Britain's Labor leader attacks May in party policy conference

Jeremy Corbyn, the politician at the center of a civil war within the main opposition Labor Party, spoke Saturday of how the party had become too complacent about runaway levels of inequality in Britain.

In a keynote speech at a Labor Party national policy conference in Leicestershire, Corbyn, twice elected to lead Labor despite most of the party's MPs disowning him, referred to the way people's faith in politics had been rocked by a failure to deliver change.

He said telling people their continued prosperity depended on remaining in the European Union "simply didn't resonate widely enough when so many people didn't feel they were sharing in that prosperity in the first place."

"Did the nearly one million people on zero hours contracts, or the six million paid less than the living wage, feel they needed to vote in to be better off? Or did they just simply not trust politicians and business people who have let them down," he said.

"We've seen a similar phenomenon in the U.S. since last week's presidential election as we saw after Brexit: an appalling rise in hate crime, saying anything to win a vote has consequences on the ground," the Labor leader added.

Attacking Prime Minister Theresa May's government, Corbyn said many people are fearful of the future under the Conservatives.

He said the Conservatives under May are "taking Britain backwards and failing to meet people's needs and aspirations."

"When it comes to Brexit, we respect the decision of the British people. But we will hold the government to account over its shambolic approach, put jobs and living standards first, and oppose any attempt to water down workers' rights or environmental protection," said Corbyn.

Corbyn said it was down to Labour to restore hope, and give people the chance to take back real control.

Meanwhile, a group of politicians from the ruling Conservative Party Saturday called on Prime Minister Theresa May to abandon the upcoming Brexit appeal due to be heard next month in Britain's Supreme Court.

Sir Oliver Letwin, former head of the government's Brexit preparations, and two former law officers said the case should not go to the Supreme Court.

They have called instead on May's government to bring a bill to parliament to start the Brexit process as quickly as possible. A government spokesman responded by saying the government would robustly defend its position at the appeal against a ruling saying May could not trigger Brexit without parliamentary approval. Enditem