Live Labour Campaign Launch Election 2017

brave enough to defy parliaments, you would be considered as bold as

brass. Colleagues, friends, brothers and

sisters, welcome to Event City here in Manchester, to launch the Labour

Party general election 2017 campaign.

What a wonderful city! What a wonderful people!

APPLAUSE And, I've got to say, I'm terribly

excited! About the general election! I'm

terribly excited about the policies which Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party

are rolling out in 2017! I'm so proud and so privileged. I

was a coal miner in the coal mines of the north-east. What a fantastic

job at was. Great solidarity, great camaraderie, friendship. And I

really privileged to be joined national campaigns coordinator with

my good friend Andrew Gwynne, and I'm also very proud to be parted

Jeremy CorbynShadow Cabinet! CHEERING

These... These, colleagues, are the future of

a very bright new dawn with the Labour Party. Listen, this election

on aids of June is extremely critical, colleagues. -- on the 8th

of June. It isn't complex, it isn't in any way work at science, but it

is about serving the many and not the few, as you see on some of the

boards. It is about justice, it about equality and fairness across

our communities. This election is about transforming our society,

making people's lives are better in this country.

APPLAUSE Colleagues...

Colleagues, we cannot simply continue down the Welch red Tory

pass, where a fuel at the very top take the spoils and the rest of the

country struggles to cover their way in the world -- we cannot continue

down the well-tread Tory path. An election is about the future of the

many, not the few. Building a more equal society, a fairer society, a

better society for all. You know, I am ashamed at times to see how this

country has fallen into the state it actually is. Where it -- we are the

sixth richest economy in the world. I want no lectures off anybody

telling us we have not got the finances to look after those at the

bottom! I don't want anybody kidding me about the wealth of this nation!

In the last 12 months, the top 1000 richest people in this country

increased their wealth by ?83 billion whilst one million-plus

people use food banks simply to exist. No lectures on the wealth of

this nation. We have seen the National Health Service brought to

its knees with staff are undervalued, with the children left

in corridors or, indeed, using chairs for beds. We have all seen

that photograph in the Daily Mirror where we had this little baby in a

critical condition in hospital lying on two patio chairs pushed together.

Colleagues, it's got to change! CHEERING

We've seen the schools... We've seen our schools under attack,

with the least well off seeing the biggest cuts and the Prime Minister

pursuing a wasteful and divisive Academy and grammar School

programme. And we will not stand by and allow this to happen. We have

seen the world of work change beyond recognition, with a secure job now

the stuff of dreams for many people. With 1 million people on zero-hours

contracts. Colleagues, we will ban zero our contracts!

CHEERING -- we will ban zero-hours contracts!

We have seen a rise in poverty across-the-board, with child

poverty, with pensioner poverty, with fuel poverty all soaring. We

hear harrowing stories about children, kids, babies, at school,

putting their arms up and asking to go to the toilet and then visiting

the cloakroom to get the sandwiches out of somebody else's packed lunch.

We hear the harrowing stories of kids, our future, rating the

refrigerators in the schools instead of being fed properly like this

party promises. Cannot be allowed to continue, man. It's 2017, and the

Labour Party will stand to put up with it no more, colleagues.

APPLAUSE It's doesn't have to be this way!

Politics is about choices, and this election offers our party a golden

opportunity. It offers a chance to offer the British people a programme

that will improve their lives and make our country a better place to

live. The manifesto is bold, it is imaginative, it is distinct. It is a

great Labour Party manifesto. It seeks to excite the young people, it

seeks to protect sure start, ensure school funding is maintained, giving

everybody a hot nutritious meal at school, restoring the education

maintenance allowance and university bursaries. For the Older People, we

ensure the pensions triple lock will be maintained, free bus passes and

winter fuel will be maintained. Proper funding of the NHS and social

care. And what is really important for the Older People is tackling the

epidemic of loneliness. These are guarantees from Jeremy Corbyn's

Labour Party. You know, we can do pet if -- better for people in work.

