Having ordered a “tea con leche” and a cheese toastie, Jeremy Corbyn sparks into life on his specialist subject: unilateral disarmament. “My views on nuclear weapons are well known and not changing,” he says. “I want to see us move to a nuclear-free world.”

But there is a significant softening in his stance. Speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, he says he now “recognises” that the Labour Party’s existing policy explicitly supports Trident and promises to “accommodate” those who want to vote for its renewal.

A free vote then, surely? He hasn’t made up his mind, he says, but shadow ministers such as Tom Watson and Hilary Benn will not have to resign to side with the Government. “I am not one for clearing decks.”

Sitting in Café Tropical, a tiny Ecuadorian diner in his Islington North constituency, Mr Corbyn was signalling a major step towards giving his shadow cabinet free rein to back the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent – a significant moment in his leadership.

He says he “cannot see circumstances where you could use” nuclear weapons, but wants to draw some of the venom out of the issue and emphasise Labour’s new attack line: accusing the Government of launching a “war on democracy” by undermining trade-union funding of Labour, which he admits will cause a “serious problem” for the party.

Completing a policy one-two, designed to humiliate David Cameron, he also pledges not to nominate a serving politician for an honour.

“I don’t think serving politicians should get honours. I think it’s an honour enough to be elected to a position. I’m not going to nominate any serving politicians for honours.” He says this “certainly” includes political aides.

Does that also mean not giving a peerage to Ken Livingstone?

During the height of the “Corbyn surge”, Labour gained 184,000 between May and October last year (Getty)

“I have no plans to. I’m making no nominations to the House of Lords as of now.”

This is Mr Corbyn relaxed – even confident – in his role as the leader of Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition. He is on home turf, round the corner from a community centre where he holds his weekly surgeries. Arriving on an old Raleigh bike, he strolls into the South American café with a llama-wool scarf draped around his neck – complete with an image of Bolivia’s socialist president, Evo Morales.

He chats insouciantly in Spanish to the waitress, a previous visitor to his constituency surgery. Local politics – getting things done – is clearly something he enjoys. As with a local vicar, there is an implicit sense of pastoral duty and conviction. Revealingly, when asked about the challenges of leadership, he refers not to the fact of now being a boss, but the demands on his time. Plenty of powerful people want to see him, but he is insistent on not losing sight of “the community, the ordinary people”. In return, those in the café, at least, say he is “Muy bueno”.

Mr Corbyn, even after root-canal surgery that morning, is friendly and chatty, speaking glowingly of his “admiration” for his wife, Laura Alvarez, his love of camping holidays, sometimes on his own, in East Anglia, and how he communicates with his – nameless – pet cat by whistling 1970s pop songs.

“It’s a black and white cat. I always call it ‘El Gato’, which is just Spanish for cat,” he explains. “When I see the cat I say, ‘Buenos dias, El Gato’. Actually, cats don’t know their name, cats know voices. What he does respond to when I ask him to come in, is the tune of ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree’. I whistle to it. I can’t sing, you see.”

“I was out carol singing the other week, collecting money for Oxfam, and after a while they asked me to stop singing and said we’d rather you hold the bucket as you’re putting people off with the singing.”

The Labour leader also speaks candidly about the continuing influence of his Christian upbringing, his love of classical music and his “regret” over the phrasing – if not the substance – of his remarks on whether a terrorist about to kill innocent people should be shot before they could do so. He admits he offered an unfortunate gift to his political opponents. “Of course,” he says. “Yes. I recognise that problem …. In politics there are those who will not give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Returning to his family’s faith, Mr Corbyn continues: “My dad had quite strong religious beliefs,” he says. “My mum didn’t but her brother was a vicar and her family were very religious and so my mum always said to me, ‘The Bible is the greatest work of literature and you should always read it’, which I did.”

He attended a school which had hymns and prayers every morning – “I know the words to most of the hymns” – and went to church every Sunday till he was 14. “I have huge respect for all faiths. I find faith very interesting, and the power of it.”

He compares the growth of mosques in “hostile” British cities with the flourishing of Christian churches in Victorian Britain. “You have to understand what motivates people. Sometimes faith is the only thing people find welcoming in a hostile environment, if you think of the growth of the English big cities in the 19th century and the growth of Methodism, Baptism and, after the Emancipation Act, the Catholic churches and Anglican churches.”

