Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn has outlined his plans for turning the South West red.
Mr Corbyn was one of the main speakers at this year’s Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival.
At the festival he said there are no no-go areas for the Labour Party.
Mr Corbyn said: “When an election comes I want to see - and you want to see – a lot more Labour MPs all over the South West. For us, there are no no-go areas.
“There is poverty, there is a shortage of housing, there is student debt, there are so many other issues facing what are beautiful coastal towns and cities.
“That poverty, hidden away behind the hedges and behind the woods, that poverty is there, that poverty needs to be addressed, and it requires a Labour government to invest in rural communities just as much as we will invest in urban Britain.”
Mr Corbyn outlined some of the policies, which a Labour Government, would work to introduce.
He said: “We will create a real living wage of £10 per hour for all workers regardless of their age, that’s very important because young workers have the same needs as older workers, they need to eat they need to travel, they have families to support and look after. Let’s end this nonsense of discrimination against young people and young workers, give them hope, give them a chance.”
He also outlined his plans for ending austerity.
He said: “Austerity has cut jobs, living standards, reduced hope and opportunities for young people, it’s cut both police and fire workers and so many others.
“Across the South West there are 600,000 people of working age living in poverty according to TUC figures, that’s in the South West of the fifth richest country in the world. That is the political choice they (The Tories and the Lib Dems) made in 2010.
“This region deserves better than that, this region deserves economic transformation, investment and decent wages.”
He added: “It deserves properly funded public services, it only gets 60 % of the average UK transport funding, so yes a Labour government would end austerity and start to invest and properly fund public services, but we would also invest in that necessary infrastructure for the future, including the necessary electrification of railways across the region. And we will do it through public enterprise and public ownership, and the railways are coming back into public ownership under a Labour government.
“There’s got to be an integrated approach to transport, buses are part of the solution for the future, so we will be requiring local authorities and public transport operators to integrate their services together, we will be bringing back bus services to rural Britain as well as to urban Britain.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel