 November 2019.

Thank you for that welcome.

At the start of this election I promised to put forward the most radical and exciting plan for real change the British public has ever seen.

We haven’t even launched our manifesto yet, but our campaign is already electric. On the ground it’s bigger and more exciting than 2017.

And I’ll let you into a little secret – when our manifesto arrives next week, it’s going to knock your socks off.

I don’t want anyone to be able to say, a few years into a Labour government, that nothing ever changes or that politicians are all the same.

I want everyone to feel the positive difference to their own life when you have the government and the people working together, collectively, to take on the system and make life better for the many, not the few.

And do you know what? We’re so confident that’s what our manifesto will do that today we want to give you a sneak peek.

A taster of the kind of fresh, transformational policies that will change your life.

So here it is: a Labour government will make broadband free for everybody.

And not just any broadband, but the very fastest. Full-fibre broadband to every home, in every part of our country, for free – as a universal public service.

And once it’s up and running, instead of you forking out for your monthly bill, we’ll tax the giant corporations fairly – the Facebooks and the Googles – to cover the running costs.

That is a policy for the many.

Making broadband free and available to all will open up opportunities for everybody.

It will put us at the cutting edge of social and economic change.

Because what we’re about is building a country that’s fit for the future.

The internet has become such a central part of our lives. It opens up opportunities for work, creativity, entertainment and friendship.

What was once a luxury is now an essential utility.

That’s why full-fibre broadband must be a public service, bringing communities together with equal access in an inclusive and connected society.

Fast and free broadband for all will fire up our economy, deliver a massive boost to productivity and bring half a million people back into the workforce.

It will help our environment and tackle the climate emergency by reducing the need to commute.

And it will make our country fairer, more equal and more democratic.

The full-fibre broadband Labour will deliver is the gold standard. It is the fastest, most secure and most reliable form of broadband, using fibre optic cables to take data directly into people’s homes and businesses.

And it will help to boost 5G to people’s phones too.

Full-fibre will deliver lightning-fast download times.

It will put an end to patchy and slow coverage once and for all.

And it will save the average household £30 a month on bills.

Britain’s broadband network is lagging well behind other countries.

Just 8 to 10 per cent of the UK has access to full-fibre broadband, compared to 98 per cent in South Korea.

Something clearly isn’t working.

This is core infrastructure for the 21st Century. I think it’s too important to be left to the corporations.

The most efficient and rapid way to deliver a broadband network fit for our times, and make it a genuine public service for all, is for the public to take control.

So under our plans, we will create a new public enterprise – and we’ll call it British Broadband.

British Broadband will oversee a publicly-owned full-fibre network and deliver free broadband to every home, with a phased roll-out over ten years.

To do that we will bring the relevant parts of BT, including Openreach, into public ownership.

By creating British Broadband as a public service, we will lead the world in using public investment to transform our country, reduce people’s monthly bills, boost our economy and improve people’s quality of life.

And it will have national security benefits too.

To me, that’s common sense. The corporations have been unable or unwilling to roll out full-fibre fast enough, and they have little incentive to invest in rural and remote parts of Britain.

But under our plan, the priority will be those with least connectivity, mainly in rural and remote areas but also in some inner-city areas, unlocking new opportunities across huge swathes of our country.

And we will then move on to towns, giving a boost to local economies and making it easier for people to run successful businesses outside the big cities.

And finally, we will complete the roll-out in the well-connected urban centres.

Ask people about their experience with private broadband companies and many will tell you about internet dropouts and hours spent on hold listening to Vivaldi, waiting to speak to an overworked and underpaid customer service worker who probably can’t fix the problem anyway.

Full-fibre will provide the most reliable service, and British Broadband will be properly staffed, with guaranteed jobs for everyone currently working in broadband.

Under public ownership, key universal services can be run for the British people instead of for profit.

In July, when he was running for Conservative leader, Boris Johnson also promised to make full-fibre broadband available across the country – except he expected you to pay for it.

But it will surprise nobody that this was just another case of Johnson’s signature move: the broken promise.

So what is he now offering instead? A low-budget option using old copper cables that are already out of date.

Johnson’s plans are yet another billionaire wealth grab, bunging public money to big corporations including Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin instead of putting the technology in the hands of the British people.

