‘I’m ready to win’: Jeremy Corbyn attacks Labour for ‘strategy of austerity’

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Labour of “continuing a strategy of austerity” in the party’s general election manifesto as he branded his successor Sir Keir Starmer’s policy document a “missed opportunity”.

In an interview with i following a campaign rally in the Islington North constituency on Saturday, Corbyn said the leadership of his former party had “boxed themselves in by not pledging any increase in corporate taxation or bringing in a wealth tax”.

The former Labour leader said by keeping policies like the two-child benefit cap, Labour was “continuing a strategy of austerity that doesn’t bring about the fundamental changes needed in our society”.

Starmer unveiled Labour’s manifesto in Manchester on Thursday, outlining the party’s plans to raise around £8.6bn through closing non-dom “loopholes”, taxing private school fees, and a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Labour’s increased spending, meanwhile, totals £9.5bn a year which it says would be used to fund 6,500 new state school teachers and boost the number of NHS appointments to tackle backlogs.

A further £3.5bn a year would come from extra-borrowing and would be used to fund a slimmed-down green prosperity plan where it would invest in renewable energy projects.

Despite the very few giveaways in the manifesto – less than the Conservatives who plan to both spend and raise around £16bn – Starmer has remained adamant that there will be “no return to austerity” under a Labour government, rejecting the argument that tax rises are needed to rebuild public services.

Disagreeing with his successor’s evaluation of the manifesto, Corbyn told i: “It’s a big missed opportunity. There’s so much more that could be there.”

He said if he was still leader, his proposals for government would be “very, very different”.

“We need democracy in Britain to represent the needs of society as a whole. We don’t need to worship wealth.

Jeremy Corbyn at a campaign rally in Navigator Square in Archway, north London, Saturday (Photo: Christian Oliver)

“What we need to do is applaud and extol those people who do so much good in public services – doctors, NHS workers, refuse collectors and all those people that do so much good in our society.

“We need to give hope and opportunity for young people. That means an education system that is better, is better funded, but above all encourages artistic and imaginative endeavour.”

Corbyn pioneered Labour’s two previous general election campaigns in 2017 and 2019 – the latter Labour’s worst general election defeat since 1935.

But asked if he thought he would win Labour the general election on the third time of trying if he were in Starmer’s position – coming off the back of 14 years of Conservative government that included three prime ministers in two years – Corbyn said: “Absolutely.”

“The 2019 manifesto and the 2017 manifesto on which it was based would provide the basis for an economic transformation by a national investment bank, by promoting green and sustainable industries, but above all taking young people out of the debt and poverty and housing issues that so many of them face,” he said.

“Do you know what? Every single one of those policies is very popular these days.”

Reflecting on the wider debate on policy throughout the general election so far, Corbyn said he remained “not impressed”.

He said: “It seems to me the debate is far too centred on allegations and issues surrounding a relatively small part of taxation rather than the whole issues of inequality of our society.”

Corbyn was first elected MP for Islington North in 1983 but was banned from standing as Labour’s candidate in this general election after he was accused of downplaying the seriousness of the anti-semitism crisis which erupted under his leadership.

He now faces a tough battle to retain his seat when voters head to the polls on 4 July, including from his former party who Corbyn labelled the “Labour imposed candidate for Islington North”, Praful Nargund.

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Corbyn remains somewhat upbeat still about his chances of retaining his Islington North seat. “We’re ready to win,” Corbyn said following the rally in Navigator Square, Archway, Saturday morning.

“We’ve got a lot of people helping and supporting. We don’t have the national media machine behind us but we’re doing well and I’m very happy with the response we’re getting on the doorstep.”

But a source within Corbyn’s campaign told i that the contest for the seat – which polls have suggested will likely fall to the independent candidate or his Labour successor Mr Nargund – was looking “tight”.

“If we get enough people out to campaign, we’ll win,” they said.

The source also suggested that the contest may come down to what voters see on the ballot paper first. “Will people see Jeremy’s name on the ballot or the Labour rose first?”.

Noting that Corbyn’s name would be above Nargund’s on the voting slip, they added: “Of course, the Lib Dem candidate’s name has to start with an ‘A’ [Vikas Aggarwal]”.

i approached the Labour Party for comment.