JEREMY Corbyn will use his speech to Scottish Labour's conference today to set out plans to revive the party in the wake of the "deeply disappointing" by-election defeat at the hands of the Tories in Copeland.
Speaking ahead of the conference in Perth, the Labour leader said he took his "share of responsibility" for what was the first by-election gain by a sitting government in 35 years.
He said that the electorate in the Cumbrian constituency, which Labour had previously held for decades, felt "left behind by globalisation and lost out from a rigged economy".
However, Corbyn said that "only a different type of Labour Party" could win back support from voters who deserted the Party in the by-election.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Herald, Corbyn said his message to the conference will focus on plans for the redistribution of wealth to fund a massive housebuilding programme and invest in public services. Corbyn's speech takes place on the final day of Scottish Labour's conference. Last night, the Labour leader said his party's victory over Ukip in the Stoke Central by-election, held on the same day as the defeat in Copeland, was a "body blow" to the anti-EU party's ambitions to "poison our body politic with their message of exclusion and xenophobia".
He said: "In Thursday’s by-elections, the people of Stoke rejected Ukip’s politics of hate and division – and its sham claim to represent the working class. They voted instead for the NHS, decent jobs and homes, investment and fairness. My hope is that our win in Stoke has delivered a body blow to their ambitions to poison our body politic with their message of exclusion and xenophobia.
"We showed that with our strong campaigning efforts, delivering a message of hope and inclusivity, we are best placed to represent working communities across the United Kingdom.
"But the result in Copeland was deeply disappointing. Labour’s share of the vote in Copeland has been falling for 20 years and of course I take my share of responsibility.
"We had an excellent campaign on the ground, and boundary changes have changed the Copeland constituency. But we must do more and better to re-engage with communities that have been left behind by globalisation and lost out from a rigged economy.
"Time and time again Labour teams in Copeland were told by people that they felt forgotten about and left behind. That must change and I am committed to delivering it. Only a different type of Labour Party can and will reconnect with voters."
Corbyn said he would also unveil plans for job creation when he addresses delegates in Perth today.
He said: "I will be laying out the growing and shocking failures of our current system, in Scotland and the rest of the country, and what needs to be done to fix them. We will end the need for food banks, we will create decent jobs through our planned national investment bank and we will end the scourge of homelessness and the housing crisis with a massive programme of housebuilding. Post-Brexit we will also create a constitutional convention with the intention of redistributing both wealth and power across the regions and nations of these isles."
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