Jeremy Corbyn: A Labour Brexit will bring jobs back to UK

In his most positive speech about Brexit since the EU referendum, Mr Corbyn echoed Donald Trump's 'America first' rhetoric as he insisted a Labour government would push for a home grown manufacturing resurgence.

Launching Labour's 'Build it in Britain' project in the West Midlands, he highlighted the economic benefits of leaving the EU, but insisted he was not pushing for Trump-style 'economic nationalism'.

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Speaking at the EEF Technology Centre in Birmingham, the Labour leader, said: "We can work alongside Europe but not be part of the EU."

In speech that is likely to infuriate many of the staunch Remainers in his party, Mr Corbyn pledged to:

• end Britain's reliance on goods made by foreign workers from abroad.

• manufacture more in the UK and not rely on imports.

• stop awarding government contracts to foreign companies.

• support British manufacturing to boost wages and the economy.

• put regeneration in areas such as the West Midlands at the heart of a manufacturing renaissance.

Mr Corbyn, who backed Remain in the EU referendum but had previously been an opponent of the bloc for decades, also slammed the Tories for failing to take advantage of a competitive pound in the wake of the Brexit vote.

In a plea to Labour's pro-Europe MPs he called for his divided party to unite over Brexit, and said Labour would make sure British exporters would be able to take advantage of the UK's EU departure.

Mr Corbyn said Labour would abolish the public sector outsourcing 'racket' and protect British exporters to stop them from losing out to foreign firms who are able to exploit 'cheap labour' to drive down prices.

He promised to 'reprogramme' an economy that had wrongly sacrificed manufacturing to focus on financial services.

"We will build things here again that for too long have been built abroad," he said.

Mr Corbyn said the Government had been handed the opportunity to boost manufacturing by the Brexit vote but had squandered it due to the lack of a proper industrial plan and an over reliance on imports.

“A Labour Brexit could provide real opportunities as well as protections for our exporters,” he said.

“Our exporters should be able to take proper advantage of the one benefit to them that Brexit has already brought – a more competitive pound.

“After the EU referendum result the pound became more competitive and that should have helped our exporters.”

However, he insisted he was not pushing for the type of economic nationalism promoted by US President Mr Trump.

"What we are promoting is an investment in manufacturing in this country and investment in industrial development," he added.

"Britain is very, very different from the United States. We're a much smaller country and one that absolutely has to trade with the rest of the world.

"While the US might decide it can create a massive internal market that is sufficient to sustain its industries... it simply couldn't and wouldn't work in this country.

"What I'm proposing is that the state uses what powers and influence it has over the procurement and investment in education to rebuild the manufacturing base in this country.

"We have gone from being a substantial manufacturing economy to a services based economy. That's why we have been so badly hit by the banking crisis of 2008, and other countries were less badly hit because they had a strong manufacturing base.

"My project is to improve the manufacturing base and the innovation that comes with it. For too long, we have turned our backs on innovation and growth.

"You think of all the things we have developed in this country... because of the lack of ambition of the financial sector, the lack of support from central government... we could do far better.

"It is not economic nationalism, it is good sense to invest in the skills we have already got here and the need to improve those skills for the future."

Mr Corbyn said he wanted to see major contracts – to build new train carriages and passports, for example – kept in the UK, stopping billions of pounds of investment from leaving the country.

On Labour divisions over Brexit, he said: "We have got to unite together, on both sides of the argument.

"We can't forever form political opinions on how people voted two years ago.

"What we have to do is form political opinions on what is best for the people we represent.

"That surely has to be the right way forward."

To address regional inequalities, Mr Corbyn said Labour would redistribute contracts and investment to ensure 'quality jobs' across every region.

He added that Labour would intervene to bring quality jobs to the whole country, opting out of parts of world trade rules if necessary to ensure jobs went to local people, rather than sit back and 'manage decline'.

Commenting on Mr Corbyn's speech, Tory MP Robert Jenrick, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: "This is laughable coming from the Labour Party who oversaw millions of jobs lost and a record decline in manufacturing.