'I love Britain': Patriotic Corbyn to press case for kinder politics in key speech
'I love Britain': Patriotic Corbyn to press case for kinder politics in key speech
New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will seek to quash criticism he is unpatriotic and promote unity in his first speech to the party's annual conference on Tuesday. The 66-year-old veteran MP, who was elected in a landslide this month, is expected to focus on encouraging "real debate" in the party in a speech designed to smooth over controversies that have plagued his first weeks as leader. Mr Corbyn has faced a wave of negative publicity since winning the Labour leadership, including for staying silent as others around him sang the national anthem at a World War II memorial. His speech will call for "kinder politics", a "caring society" and the return of "values" to the political debate, aides said.
These values are what I was elected on: a kinder politics and a more caring society.
Mr Corbyn will promise a different kind of politics as he attempts to win over voters outside of the conference hall. In his most significant speech yet, the new Labour leader will say: "It is this sense of fair play, these shared majority British values, that are the fundamental reason why I love this country and its people." Aides dismissed suggestions his comments were intended to counter accusations he lacked patriotism. They insisted he was simply "setting out his stall" to explain what kind of leader he will be.
It's because I am driven by these British majority values, because I love this country, that I want to rid it of injustice, to make it fairer, more decent, more equal.