MY politics have always leaned to the left.

I believe we all should have the same rights and opportunities in life, irrespective of our gender, skin colour, beliefs or social background. I don’t believe in privilege and I detest unfairness.

These values matter more to me than the acquisition of wealth and the protection of material things at the expense of other human beings.

So I have found the rise to power of Jeremy Corbyn truly inspiring.

We have lived through some very dark times lately. But Mr Corbyn has generated genuine hope.

He’s going to find the road ahead extremely tough, that’s clear. Fine words without action are worthless.

From the moment he was elected Labour leader, much of the media began trying to pull him down.

But I’m impressed with how he shrugs, sticks to his principles and carries on. This is a man who for three decades as an MP has clung tightly to his beliefs.

So try as they might, his detractors might find they too have a tough time of it.

I’ve seen derogatory headlines lobbing such hackneyed brickbats as ‘the politics of envy’.

Is it envy to want a roof over your head, or a safety net when you lose your job or are stricken by illness?

How can a desire for a fairer society, where everyone is cared for and has a voice, not be something that we all aspire to?

This week at the Labour Party conference in Brighton, the BBC did a poll as people filed out after his first speech as leader. A reporter asked members what they thought was more important, power or principles.

Some couldn’t decide. The rest were inevitably split between the choices.

I’ve heard so many people say how much they’re inspired by Mr Corbyn and his principles and share his values. But he’ll never be Prime Minister, they say, because that’s just not the way the world works.

To my mind that’s defeatist and misses the point. It is true, Mr Corbyn might never lead Labour to power. Britain might not yet be ready. But if he is the catalyst that results in another politician of his principles and calibre becoming Prime Minister in the future then his work will be done. We are witnessing a seed of hope being planted, in my view.

Where would the world be if the naysayers had convinced the Suffragettes their dream of equality was futile?

What if Nelson Mandela had lost hope of a South Africa where blacks and whites live side by side without segregation?

History is full of inspiring, hopeful stories of exceptional people who refused to listen to the pessimists and cynics who said it couldn’t be done.

It’s all about attitude, life, don’t you think?