Jeremy Corbyn says he will break political rules to overturn the ‘rigged system’

The Labour leader will attack the 'cosy cartel' and say the election is not a foregone conclusion

Jeremy Corbyn will promise to overturn “the wealth extractors’ rigged system” of politics and prove his critics wrong by breaking the rules of the "cosy cartel" that runs British politics.

In a speech launching his general election campaign the Labour leader will say he would not “play by the rules” during the contest, and that his party would “put the interests of the majority first”.

The first speech of the general election campaign comes the day after Mr Corbyn marched Labour MPs through the voting lobbies to support Theresa May’s call for a general election.

The veteran left-winger will position himself as a populist political outsider, and contrast himself with the Conservative party "divide and rule tricks".

“Much of the media and establishment are saying this election is a foregone conclusion,” the Labour leader will tell his audience at Church House in central London.

“They think there are rules in politics, which if you don’t follow by doffing your cap to powerful people, accepting that things can’t really change, then you can’t win.

“But of course those people don’t want us to win. Because when we win, it’s the people, not the powerful, who win. The nurse, the teacher, the small trader, the carer, the builder, the office worker win. We all win.

Mr Corbyn will continue: “They say I don’t play by the rules – their rules. We can’t win, they say, because we don’t play their game. They’re quite right I don’t. And a Labour Government elected on 8 June won’t play by their rules.

“These rules have created a cosy cartel which rigs the system in favour of a few powerful and wealthy individuals and corporations. It’s a rigged system set up by the wealth extractors for the wealth extractors.

“But things can, and they will, change. And Labour in this election will be part of a movement of the British people to make that change. How dare they crash the economy with their recklessness and greed, and then punish those who had nothing to do with it.

“We will overturn this rigged system. The Conservatives will never do that. Seven years of broken promises show us that: on wages, the deficit, the NHS, our schools, our environment.

“The Conservatives will use all the divide and rule tricks of the Lynton Crosby trade to protect the wealth extractors’ rigged system.

“If I were Southern Rail or Philip Green, I’d be worried about a Labour Government. If I were Mike Ashley or the CEO of a tax avoiding multinational corporation, I’d want to see a Tory victory. Labour is the party that will put the interests of the majority first.”

“That’s why we will prove the establishment experts wrong and change the direction of this election - because the British people know that they are the true wealth creators, held back by a system rigged for the wealth extractors.”

But Mr Corbyn faces an uphill struggle at the election, with poll showing his party at least 20 points behind and in danger of losing dozens of seats.