Jeremy Corbyn promises to put power '˜in the hands of the people' as he declares Labour ready to govern

Addressing supporters, the Islington MP will insist that Labour remains “ready for government” and is committed to making services and politicians accountable to “those [they] serve”.

But the triumphant speech comes at the end of a conference which has been dominated by rivalries between Corbyn’s most faithful supporters and the more moderate wings of the party.

It has also been blighted by confusion over a pledge to take PFI contracts back under state control, with Shadow Cabinet members suggested this could apply to only a “handful” of deals.

Yesterday saw Mr Corbyn forced to defend the comments of his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell after he revealed that preparations are being made in anticipation of an “assault on the pound” should Labour come to power.

Speaking at a fringe event on Monday, Mr McDonnell said a group of people were working on “war game-type scenario-planning” so that a Labour administration can sustain “a potential assault”.

Asked about he claims, Mr Corbyn told reporters this was exactly the kind of work “an opposition serious about getting into government” should be undertaking.

“What [John] is doing is saying we look at all scenarios that may affect a Labour government,” he said. “It is worth seeing these things through.”

He will continue with this message today, as he tells conference that Labour has “become a government-in-waiting”.

“In June we won the largest increase in the Labour vote since 1945... It’s a result which has put the Tories on notice and Labour on the threshold of power.” he will say.

“Labour is ready. Ready to tackle inequality. Ready to rebuild our NHS. Ready to give opportunity to young people, dignity and security to older people.”

He will also use his speech to drive home a commitment to greater democratisation. He will tell delegates: “I promised you two years ago that we would do politics differently... Now let’s take it a stage further: make public services accountable to communities, business accountable to the public and politicians accountable to those we serve.

“Let the next Labour government transform Britain by genuinely placing power in the hands of the people – the creative, compassionate and committed people of our country.”

This same democratisation agenda has been applied to the organisation of the conference itself, with greater prominence given to the members rather than politicians.

A large number of MPs found themselves restricted to sitting in the balcony section of the main hall, instead of having access to the floor. This move is being seen as an attempt to sideline Corbyn’s critics while allowing his supporters in the wider membership to dominate debate.

This has not prevented signs of division from emerging, as rifts over Brexit policy brought fresh calls from leading figures in the party for a second referendum on the withdrawal deal with the EU.

Shadow cabinet members yesterday refused to rule this out.

Further questions have also been raised about John McDonnell’s pledge to bring PFI contracts back under state control.

Announcing the plans on Monday, the Shadow Chancellor implied that this would potentially cover all outstanding deals. However, it later emerged that the policy was subject to review to identify where money could be saved by bringing contracts back in house.

Pressed on the details in an interview with the BBC, the Shadow Health Secreatry Jonathan Ashworth said there were “only a handful” of hospital PFI deals a that are causing a “significant problem”.