He says the church offered some kind of solace then, and that mosques and temples fulfil a comparable role now. “You’ve got to understand what brings people together as well as what divides them.” But he says he is a “sceptic” about God in his own life.

There is a piety, though, a gentle certainty, to Mr Corbyn’s politics.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 15 September 2020 People enjoying the autumn sunshine as they punt along the River Cam in Cambridge PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2020 Early morning light bathes the skyscrapers of the City of London, at the start of a week in which the UK is expected to bask in temperatures of more than 30 degrees PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2020 England celebrate after they dismissed Australia's Alex Carey to win the second ODI match of the series at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2020 Protesters outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London, as marches and rallies form across the country calling for a 15% pay rise for NHS workers and an increase in NHS funding PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2020 An empty migrant dinghy floats off the beach at St Margaret's Bay after the occupants landed from France in Dover Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2020 A view of small boats thought to be used in migrant crossings across the Channel at a storage facility in Dover, Kent PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2020 EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier, left, arriving from the Eurostar with EU Ambassador to the UK, Portuguese diplomat Joao Vale de Almeida at St Pancras International railway station, London, for the latest round of the negotiations on a free trade deal between the EU and the UK PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2020 Dawn over Coquet Island, a small island off Amble on the Northumberland coast PA UK news in pictures 7 September 2020 A hovercraft arrives to Southsea, Hampshire from the Isle of Wight PA UK news in pictures 6 September 2020 Forensics officers near the scene of multiple reported stabbings in Birmingham Reuters UK news in pictures 5 September 2020 Anti-migrant protesters demonstrate in Dover against immigration and the journeys made by refugees crossing the Channel to Kent PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2020 Activists take part in a demonstration against the HS2 hi-speed rail line outside the Department of Transport AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 September 2020 Peter Baker, who plays Trigger in the musical version of Only Fools and Horses, sweeps the stage of the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London, after observing a 15 minute silence to show solidarity with those in the theatre industry that have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2020 Kadie Lane, right, 11, and Brooke Howourth, 11, hug on their walk to Marden Bridge Middle School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, for their first day of term, as schools in England reopen to pupils following the coronavirus lockdown PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2020 Extinction Rebellion protesters sitting outside The Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London PA UK news in pictures 31 August Surfers at Long Sands Beach, Tynemouth PA UK news in pictures 30 August Black Lives Matter protesters march through Notting Hill in London in the first Million People March EPA UK news in pictures 29 August A protester reacts as she demonstrates against the lockdown and use of face masks, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, outside Downing Street in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 August Caribbean soca dancers display their costumes as they promote the first ever digital Notting Hill Carnival, following the cancellation of the normal Carnival festivities due to the continued spread of the coronavirus disease, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 August Father and son team Chris and Sam Milford from historic building conservation specialists WallWalkers begin restoration work on the spire of Norwich Cathedral, which stands at over 312ft high. The first known spire was completed in 1297 PA UK news in pictures 26 August Giant waves at Seaham in County Durham, as the bad weather continues PA UK news in pictures 25 August An assistant at the Wallace Monument cleans the case which houses the William Wallace sword in the Hall of Arms room at the monument near Stirling as they prepare to re-open PA UK news in pictures 24 August Restored World War Two landing craft LCT 7074 is transported from from the Naval Base in Portsmouth to its final resting place at the D-Day Story at Southsea PA UK news in pictures 23 August Jenny Nguyen and Tony Cao, from Vietnam, pose for wedding photos on Tower Bridge in London, as it remains closed to vehicles after it was stuck open on Saturday due to a "mechanical fault". The landmark's Twitter account confirmed only pedestrians and cyclists could use it on Sunday morning PA UK news in pictures 22 August England's Zak Crawley hit 267, joining the exclusive Double Hundred club, on day two of the Third Test match