Jeremy Corbyn broke protocol to address a rally during the Tory conference

Jeremy Corbyn spoke at a packed anti-austerity rally in Manchester on Monday evening, right on the doorstep of the Conservative Party's autumn conference.

The Labour leader was greeted by cheers by approximately 1,200 people in Manchester Cathedral as the Tories were holding a tongue-in-cheek 'victory party' celebrating Corbyn's leadership win nearby.

Speaking at the public meeting, organised by the Communication Workers' Union, Corbyn said:

We've challenged the idea that the only show in town is austerity.

And because we've challenged that and had a huge mandate in challenging that, suddenly people are talking, people are excited.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Milifandom founder Abby Tomlinson and anti-austerity campaigner Owen Jones also spoke at the evening event called the "People's Post", which focused on issues surrounding the privatisation of the Royal Mail and other public services.

Corbyn said that the Tory sale of the postal service at an undervalued price meant the public had been "ripped off":

There are people who have been after Royal Mail for a very long time. People who cast their beady eye on the assets, the infrastructure and the opportunities... What [the Tories are] doing is trying to destroy it.

Corbyn's appearance in Manchester breaks protocol with the unwritten rule that party leaders stay away from opposition party conferences, but he was booked to speak before winning the party leadership election last month.

The cheers and applause Corbyn was met with, and the need for a second address outside for the 7,000 people who couldn't get into the cathedral, suggests that he was a welcome guest in the city.

Earlier on Monday an estimated 60,000 people demonstrated in Manchester's city centre in protest against government cuts. Four arrests were made but by and large the march went smoothly.

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