The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to continue the party’s message across the county and to transform the south coast on a visit to Southampton.

Holding a rally in one of the closest seats in the UK, Southampton Itchen, he said that through ‘proper school funding and ending university fees’, he could change the outcome and see two Labour seats in the city.

Corbyn’s visit on Saturday comes as part of a nationwide tour of marginal seats after failing to win an overall majority in June’s general election.

Labour gained 30 seats in the snap election, with the Conservatives losing their overall majority. Southampton Itchen was won by incumbent Tory Royston Smith, who was victorious by 31 votes after three counts of the votes.

Mr Corbyn told the Daily Echo: “We will continue our message here [in Hampshire] of a good education system, proper funding for our schools, pre-school provision and ending university fees.

“We’ll continue that campaign of work and I’m looking forward to the next general election, whenever that may be.”

The party leader was greeted by more than one thousand supporters at Guildhall Square and was presented with a Saints shirt by Labour’s Southampton Test MP, Alan Whitehead and chair of the Southampton Labour Party, Satvir Kaur.

Mr Corbyn also said that health secretary Jeremy Hunt should spend more time in hospitals listening to people after junior doctors criticised Hunt in a visit to Southampton General Hospital on Friday.

On Twitter, a junior doctor claimed Mr Hunt said, 'If you trust the media, you'd think the NHS is in crisis', which was apparently met with shock by those in the meeting.

A Department for Health spokesman could neither confirm nor deny Mr Hunt said this.

Responding to the reported comments, Mr Corbyn said: “I visit hospitals all the time and indeed I was visiting patients in a hospital yesterday who were in quite a serious condition.

“They told me that the staff were wonderful and the service was wonderful but that they’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it and they’re not paid enough.

“I think we should recognise that our NHS staff deserve a pay rise. Jeremy Hunt should spend a little bit more time in hospitals listening to what they have to say.”

Southampton City Councillor and chair of Southampton Labour, Satvir Kaur, added that she was delighted to welcome Mr Corbyn to the city following their ‘great result’ in Southampton Test last month.

Cllr Kaur said: “It’s really great to have welcomed Jeremy Corbyn to Southampton. We had a great result in Southampton Test last and now we have to build on that.

“It’s fantastic to see all of the people from all walks of life, of all ages supporting us, showing that the Labour party has a broad appeal.”

Click here to see the full video from the rally.