OWEN Smith has pledged a workplace revolution and vowed to "smash" austerity by squeezing the rich with a new wealth tax, raising almost £3 billion a year.
The Labour contender forcefully criticised Jeremy Corbyn, saying he had provided “weak opposition for the last nine months,” and declared: “We should be smashing the Tories back on their heels.”
And in another barb at his rival for the Labour crown, the Pontypridd MP insisted he was seeking radical change with practical policies “not some socialist nirvana”.
He said his heart sank when he saw the poll that suggested 29 per cent of people who voted Labour at the General Election, some 2.7 million people, now felt Theresa May would make a better prime minister than Mr Corbyn.
“What an indictment of us; that many can consider the Tories are a better bet than us,” complained the former shadow work and pensions secretary. 

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AN ICM poll yesterday gave the Conservatives a 16-point lead over Labour - 43 to 27 - while a YouGov survey put the gap at 12 points – 40 to 28.
In a “fair play” speech, Mr Smith promised a "socialist revolution", with not only a wealth tax on the investment earnings of the top one per cent in the UK but also a return to the 50p top rate of income tax.
Other policies included creating a “British New Deal” with £200 billion of investment over five years, a commitment to invest tens of billions in the North of England and to bring forward the Manchester to Leeds High Speed 3 rail link as well as building 300,000 homes in every year of the next parliament ie 1.5 million over five years.
The former shadow cabinet insisted his plans were radical but not "pie in the sky".
He told his audience: "To tackle the historic inequality that is holding Britain back, I will take an historic step for this Labour Party by introducing a necessary, inequality-busting wealth tax in Britain. A surcharge on investment earnings by the wealthiest one per cent in our country that would raise an additional £3 billion per annum.
"Theresa May can wring her hands about inequality all she wants; Labour will do something about it," declared Mr Smith.

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His policy platform included: 
*a pledge to focus on equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity; 
*scrapping the Department for Work and Pensions and replacing it with a Ministry for Labour and a Department for Social Security:
*introducing modern wages councils for hotel, shop and care workers to strengthen terms and conditions;
*banning zero hour contracts;
*ending the public sector pay freeze;
*extending the right to information and consultation to cover all workplaces with more than 50 employees;
*ensuring workers’ representation on remuneration committees;
*repealing the Trade Union Act;
*increase spending on the NHS by four per cent in real-terms in every year of the next parliament;
*commit to bringing NHS funding up to the European average within the first term of a Labour government;
*greater spending on schools and libraries;
*re-instate the 50p top rate of income tax;
*reverse the reductions in Corporation Tax due to take place over the next four years;
*reverse cuts to Inheritance Tax announced in the Summer Budget.
*reverse the cuts to Capital Gains Tax announced in the summer Budget and
*ending the scandal of fuel poverty by investing in efficient energy.