Jeremy Corbyn vows to tackle economy 'rigged for the rich' as Labour launches election campaign

Corbyn told supporters there were just four weeks to convince voters 'Britain can be better' Credit: PA

Labour will take on "vested interests" and tackle a "rigged system" that is holding people back if elected, Jeremy Corbyn has vowed as he launched his party's general election campaign.

With the party's red battle bus emblazoned with the slogan "for the many not the few" positioned behind him, the Labour leader told supporters in Manchester there were just four weeks to convince voters that "Britain can be better".

Ahead of Mr Corbyn's entrance, Corrie actress Julie Hesmondhalgh told a cheering crowd the Labour leader was someone who had dedicated his life to "giving a toss about other people".

Mr Corbyn took up that theme to an extent, promising more funding for social care and the NHS, and he had strong words for the "tax cheats, the rip off bosses, the greedy bankers".

The Labour leader referenced the Sunday Times Rich List that last weekend found the 1,000 best-off people in the country had seen their wealth grow by 14 percent in the last year.

"Imagine the outcry if public sector workers put in for a 14 percent pay rise," he said.

"But it's no surprise that the richest have got even richer after the tens of billions the Tories have handed them in tax cuts."

He scoffed at Prime Minister Theresa May's promises to build a fairer Britain, insisting she was implicated in the Conservative-led government's record of cutting disabled people's benefits, increasing tuition fees and creating the so-called "bedroom tax".

Labour's general election campaign was launched in Manchester Credit: PA

Mr Corbyn also used the opportunity to set the record straight on Labour's position on Brexit, an issue that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have put at the heart of their campaigns.

He said the country's decision to leave the bloc had been "settled", and the question was now about the type of deal Britain could reach with the EU.

"Labour wants a jobs-first Brexit," he said. "A Brexit that safeguards the future of Britain’s vital industries, a Brexit that paves the way to a genuinely fairer society, protecting human rights, and an upgraded economy."

Having spent Monday campaigning in Tory-held key marginal seats in the West Midlands, Manchester marks a return to safer Labour territory.

Labour's Andy Burnham was elected as Greater Manchester metro mayor last week, one of few successes for the party in the local elections.

Mr Burnham missed a photocall with Mr Corbyn last week, but the Labour leader made sure to invite him up on stage and congratulate him on this occasion.

Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet looked on as their leader spoke Credit: PA

During his speech Mr Corbyn warned that "change always involves taking on vested interests", and said there was "a real danger that the Tories’ fearmongering and spin machine will make some people settle for less than they should".

Speaking to reporters after the campaign launch, Mr Corbyn clarified what he meant, suggesting his alternative vision was not getting the hearing it deserved.

"Too often people don't hear what the alternatives are, we live in an age of a combination of social media, which is growing, broadcast media which is fairly static and print media which has pick up on the websites but less on the print version of it and so I think the alternatives that people hear vary depending on where they access the information from," he said.

"What I'm trying to do in this election is cut through that with a bold statement."