Giving the workforce arise, a rise in the living wage to its real

level, banning zero-hours contracts and insuring workers have the boys.

We could do better for public services and ensure the currently

undervalued staff, who are overstretched, not only get a pay

rise but the resources to do their jobs properly. Whose sole Theresa

May on the BBC only last week? I was amazed. She was asked, is it fair

that nurses have had a 14% pay cut since 2010? And are having to use

food banks? She was bonded by saying the reason nurses are using food

banks is extremely compact -- she responded by saying. It's not

complex, they have not got enough money to feed themselves and their

families. And that must end, comrades.

APPLAUSE. You know, when you want to change,

when we want to change the political landscape of work, when we are

looking to change politics in the best interests of everyone, when we

are up against the might of the establishment who'll do whatever it

takes to cling on to that unchecked powers, we'll all experience

setbacks as individuals and as a party. We get knocked down but we've

got to get back up again, dust ourselves down and get back into

this fight for Government. We might be down at times. As I say, dust

yourselves down, there's a fight to be had. You know, we've got...

APPLAUSE. A great political movement. In the

movement, the Labour and the Trade Union movement was born in struggle.

They don't call it the struggle for nothing. And we understand the

challenges here. Never forget the sacrifices that our predecessors

made to deliver the institutions and freedoms we now enjoy. And remember,

things can be different. It doesn't have to be this way. No-one should

be held back and you need no-one behind. Colleagues, we have a duty,

we have a moral duty, we have a political obligation, to communicate

and articulate our messages, our policies in every town, every city,

every village here in the UK we must speak to people door-to-door in

whatever capacity we can. Anybody who wants to help can next the

number on the screen supposed to be behind me now, see. Colleagues, I'm

concluding quite simply by saying, let's mobilise a winning future for

all. Let's win the hearts and minds of our people and deliver a fairer,

equal Society for The many and not the few. On wards and upwards!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Thank you. Thank you. Colleagues,

thank you. Thank you so much. Colleagues, it gives me great

pleasure to introduce the next speaker, Julie Hesmond-Halsh.

Best-known for Corrie and more recently broad church and Happy

Valley. Julie, the floor's yours. Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Thank you. Right, well, follow that.

Brilliant. Hello, everyone. Good morning. I feel incredibly humbled

and honoured to be here today at the launch of the Labour Party general

election campaign in this amazing city with its rich history of

culture, of industry of protest, of struggle and resistance.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. When Jeremy Corbyn became leader of

the party 18 months ago, I can honestly say that in my adult life I

had never felt as excited and exhilarated by Party Politics.

APPLAUSE. For me, it felt like a moment. A

moment when the Labour Party and its core values and principles would

finally be in line with my own deeply held socialist beliefs about

equality, justice and peace. APPLAUSE.

At the time on the campaign trail, I said I felt like I was part of a

new, exciting mass movement of people who gave a toss about stuff.

APPLAUSE. Well, this is our moment, this is

our chance and from tomorrow we have 30 days. 30 days to be on the right

side of history. 30 days to take our message into the homes and the

hearts and the minds of people who been long disenfranchised with

politics thinking that we are all the same. We emphatically are not.

APPLAUSE. We have 30 days to create the

opportunity for a fairer, better, more equal society and 30 days to

save our NHS. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Now is the time to put everything else aside, to stand up for what you

believe in in your hearts and souls, to get out on to the streets, get

this message across loud and clear. Let's turn this mass movement into a

Government, a country, a society that truly gives a toss about stuff.

Now, everyone please give a warm, riotous welcome to a man who's

dedicated his life to giving a toss about other people. Jeremy Corbyn!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you! Thank you, Julie, for that fantastic

introduction and to you and Ian for that fantastic welcome here to

Manchester today. It's fantastic we are launching our election campaign

here in Manchester. Manchester shows the way in many, many things. One,

it showed last Thursday, was by electing Andy Burnham as the Mayor

of Greater Manchester. APPLAUSE.