We need real change.

But I know the question that will be on everyone’s lips: ‘how are you going to pay for it?’

Well let me tell you.

The initial upgrade to our infrastructure will be funded through our Green Transformation Fund.

And when it comes to the running costs, we’re not going to put that onto the British public, who have already forked out far too much for rip-off broadband.

Instead, a Labour government will close down tax tricks used by giants like Google and Facebook, who make millions in Britain while paying next to nothing to the public purse.

I pay my tax.

Everybody in this room pays their tax.

Small businesses pay their tax.

So why can’t the giant multinationals?

They think they can get away with not paying their share. Well I’ve got news for them: not anymore.

Labour believes that the British people deserve the very best.

As a country we should be proud of our history of building treasured public institutions and services.

In the 19th Century it was the public waterworks.

In the 20th Century it was our fantastic National Health Service, freeing people from the fear of illness.

British Broadband will be our treasured public institution for the 21st century, delivering fast and free broadband to every home.

Only the government has the planning ability, economies of scale and ambition to take this on.

This is a mission for everyone to get behind.

Together we will build a new, universal public service delivering the fastest broadband free to everyone.

This will be at the heart of Labour’s plans to transform the future of our economy and society.

Labour will put wealth and power in the hands of the many, while Boris Johnson’s Conservatives will only look after the privileged few.

It’s time to make the very fastest full-fibre broadband free to all, in every home, in every corner of our country.

It’s time for real change.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, on 31 October 2019.

Thank you for that welcome.

Today we are launching the most ambitious and radical campaign our country has ever seen to bring real change to our country.

If you want to live in a society that works for everybody and not just the billionaires, if you want to save our hospitals, schools and public services from Tory cuts and privatisation, if you want to stop the big polluters destroying our environment then this election is your chance to vote for it.

The choice could not be clearer.

We put our faith in the British people’s spirit and commitment to community. It’s your country. That’s why we stand with you.

Labour will put wealth and power in the hands of the many Boris Johnson’s Conservatives, who think they’re born to rule, will only look after the privileged few.

They’ve slashed taxes for the richest and slashed vital services and support for everyone else. But real change is coming.

This election is a once in a generation chance to transform our country take on the vested interests holding people back and ensure that no community is left behind.

Some people believe that real change isn’t possible. They say that we’re asking too much. Really?

A health service people can be proud of, where tens of thousands of cancer patients aren’t waiting months for treatment and prescriptions are free. Is that asking too much?

A social care system that doesn’t leave our older people isolated and afraid, but gives them dignity with free personal care. Is that asking too much?

How about a decent pay rise? A real living wage of at least £10 an hour, right away including for young workers from the age of 16.Asking too much?

Secure homes that families can afford rents that don’t break the bank and an end to rough sleeping. Is that too much to ask?

Thirty hours’ free childcare for all two to four year olds. A good education, from cradle to grave, as a right not a privilege and no tuition fees. Is that too much?

Ending the Conservatives’ great rip-off by putting rail, mail and water into public ownership so they work for everyone, not just Tory donors and shareholders in tax havens. Is that asking too much?

What about real action on the climate crisis by creating hundreds of thousands of new, green energy jobs in communities where they’re most desperately needed?

No, that’s not asking too much. Because we have to radically change course now to avoid living on a hostile and dying planet.

This election is our last chance to tackle the climate emergency with a Green Industrial Revolution at the heart of Labour’s plan to transform Britain.

Friends, today is the 31st of October, the day Boris Johnson promised we would leave the EU. He said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than delay beyond today. But he has failed. And that failure is his alone.

You can’t trust Boris Johnson.

After three long years of Brexit division and failure from the Tories, we have to get this issue sorted.

We need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and trust the people to have the final say.

Labour will get Brexit sorted within six months. We’ll let the people decide whether to leave with a sensible deal or remain. That really isn’t complicated.

We will carry out whatever the people decide so that we can get on with delivering the real change Britain needs after years of Conservative cuts to vital services and tax handouts to the richest.

Labour is determined to bring a divided country together, while the Tories and the Lib Dems only seek to divide us further.

The Lib Dems want to cancel a democratic vote with a parliamentary stitch-up and Boris Johnson’s planned trade deal with Trump will mean yet more NHS money taken away from patients and handed to shareholders.

