September 30: Corbyn fails to seize his chance

Disappointingly, in his maiden conference speech as leader yesterday, Mr Corbyn mostly trod old ground. He reiterated the principles that earned him a resounding mandate from both disillusioned Labour diehards and activists brought in from the cold.

Yet this alone is not sufficient to convince the public at large that he has the makings of a successful Prime Minister. It is one thing to preach to the converted, but Mr Corbyn showed a reluctance to try to sway the wider electorate.

Yes, many will agree with his wish to renationalise the railways, create a proper living wage and build more homes. However, as has so often been the failing of left-wing politics, there was scant recognition of the fact that this must all be paid for.

Fiscal responsibility is of paramount importance to a public fast approaching a lost decade of stagnant wages and public sector cuts. But if they could not bring themselves to trust Ed Miliband, how can the people place their faith in a man who did not see fit to mention the overwhelming need to balance the books?

And that was not the only area of policy where Mr Corbyn left himself open to difficult questions.

His vow that a Labour government would build 100,000 new homes a year might be laudable if it were not for the fact that housebuilding ground to a standstill the last time his party was in power.

Rousing though it was, his mantra that no one should “take what they are given” could be answered by the Conservatives that they are the true party of aspiration – one that does not believe in heaping further taxation on the squeezed middle classes.

As well as Mr Corbyn’s speech played to the hall, he must do far better if he is to truly connect with those outside the Labour bubble who hanker for the new breed of politics he claims 
to represent.

Too little, too late: UK jihadists in firing line

WHY WAIT until now? Though the Government’s request for the United Nations to seize the financial assets, and restrict the movement, of four high-profile UK jihadists fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Syria is to be welcomed, it is also long-overdue and should have been requested months ago.

The failure of Ministers to recognise the scale of the security threat means dozens, possibly more, British passport-holders are now part of an armed struggle enveloping the Middle East and which poses a threat to world peace. However the Government has not gone far enough – all UK-born jihadists who have fled the sanctuary and liberty of this country must not be allowed entry back into Britain under any circumstances. Such a hard-line stance is required if radicalised young people are to think twice about their actions.

As for the international response, it has become so disjointed that it is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, persona non grata over Ukraine, who is calling the shots following a dispiriting session of the United Nations where no coherent global strategy emerged.

The consequence is the increased likelihood of David Cameron requesting Parliament to authorise UK air strikes against Syria, even though the case for intervention has still to be proven, when the world is crying out for a diplomatic response to lessen the likelihood of America, Britain and their Allies repeating the mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan, mistakes that have inflamed the current conflict.

Unwise counsel: NHS chief’s pay-off is unacceptable

EVEN before the winter surge in hospital admissions, the NHS is already close to breaking point. A&E departments have insufficient staff, Yorkshire Ambulance Service is dependent on the goodwill of charities and whistleblowers claim that 75 per cent of calls to the flagship 111 telephone advice service go unanswered in some areas.

The response of the Department of Health? It has just signed off a £410,000 pay-off to David Flory, the outgoing chief executive of the NHS Trust Development Authority and an adviser to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, weeks before Parliament is due to pass new laws intended to limit these controversial “golden goodbyes” to £95,000. Mr Hunt might have valued his colleague’s “wise counsel” but it does not negate the fact that the NHS is beset by staff shortages and every last penny needs to be spent on recruiting additional doctors and nurses.