Feature: The man with sights on Downing Street: Britain's Labour Party leader takes conference by storm

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn opened his eagerly awaited debut conference speech Tuesday laughing his way through a list of right wing media attacks.

According to one headline "Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the prospect of an asteroid wiping out humanity", he joked.

"Now, asteroids are pretty controversial and it's not the kind of policy I'd want this (Labour) party to adopt without a full debate in conference, so can we have the debate later in the week," he said, earning howls of laughter in the conference center in Brighton where Britain's main opposition party is holding its annual gathering.

Another tabloid writer penned a made-up story, "The 1,000 Days that Destroyed Britain", which imagined life with Corbyn as Prime Minister. "It's pretty scary, I have to tell you," he frowned.

Corbyn, wearing a tie and looking well groomed following criticisms about his shabby appearance, had the rank-and-file Labour faithful eating out of his hand.

His promise of straight-talking, no nonsense politics was seen as a new beginning for politics in a country where many people have a dim view of politicians and political parties.

He earned three standing ovations during an hour-long speech and a fourth ovation when he closed.

The many who had queued for hours to ensure a seat were treated to a cross between a sermon, a rallying call and the wit and humor of the Jeremy Corbyn Show.

He spelt out Labour's vision under his stewardship, with his sights fully focused on overturning policies brought in by Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, accusing them of breaking promises.

In a nutshell he promised to take care of the poor and the worse off in British society, a group many see as the unwitting victims of Conservative Party austerity measures.

On a more serious note, Corbyn signaled his opposition to any attempts to secure Parliament's support for military action in Syria, saying a "diplomatic strategy" via the United Nations could secure peace.

He also repeated his opposition to renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent, saying the hundreds of millions of dollars saved could be better spent.

Reaction to Corbyn's speech was swift, with thousands taking to social media to give their five-star approval.

The Guardian's Michael Wilkinson said many people on Twitter couldn't get enough of Corbyn.

The Huffington Post's reaction was that Corbyn passed with flying colors.

Labour-supporting Daily Mirror said: "The left-winger brought delegates to their feet, thumping the lectern as he railed against austerity and declared: 'You don't have to take what you're given'. He took to the stage without gimmicks or soundbites - and read from an autocue for the first time ever. He struck a patriotic note, declaring: "I love this country".

The real autopsy will come Wednesday when the army of Fleet Street columnists have their chance to dissect every word and every sentence.

Corbyn may well have won over thousands of doubters in his party. The commentators will declare what the rest of the country made of it all. Endit