JEREMY Corbyn has faced calls to create a “progressive international” of socialists to counter the rise of the far-right.
The Labour leader said he was in touch with left-wing movements throughout Europe and the world, including US senator Bernie Sanders.
He has also been invited to the inauguration of Mexico’s new left-wing, anti-establishment president Andres Manuel López Obrador.
Mr Corbyn was speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis urged him to be “a bit more ambitious” and help create a worldwide movement.
He said this was necessary to counter the rise of the far-right, and argued “the fascists are increasingly united”.
Mr Varoufakis pointed to former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon’s efforts to bring together far-right movements and politicians across Europe, including Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Austria's governing coalition.
He said: “We need a progressive international by which to counter that. And we need to go beyond the Brexit debate.”
The economist, who was Greek finance minister from January to July 2015, called for the “political infrastructure” to bring together left-wing leaders from Germany, the US, Mexico, Italy, Greece, the UK and beyond.
Mr Corbyn agreed it was “important that we build that sense of international connection”.
He said: “I have spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people across Europe over the past three years.
“We are in touch with Bernie Sanders and his campaign and I’m delighted to say the new president of Mexico, who I know and consider a friend, has invited me to his inauguration.
“He has this massive opportunity, having won historically a big majority in the presidential election, to actually challenge the levels of inequality in his country.
“So there is a whole movement of people saying, ‘Well actually, I don’t want to be worse off than my parents’ generation, I don’t want my children to be worse off, and I don’t want the insecurity of knowing that if I get ill I’ve got to find the money to pay for hospital treatment.’”
Mr Corbyn is currently on a four-day tour of Scotland, where he insists voters hold the key to a Labour victory in the next General Election.
But his visit has been overshadowed by the continuing row over anti-Semitism within his party.
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