Corbyn: England - and Labour - can learn from Wales

Jeremy Corbyn, Tom Watson, Nia Griffith and Carwyn Jones at "Welsh Night" at the Labour conference.

In 32 years as an MP, "Welsh Night" at the Labour conference has England has never intruded on Jeremy Corbyn's schedule.

Until last night. The Islington North MP was the "star turn" (apart from The Hennessys) at the traditional reception for Welsh delegates here in Brighton.

Mr Corbyn got a very warm reception from delegates, who liked what he had to say.

"England has a lot to learn from Wales," he said, praising the way the Welsh government had rejected the internal market in the NHS. "The party has a lot to learn from Wales."

I heard a similar message when I interviewed the new leader on the eve of the conference. We met in his new office at Westminster, which has the air of a work-in-progress - his computer had a hard drive but no monitor and the shelves featured more "congratulations" cards from north London neighbours than books.

We only had a few minutes - he did more than a dozen BBC nations and regions back-to-back - so I decided to touch base on a few issues rather than probe more deeply. You can see his answers here.

Mr Corbyn was well-briefed by Welsh Labour colleagues, whose record in health and education he defended. He mentioned Health Minister Mark Drakeford, the name no Labour leader is allowed to forget.

The unilateralist Labour leader was predictably dismissive of Carwyn Jones's suggestion that Wales would welcome Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system if it were forced out of Scotland.

My colleague James Williams asked the Welsh Labour leader if he saw Mr Corbyn as an asset in next year's elections, The response: "We look forward to welcoming him and the rest of the team to help in advance of 2016. It is a Welsh election. I'll be leading the campaign but of course we're grateful for any support we get from colleagues elsewhere."

Whether supported by "colleagues elsewhere" or not, Welsh Labour will be interested in the suggestion of a "Corbyn bounce" in this YouGov poll for ITV Wales and Cardiff University,