Call it the quantity theory of personality. The less warmth and spontaneity the Supreme Leader reveals she has, the more engaging Jeremy Corbyn becomes.

There was a time at the beginning of the election when the Labour leader looked a little lost; candidates deliberately kept his face off their campaign literature and all but the most devoted of his shadow cabinet would only appear on a platform with him under duress. But as, despite numerous software updates, the Maybot has continued to crash and burn, so Corbyn’s momentum has grown.

For his big Brexit speech, Corbyn chose to come to Pitsea in Essex, a constituency in which 70% voted to leave the EU and in which Labour came third in the 2015 election behind both the Tories and Ukip. The days of him only campaigning in areas where he needs to shore up the Labour vote are long gone. The message being sent out was unambiguous: anyone who voted leave had nothing to fear; Brexit was safe in Labour hands. There would be no backtracking.

It wasn’t immediately clear just how many of the 200 Labour activists who had gathered in the sweltering heat of the wood-panelled hall – the room must double as a sauna in off-peak hours – of the Pitsea leisure centre were leavers.

All seemed to be there for one thing and one thing only – to catch a glimpse of Jeremy. The anti-personality personality. Corbyn has always claimed that his political career has never been about him, but when you’re up against a black hole in the form of the Maybot, then it’s hard not to be a personality. Just being able to stand up, look vaguely human and talk in sentences that mean something is all it takes.

Corbyn, closely followed by his Brexit negotiating team of Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry and Whispering Barry Gardiner, all got a prolonged standing ovation as they walked on stage. The Labour leader took it pretty much in his stride but Thornberry lapped it up. It may only have been reflected glory but after years in the shadows, she is happy to take any glory on offer.

Even Starmer seemed to be affected by the occasion. Often the shadow Brexit secretary can come across as rather dour, but he managed to throw in a few extra whoops and smiles for free in his warm-up act. For a lawyer used to charging by the minute, that was quite some concession.

Then came Jeremy. To the manner born. “Let me introduce you to my Brexit team,” he began, throwing his star-dust towards the star-crossed lovers, “Look at their intelligence and confidence.” And in that moment it was possible to look at Keir, Emily and Whispering Barry and imagine them going head to head with the EU. It was certainly hard to think of them doing a worse job than Boris, David Davis and Liam Fox.

Next came his Brexit plan. It was considerably more detailed than the Supreme Leader’s Brexit plan – a plan which she insists only she has yet refuses to divulge. He promised an immediate recognition of the rights of all EU nationals currently living in the UK along with the protection of workers’ rights, and maintaining tariff-free access, but that wasn’t really the point. What mattered most was that he promised hope.

With the Tories offering nothing but more austerity to pile on top of the seven years the country had already endured, he was offering something better. There was a light at the end of the Brexit tunnel. We could leave the EU with some grace. Not by crashing out under the mantra of no deal being better than a bad deal.

Thornberry couldn’t resist trying to grab her moment in the spotlight but struck an off-note by saying she was even happy to take stupid questions from reporters. When you’re just beginning to get the media on side, suggesting they are dim may be a sign of the confidence Corbyn saw in his team but not the intelligence.

But no one cared too much as this was Jeremy’s day, Jeremy’s show. He laughed – in answer to a question from Sky’s Faisal Islam, he joked that the first thing he would say to Angela Merkel was “Ich bin ein Corbyn” – and he was entirely relaxed. Campaigning is what he enjoys most and he was loving every minute. Why wouldn’t he when everyone in the room wanted a selfie? Nor was he in the mood to talk about possible post-election deals with other parties as he was planning to win outright. That still might seem a little fanciful, but far less so than a few weeks ago.