Jeremy Corbyn used his party conference speech to send a very clear message to the so-called “mainstream media”.
The Labour leader, who enjoyed a two-minute standing ovation as he took to the stage in Brighton, made it plain he was not afraid of criticism from the press.
After sending a personal message to Theresa May, asking the prime minister to “take another walking holiday and make another impetuous decision”, he turned his attention to Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre.
“Of course, there were some who didn’t come out of the election too well,” he told a packed conference hall.
“I’m thinking of some of our more traditional media friends. They ran the campaign they always do under orders from their tax exile owners to trash Labour at every turn.
“The day before the election one paper devoted fourteen pages to attacking the Labour Party. And our vote went up nearly 10%.
“Never have so many trees died in vain. The British people saw right through it.
“So this is a message to the Daily Mail’s editor- next time, please could you make it 28 pages?”
Corbyn said the Labour campaign was “primed and ready to roll” and claimed the 2017 election had turned his party into a “government in waiting”.
“Ready to tackle inequality, ready to rebuild our NHS, ready to give opportunity to young people, dignity and security to older people, ready to invest in our economy and meet the challenges of climate change and automation, ready to put peace and justice at the heart of foreign policy,” he added.
“And ready to build a new and progressive relationship with Europe.
“We are ready and the Tories are clearly not. They’re certainly not strong and they’re definitely not stable. They’re not remotely united. And they’re hanging on by their fingertips.”