JEREMY Corbyn has said he does not consider himself wealthy despite earning five times the average worker’s wage.

The Labour leader made the comment as he launched his new arts policy in Edinburgh today.

Mr Corbyn’s salary as MP for Islington is just under £75,000 this year, but he is also entitled to an additional £63,000 as leader of the opposition, giving a total of £138,000.

Read more: Labour government will reverse Tory arts cuts, says Jeremy Corbyn

The average gross salary across the UK last year was £27,500.

After serving 33 years in parliament, Mr Corbyn, 67, is also in line for a generous final salary pension worth around £50,000 a year, and already receives a state pension of £6000 a year.

In addition to his income from parliament, he also owns a £600,000 house in London

Mr Corbyn had been speaking about his enthusiasm for the arts, and love of “pretty heavy classical music”, naming the Austrian romantic composer Gustav Mahler as a favourite.

Read more: Labour government will reverse Tory arts cuts, says Jeremy Corbyn

He said: “I hate the elitism [that says] only the wealthy can go to ballet, only the wealthy can go to opera, only the wealthy can go to Glyndebourne, only the wealthy can enjoy what’s termed high-brow music.

“I don’t consider myself high-brow or wealthy, but I still enjoy some aspects of classical music.

“I want everybody to have that attitude and that same experience.”

Former Labour MP Tom Harris said: "It is patronising for someone earning almost £140,000 a year to suggest they are not wealthy.

"He should try telling that to someone on benefits living in Glasgow.

"It not only shows out of touch he is, but also reflects a condescending Islington attitude that wealth is something to be ashamed of rather than aspired to."

An SNP spokesperson said: "People listening to Jeremy Corbyn will be very surprised to hear him declaring that his six-figure salary does not make him wealthy, another example of how out of touch Labour is with Scottish voters."

Speaking in a personal capacity at the event, Bill Sweeney, Professor of Music at Glasgow University, said the country’s music schools were becoming middle class “enclaves” because state pupils were not getting the depth of tuition to attain the highest standards.

He said state music services in Scotland had become “atomised by the various shenanigans around local government and under-funding” and were in “great danger”.

Read more: Labour government will reverse Tory arts cuts, says Jeremy Corbyn

He said: “It breaks my hearts when I see at entrance auditions many wonderful, bright young people come for audition who are not going to make it because they come from an area where the local council is not able to provide enough depth and quality in order to stretch them to their utmost. You find it is a postcode lottery.

“The populations of the university departments of music and the conservatoires are changing back again to become enclaves of the middle and upper classes.”