And can I... Andy! Andy! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Well done. Thank you very much. Fantastic. Give them a wave. Thanks,

Andy. Andy will be a great Mayor. But just

think how much more Andy will be able to achieve if he's working with

a Labour Government committed to the many not the few.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Andy, thanks, congratulations on

your election and the people of Manchester are lucky to have you as

their Mayor. Well done, Andy. APPLAUSE.

We have four weeks, we have four weeks to take our message to the

voters, to convince them, Britain can be better. It can be

transformed. It doesn't have to be like this. We can transform Britain

into a country that instead of being run for the rich, is one where

everyone can lead richer lives. APPLAUSE.

And I mean richer in every sense. Richer because all of us have

potential to fulfil, family to support, interests to pursue, richer

when that potential that is there in all of us is not held back. Because

there is no doubt this country is being held back. If your children

aren't getting the education they deserve, because the class sizes are

too high, then your children are being held back. If you're a young

couple or anyone trying to get a home and can't make a home because

rent and house prices are too high, then you're being held back. If

you've worked hard all your life but you can't pursue your dreams of your

retirement because you're supporting your family well into their

adulthood, then you too are being held back. But Britain is a rich

country, the sixth richest country in the world. We caught a glimpse of

that wealth only two days ago when Rupert Murdoch's Sunday Times

published its rich list. In the last year, Britain's 1,000 richest people

have seen their wealth rise by 14% to ?658 billion. That is six times

the total budget of our National Health Service. Imagine the outcry

if public sector workers decided to put in for a 14% pay rise. Just

imagine it. But it's no surprise that the richest have got even

richer after the tens of billions the Tories have handed them in tax

cuts. That's what we mean when we say the system is rigged for the

rich. So thanks for making that clear, Mr Murdoch.

APPLAUSE. And so I don't know if Rupert

Murdoch plans to give us any other help during the election campaign,

but we are grateful for that information.

LAUGHTER. In fact, I am more likely expecting

hostility. Our challenge to a rigged system is bound to meet hostile

till. Change always involves taking on vested interests and there is a

real danger that the Tories' scaremongering and spin machine will

make some people settle for less than they should, resign themselves

to things the way they are. Underestimating just how many more

burdens the Tories could impose if an omission to halt the rich getting

riching is not halted. The stakes are high. We know from last week's

local elections how big the challenge is. We have to convince

the sceptical and undecided. They're not sure which way to turn. Who can

blame them? People are alienated from politics and politicians.

Our Westminster system is broken and our economy is rigged. Both are run

in the interests of the few labour is under attack because we are

standing up to the elite, who are determined to hijack Brexit and pay

even less tax and take even more of the wealth that we all create.

APPLAUSE Labour is under attack because we're

standing up to the corporate interests plundering our National

Health Service. How much more will be privatised if

the Tories get another five years? We are drawing a line under decades

of privatisation, from energy, to rail, to health, to social care.

APPLAUSE That privatisation has made some

people very rich indeed, but it has not delivered richer lives for the

majority of our people. In the coming days, we will be

setting out our plan to transform Britain with an upgraded economy run

for the many, not the few. APPLAUSE

Theresa May thinks she can dodge the Tory record by claiming she wants to

build a fairer Britain, that she cares about working people.

Does she think people will forget how the Tories have actually treated

working people? It was this Tory leader who sat alongside David

Cameron in Government for six years. She was with him when they

introduced the bedroom tax. What is Remona Aly fairer about the bedroom

tax? What was fair about racking up tuition fees? Or taking benefits

away from people with disabilities? APPLAUSE

Or about closing the wonderful Labour achievements, our Sure Start

centres around the country. Or starving our schools of the cash

they need to pay teachers and all those that work in those wonderful

teams in our schools? Or opening up the National Health Service to be

feasted on by profiteers? Just in case their talk of fairness doesn't

wash, they have another card to play, that this election is all

about Brexit and who can play at being toughest with Brussels. Labour

will not allow the Tories to put their party interests ahead of the

real national interests, the interests of the people of this

country. APPLAUSE

This election is not about Brexit itself, that issue has been settled.

