Jeremy Corbyn: Britain is heading for a 'zombie democracy' and a 'one-party state'

The Labour leader claims the Government is 'skewing economic life' to funnel wealth 'towards the [richest] one per cent and away from working people'

Jeremy Corbyn is urging more people to vote so that Britain doesn't become a 'one-party state' (PA)

Jeremy Corbyn has warned that Britain could become a “one-party state” with a “zombie democracy” unless more people decide to vote.

Writing in the Daily Mirror newspaper, the Labour leader said that if elected in 2020, he would create an annual Democracy Day when the Government would say what it had done to “advance the rights of the common man and woman”.

He urged people who felt voting was a waste of time to change their minds, saying democracy was under threat from the Government’s trade union bill, reductions in state funding for political parties and the redrawing of constituency boundaries.

Mr Corbyn also pointed to the Conservatives’ “menacing of the BBC and their sinister message to charities to shut up or be shut down”.

“It may be you are one of nearly a million people who have gone missing since the way we register to vote was changed by this Government. But without you, our democracy dies. And this is the very time when you are needed most,” he wrote.

“That’s because we are now at risk of having a zombie democracy roaming around a one-party state.

“No, I haven’t been bingewatching Doctor Who. But I have been watching with ever more worry how a right-wing Conservative party is grabbing the chance to lock itself into power for generations.”

He argued that the Government was “skewing economic life” to funnel wealth “towards the [richest] one per cent and away from working people”.

“We have had less than a century of votes for all in this country. Our rights to vote and give voice to our concerns and demands are precious and very much part of what marks Britain out as a free and modern nation,” Mr Corbyn said.

“That’s why the commitment I give to you is that a Labour Government will put the people back in power. We will declare an annual Democracy Day, when my government stands before Parliament to declare what we have done to roll back Tory attacks and advance the rights of the common man and woman.

“So I beg of you: do not choose inaction over rightful anger. Don’t be silenced. Register to vote. Defend your trade unions. Be a thorn in the Government’s side. Stand up against the one-party state. The defence of our liberty begins today.”

When asked ahead of the Labour leadership election last year how someone from the left of the Labour party could be elected Prime Minister, Mr Corbyn said that a key strategy would be turning disillusioned non-voters into party supporters.