Jeremy Corbyn hints he could stand against Labour in Islington North
Corbyn vows he has no ‘intention of stopping’ representing consituents after Labour block him from standing
Jeremy Corbyn has hinted he could stand against Labour after he was blocked from running as an MP for the party at the next election.
The former Labour leader suggested he would not back down after Sir Keir Starmer’s motion stating the party will not endorse the Islington North MP as a candidate was approved by the party’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday.
Mr Corbyn, who has been an MP since 1983, branded his ban from standing “a shameful attack on party democracy”.
He attacked his successor, saying Sir Keir had broken “his pledge to build a united and democratic Party that advances social, economic and climate justice”.
“I will not be intimidated into silence,” he added. “ I have spent my life fighting for a fairer society on behalf of the people of Islington North, and I have no intention of stopping now.”
Mr Corbyn, who has represented Islington North since 1983, currently sits as an independent, having lost the Labour whip.
On Tuesday, Labour’s ruling NEC voted 22 votes to 12 to ensure that Mr Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
Referencing Labour’s bruising defeat in the 2019 General Election, its worst showing since the 1930s, the motion argues that it would be an electoral liability for Mr Corbyn to contest the seat for Labour.
Some of Mr Corbyn’s Left-wing allies in the party have criticised the move, arguing it is undemocratic.
MP Nadia Whittome, who has served on Sir Keir’s frontbench, described the motion as “divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction".
Prominent Labour activist Jon Lansman, the co-founder of the Corbynite Momentum pressure group, suggested Sir Keir Starmer was acting like an “authoritarian” in blocking Mr Corbyn’s candidacy.
While the former Labour leader does not have the party whip and will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate, the move does not affect his Labour party membership and right to attend party meetings.
He was suspended from the parliamentary party over his response to the damning Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report in 2020, which found that Labour had broken equalities law.
The former Labour leader suggested he would not back down after Sir Keir Starmer’s motion stating the party will not endorse the Islington North MP as a candidate was approved by the party’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday.
Mr Corbyn, who has been an MP since 1983, branded his ban from standing “a shameful attack on party democracy”.
He attacked his successor, saying Sir Keir had broken “his pledge to build a united and democratic Party that advances social, economic and climate justice”.
“I will not be intimidated into silence,” he added. “ I have spent my life fighting for a fairer society on behalf of the people of Islington North, and I have no intention of stopping now.”
Mr Corbyn, who has represented Islington North since 1983, currently sits as an independent, having lost the Labour whip.
On Tuesday, Labour’s ruling NEC voted 22 votes to 12 to ensure that Mr Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
Referencing Labour’s bruising defeat in the 2019 General Election, its worst showing since the 1930s, the motion argues that it would be an electoral liability for Mr Corbyn to contest the seat for Labour.
Some of Mr Corbyn’s Left-wing allies in the party have criticised the move, arguing it is undemocratic.
MP Nadia Whittome, who has served on Sir Keir’s frontbench, described the motion as “divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction".
Prominent Labour activist Jon Lansman, the co-founder of the Corbynite Momentum pressure group, suggested Sir Keir Starmer was acting like an “authoritarian” in blocking Mr Corbyn’s candidacy.
While the former Labour leader does not have the party whip and will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate, the move does not affect his Labour party membership and right to attend party meetings.
He was suspended from the parliamentary party over his response to the damning Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report in 2020, which found that Labour had broken equalities law.