The question now is what sort of Brexit do we want, and what sort of

country do we want Britain to be after that? Labour wants a job 's

first Brexit, a Brexit that safeguards the future of Britain's

vital industries. APPLAUSE

A Brexit that paves the way to a genuinely fairer society, protecting

human rights and an upgraded economy.

Labour's plan to transform Britain will mean a big deal to upgrade the

economy, new infrastructure to support the industries of the future

and an investment in training and skills to equip our workforce to

compete globally. It also means rebuilding our National Health

Service and social care services with the funding they need.

APPLAUSE It means building a million homes to

rent and buy. APPLAUSE

And it means tackling the scandal of our pollution, which contributes to

40,000 deaths per year -- tackling the scandal of ALL: HOWZAT!

Pollution. -- the scandal of air pollution. We

will not be paying lip service to working people, we will introduce a

comprehensive programme to strengthen rights at work. Make sure

new jobs are good jobs. APPLAUSE

And end the race to the bottom in pay, conditions and job security.

Low pay and insecurity have spread like an epidemic under the Tories.

Labour will invest in skills, jobs and take action to enforce a floor

under employment standards right across-the-board so that all jobs

are decent jobs, so that all workers, the true wealth creators in

society, can play their part in transforming Britain and benefit

fully from it. That is why we are fighting to win

this election, so we can transform Britain for the many and not the

few. When we win, the British people win.

APPLAUSE The nurse... The people win. The

nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the

office worker. They all win. Labour is offering a real choice, a real

alternative to the rigged system holding us back, and to the

Conservatives, who are running our country down. The economy is still

rigged in favour of the rich and powerful. When Labour wins, there

will be a reckoning for those who thought they could get away with

acid stripping our industry, crushing our economy through their

greed and ripping off workers and consumers.

CHEERING When did the Conservatives, David

Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, ever stand up to

their financial backers and demand our money back?

APPLAUSE Instead, they make others that the

bill. -- that make this foot the bill.

Nurses, carers, soldiers, disabled, young people trying to get a home of

their own, the elderly looking for dignity in retirement and those

working hard to get on, they make them foot the bill. This makes me

angry, and I know it makes the people of Britain angry, too!

APPLAUSE So today I say to tax cheats, the

rip-off bosses and the greedy bankers, enough is enough.

APPLAUSE In this election, Labour is standing

for decent jobs, investment for the future, shared wealth creation,

security at work, affordable homes for all and a fully funded National

Health Service and schools. APPLAUSE

Training and skills, an end to rip-off privatisation, fair taxation

and a fairer and more equal country. As we set out our detailed plans for

Britain, the scale of the change we are offering will become very clear.

Let's turn our country round. Let's come together to transform Britain.

Together, we can win. For the many, not the few. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

So don't wake up on the 9th of June to see celebrations from the tax

cheats, the press barons, the greedy bankers, Philip Green, the Southern

rail directors and crooked financiers that take wealth and have

got away with it, because they are the party they own. That is the

Conservative Party that have won. We have four weeks to ruin their

party. We have ball weeks to have a chance to take our wealth back. We

have ball weeks to show what kind of country we are. We know that the

people of this country don't pass by on the other side. That is the

principal we will take into government so that we can unlock

every person's potential and everyone can make their

contribution, their best contribution, to our society. We

have ball weeks to win and transform Britain for the many, not the few.

-- we have four weeks to win. We must seize the chance to day and

every day until June the 8th! Thank you very much! CHEERING AND

APPLAUSE. MUSIC PLAYS

# Hush now, child, and don't you cry.

# Just move on up. # Toward your destination.

# You may find from time to time complication.

# Bite your lip. # And take the trip.

# Though there may be a wet road ahead, you cannot slip.

# Just move on up. # For peace divine.

# Enter the steeple of beautiful people, where there's only one kind.

# So Hush now, child. # Don't you cry.

I am the UK correspondents for two global news channels in France and

in English and I am delighted to be here at Chatham House, Chatham House

where I learned many, many things. And I hope you will in