JEREMY CORBYN brought down the house at the CWU conference today with a speech emphasising the importance of the trade union movement to the Labour Party.

The Labour leader arrived on stage to a standing ovation, telling delegates: “I have been a trade unionist all my life and I’m very proud to say I will die a trade unionist because I believe the trade unions are an essential part of our movement and our society.”

Mr Corbyn blasted the privatisation of Royal Mail as “totally wrong,” leading to attacks on workers’ pay and conditions by a privatised Royal Mail seeking “to imitate the temporary, low-pay, insecure employment model of its competitors.”

He said £800 million had been paid out to shareholders between 2013 and 2017, adding that a shocking £37 billion was paid out in dividends in the past eight years by formerly publicly owned companies.

Mr Corbyn said: “Just think what we could do with £37bn in dealing with infrastructure investment, in dealing with housing, in dealing with health, in dealing with education.”

He added: “The Labour Party was founded by the trade unions.

“The Labour Party is there to represent you and your families and we want to continue working together in the fight for a better society.

“We are the party that created the NHS [and] we are a party in government whose great legacy will be a National Education Service, education from cradle to grave available to all.”

General secretary Dave Ward thanked Mr Corbyn “for his lifelong support and active work as a trade unionist,” telling delegates that it was “our job” to ensure he becomes the next Prime Minister.