Campaign news

Jeremy Corbyn’s victory speech

12th September 2015

Jeremy Corbyn’s victory speech

at the special Labour Party Conference
on September 12th (extracts)

Jeremy Corbyn started by thanking Iain McNicol, the Labour staff and Harriet Harman.

Harman’s decency and passion for the rights of women is something we must thank her for. We have legislation on the statute books to thank her for.

I congratulate Tom Watson on his election (as deputy leader). Watson is passionate about communication, and about holding people to account who do not want to be held to account.

I thank Ed Miliband for all his work. I had a long conversation with him recently. I thanked him for his work as leader and as energy secretary, and for the way he showed dignity when under attack by the media, particularly when his father, the late, great Ralph Miliband, was criticised.

The Tories have used the economic crisis to impose a terrible burden on the poor. It is not right, and it has got to change.

You must tackle grotesque levels of inequality. We need an economic policy to deal with that.

Labour stands here because of the work of others.

But it will go forward stronger. Its passion and humanity is intact.

It is going to reach out to everyone to help offer people a decent start in life.

The Party is going to become more inclusive, more involved, and more democratic.
It will shape the future for everyone.

Thank you in advance to everyone working together.

Poverty does not have to be inevitable. Things can, and they will, change, he says.

I congratulate Sadiq Khan, our elected candidate for London Mayor. I am fed up of the social cleansing in London being undertaken by the Tories.

The media did not understand the views of many young people. They had been written off as uninterested in politics. But they are very political. They are just turned off by the way politics has been conducted.

Labour has changed during the last three months. It has grown, because people want a better Britain.

Addressing new members, and registered supporters, Jeremy says welcome to the party, welcome to the movement.
To those who are returning, he says welcome back.

He thanks the MPs who nominated him. Some had ‘some reluctance to do so’, he says. But they did so in a spirit of inclusion and democracy.

The campaign began with very little. But it gained support and volunteers. I thank the unions that supported me.
Labour is a party organically linked together, between the unions and the affiliated organisations.

I used to be an organiser for NUPE (now part of Unison). That is why I am so opposed to what the government is doing with the trade union bill.

I have done 99 rallies. Today is my century.

I thank people in Islington North Labour for helping him get elected.I thank my family. They have suffered the most appalling levels of abuse from some of the media in past months.

Addressing journalists, he said it is okay to attack public figures. But journalists should leave their relatives alone.
I thank those who attended the hustings meetings. That shows how passionate people feel about being involved in debate.

I want to make the party more democratic.

Jeremy received a standing ovation.