JEREMY Corbyn spoke to a packed rally in the centre of York today, and threw his support behind the city's former Labour MP as she fights for re-election.

Only a day after Theresa May spoke in front of Conservative candidates at York Barbican, the Labour leader appeared in front of a crowd of hundreds in St Helen's Square.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour candidate in York Central, spoke alongside him and drew cheers from the gathered supporters, as she accused Theresa May of coming to the city and "turning her back" on the people of York, and introduced Mr Corbyn as "our next Prime Minister".

Mr Corbyn also spoke of the 35 campaign events he has held so far - and he too compared his open-air public events to the behind-closed-doors visit staged by the Conservatives the day before.

At the city centre rally, he praised Ms Maskell's work for her constituency saying she had been exactly the kind of a MP the city wanted. She has spoken up for York, he said, and when he visited during the devastating floods of 2015 he saw that not only did she understand what people going through, but she already knew many of the people affected.

Earlier, Mr Corbyn had down-played suggestions that his visit to York was a sign Labour sees a threat to its 6,700 majority in York Central.

Speaking at a city primary school, he said he was visiting York to support Ms Maskell, as a long-standing friend and valued party colleague.

"I'm here to support Rachael because I'm proud of her," he said.

"I'm sure she will get re-elected and I'm here to wish her well on being re-elected."

His speech touched on local issues facing York like flood management, and he alluded to 150 jobs under threat at the city's Nestle factory.

He said: "This city gave chocolates and sweets to me as a child, gave chocolates to the whole country, and I think chocolate should still be made here in York."

Speculation has already grown about the significance of the two leaders' visits to York, with suggestions being made that the city could be seen as a key battleground for Labour and the Conservatives.

In 2015, Ms Maskell took York Central with a 6,700 majority over the Tory candidate.

After Mr Corbyn's visit yesterday, Conservative candidate Ed Young said he did not believe the people of York would be convinced by the appearance.

“I’ve known and loved York all my life – and people here know when to call a spade a spade. The last thing our city needs is Jeremy Corbyn coming to York and making promises he can’t afford," Mr Young said.

“I think people will see straight through his policies and impossible spending plans.

“Today I’ve been campaigning across the city, listening to people, families, and businesses about their hopes and concerns for the future"

Mr Corbyn's speech ended with a plea for people to register to vote and use their democratic voice, but as he left to head to another rally in Rotherham a row broke out between veteran Bob Gray and some Corbyn supporters.

Mr Gray, a York man who served in Northern Ireland, was angry he hadn't had an answer to the question he had shouted to Mr Corbyn about Labour's policy on the prosecution of British Army veterans in the conflict.