The future Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer (Image: Getty)
He confirmed that Brexit would take at least until summer next year to deliver under a Labour government while he renegotiated the exit deal then put it to a second referendum. But he refused to say if he would even back his own withdrawal agreement in the rerun vote. Polling found eight out of ten voters believe Mr Corbyn has handled Brexit badly. Just 15 percent were satisfied with his leadership while 75 percent were not, giving him an overall score of minus 60.
No other opposition leader has scored so badly in the Ipsos MORI Political Monitor.
Boris Johnson, by contrast, scored net two, the best score for a party leader since 2017.
Asked about his dismal polling rating, Mr Corbyn said: “It’s not about me, it’s not about any individual on this platform, it’s not a presidential election.”
Labour is pitching itself as an anti-elite party that will take on vested interests.
MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, one of Mr Corbyn’s champions, called for billionaires to be driven out of the UK
Boris Johnson scored net two, the best score for a party leader since 2017 (Image: Getty)
“I don’t think that anyone in this country should be a billionaire,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I don’t want this country to work for billionaires.”
Mr Corbyn, flanked by his shadow cabinet, told supporters at the launch event in Battersea, London, he would put rail, mail and water into public ownership.
He made personal attacks on “dodgy landlord” the Duke of Westminster, 28 a godfather to Prince George, “big polluter” Sir Jim Ratcliffe” a chemicals executive, and “greedy banker” Crispin Odey, s hedge fund boss.
But the Confederation of British Industry warned against attacking job-creating businesses that boost the economy.
Director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said: “Labour has been silent on the value business brings for too long, focusing solely on the negatives.
“It is right to challenge where there are proven instances of poor behaviour. But it is wrong to ignore the hundreds of thousands of brilliant British businesses working tirelessly to provide great jobs, boost communities and create the products and services that improve lives.
“This election must be about tackling the biggest problems of our day: climate change; inequality; preparing our young people for a changing economy. None of this can be done without business. All politicians should be shouting this from the rooftops.”
Labour claims it will strike a fresh deal with Brussels and put that to voters along with the option to Remain in a referendum.
Mr Corbyn insisted Labour would “get Brexit sorted within six months” but refused to say if he would back his own deal or vote for Remain.
“We need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and trust the people to have the final say,” he said.
“Labour will get Brexit sorted within six months. We’ll let the people decide whether to leave with a sensible deal or remain. That really isn’t complicated.”
The Labour leader also refused to say if he would serve a full five year term if he wins.
He said Labour had the “most radical and exciting plan for real change ever put before the British electorate”.
“The future is ours to make, together it is now time for real change.”
In a day of chaos for the party, Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) said it was cutting support most candidates because “a culture of anti-Semitism has been allowed to emerge and fester”.
Countdown star Rachel Riley, below, who is pregnant, said he feared a Corbyn victory because it would mean her baby was “born under an anti-Semitic government”.
Labour Against Anti-Semitism (LAAS) called on the public to vote for “anyone but Corbyn”.
And it emerged that Clive Lewis, a shadow treasury minister, told an event in September that he believed there should be an informal Remain alliance because Labour “are going to struggle to form a majority”.
Rachel Riley does not want to give birth under an anti-semitic government (Image: Getty)
He called on local Labour parties to form an electoral pact with the Greens and Lib Dems if they believe the candidate does not have a “chance in hell” of winning otherwise.
Mr Corbyn has claimed Labour would not “go into coalition with anybody.”
Paul Scully, the deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Clive Lewis has let the cat out of the bag, revealing how Labour will collude with the Liberal Democrats and Greens to cause more Brexit delay.
“It’s another reminder that only a vote for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives will get Brexit done so we can focus on people’s priorities like our NHS and schools.”
