Corbyn calls for ‘kinder politics’ in UK

LONDON

The new leader of Britain’s opposition party has vowed to combat social inequality and injustice across the country in his first major speech.

In a wide-ranging speech that called for “a kinder politics” and “a more caring society”, Jeremy Corbyn said he was opposed to Britain’s nuclear weapons and insisted more refugees should be welcomed into the country.

“I don’t believe £100 billion on a new generation of nuclear weapons taking up a quarter of our defence budget is the right way forward,” he told the Labour Party conference on Friday.

“I believe Britain should honour our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and lead in making progress on international nuclear disarmament.”

But he added the party would review its defense policy before coming to a final decision on whether to support nuclear disarmament.

A decision on renewing Britain’s nuclear weapons system is due by 2016.

On Europe’s migrant crisis, Corbyn said the aid provided by the United Kingdom to the countries bordering Syria “isn’t enough”.

He said: “We all know much more needs to be done. Because it’s a crisis of human beings just like you and just like me looking for security and looking for safety.

“Let’s reach out the hand of humanity and friendship to them.”

The Labour leader also accused the governing Conservative Party of disenfranchising “two million or more” people across the country, including 400,000 in London, ahead of local elections next May.

“They want to gerrymander next year’s Mayoral election in London by denying hundreds of thousands of Londoners their right to vote. They want to do the same for the Assembly elections in Wales,” he said.

“And they want to gerrymander electoral boundaries across the country.”