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Jeremy Corbyn has denied saying Labour is not "wedded to the principle of free movement" is a sea change in the party's immigration policy.

He told Good Morning Britain's Piers Morgan his position had not shifted since he said in December it was "very hard to see" how Britain could remain in the EU Single Market without allowing free movement of people.

Mr Corbyn will deliver a speech today which many have seen as a shift in the Leader's message on immigration - but he insisted he was simply placing a priority on Britain's ability to trade freely over overall migrant numbers.

But Mr Morgan suggested it represented a "sea change" in the Labour leader's rhetoric, suggesting young people might wake up this morning and think "hang on a sec, that's not the guy we thought we had."

(Image: Rex Features) (Image: Rex Features)

Mr Corbyn replied: "No. It's not a sea change at all.

"The point I'm making in the speech today is that migrant workers are recruited to undercut and undermine working conditions in this country."

He said employers are bringing in skilled workers from overseas who are willing to work for lower wages and poorer conditions to undercut British workers.

"Employers are tearing up industrial agreements in order to bring in often quite skilled people to undercut the construction industry and other places.

“...Some companies, particularly in the construction industry, are making a fortune out of getting rid of workers in this country on one set of paying conditions and bringing in others to undercut them and that then creates awful tensions in those communities.

“Let’s be very clear, if we didn’t have migrant workers from across Europe in this country the NHS would be in an even deeper crisis than it is at the present time.”

(Image: Rex Features)

When asked whether he voted leave in the EU Referendum, Mr Corbyn said: “No of course I voted remain. You follow too many conspiracy theories.

“I voted for remain but I made and continue to make criticisms of the EU, the way it is trying to impose a free market across Europe, the way it is trying to impose privatisation on some services...”

Host Suzanna Reid asked Mr Corbyn about the Labour party 's poor showing in recent by-elections - specifically coming fourth in the Sleaford by-election.

She said: "In order for you to make any progress you have to be making gains, don't you, beyond the seats you know you can win?"

He said the party had been making gains in some council elections - but added: "I realise that's not a general election, but nevertheless."

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Ms eid replied: "It's also the argument that Ukip make, of course, and they've only got one MP."

Mr Corbyn said: "I'm not always totally familiar with the spin that Ukip put on it."

Ms Reid said: "Well it's exactly the same spin that you're putting on your election results."

Mr Corbyn said: "Mmm. Ok. Well. The reason I say that is because there are places where we've gained seats.

"There are places where we've gained support. There are councils we've gained control of.

"Yes, of course, I wish those by-election results had been considerably better" - before adding that in three of the four by-elections there had been swings to Labour.

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But he admitted: "We obviously have a huge electoral challenge - that I'm up for."

Challenged by Mr Morgan on whether he actually wants to be Prime Minister - because there's a theory he's a "serial protester" that doesn't want real power, he said: "Where do you get these theories from?

"I want to be in government so we can conquer the housing crisis in Britain. I want to be in government so young people get a real chance in life.

"I want to be in Government so that we don't become a country that's one of the most unequal in Britain, if not in the OECD countries, one that actually gives a real chance to everybody."

At the end of the interview, Mr Corbyn's first on the GMB sofa, he was presented with an Arsenal shirt with his name on the back, and bearing the number 10.

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Piers asked Mr Corbyn what he thought about people saying that he was going to be Britain’s answer to Donald Trump.

Mr Corbyn said: “It’s a more than slightly bizarre manifestation, is it not?

“What Trump managed to do was mobilise a lot of people who were totally naffed off with the way in which the US had gone and I can understand that, and a lot of it was very contradictory because Trump is a sort of super billionaire along with the rest of his cabinet who actually represents a kind of buccaneer capitalism which I totally disagree with in any way.

“He’s somehow managed to present that as something different in the USA. His proposals are bizarre.

"The wall between the US and Mexico for example, deportations of large numbers of people is awful and the language he used during the campaign against Mexicans, muslims and women was absolutely disgraceful.”

The TV appearance comes ahead of a major speech today when Mr Corbyn will set out a positive vision of Brexit Britain.

Mr Corbyn will tell the audience in Peterborough: “Labour is not wedded to freedom of movement for EU citizens as a point of principle.

"But nor can we afford to lose full access to the European markets on which so many British businesses and jobs depend.

“Labour supports fair rules and reasonably managed migration as part of the post-Brexit relationship with the EU.”

In his first speech of 2017, he will add: “A Labour Brexit would take back control over our jobs market, which has been seriously damaged by years of reckless deregulation.

“Labour will ensure all workers have equal rights at work from day one – and require collective bargaining agreements in key sectors, so that workers cannot be undercut.

"That will bring an end to the unscrupulous use of agency labour and bogus self-employment to stop undercutting and to ensure every worker has a secure job with secure pay.”

Mr Corbyn will also insist UK can have a bright future under Brexit and suggest that Labour could even meet Vote Leave’s much maligned £350million-a-week NHS funding injection pledge.

He will say: “Britain can be better off after Brexit. Tory Brexiteers and their UKIP allies promised Brexit would ­guarantee funding for the NHS, to the tune of £350million a week.

"The pledge has been ditched. The British people voted to refinance the NHS – and we will deliver it.”