Trump’s decision to pull out of Paris climate change deal is dangerous – Corbyn’s industrial strategy speech

This is the full text of the speech that Jeremy Corbyn gave today in York at the launch of Labour’s industrial strategy and plan for one million real living wage jobs. 

Before going further, I’d like to say a few words about leadership.

Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change deal is reckless and dangerous.

The commitments made in Paris are vital to stop the world reaching the point of no return on climate change, and there can be no question of watering them down.

The Paris deal should not be up for renegotiation. The other three European members of the G7, France, Germany and Italy, have written to Donald Trump to make this clear.

So why does Theresa May not have her name on this joint statement?

Given the chance to present a united front with our international partners, she has instead opted for silence and subservience to Donald Trump. It is a dereliction of her duty both to our country and to our planet.

That is not the type of leadership Britain needs to negotiate Brexit.

I am delighted to be in York today for the launch of Labour’s industrial strategy with our Shadow Industrial Strategy Minister, Chi Onwurah, and our Shadow Business Secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey.

They have done an outstanding job in setting out this serious, comprehensive, and radical industrial strategy. A blueprint for a Britain in which no one is held back and in which every region and nation thrives.

Chi and Rebecca are building on the achievements of the last Labour Government whose intervention in 2009 not only saved our automotive sector, but laid the groundwork for it to become one of the crown jewels of Britain’s economy.

We will embrace new technology to upgrade our economy, create new good jobs and tackle climate change.

At the heart of our industrial strategy is our plan to modernise our energy system to be 60 per cent renewable by 2030.

I am proud of the work Chi, Rebecca and my party have done, and I am particularly proud that all those who have been centrally involved in our industrial strategy have been two women.

In the course of this campaign, I have travelled the length and breadth of the country, setting out the many ways in which a Labour Government would change this country for the better.

On those travels, I have seen an economy that is grossly imbalanced.

Talk to people and you understand the consequences of this problem.

London overheats, and the cost of living there rises while communities in too much of the rest of the country have seen their local economies hollowed out, industries decline and stable jobs go.

Right across our country, too many people are trapped in precarious, low paid work while a few at the top get richer.

Despite Britain’s many strengths, we are not realising our full potential, failing to harness the talent of every region and nation.

This is why the policies we are setting out today are among the most important of all in our programme to transform Britain.

Because today is not just about giving people a fairer share of our country’s wealth.

Today is about tackling the injustices of our society at their root cause, and rewriting the rules of our economy for the many rather than the few.

No more can Britain try to sustain its economy on the back of growth in the financial sector in one corner of England.

Today, we set out a bold vision for a different Britain, a Britain in which work not only pays, but gives people a sense of pride and purpose.

In which every individual shares in the creation of wealth as well as sharing in its rewards.

A Britain in which every community, in every corner of the country, is built on the firm foundation of a vibrant local economy.

Only Labour will deliver policies that match the scale of our ambition. Investing to create a million good jobs; investing in the skills of our workforce; and working with industry to create the winners of the future.

And it is now my pleasure to hand over to our Shadow Business Secretary to tell you more.