Despite his denials, the NHS is up for grabs by US corporations in a one-sided Trump trade sell-out.

Channel 4 Dispatches revealed this week that the cost of drugs and medicines has repeatedly been discussed between US and UK trade officials. Remember Johnson’s famous promise of £350 million a week for the NHS? Well his toxic Brexit trade deal with Trump could hand over £500 million a week of NHS money to big drugs corporations.

We will stop them. Labour won’t let Donald Trump get his hands on our National Health Service. It’s not for sale, to him or anyone.

Johnson’s sell-out deal would lead to years of continuing negotiations and uncertainty. Labour will get Brexit sorted by giving the people the final say in six months.

Britain needs to get beyond Brexit and deal with the damage done to our communities by a decade of Tory cuts and economic failure.

I travel all around our country and listen to people. This is what I learn from them: they don’t see politics like the media and political class do.

After a decade when real wages have fallen, for too many people, what they see is the community they love being run down through years of deliberate neglect. The evidence of a decade of economic vandalism is all around them.

It’s there in the boarded up shops. In the closed library and swimming pool. In youth centres that have closed their doors. The high street like a ghost town. The elderly couple who are scared to walk down their road because violent crime has doubled. The army veteran sleeping under blankets in a doorway. People struggling to make ends meet. The mother and her children eating from a food bank because they’ve been forced onto Universal Credit.

That’s the evidence of Conservative cuts. Well I say, no more.

Labour will end damaging Tory austerity and scrap Universal Credit. We’ll tear down the barriers to success that the Conservatives have put in people’s way.

We will invest in every nation and region, rebuild our public services and give our NHS, schools and police the money they need by taxing those at the top to properly fund services for everyone.

We will give people back their pride in their communities and give everybody the quality of life they deserve.

And by everybody we mean everybody.

The Prime Minister wants you to believe that we’re having this election because Brexit is being blocked by an establishment elite.

People aren’t fooled so easily. They know the Conservatives are the establishment elite.

And you know what really scares the elite? All of us, the British people.

What the elite are actually afraid of is paying their taxes.

So in this election, they’ll fight harder and dirtier than ever before. They’ll throw everything at us because they know we’re not afraid to take them on.

So we’re going after the tax dodgers. We’re going after the dodgy landlords. We’re going after the bad bosses. We’re going after the big polluters. Because we know whose side we’re on.

And the big question of this election is: whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the tax dodgers, who are taking us all for a ride? People who think it’s OK to rip people off and hide their money in tax havens so they can have a new super yacht.

Or are you on the side of the children with special educational needs who aren’t getting the support they deserve because of Tory and Lib Dem government cuts?

Whose side are you on? The dodgy landlords like the Duke of Westminster, Britain’s youngest billionaire, who tried to evict whole blocks of families to make way for luxury apartments? Or the millions of tenants in Britain who struggle to pay their rent each month?

Whose side are you on? The bad bosses like Mike Ashley, the billionaire who won’t pay his staff properly and is running Newcastle United into the ground? Or his exploited workforce like the woman who was reportedly forced to give birth in a warehouse toilet because she was terrified of missing her shift?

Whose side are you on? The big polluters like Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, who makes his money by polluting the environment? Or the children growing up in our cities with reduced lung capacity because of choking pollution?

Whose side are you on? The greedy bankers like Crispin Odey, who makes millions betting against our country and has donated huge sums to Johnson and the Conservative Party? Or are you on the side of working people who create the wealth that’s then squirreled away in tax havens?

And whose side are you on? The billionaire media barons like Rupert Murdoch, whose empire pumps out propaganda to support a rigged system. Or the overwhelming majority who want to live in a decent, fair, diverse and prosperous society?

You know whose side Labour’s on – a Labour government will be on your side.

Together, we can pull down a corrupt system and build a fairer country that cares for all.

And we have something that the Rupert Murdochs, the Mike Ashleys, and the Boris Johnsons don’t have.

We have people. Hundreds of thousands of people in every part of our country who will make this the biggest people-powered campaign in history.

We’re young, we’re old, we’re black, we’re white, we’re straight, we’re gay, we’re women, we’re men, we’re people of all faiths and none, from the North and from the South.

And when Labour wins, the nurse wins, the pensioner wins, the student wins, the office worker wins, the engineer wins. We all win.

Boris Johnson thought he was being smart holding this election in a dark and cold December. He thinks you won’t go out to vote. He thinks you won’t go out to campaign.

Well I say this: Labour will be out there in every city, town and village with the biggest and most confident campaign that our country has ever seen, bringing a message of hope and change to every community.

Even if the rivers freeze over, we’re going out to bring about real change for the many, not the few.

All we need to keep us warm is the thought of removing Boris Johnson’s Conservatives from government – and the chance to rebuild and transform our country.

This is the most radical and exciting plan for real change ever put before the British electorate.

Friends, the future is ours to make, together.

It’s time for real change.

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, in Telford on 6 November 2019.

It’s a real pleasure to be here in Telford in my home county of Shropshire where I first started campaigning for a better society and I’ve never stopped!

And what’s inspiring is that I see that same passion in young people today who are campaigning in this General Election.

Since we began our campaign last week thousands of people have come to events like this, have gone out door knocking, and have been spreading Labour’s message of hope on social media.

The atmosphere is electric.

Because we all know this election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country and tear down the barriers that are holding people back.

A chance to rebuild our NHS, schools and police by taxing those at the top to properly fund services for everyone.

And a chance to tackle the climate emergency, with a Green Industrial Revolution at the very heart of our transformation of Britain.

In this election, Labour is putting forward the most radical and far-reaching plan for real change in our lifetimes.

But I know we have to work to win people’s trust.

Because for all the excitement here, many people in our country have grown weary of politics.

They’ve lost faith that politics can change anything that actually affects their lives. I understand that.

Let’s be honest, Westminster hasn’t covered itself in glory recently.

The childish insults, the rowdy MPs, the weird rules – it’s all a long way from the reality of people’s daily lives.

If you’re working long hours for wages that barely cover your bills, food and rent and nothing ever changes, you’re right to feel frustrated with the political system.

It isn’t working for you.

Politics should be about your life, your community, your job – the issues you face every day of the week.

For me, real politics isn’t about shouting matches in parliament.

I’m not interested. I don’t do personal attacks.

For me, real politics – the politics I stand for – is about sharing power and wealth with people who don’t have a lot of money and don’t have friends in high places – so they can take control of their own lives.

My job as leader, and my party’s task, is to champion those people, and bring about real change.

Like here in Telford where a fantastic local community campaign, the local Labour Party and Katrina are fighting the closure of your women and children’s centre and the downgrading of the A&E department.

To me, that’s real politics – bringing people together to stand up for their community.

That’s why I became an MP.

I’ve never thought MPs are special individuals with unique wisdom. It’s not supposed to be a glamorous job.

It’s a platform for your community, not for yourself. That’s how I see it.

When I was elected Leader of the Labour Party, I was proud to have the chance to extend that principle into everything we do.

To put Labour at the heart of communities standing alongside the people we seek to represent.

And I was proud to see our party grow into not just the biggest in Britain, but the biggest in Western Europe, with half a million members determined to put wealth and power in the hands of the many and build a fairer country that cares for all.

You know, my view of leadership is different from the one people are used to.

Yes I believe leaders should have clear principles that people can trust, and the strength and commitment not to be driven off course.

You have to stand for something.

But leaders must also trust others to play their part.

Think of it like this: a good leader doesn’t just barge through a door and let it swing back in the faces of those following behind.

A good leader holds open the door for others to walk through.

Because everyone has a contribution to make.

So when I talk about real change, that isn’t something that will be done to you.

It’s something that can only be done with you.

So if you, the British people, elect a Labour government on 12 December, I will be proud to be your prime minister.

Because I will be a very different kind of prime minister.

Not the kind of prime minister who believes he was born to rule.

Not the kind who thinks politics is a game.

But the kind of prime minister who only seeks power in order to share power.

Because it isn’t about me, it’s about all of us.

And together, we can go beyond defending the gains made by previous generations.

It’s time we started building a country fit for the next generation.

Where young people don’t fear the future, but look forward with confidence and hope.

That’s within our grasp in this election. That’s what we are absolutely determined to achieve.

Because look at what’s happened to our country in the last few years: more children and pensioners in poverty, more people sleeping on the streets, British citizens who have lived here for decades deported from their own country.

