Jeremy Corbyn just laid out his masterplan for Britain - and the left are loving it
The Labour Party leader on Saturday gave the keynote speech at the Fabian Conference in London, the annual gathering of the socialist reforming group the Fabian Society.
Corbyn laid out his key policy ideas for the party in the speech, covering everything from healthcare to tackling low pay.
Here are the key policies, as per the Guardian's live blog from the conference:
- Renationalise railways to bring down fares. Franchises would be managed locally;
- Locally owned energy suppliers, emulating the German model;
- Integration of health and social care;
- Creation of a lifelong education service that would help retrain and reskill workers;
- Universal childcare;
- Repeal the Tory Trade Union Act;
- Fixed pay ratios for companies to stop top management earning many multiples more than lowest paid workers;
- Restriction on dividend payments for firms that don't pay the living wage.
The Guardian points out that many of these policies aren't new and were part of Corbyn's leadership manifesto. But the speech underlines Corbyn's policy chops in a way that arguably hasn't been highlighted since his election as Labour leader in September.
Corbyn stressed that these are just proposals, saying: "These are all only suggestions… You - Labour Party members, affiliates and supporters - in this Hall and beyond… You will decide what our policies are," according to the Guardian.
But the speech shows that Corbyn has a genuine vision for Britain that is in stark contrast to that laid out by David Cameron and the Tories. That's arguably more than could have been said about Ed Miliband's Labour Party.
Reaction to the speech on social media from the left has been positive, with many commentators calling it Corbyn's best ever speech as Labour Leader: