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Toria Christie

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Toria Christie

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Background

Labour planned Jeremy Corbyn holograms for ‘eve of poll’ rally

Written by on 25/09/2017

Labour considered projecting holograms of Jeremy Corbyn in locations across the UK, Sky News understands.

It was discussed as part of an ‘eve of poll’ rally to celebrate the Labour leader’s performance at the general election.

The plan was discussed by party officials but later abandoned as it was deemed too expensive.

A party worker also claimed that they examined whether the Labour leader could deliver a rousing speech to supporters from a floating platform on the sea.

They wanted Mr Corbyn to appear on the water in Brighton the day before the official start of the autumn conference.

It is reported that officials even went so far as to look at tide times, as they planned the event.

Instead, they eventually picked a skate park after fears unpredictable waves could scupper the speech.

A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said the claim was "categorically untrue".

The ambitious proposals suggest the party now sees Mr Corbyn as one of Labour’s biggest assets, especially in appealing to young voters.

The 68-year old MP is frequently mobbed by supporters asking for autograph and photographs.

Mr Corbyn’s popularity this year is a far cry from his first conference appearance in Brighton in 2015, when he was forced into a series of policy ‘clarifications’ after car-crash interviews.

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Last year in Liverpool, there were also large splits in the party over the leadership’s hardline approach to a number of domestic and foreign issues.

But following Labour’s better than expected result in this year’s general election, Jeremy Corbyn has consolidated his grip on the party.

He has more supporters on the National Executive Committee and has managed to engineer a power shift from the parliamentary party to grassroots members.

(c) Sky News 2017: Labour planned Jeremy Corbyn holograms for ‘eve of poll’ rally