Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has claimed he can win a General Election with a platform based on socialism and the party should not hide away from the word.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Corbyn said socialism should not be treated “as a sort of bad word you should only talk about late at night”.
“It’s is an ideology that is based on the principle that everyone should contribute and those in need should benefit the most from our common endeavours,” he said.
“The NHS is the product of the socialist thinking of many people actually and brought into operation by Aneurin Bevan – a coal miner.”
He denied a personality cult had developed around him among his loyal supporters writing poetry books and defending him robustly online.
“I’m not in favour of cults of personality and I don’t encourage them,” he said.
“We have a system of leadership election in the party which is that individual members and unions and registered supporters have a vote, and an incredible number of people joined in our campaign.
“We had 40,000 volunteers in my leadership campaign and we put forward a series of policies which are there for discussion.
“They are there as an NEC statement today to Conference and its exited a lot of people and the idea they have a voice in politics, I think that’s healthy and good.”
He claimed the conference had seen a unifying Labour Party begin to take on the Conservative Government, but said his current Shadow Cabinet had a right to continue their efforts.
He also defended his closest advisers live editing a speech by shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis.
“It’s perfectly normal there’d be discussions with Shadow Cabinet colleagues on the statements they are going to make,” he said.
“It was discussed and that’s what came out of it. I don’t see it as a huge problem, I don’t see it as a huge issue.
“We as a party are going forward on the economic agenda and social agenda, and this morning the party received a statement on trade treaties for the future because post-leaving the EU Britain will have to negotiate its own trade treaties for the first time in 40 years, and those things are crucial for the future of the British economy.”
The Labour leader has been criticised heavily by his own Union backers for announcing “on the hoof” a Labour government would ban fracking, hours before a huge shipment of fracked gas from the US arrived at Grangemouth this morning.
He The reason Barry [Gardiner] made the speech that he did was because of the pollution, cost and environmental costs of fracking, the damage it does to water courses and the damage it does to aquifers, and who is going to pay for that long-term cost?
“Who’s going to clean up after it? Those are serious concerns.
“There are plenty of communities all across the United States raising exactly the same concerns and many other countries in Australia for example who show very serious opposition to fracking because they’re so concerned about the consequences.
“We have to protect our environment for future generations.”
When asked why he wanted to ban fracking but reopen coal mines, the Labour leader denied he had advocated the latter policy. (sky news)
