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The Labour Party’s new leader (Image: Mark Thomas/REX Shutterstock)

He wants Charles Darwin’s birthday to be a public holiday. And he accepts that human activity is warming up the planet. But where does Jeremy Corbyn, voted the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party on 12 September, stand on mainstream political issues ?

Corbyn certainly seems on message as far as climate change is concerned. In 2010, he signed an early day motion – a form of petition regularly used in Parliament to gauge opinion on key issues – recognising that . Likewise he has pressed the current government to double its targets for .

The new Labour leader’s remarks on potentially reopening coal mines got a lot of coverage. : “If there’s to be substantial coal fire generation it’s got to be clean burn technology, it’s got to have carbon filters on it, it’s got to be carbon neutral.” Corbyn has said he wants to nationalise Britain’s energy supplies, a goal that according to some estimates . As a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament since 1966, his stand on civil nuclear power is unclear.

Corbyn’s backing for the UK National Health Service to remain publically funded , but he has raised scientific eyebrows by appearing to offer support for homeopathy, despite the lack of scientific proof that it works. In one infamous tweet in 2011, Corbyn said he believed homeopathy “works for some people” and compliments conventional medicine, as “they both come from organic matter”.

I believe that homeo-meds works for some ppl and that it compliments ‘convential’ meds. they both come from organic matter…

— Jeremy Corbyn MP (@jeremycorbyn)

Corbyn has also signed various early day motions .

Science is vital

In a novel move, . In February he spoke in parliament on why he thought mental health was such an important issue.

Last month, Corbyn affirmed his backing for scientific and technological research in . “The UK has produced some wonderful scientists and engineers – real innovators in their fields, but too often we do not have the supportive infrastructure to develop their ideas here,” he said. “Only a strategic state that supports innovation can close this infrastructure deficit holding the UK back.”

Corbyn also backed a calling for the reversal of cuts to the science budget.

But some commentators believe that other policies Corbyn has could work against this, such as his pledge to reduce tuition fees for students, currently around £9000 per year for each student. Kieron Flanagan, a lecturer in science and technology policy at Manchester Business School, says that the fees have brought valuable income to universities that they can spend on research, but that this would disappear if the fees were scrapped. “Would it be replaced by an equivalent amount from central government funds?” asks Flanagan.