Corbyn’s inspiring manifesto takes me back to Labour 1945 blueprint for hope | Harry Leslie Smith

My generation is the last to remember the destitution of life in Britain before the NHS and the welfare state. Heed our warnings, before we are gone

It was at Bradford University on Tuesday that Jeremy Corbyn unveiled the Labour party's election manifesto. In the grand hall, Corbyn spoke to an enthusiastic gathering of students and party faithful about the concrete plans Labour has to transform Britain into a country where the many will prosper instead of the few. Corbyn spoke about the need to properly fund the NHS, provide free tuition to students, end the blight of zero-hours contracts, and raise the living wage to 10 an hour.

For me, a man who was born and bred in the harsh poverty of Britain after the first world war, it was inspiring. But what moved me most was the venue he chose to announce this manifesto of equality and fairness - because Bradford University is built on ground that, in my youth, was a site of great suffering and death.

Related: Theresa May is creating an epidemic of poverty. Don't give her a free hand | Gordon Brown

I can tell you as a very old man: I am afraid for the future of ordinary people in Britain