HUNDREDS of Jeremy Corbyn supporters mobbed the Labour leader as he made his first visit to Brighton after the General Election.

More than 300 supporters gathered outside the Brighton Centre to hear him speak after he addressed the Unison conference yesterday morning.

Mr Corbyn continued to ride the wave of his unpredicted election success in the city which delivered him the biggest swing of any English city and returned his party two MPs.

In an interview with The Argus, the Labour leader reasserted his support for unions in the Southern Rail dispute and repeated his backing for the franchise to be immediately removed from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and placed into government hands.

He also reconfirmed his hopes for a second Brighton Main Line to alleviate pressure on the currently crowded and unstable service.

Mr Corbyn shrugged off explicit warnings from the Gibb Report, published on Thursday, that removing the franchise now could set back major improvements achieved in recent months and the promised advancements from Thameslink 2018.

The report, by leading rail industry expert and Network Rail director Chris Gibb, said industrial action was the primary cause for the system failure and without it passengers could enjoy a good service by the end of next year.

Mr Corbyn said the blame lay with the chaotic relations between GTR and the Department for Transport and the company’s “peculiar obsession” with driver-only operated trains.

He said: “The issue is of rail safety, the issue is whether it is safe to have driver-only operated trains on one of the busiest lines in the country with trains routinely grossly overcrowded. I think you need staff on those trains.

“The franchise Southern Rail has is the most peculiar one I have ever seen – it’s chaotic the relationship.

“Southern Rail get paid whether they run trains or don’t run trains. They get paid anyway whatever they do.

“There is no incentive on them to do the job properly.

“I think it’s time that Southern Rail was brought back into national ownership and run properly for the benefit of the public.”

A poll published yesterday revealed for the first time the country views Mr Corbyn as a more capable Prime Minister than Theresa May.

Mr Corbyn told reporters in Brighton he would try to force an early election and that there would be another election soon.

He also added there was “no problem” between him and Hove MP Peter Kyle who had assured Corbyn-sceptic voters on the campaign trail a vote for him would not mean Jeremy Corbyn would be Prime Minister.

The more centrist and pro-EU Hove MP delivered one of the biggest swings for Labour nationwide on June 8.

Mr Corbyn said the Hove MP was re-elected as a Labour MP with residents backing a Labour candidate.

He added Mr Kyle was “a loyal party member” who he was sure would vote along with other Labour MPs to protect the rights of EU citizens, to maintain tariff-free trade and European funding for universities.

GRENFELL IS THE BRUTAL RESULT OF TORY AUSTERITY POLITICS

The Labour leader received a standing ovation when he arrived on stage to deliver his speech at the Unison conference. Here’s what he had to say on...

The Conservatives

Theresa May and the Tories are clinging to power by the skin of their teeth and at the pleasure of the Democratic Unionist Party but Labour will oppose this weak Conservative minority government both in Parliament and outside of it, every step of the way.

We are in opposition but we are also now a government in waiting. We are ready for another election at any time to finish the job of beating the failed and clapped out Tories and form a government that works for all.

The Grenfell tragedy

From Hillsborough, to the child sex abuse scandal, to Grenfell Tower the pattern is clear. Working class voices are ignored by the powerful and their concerns are repeatedly dismissed.

Residents themselves had raised concerns about the lack of fire safety in the block. So not only should more have been done to prevent these tragic deaths but the Prime Minister has now had to publicly apologise for her government’s pitiful response in helping those who had lost their homes and lost their loved ones in the disaster.

A tower block in flames due to poor building quality. A heroic response from the fire and rescue service who are dangerously overstretched and understaffed and a government and local government response that has left victims sleeping on the street and under bridges as they have nowhere else to go.

Make no mistake about it, this is the brutal reality of austerity economics that has failed in its own terms and is leading to falling living standards, rising inequality and disasters. We have always known that austerity was a choice made by those at the top which has harmed the lives of the many to maintain the privilege of a few but has had absolutely devastating and frankly inhumane consequences for those at the very bottom.

The public sector pay cap

A future Labour government will scrap the public sector pay cap. It is a disgrace that NHS nurses are paid 14 per cent less today in real terms than they were in 2010. In Britain, in 2017, we have nurses and other public sector workers being forced to go to food banks, along with one million other people whose chances have been crushed in the name of austerity.

When this was put to the Prime Minister she said that there are ‘complex reasons’ for people having to use foodbanks.

Well I hope the Prime Minister is listening today when I say that there are not complex reasons for people having to use foodbanks: the only reason is that this government refuses to ensure people have enough income to feed themselves.

Social care

This is a sacred principle for the overwhelming majority of people in this country but is one that the Tories have seriously put under threat through chronic defunding and creeping privatisation.

Labour is committed to ending this. We will halt the dreaded and much derided ‘sustainability and transformation plans’ and would instead put over £30 billion in extra funding over the course of a five-year Parliament. This is absolutely essential to ensure that NHS staff have the conditions which they deserve. We would protect people by introducing legislation and imposing legal requirements for minimum staffing levels in the NHS. Labour is also committed to re-introduce nurses’ bursaries and funding for health related degrees to encourage more people to train, as well as immediately guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals protecting the tens of thousands working in our health and social care sector.

The minimum wage

We would ensure that all care workers were paid a real living wage, reaching £10 an hour by 2020.

When asked by a delegate whether 16-year-olds should also be paid Labour’s living wage, he responded: “Yes, the £10 an hour living wage, real living wage, is correct and also should apply to all workers, because I don’t think young people eat less than old people – that’s my experience anyway.”

THE POLITICIAN WITH ROCK STAR QUALITY

HE may be a 68-year-old man happiest on his allotment, looking at manhole covers or making jam but Jeremy Corbyn is able to attract crowds any rock star or boy band would be envious of.

Yesterday in Brighton was the latest evidence of his ability to attract people which saw him fill venues and fields throughout the election.

Today he will take to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury where festivalgoers have been chanting his name to introduce US rap duo Run The Jewels.

The momentum is well and truly with him with many seeing him taking to the role as Prime Minister in waiting.

But British politics is fickle today. Six weeks ago Theresa May was seen as the heir to Thatcher on the cusp of sending the Labour Party into oblivion.

If it can change that quickly for her the fortunes can swing again as quickly for Mr Corbyn.

It is also worth noting that even at his lowest ebb, facing a battle just to hold on to the Labour leadership and considered an unelectable Prime Minister, Mr Corbyn was able to draw huge crowds in Brighton.

He will always be able to do that but his challenge is to go beyond energising his fanbase and to reach out to doubters. Criticism of his leadership from his own MPs has quietened since the election but many of those concerns are hidden behind false smiles.

If the momentum changes those smiles will soon crack.