At a rally at Walsall Beeches Club on Monday afternoon, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed a cheering crowd of Walsall residents.
The Labour leader was kicking off Labour’s programme of community organising in Walsall North, which will be led by Labour’s parliamentary candidate in the constituency, Gill Ogilvie.
As a victim of his own popularity, the turnout was well over capacity, with the queues circling around the venue and down the road; which meant that Jeremy also had to give and impromptu speech outside the building as well as inside.
At the rally, community members were given the mic so that they could speak about the local issues that affect their lives, including low pay, poor conditions at work and low quality housing. They were offered community organising training, which has already helped members of the public around the country change their towns for the better.
Jeremy Corbyn told the crowd:
“In Walsall today, I’ve met incredible community members who are committed to transform their communities and the whole of the UK.
“Community organising and pressure from the grassroots has been at the heart of many of the progressive political changes we’ve seen in this country, from winning our most fundamental labour rights through to creating the NHS.
“There is great power in people coming together in solidarity to make real, long-term change. It’s only by working together that we can build the communities and country that we want: a country for the many, not the few.”
Gill Ogilivie, Labour’s candidate for Walsall North, added:
“It means so much, having someone like Jeremy come to Walsall and say: you can transform this town and Labour will help you. This is why I joined Labour, to make life better for for everyone in our community. Walsall’s our home, that’s why we’ve got to fight for it.”
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