Jeremy Corbyn demands Boris Johnson ‘resign now’ in furious Labour conference speech

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded Boris Johnson “resign now” in a damning Labour conference speech.

Party members erupted into cheers of “Johnson out!” as the Labour leader said Mr Johnson was “not fit to be Prime Minister” after losing a Supreme Court showdown.

Opening his 42-minute annual address in Brighton, Mr Corbyn declared: “He will never shut down our democracy or silence the voices of us, the people.”

He added: ” Boris Johnson has been found to have misled the country. This unelected Prime minister should now resign.”

It came as Mr Corbyn hastily rewrote, cut down and moved forward his conference speech by a day after the Supreme Court ruled Parliament could sit again from 11.30am tomorrow.

In a wide-ranging speech, he admitted he was a “different kind” of leader, pledged to stand up for the 99% and insisted Labour’s Brexit policy was “not complicated”.

And he drew the battle lines for a crunch general election, rallying activists in a rousing speech.

Yet despite demanding an election, Labour’s leader indicated the party will not table a vote of no confidence in the government this week.

 

 

Instead he said an election should wait until the threat of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 is removed.

He told delegates in Brighton: “This crisis can only be settled with a general election. That election needs to take place as soon as this government’s threat of a disastrous No Deal is taken off the table.”

A Labour spokesman later confirmed the party will not bring a vote of no confidence until it has “locked in” a guarantee against no deal Brexit.

The spokesman said it must be “impossible” to force a no-deal Brexit first – suggesting an election may only be triggered after October 19.

That is the date on which the Prime Minister must request a three-month Brexit delay if there is no agreement in Parliament.

The spokesman said: “He certainly can’t be trusted. Obviously as the moment comes when under the legislation the extension has to be sought, there are different ways that would be pushed forward.”

He would not be drawn on the exact timing.

But he added: “The condition is that it must be locked in that we cannot crash out of the EU without a deal on October 31.

“There’s different ways that could happen and one way would be calling an election and changing the date.

“We have to lock in whatever mechanism is necessary to prevent that happening.”

Today’s speech was rearranged after the Supreme Court ruled Boris Johnson acted unlawfully to shut down Parliament – prompting the Commons to resume sitting at 11.30am tomorrow.

In a historic judgement that will go down in British legal history, 11 justices said it was unlawful and “extreme” to shut down the Commons for five weeks just before Brexit. 

 

Jeremy Corbyn hastily rearranged his Labour conference speech to 4pm today to get back to Parliament in time.

And he stripped out nearly all policy announcements in order to focus on the crisis in democracy.

He told members: “The Prime Minister acted illegally when he tried to shut down opposition to his reckless and disastrous plan to crash out of the European Union without a deal.

“But he has failed.”

Mr Corbyn added: “Boris Johnson has been found to have misled the country. This unelected Prime Minister should now resign.

“That would make him the shortest serving British prime minister in history and rightly so.”

Mr Corbyn told cheering members the Prime Minister was “part of an elite that disdains democracy”.

He said: “Let me quote the Supreme Court’s conclusion: ‘Unlawful, null and of no effect and should be quashed’ – they’ve got the prime minister down to a tee.”

Mr Corbyn was introduced to thousands of delegates by The Voice winner Jermaine Jackman – who sang a change was due to come before Labour’s leader walked on stage.

Labour’s leader kept just one new policy announcement in the speech.

He pledged to ban firms hiking the cost of NHS medicines – by using compulsory licensing to secure generic versions of the drugs.

 

The rest of his stripped-back speech was a greatest hits of previously announced pledges – including free prescriptions for all in England, a National Care Service and nationalising water, mail and rail.

He said Labour would put the issue of Brexit back to the people in a referendum – allowing them to vote between a “credible” leave deal and Remain.

“As a Labour Prime Minister I pledge to carry out whatever the people decide,” he said.

Mr Corbyn declared “we stand for the 99%” and said he could sum up the Tories in five words: “A harsh and uncaring ethos”.

And after a conference plagued by gossip of his possible resignation in future, the 70-year-old reflected on his style of leadership.

He admitted he was “not there on a personal power trip – shadow cabinet can confirm that”.

And he said: “I have what might be considered a different view of leadership from the one people are used to.

“I do believe leaders should have strong principles that people can trust. But leaders must also listen and trust others to play their part.”

Revealing the battleground Labour wants to fight on, he rattled through popular policies such as renationalising the rail and water industries, along with the National Grid and Royal Mail.

A new “Crossrail for the North” would link major cities across the region, stretching from Liverpool to Hull.

The hourly minimum wage would be hiked to £10 and zero-hours’ contracts would be scrapped.

Three factories producing eco-friendly batteries would be built in South Wales, Stoke-on-Trent and Swindon.

Within the first 100 days of a Labour Government, it would abolish the Trade Union Act, which critics say curbed workers’ rights.

And Labour would ruthlessly target tax avoiders and evaders as it tries to pump cash into public coffers.

Pledging to stand up for ordinary people , Mr Corbyn told activists: “The Labour government I lead will take on those who really run our country – the financial speculators, tax dodgers and big polluters – so the real wealth creators, the people of this country, can have the jobs, services and futures they deserve.

“When Labour wins, the nurse wins, the pensioner wins, the student wins, the office worker wins, the engineer wins – we all win.”

Labour last won a general election in 2005 when Tony Blair led the party to its third consecutive victory.

The party repeatedly trails the Tories in opinion polls and even briefly fell behind the Lib Dems earlier this month.

With Westminster braced for an election before Christmas, Mr Corbyn levelled a series of personal attacks against the Prime Minister.

Labour is expected to place questions over Mr Johnson’s trustworthiness at the heart of Mr Corbyn’s campaign for Downing Street.

He mocked the Old Etonian PM, who wants to force a ballot based on the theme of “Parliament versus the People”, for trying to paint himself as on the side of ordinary voters.

Speaking for 42 minutes, Mr Corbyn said: “In a shameless bid to turn reality on its head Boris Johnson’s born-to-rule Tories are now claiming to be the voice of the people.

“A political party that exists to protect the establishment is pretending to be anti-establishment. Johnson and his wealthy friends are not only on the side of the establishment they are the establishment.

“They will never be on the side of the people when supporting the people might hit them and their super-rich sponsors where it hurts – in their wallets and offshore bank accounts.

“Let me send this message to Boris Johnson – if you still lead your party into an election we know your campaign will be swimming in cash.

“But we’ve got something you haven’t.

“People in their hundreds of thousands rooted in all communities and all age groups across Britain and we’ll meet you head on with the biggest people-powered campaign this country has ever seen – and if we win, it will be the people who win.”

This year’s conference was overshadowed by two rows – first a failed bid to oust Tom Watson as deputy leader, and then a row over Labour’s Brexit policy.

A bid to turn Labour into a ‘Remain party’ against Jeremy Corbyn’s will was defeated on a show of hands last night.

Finishing his speech, Mr Corbyn said it was time to build a country “fit for the next generation”.

“A country where young people don’t fear the future… but a country and a society where our young people can look forward with confidence and hope.”

He added: “The tide is turning. The years of retreat and defeat are coming to an end.

“Together, we can take on the privileged, and put the people in power.”

And he told party members: “Go forward to win an election for the people of the country.”