JEREMY Corbyn said voters are choosing between five more years of Tory austerity or investment in public services under Labour when the country goes to the polls on Thursday.

He was speaking during a visit to the former steel town of Consett this afternoon – during the last days of campaigning ahead of the General Election this week.

Mr Corbyn and his campaign battle bus rolled into the car park at Derwentside College amid heavy rainfall.

But the downpour did not deter supporters who chanted his name and the slogan ‘Jez We Can’ as he entered the building to speak to staff and students.

He was greeted by photographers, television cameras and an eager press pack, with national television broadcasters, including the political reporter Michael Crick.

Mr Corbyn said: “I am feeling very confident about the election on Thursday.

“We have got a very simple message. Five more years of austerity under a Tory Government will mean longer waiting lists in our hospitals, more people not being cared for, schools not getting the money they need, and headteachers being told to collect from the parents in order to fund the schools.

“Our alternative is to raise taxation at the very top end. Ninety-five cent of people will be pay no more in tax, but that in turn will mean that our schools are properly funded, our hospitals are properly funded and our young people, like those here in this college, will get good quality jobs in the future.”

Mr Corbyn also launched his Labour's ‘New Deal On Housing’ policy with shadow secretary for housing John Healey.

They plan to build 250,000 new homes over the next five years.

Mr Corbyn said: “Housing is a priority it hasn’t been since the decades following the Second World War. That’s what we need, it’s what people deserve and is what we’ll given them after Thursday’s election.

Addressing students, he said: “All you are studying here today - bricklaying, carpentry and joinery - all the skills connected to housebuilding, you are the future.”

Mr Corbyn said a new deal on homelessness included a mission to end rough sleeping within the next Parliament and tackle the root causes.

He said: “The first person to react to the Manchester bombing was a homeless man who wanted to contribute."