UK Labour leader strikes moderate pose before first conference

By Kylie MacLellan

BRIGHTON, England, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Veteran far-left politician Jeremy Corbyn sought on Sunday to portray himself as more moderate than depicted by his opponents, before his first conference as leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party.

Corbyn told BBC television that his main goal was to make the Labour party more democratic by encouraging debate and to make sure Britain was a "decent, democratic society".

Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party earlier this month, riding a wave of enthusiasm for change particularly among some younger voters disillusioned with establishment politics.

But the ruling Conservative Party has suggested Corbyn poses a threat to national security for his views, which include not wanting to renew Britain's Trident (BSE: TRIDENT.BO - news) nuclear deterrent. His support for nationalising some industry has also scared some business leaders.

"I was elected with the biggest ever mandate of any Labour leader," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme.

"I want to achieve a decent, democratic society where nobody is forgotten and we don't as a society pass by on the other side while the poor lie in the gutter."

Two weeks after becoming leader, Corbyn has been criticised for failing to present his policies clearly, and for changing tack on issues such as Britain's membership of the European Union, on which a referendum is due by the end of 2017.

"Is it so disastrous that politics has two opinions?" he asked his interviewer when probed on the difference of opinion in the Labour Party over Trident.

In keeping with his anti-austerity platform during the leadership campaign, Corbyn said he would try to reduce the lowest rate of tax to help Britain's poorest, but would not raise the top rate above 50 percent.

He said he would chase corporations which evade taxes by registering their headquarters offshore and that more policies would be unveiled during the party's annual conference, being held in the southern English city of Brighton.

Corbyn, who has been an active anti-war campaigner, distanced himself from Russia's Vladimir Putin after some media accused him of making excuses for the president by saying the NATO military alliance's expansion eastwards was to blame for Moscow's action in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists are fighting Ukrainian forces.

On a united Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) and on Britain becoming a republic, Corbyn said it was up to the people to decide, while he called for a political solution to the "dreadful" situation in Syria.

Several Labour lawmakers said he had successfully taken charge. Tulip Siddiq, a Labour politician, credited Corbyn with making "politics relevant to people's lives". (Additional reporting and writing by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)