Corbyn accuses Starmer of targeting the poor in rallying cry for his new left-wing party

Jeremy Corbyn has launched a fierce attack on Sir Keir Starmer in a bid to win support for his new political party.

Writing for The Independent, the former Labour leader savaged the prime minister’s economic policies, accusing him of “trying to balance the books off the backs of the poor”.

Britain has a government that “inflicts suffering at home and enables genocide abroad,” he said, referring to his criticism of Sir Keir’s handling of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Promoting his new leftwing political movement, provisionally called ‘Your Party’, Mr Corbyn made a ruthless attack on the Middle East crisis and welfare reform issues which have rocked Sir Keir’s government and provoked huge discontent within Labour.

Mr Corbyn, an independent MP after being thrown out of the Labour Party, warned: “Over the past year, the government has continued a programme of austerity and privatisation.

“It has refused to lift the 2-child benefit cap, the single biggest driver of child poverty. It has tried to take away winter fuel allowance.

“It has increased the bus fare cap. And it has tried to take away £5 billion from disabled people, curating a two-tiered benefit system that deprives thousands of people a dignified life.”

By contrast, the government was spending billions of pounds more on defence, said Mr Corbyn.

“Imagine how much better ordinary people’s lives would be if we spent that money on schools, hospitals and green energy instead,” the former Labour leader warned.

He added that Britain’s main political parties have become “stagnant” and were “not prepared to address the root cause of our society’s ills.”

Mr Corbyn argues: “People have had enough of a government that inflicts suffering at home and enables genocide abroad. Having spent a year trying to balance the books off the backs of the poor, Labour is reaping what it has sown.”

His new party, which is due to stage its first major conference in November, was “here to sow the seeds of something different – something new. We are here to take on the rich and powerful. We are here to offer hope in a more equal, sustainable and peaceful world.”

The launch of the new party was ‘just the beginning,’ Mr Corbyn declared.

“Make no mistake. We are going to mobilise everywhere to ensure our movement is rooted in social movements, trade unions and communities up and down the country. ‘

“‘We will support workers on the picket line for the same reason we will support private renters, students and all those who are being denied the resources they need to thrive: we believe that everyone deserves to live in dignity.

“We are not going to scapegoat refugees for the ills of society. Instead, we will focus our attention on the real cause: a grotesquely unequal society that concentrates wealth in the hands of the few.

“For too long, people have been denied a real political choice. Not anymore.”