And more and more people being forced into dependence on foodbanks, by the cruel policy of Universal Credit – as a damning report from the Trussell Trust yesterday exposed.

And it’s not just people on the sharpest end of austerity who are feeling its impact.

It’s all those struggling to make ends meet, those who can’t afford to buy their first home, those who never quite have enough left over to save for a holiday, those who have to fork out ever more on rail fares as the service gets worse.

Just imagine how Britain could be if we had a Labour government, committed to building a fairer and more prosperous country that works for the many, not the few.

That future is ours to make.

I want a Labour government to be judged by whether it changes people’s lives for the better after five years.

Judge us on the real change we deliver the concrete improvements to the lives of millions of people.

Here’s how you’ll be able to judge the success of the next Labour government:

Judge us on whether in-work poverty still exists in five years’ time.

Judge us on whether people are still sleeping rough after five years of a Labour government.

Judge us on whether proud women and men are still having to depend on food banks in five years’ time.

Judge us on whether 1.4 million older people are still not getting the help they need after five years of Labour.

Judge us on whether tuition fees have been scrapped for all students so that no one is priced out of education.

Judge us on whether we’ve built hundreds of thousands of genuinely affordable homes, so that decent and secure housing is within the reach of everybody.

Judge us on whether patients are still waiting more than four hours in A&E, and tens of thousands are waiting months for cancer treatment.

Judge us on whether we’ve got Brexit sorted within six months so we can get on with delivering the real change that Britain needs.

Judge us on whether primary school children – including more than 2,500 children here in Telford – are still learning in class sizes of larger than 30 after five years of a Labour government.

Judge us on whether we’ve unleashed a Green Industrial Revolution, created hundreds of thousands of green energy jobs in the communities that need them most and significantly reduced our greenhouse emissions

We don’t have time to waste.

It frustrates me every day in parliament … that we’re not taking action NOW … on all these pressing needs and demands of our time.

Because Labour has the policies to deal with all of them.

And isn’t it telling that Conservative candidates in this election have been told by Tory HQ that they’re not allowed to pledge to tackle the climate emergency?

They’re not allowed to pledge not to privatise our NHS.

They’re not allowed to pledge not to sell out our NHS in a trade deal with Donald Trump.

Well let’s make our own pledge, all of us together.

We pledge that we will never let them put a price tag on our NHS.

We’ll never let them send £500 million a week of NHS money to big US drugs corporations.

We’ll never let Donald Trump get his hands on our National Health Service.

Because our NHS is not for sale.

But you know there is something that Conservative candidates are allowed to pledge.

Tory HQ says they can pledge to defend shooting animals for sport.

Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know about the Conservatives?

Actually there is one more thing you need to know. They shamefully seem to think the victims of the Grenfell fire died because they didn’t have the common sense to save themselves.

I’ll tell you what’s common sense:

Don’t put flammable cladding on people’s homes. That’s common sense.

Don’t close fire stations and don’t cut fire fighters. That’s common sense.

And don’t ignore residents when they tell you their home is a death trap.

And what this all comes back to is what I was talking about earlier: leadership.

Do you want leaders who think they’re above us all?

Who think the rules they make for everyone else don’t apply to them?

Or is good leadership really about listening as well as talking?

I’ve spent much of my life travelling around the country and the world listening to people.

That’s how you learn about the world as people actually experience it – their struggles and their hopes, their dreams and their frustrations.

And that’s why I believe that good leadership is about compassion and understanding not ego.

I want to lead a government that’s on your side.

That puts power and wealth into your hands.

I want to lead a government that works for you.

Friends, this election is a once in a generation chance.

Together we will transform our country so that no one is held back and no community is left behind.

It’s time for real change.

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, in Harlow on 5 November 2019.

It’s great to be here in Harlow in Essex, one of the original New Towns created by the post-war Labour government to deal with the massive housing shortage of the time.

I think of those New Town pioneers who came here and built this town, built this community, had children and grandchildren who made this community even stronger. And one of those grandchildren is now our fantastic Labour candidate for Harlow, Laura McAlpine.

She’s from Harlow. She’s for Harlow. She understands Harlow. She’s got spirit, she’s got energy and she’s going to bring real change to Harlow as your Labour MP.

