Thousands turn our for rallies in support of Jeremy Corbyn

Thousands are expected to join rallies in support of Jeremy Corbyn in the coming days after over 5,000 people attended demonstrations to back him at the weekend.

The Corbyn campaign will hold events in Liverpool and Brighton this week as they take advantage of parliamentary summer recess to promote their candidate to members around the country.

Over the weekend some 3,000 people attended a rally in Leeds, with over 1,000 gathered in an impromptu session outside because they could not fit in the venue. There were also rallies in York and Hull which, together, drew more than 2,500 attendees.

Corbyn spoke to an enthusiastic audience in Leeds, saying: “We want our foreign policy to be one of human rights, democracy, justice around the world – not the terrors and horrors of the Iraq War.

“We want our endeavour to be how we bring communities together. Recognise the strength that we’ve got. Recognise the talent that is there in all of us. Recognise the kind of community that we can build.

“We don’t have to be unequal. We don’t have to be poor. We don’t have to have people sleeping on the streets. We don’t have to have grotesque wealth squirrelled away into tax havens.”

He was joined by shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon, who said “We are about winning power with principles. That’s what we’re about. It’s not a choice between one or the other.”

The events are followed by today’s announcement from the Communication Workers’ Union backing Corbyn to continue in his leadership.

Dave Ward, the union’s General Secretary, announced the 200,000-strong union’ stance this lunchtime, after its National Executive Committee agreed to nominate the Islington North MP. He said Corbyn was “the most genuine politician in Parliament at the moment, who stands up for working people and has the conviction to say what he believes.”

The endorsement comes after Corbyn used the weekend to announced a raft of policies designed to protect workers’ rights. He committed to scrapping the Trade Union Act for a new framework of rights, ending zero-hours contracts and a national investment bank in every region of the UK to provide well-paid jobs across the UK.