Jeremy Corbyn: Even in opposition we have achieved real gains for the people of Britain

This is the speech delivered by Jeremy Corbyn at Labour’s Campaigning to Win event in Weymouth at the weekend.

It is an honour to be here with you all today, looking at how we can put our new politics into practise and how we can collaborate to build a better future for Britain.

It’s been a pleasure to watch you all getting involved with the breakout sessions and getting the chance to meet and talk to so many of you.

What today has reminded me of, above all else, is the strength of our party.

We are totally committed to working together for the people of Britain, and we aren’t afraid to take bold moves and try new things.

We know that digital technology is a powerful tool in this regard

It is through the internet that we were able to launch a petition to save our steel industry, which gathered 100,000 signatures within a matter of hours

The importance of action in response to crises like these cannot be underestimated

Thousands of hard-working, British people are set to lose their jobs if the government refuse to act

Whole communities will be devastated

Not to mention the wider loss to our country if one of our greatest strategic industries is allowed to collapse

We will not stand by while the government allows this to happen.

I went to Port Talbot on Wednesday to meet some of the people whose livelihoods are on the line here.

I listened to their concerns and talked to them about what we can do.

We all know that this disaster is not inevitable and that is why we are pushing for action

We have asked the Prime Minister to recall Parliament urgently to address this crisis

And we have produced a simple four-point plan to save our steel.

A plan to stabilise the industry, drive demand, reduce the burdens they face and restructure to ensure a long-term, sustainable future for Britain’s steel.

We know that we can make a difference.

We are stronger today than we’ve ever been before.

Not least because our membership has doubled – to almost 400,000 members. And we have had so many successes in recent months.

Over 3 million families would have lost over £1,000 a year in tax credit cuts if the Tories had their way.

We reversed that.

These are real families that will now be over £20 a week better off thanks to us campaigning on this issue.

We forced the Government into an almost immediate u-turn when they threatened to cut thousands of pounds in benefits from over half a million disabled people.

We’ve also forced u-turns on police cuts, the Saudi prison deal, housing benefit, tampon tax, VAT on solar panels, short money and Sunday trading laws.

Even in opposition we have achieved real gains for the people of Britain.

And it is the work of Labour members up and down the country – of you here in this room – that has made these achievements a reality.

We should all be very proud of what we have achieved together already, and confident about what we can go on to achieve

I’ve heard some amazing ideas coming out in the sessions today and I am sure that we are a party full of people with a passion for positive change.

We will not stand by while the Tories create a housing crisis, cut police numbers, destroy social care and our NHS, and attack our education system.

We will stand up for the people of Britain.

The Tories have proven themselves time and time again to be unfair and unjust. How can they claim that we are all in this together when 86 per cent of their savings to the treasury from tax and benefit changes have come from women?

When they produce a Budget which gives tax cuts to the wealthy few, whilst cutting the benefits of 370,000 disabled people?

Their recovery is built on sand.

Time and time again they have failed to deliver.

George Osborne promised to balance the books by 2015 but he has failed: we are now in 2016 and there’s still no sign of him meeting his promise.

And he had to admit that he was set to miss his debt target, only six months after setting it.

And the Government is set to borrow £38 billion more than George Osborne planned in November last year.

They talk of a Northern powerhouse, but have instead overseen flagging investment and a crisis in the steel industry.

97 per cent of the senior staff of the Northern Powerhouse have been outsourced to London.

And we now know that the North East accounts for less than 1 per cent of the government’s infrastructure ‘pipeline’ projects in construction.

The Tories are pursuing an agenda of injustice and they are jeopardising the future of our country with their recklessness.

They devote time to dealing with internal rifts over Europe, rather than looking at what is best for the people of Britain

Labour is united in campaigning for Britain’s continued membership of the European Union, because we know that it is vital to our jobs, growth and security

We will not stand by and allow the workers’ rights – which our EU membership provides – to be left open to Tory attack.

Instead we will be standing up. Standing up for you.

Labour needs to be ready for the elections coming up this summer because the people of Britain need Labour PCCs and Labour in local government to stand up for their rights across the country.

We must devote everything that we have to these elections.

We need to mobilise to protect our public services, to protect our schools from forced academisation.

This is our chance to stand up for Britain, where the Tories will not.

The Tories are failing on housing. Home ownership is down sharply, with more than 300,000 fewer young homeowners. Rough sleeping has doubled. Private rents have soared, housing benefit spending has increased and during the last parliament fewer new homes were built than under any peacetime government since the 1920s.

Their damaging policy of turning all schools into academies is nothing but a distraction from their continued failure on education

They are presiding over a crippling teacher shortage and a school system where over half a million children are being taught in massive classes of 31 or more.

And under their watch, the NHS has also reached crisis point. They have failed to tackle the root causes of the problem, slashing the budget for adult social care without thinking of the impact on hospitals

The NHS on their watch is in the midst of a cash crisis. Three quarters of NHS trusts are in financial­ difficulty. Hospitals are being weighed down by the unrealistic pressure to make £22 billion of “efficiency savings” over four years. And it is patients who are suffering. Rather than tackling this crisis the Tories turn their energy towards picking fights with Junior Doctors.

We will not stand by while this happens.

We will protect the future of the people of Britain by investing in the services that keep this country going

By creating growth and jobs and focusing on long-term plans rather than short-sighted goals.

We must work together this summer to meet the challenges ahead of us. And seeing all that we have achieved today gives me great confidence in what we can do.

I hope that you will all join me in standing up for the people of Britain. For our continued membership of the EU. For Labour PCCs who will keep our streets safe. And for Labour local government which will protect vital public services from Tory attack.