And can I thank another Laura: Laura Pidcock, Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights, for being here today and being such a brilliant representative of our party and our movement.

And of course, thank you to Keir, our Shadow Brexit Secretary. What a wonderful job Keir’s done over the last three years, picking apart the Tories’ shambolic handling of Brexit.

In this election, Boris Johnson is trying to hijack Brexit to sell out our NHS and working people. He is trying to cash in the votes of millions who voted to leave the EU, to buy political power for himself and then sell them out. It’s time to call him out.

I travel all around our country all the time. I meet a lot of people. I listen to a lot of people. People who voted to leave in 2016, and people who voted to remain.

They all have their reasons. But I want to tell you something I find striking. Many people who voted to leave tell me they were voting for change.

That’s what they were promised.

Boris Johnson and the leave campaign promised to rebuild our NHS, and they promised that people would be able to take back control of their lives after years of watching their towns being run down: factories gone, jobs gone, their sense of community gone.

Three years on and Johnson is trying to hijack that hope for change and use it for his own very different ends. He stood in front of a bus in 2016 and promised £350 million a week for the NHS. Now we find out that £500 million a week could be taken out of the NHS and handed to big drugs companies under his plans for a sell-out trade deal with Donald Trump.

Just look at how these corporations operate in the US. They are ruthless. They will suck as much money as they can out of our NHS while cancer patients wait longer for treatment.

We now know that US and UK officials have been discussing drug pricing in secret, and the US government is demanding what its officials call “full market access for US products.”

Senior NHS managers have said that would mean “higher prices for medicines” which will “pass on costs to both patients and the NHS.”

So there we have it. Johnson can deny it all he likes, but people won’t believe him. And the Tories know that – which is why, behind the scenes, the Conservatives have tried to suppress the news attacking the BBC for reporting what we and health professionals are saying.

This is what they don’t want you to hear: a vote for Johnson’s Conservatives is a vote to betray our NHS in a sell out to Trump. Johnson’s Trump deal Brexit puts a price tag on our NHS.

So we’ll say it again and again until the message gets through to the White House: our NHS is NOT FOR SALE.

This threat to our NHS isn’t a mistake. It’s not happening by accident.

The threat is there because Boris Johnson’s Conservatives want to hijack Brexit to sell out the NHS and sell out working people by stripping away their rights.

For many in the Tory party this is what Brexit has always been about: reversing the hard-fought gains won by working class people over generations.

Given the chance, they’ll run down our rights at work, our entitlements to holidays, breaks and leave.

Given the chance, they’ll slash food standards to match the US, where what are called “acceptable levels” of rat hairs in paprika, and maggots in orange juice are allowed and they’ll put chlorinated chicken on our supermarket shelves.

And given the chance they’ll water down the rules on air pollution and our environment that keep us safe.

They want a race to the bottom in standards and protections. They want to move us towards a more deregulated American model of how to run the economy.

In the US workers get just 10 days holiday a year, big business gets free rein to call the shots and tens of millions are denied healthcare.

What Boris Johnson’s Conservatives want is to hijack Brexit to unleash Thatcherism on steroids.

The Thatcher government’s attack on the working people of our country left scars that have never healed and communities that have never recovered.

The Conservatives know they can’t win support for what they’re planning to do in the name of Thatcherism, so they’re trying to do it under the banner of Brexit instead.

So I make no apologies. No apologies at all for Labour’s role in stopping the disaster of No Deal and resisting Johnson’s sell-out deal.

Never let them tell you that Labour has turned its back on the people we represent.

The Tories have failed on Brexit for three years. A Labour government will get Brexit sorted within six months by giving you, the British people, the final say. And despite what some commentators want you to believe, Labour’s plan for Brexit is clear and simple.

It’s time to take the decision out of the hands of politicians and trust the people to decide.

It won’t be a rerun of 2016. This time the choice will be between leaving with a sensible deal or remaining in the European Union.

That’s the policy. It really isn’t complicated.

So an incoming Labour government will first secure a sensible deal. That will take no longer than three months because the deal will be based on terms we’ve already discussed with the EU, including a new customs union, a close single market relationship and guarantees of rights and protections.

It’s a deal that will protect British manufacturing and respect the precious peace in Northern Ireland.