against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton PA UK news in pictures 21 August Harri Teale gathers lavender during the annual harvest on the Wolds Way Lavender farm near Malton in North Yorkshire PA UK news in pictures 20 August Parents and a student react after checking GCSE results at Ark Academy in London Reuters UK news in pictures 19 August Tate Modern workers hold a strike outside the gallery in London, to protest the institution's announcement that it would cut more than 300 jobs from its commercial arm, Tate Enterprises PA UK news in pictures 18 August Two rescued brown bear cubs, Mish (left) and Lucy, cool off in a pool after arriving at their new home with the wildlife conservation charity Wildwood Trust in Herne Bay, Kent. The orphaned pair, who have been living in a temporary home in Belgium since they were found abandoned and alone in a snowdrift in the Albanian mountains, will be acclimatised to their new life in the country before moving to a permanent home PA UK news in pictures 17 August A level students celebrate outside the Department for Education in London after it was confirmed that candidates in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm. The government U-turn comes just days after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson vowed there would be "no U-turn, no change. PA UK news in pictures 16 August Wasp players take a knee as Northampton Saints stand prior to kick-off in their Premiership match at Franklin's Gardens PA UK news in pictures 15 August Piper Colour Sergeant Lil Bahadur Gurung attends the VJ Day National Remembrance event, held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 14 August People including students hold placards on Whitehall outside Downing Street as they protest against the downgrading of A-level results. The government faced criticism after education officials downgraded more than a third of pupils' final grades in a system devised after the coronavirus pandemic led to cancelled exams yes AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 13 August Benita Stipp (centre) and Mimi Ferguson (left) react as students at Norwich School receive their A-Level results PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2020 A train derailment near Stonehaven has left three people dead. Driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie, and a passenger were killed when the 6.38am Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street service crashed amid heavy rain and flooding BBC UK news in pictures 11 August 2020 A woman hydrates in the sun after open water swimming at the West Reservoir Centre in north London Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 10 August 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes part in an archery session as he visits Premier Education Summer Camp at Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' in Upminster Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2020 People cycle through Cambridge as the heatwave continues in Britain EPA UK news in pictures 8 August 2020 Healthcare workers take part in a protest in London over pay conditions in the NHS Getty UK news in pictures 7 August 2020 Emergency services make their way along the seafront on Bournemouth beach in Dorset on one of the hottest days of the year PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2020 Alison Murphy poses for a picture by husband Peter as she walks through a field of sunflowers in Altrincham, Cheshire PA UK news in pictures 5 August 2020 Pakistan's Abid Ali being bowled by England's Jofra Archer during day one of the First Test match at the Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester PA UK news in pictures 4 August 2020 The 'Timbuktu tumblers' from Kenya perform their balancing act on the Southsea waterfront as Zippos Circus reopens in Portsmouth Rex UK news in pictures 3 August 2020 Pelicans interact with a visitor in St James's Park in London PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2020 Lewis Hamilton drives with a puncture towards the finish line to win the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone POOL/AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 1 August 2020 Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the FA Cup, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease Pool via Reuters UK news in pictures 31 July 2020 People enjoy the sunny weather at a Bournemouth Beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 July 2020 An artist puts the finishing touches to a wax figure of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in the entrance line at Madame Tussaud's in London, as the attraction prepares to reopen to the public following the easing of lockdown restrictions in England PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2020 A member of staff stands on Ai Weiwei's 'History of Bombs' during a photocall for the Chinese artist's new work on display at the Imperial War Museum in London PA UK news in pictures 28 July 2020 Stuart Broad celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies batsman Kraigg Brathwaite. It was a milestone wicket in his career, reaching his 500th Test Wicket for England. They went on to beat the West Indies in Manchester and therefore win the series 2-1 Getty/ECB

He says he enjoys a “peaceable calm” and rarely gets angry. “Of course I’ve got the same human emotions as everybody else, but I’m basically a very peaceable, calm person and I don’t do politics 24/7, I do other things. I read. I’m reading a book about the development of humankind written by a professor from Liverpool. I’m reading a book about West African family life. I read history and things. I make things at home – I have an allotment. I do other things – I think that is very, very important for everybody.”

Mr Corbyn also reveals that he will not accept the money raised for him to buy his “object of desire” – a £475 aluminium-framed Raleigh Criterium. Instead, he will donate the money to charity, and buy the bike himself for his 67th birthday, in May.

He is evangelical about the benefits of his own election. “My election has meant actually debating nuclear weapons – and debating the point in having them. If I wasn’t elected, this debate wouldn’t be happening.”

He confirms that Labour’s policy on Trident will not be changed until the party conference in September, acknowledging it will come up in Parliament at a time of the Government’s choosing, possibly in March.

“I recognise the party has an existing policy which is not the same as [mine] .… I will obviously try to accommodate opinion within the parliamentary party. I haven’t formed in my mind exactly how we are going to do that yet, but I fully recognise there is a debate going on.”

Rather cryptically, he says the decision may not be “binary” – either in favour or opposed to Trident – suggesting a compromise could emerge in which Labour supports the renewal of Britain’s nuclear strike capacity while reducing the stockpile of warheads. The pragmatist in Corbyn seems to want, above all, to satisfy himself that the direction of travel is towards fewer nuclear weapons. He wants to adhere to the non-proliferation treaty’s requirements for Britain to take steps towards disarmament. “Britain has reduced the number of warheads, no question about that. But the four-boat Trident option increases the warhead capacity ... to fully arm them.”

Mr Corbyn’s Labour critics will delight in the change in stance, after becoming alarmed at plans to fast-track a change to Labour’s Trident policy, to oppose the deterrent, before an expected vote in March.

But this is tactics, not strategy. Mr Corbyn still wants to change Labour’s policy – only now he accepts it won’t happen until the autumn. The Labour leader is learning to compromise in the pursuit of power.

But he is “worried” that the Prime Minister is stacking the cards against him. “Cameron is rebranding British politics slowly into the American model. A healthy democracy means you don’t exclude people because their voice can’t be paid for. A healthy democracy isn’t about the amount of money you spend.”

Asked if Mr Cameron was trying to “skew the system permanently”, Mr Corbyn says: “That’s what it looks like to me. If you add it all up, it’s not good.”

Jeremy Corbyn may give Labour members the chance to have their say on Trident (Getty) (Getty Images)

He has immersed himself in the causes of the recent floods, speaking of the need for better upland management, advocating that more be done to ensure rainwater is held where it lands, rather than flowing downhill. But it’s a lesson he learned when young. During his upbringing in Shropshire, his father used to say: “If they hadn’t chopped down all the trees in Wales, there wouldn’t be so much flooding in England.”

Asked if he thinks there might be scope to adopt a bipartisan approach with the government on any issues, the environment, for example, he says: “On the environment, I think the recent flooding has got to be a wake up call to a lot of people. The environment has dramatically got worse. There are extreme weather patterns, the el Nino effect is massive.

“The obvious antidote to a flood is to build a barrier and a dam, of course, but actually, unless you look at the issues upstream and look at land management (you won’t solve it).”

Citing Geoffrey Lean’s recent article in the IoS on Pickering, in Yorkshire, and the need to use the uplands as a sponge to delay water running downhill, he says “I saw that. Very good stuff. Every year Shrewsbury used to get flooded… My Dad said ‘If they didn’t chop down the trees in Wales, England wouldn’t get flooded so much.’ That was fifty years ago. Now on the hills you get compacted earth, the run off.. It’s a question also of environmental education, of bringing our children up to understand the limits of what we can do and the contribution we can all make to the environment. So I have tried to reach out on an all-party approach on flooding and maybe there’ll be no more floods, we don’t know, and I’m more than happy to take part in a discussion.

Mr Corbyn is going to need all the help he can get, according to today’s ComRes poll for The IoS.

The ComRes poll for The IoS

Only 22 per cent say Mr Corbyn would make a good prime minister; 56 per cent say he would make a bad PM. The poll is also discouraging for Mr Corbyn’s attempt to change Labour policy on Trident. The poll tested four different statements and found that Trident is supported in each case. “Britain renewing its Trident programme as long as other countries have nuclear weapons” was supported by 54 per cent and opposed by 22 per cent.

Revealing the devisiveness of the issue, the sacked former frontbencher Michael Dugher warned Mr Corbyn that overhauling Labour’s position on Trident would end in “electoral disaster”.

He said: “We should be taking the fight to the Tories and not picking another fight with ourselves. The decision to open up a divisive debate within the party about the renewal of Trident is such an unnecessary distraction.”

Mr Corbyn is also at odds on the issue with all living former Labour leaders – from Neil Kinnock to Ed Miliband. On the subject of his predecessor, Mr Corbyn reveals that he has spoken to Gordon Brown once since winning the Labour leadership – to discuss tax credits – but has not had any contact from Tony Blair.

“I’ve called Gordon. He’s fine. We had quite a good chat about tax credits. We agreed!”

But regardless of what Labour’s bigwigs think about his leadership, in Islington Mr Corbyn is a genuine celebrity. As the interview draws to a close, the Labour leader is swamped by the café’s staff asking for selfies. It’s this personal interaction which fuels Mr Corbyn’s self belief, and there’s no doubt he now has his eye on the main prize.