Jeremy Corbyn attacks Theresa May’s ‘zombie government’ as he visits Tory-held seats

Labour leader continues his election-style summer campaign as he calls on the Prime Minister to step aside

Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn (Rex)

Jeremy Corbyn is set to attack Theresa May's "zombie government" as he visits two Conservative-held seats on the south coast.

The Labour leader is continuing his election-style summer campaign as he calls on the Prime Minister to step aside and make way for Labour’s "government in waiting".

He will visit Southampton Itchen, Labour’s top target seat and one which the party held from 1992 to 2015 and came within 31 votes of regaining last month, and Bournemouth West, which is a more ambitious target.

The Tories have held the seat since its creation in 1950 but their majority was cut almost in half after there was a 6.6 per cent swing to Labour in the last election.

"Theresa May's Government, propped up by the DUP, is nothing more than a zombie Government; with no ideas, no answers and no leadership. This is a Government in name only, having to ask other parties to 'clarify and improve' its policies and delaying most parliamentary business until the autumn,” Mr Corbyn will say.

"If the Conservatives are unable to govern, they should step aside. Labour is no longer just the official opposition, we are a government in waiting.

"The Conservatives' programme is in tatters following the public verdict at the General Election. Theresa May does not have a mandate for continued cuts to our schools, hospitals, police and other vital public services or for a race-to-the-bottom Brexit.

"Labour will fight these policies every step of the way, that make life worse for the many to maintain the privilege of the few."

The Labour leader has already visited marginal seats of Hastings & Rye, Hendon and Chingford & Woodford Green this month as he continues preparing for an election which many are predicting will happen much earlier than the scheduled date of 2022.

Additional reporting Press Association