And then we’ll put that deal to a public vote.

So if you want to leave the EU without trashing our economy or selling out our NHS, you’ll be able to vote for it. If you want to remain in the EU, you’ll be able to vote for that.

Either way, only a Labour government will put the final decision in your hands.

Because this has involved the whole country from the start, it can’t now be left to politicians. To finally get this sorted and move forward we need the people to sign on the dotted line. And we will immediately carry out your decision, so Britain can get beyond Brexit.

Boris Johnson staked his reputation on leaving the EU on 31st October “do or die”.

“No ifs, no buts,” he said. So the failure to do so can only be his.

The irony is, for all his boasting, Johnson’s sell-out deal STILL won’t get Brexit done. It will lead to years of continuing negotiations and uncertainty.

Whereas Labour’s plan will sort Brexit quickly, because whatever the final decision, we won’t be ripping up our main trading relationship.

The EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said an EU trade deal on Johnson’s terms would take “three years, maybe more” of further negotiations.

Johnson’s sell-out deal with Trump could take even longer.

A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for yet more drawn-out, bogged down negotiations, more broken promises, and more distraction from the vital issues facing all of us – like making sure people have decent wages, secure homes, and a habitable planet for our children and grandchildren.

A green light for Boris Johnson’s sell-out Trump deal would just be the start of years more Brexit chaos and division.

People sometimes accuse me of trying to talk to both sides at once in the Brexit debate; to people who voted leave and remain.

You know what? They’re right.

Why would I only want to talk to half the country?

I don’t want to live in half a country.

Anybody seeking to become Prime Minister must talk to and listen to the whole country.

Labour stands not just for the 52 per cent or the 48 per cent, but for the 99 per cent.

It’s Labour that’s determined to bring a divided country together.

You can’t do that if your whole political strategy is to turn one side of the Brexit debate against the other.

The Tories are offering an extreme and damaging form of Brexit while the Liberal Democrats want to ignore the result of the 2016 referendum and revoke Article 50.

The Brexit crisis needs to be resolved but it must be done democratically.

Because walk down any street in Britain and you will find people who voted to leave and people who voted to remain.

Whatever our differences may be on this one issue at the end of the day we have so much else in common.

I like to put it like this:

If you’re living in Harlow you may well have voted to leave. You’ve got bills to pay, rising debts, work’s insecure and your wages barely stretch.

You’re up against it.

If you’re living in York it’s more likely you voted remain. You’ve got bills to pay, rising debts, work’s insecure and your wages barely stretch.

You’re up against it.

But you’re not against each other.

Labour’s plan will get Brexit sorted so a Labour government can get on with delivering the real change Britain needs.

So we can get on with rebuilding our NHS and making prescriptions free.

Get on with solving the housing crisis by building a million new homes and controlling rents.

Get on with bringing mail, rail, water and the energy grid into public ownership, and ending the great corporate rip-off of consumers.

Get on with creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs in every community through a Green Industrial Revolution.

Get on with giving Britain a pay rise.

Let’s get Brexit sorted within six months and build a fairer country that truly cares for all.

Where wealth and power are shared, for the many, not the few.

This is a once in a generation chance.

The future is ours to make, together.

It’s time for real change.

Below is the text of the speech made by Jeremy Corbyn, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Commons on 19 October 2019.

I join you, Mr Speaker, in thanking all the staff—cleaning staff, catering staff, security staff, officials and our own staff—who have come into the House this morning. They have given up a weekend to help our deliberations. I also thank the Prime Minister for an advance copy of his statement.

The Prime Minister has renegotiated the withdrawal agreement and made it even worse. He has renegotiated the political declaration and made that even worse. Today, we are having a debate on a text for which there is no economic impact assessment and no accompanying legal advice.

The Government have sought to avoid scrutiny throughout the process. Yesterday evening, they made empty promises on workers’ rights and the environment—the same Government who spent the last few weeks negotiating in secret to remove from the withdrawal agreement legally binding commitments on workers’ rights and the environment.

This Government cannot be trusted, and the Opposition will not be duped; neither will the Government’s own workers. Yesterday, the head of the civil service union Prospect met the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and, at the conclusion of that meeting, said:

“I asked for reassurances that the government would not diverge on workers’ rights after Brexit… He could not give me those assurances.”

