Labour leader says Tories are holding UK back and highlights problems of housing, education and retirement faced by many

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Conservatives of holding Britain back as he launched Labour’s general election campaign with a rousing speech to activists in Manchester.

With just over four weeks to go until the 8 June vote, the Labour leader unveiled the party’s battle bus on Tuesday, emblazoned with the election slogan “for the many not the few”, at a stage-managed event in a packed conference centre, with the message that Labour would “transform Britain”.

“There is no doubt this country is being held back. If your children are not getting the education they deserve because the class sizes are too high, then your children are being held back. If you’re a young couple, anyone trying to get a home, and can’t make a home because rent and house prices are too high, then you’re being held back,” he said.

If you’ve worked hard all your life, but you can’t pursue your dreams of retirement because you’re supporting your family well into their adulthood, then you too are being held back.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Corbyn said Labour was under attack because it was standing up to political and economic elites. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

He highlighted the contrast between ordinary working families and the rocketing wealth levels reported in the Sunday Times rich list, saying “thanks for that help, Mr Murdoch”, in reference to the newspaper’s owner.

At the launch, he doubled down on his message that Labour would break a rigged system. “We know from last week’s local elections how big the challenge is,” Corbyn said. “People are uncertain and divided – who can blame them?”



He said Labour was “under attack” because it was willing to stand up against political and economic elites.

Corbyn was joined on stage by the shadow cabinet and Andy Burnham, the newly elected Greater Manchester mayor. Corbyn highlighted Burnham’s victory last week, saying: “Imagine how much more he could achieve if he was working with a Labour government.”

The Labour leader also went on the attack against Theresa May, seeking to undermine her claim that she will create “a Britain that works for everyone”.

“Does she think people will forget how the Conservatives have actually treated working people? This prime minister sat alongside David Cameron in government for six years,” he said.



Corbyn highlighted the bedroom tax, closures of Sure Start children’s centres and cuts in disability benefits introduced while May was home secretary.

The atmosphere in the packed hall was upbeat and Corbyn and his team were greeted with a standing ovation.

Ian Lavery, Labour’s joint campaigns coordinator, was repeatedly interrupted by applause as he told the enthusiastic audience of Labour members and activists: “I’m terribly excited about the general election – I’m terribly excited about the policies of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.”

Notwithstanding May’s commanding lead in the polls, Lavery promised “a very bright new dawn with the Labour party”.

“It isn’t complex, it isn’t in any way rocket science, but it’s about serving the many, not the few,” the former coalminer said. “It’s about justice. It’s about equality and fairness across our community.”

He underlined Labour’s promises to ban zero-hours contracts and criticised the prime minister’s response, when asked why nurses were turning to food banks, that the reasons were “complex”.

“It’s not complex – it’s because they haven’t got enough money to feed themselves and their families,” Lavery said.

After the poor local election results, Corbyn conceded that beating the Tories in the general election would be a historic challenge. The latest ICM/Guardian poll showed the Conservatives’ lead stretching to a record 22 points.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andy Burnham and the former Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh appeared at the launch. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

Lavery was followed by the Labour-supporting actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street and appeared in the third series of Broadchurch.

She highlighted Manchester’s history of “struggle, protest and resistance”. Speaking of the moment when Corbyn won the Labour leadership in September 2015, she said: “In my adult life, I have never felt so excited and exhilarated by politics.

“I felt like I was part of a new mass movement of people who gave a toss about stuff. [Labour has] 30 days to be on the right side of history.”



Hesmondhalgh urged party activists to take their message into the homes of disenfranchised members of the public who believe all politicians are the same. “We emphatically are not,” she said.