IS it better to be a laughing stock or merely an irrelevance? That seems to be the problem confronting Jeremy Corbyn and his key advisers in the aftermath of the Labour leader’s latest relaunch this week.

Tuesday’s speech was supposed to remind us that the leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition really is a Prime Minister-in-waiting with relevant opinions on, among other things, excessive boardroom pay and the UK’s role in the world post-Brexit.

But the speech’s lack of focus and detail beyond the usual class war ambitions left us scratching our heads.

The promise to curb obscene salaries for business fat cats should be a vote-winner among Labour’s traditional supporters but, somehow, Mr Corbyn just doesn’t seem able to cut through.

Instead, Nigel Farage, the privately-educated son of a stockbroker from the affluent south, has assumed the mantle of champion of the disadvantaged.

Mr Corbyn may be preaching a radical agenda but no one – other than his party fan base – seems to be listening. The debate has moved on. Voters in Labour heartlands like the North-East are preoccupied with immigration and Brexit.

Mr Corbyn’s speech addressed both these issues but only in the vaguest possible way.

He pledged to clarify Labour’s stance on immigration but refused to put an upper-limit on the number of people coming into the country.

Brexit is the defining issue of this parliament and Mr Corbyn’s support for going seems as half-hearted as his enthusiasm for staying was during the Referendum campaign - he just doesn’t seem to mind either way.

Of course, Theresa May is no model of clarity when it comes to the manner of our leaving the EU, but Mrs May is the Prime Minister and Mr Corbyn is... what exactly?