As for the much-hyped “world-leading” Environment Bill, its legally binding targets will not be enforceable until 2037. For this Government, the climate emergency can always wait.

This deal risks people’s jobs, rights at work, our environment and our national health service. We must be honest about what it means for our manufacturing industry and people’s jobs: not only does it reduce access to the market of our biggest trading partner, but it leaves us without a customs union, which will damage industries across the country in every one of our constituencies. From Nissan in Sunderland to Heinz in Wigan, Airbus in Broughton and Jaguar Land Rover in Birmingham, thousands of British jobs depend on a strong manufacturing sector, and a strong manufacturing sector needs markets, through fluid supply chains, all across the European Union. A vote for this deal would be a vote to cut manufacturing jobs all across this country.

This deal would absolutely inevitably lead to a Trump trade deal—[Interruption]—forcing the UK to diverge from the highest standards and expose our families once again to chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. This deal—[Interruption.]

Mr Speaker

Order. I did say that the statement by the Prime Minister must be heard. The response of the Leader of the Opposition, in the best traditions of parliamentary democracy, must also be heard, and it will.

Jeremy Corbyn

This deal fails to enshrine the principle that we keep pace with the European Union on environmental standards and protections, putting at risk our current rules on matters ranging from air pollution standards to chemical safety—we all know the public concern about such issues—at the same time that we are facing a climate emergency.

As for workers’ rights, we simply cannot give the Government a blank cheque. Mr Speaker, you do not have to take my word for that. Listen, for example, to the TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, who says—[Interruption.] She represents an organisation with 6 million affiliated members, and she says:

“This deal would be a disaster for working people. It would hammer the economy, cost jobs and sell workers’ rights down the river.”

Listen to Make UK, representing British manufacturers, which says—[Interruption.] Government Members may care to listen to its comments on the deal. Make UK says that

“commitments to the closest possible trading relationship in goods have gone. Differences in regulation between the UK and the EU will add cost and bureaucracy and our companies will face a lack of clarity inhibiting investment and planning.”

Listen also to the Green Alliance, which says that the deal amounted to a

“very sad Brexit read from a climate perspective.”

The message is clear that this deal is not good for jobs and is damaging for our industry and a threat to our environment and our natural world. It is not a good deal for our country, and future generations will feel the impact. It should be voted down by this House today.

I also totally understand the frustration and fatigue across the country and in this House, but we simply cannot vote for a deal that is even worse than the one that the House rejected three times. The Government’s own economic analysis shows that this deal would make the poorest regions even poorer and cost each person in this country over £2,000 a year. If we vote for a deal that makes our constituents poorer, we are not likely to be forgiven. The Government are claiming that if we support their deal, it will get Brexit done, and that backing them today is the only way to stop a no-deal exit. I simply say: nonsense. Supporting the Government this afternoon would merely fire the starting pistol in a race to the bottom in regulations and standards.

If anyone has any doubts about that, we only have to listen to what the Government’s own Members have been saying. Like the one yesterday who rather let the cat out of the bag by saying that Members should back this deal as it means we can leave with no deal by 2020. [Hon. Members: “Ah.”] The cat is truly out of the bag. Will the Prime Minister confirm whether that is the case? If a free trade agreement has not been done, would that mean Britain falling on to World Trade Organisation terms by December next year, with only Northern Ireland having preferential access to the EU market?

No wonder, then, that the Foreign Secretary said that this represents a “cracking deal” for Northern Ireland, which would retain frictionless access to the single market. That does prompt the question: why is it that the rest of the UK cannot get a cracking deal by maintaining access to the single market?

The Taoiseach said that the deal

“allows the all-Ireland economy to continue to develop and… protects the European single market”.

Some Members of this House would welcome an all-Ireland economy, but I did not think that they included the Government and the Conservative and Unionist party. The Prime Minister declared in the summer:

“Under no circumstances… will I allow the EU or anyone else to create any kind of division down the Irish Sea”.

We cannot trust a word he says.

Voting for a deal today will not end Brexit, and it will not deliver certainty. The people should have the final say. Labour is not prepared to sell out the communities that it represents. We are not prepared to sell out their future, and we will not back this sell-out deal. This is about our communities now and about our future generations.