Jeremy Corbyn: barring me as Labour candidate is attack on democracy

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Keir Starmer of a “flagrant attack” on democracy by barring him from standing as a Labour candidate, as allies said he was likely to run as an independent.

It comes as Starmer confirmed the former Labour leader would not be allowed to run for the party. In a statement on Twitter, Corbyn said party members and constituents were being denied their choice for representation.

Corbyn said members should be given the deciding power for who fought the next election. “Any attempt to block my candidacy is a denial of due process, and should be opposed by anybody who believes in the value of democracy,” he said.

“At a time when the government is overseeing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, this is a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the Conservative party at the next general election.”

The Guardian understands Corbyn is first likely to put himself forward for selection in his constituency Labour party (CLP) in Islington North where he still has a solid support base. That would mean the party’s governing national executive would need to formally block him from progressing.

His supporters have undertaken research in the seat in recent months that suggests he has a possibility of winning as an independent and commands a personal vote seven times higher than the average constituency MP.

Corbyn is said to be determined to first pursue the Labour nomination from the local party and a decision to stand as an independent would be very difficult for many of his former colleagues and supportive activists.

Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, told LBC’s The News Agents she believed Corbyn had “no intention of standing as an independent” at the next general election because of his loyalty to Labour. “Jeremy has been a member of the Labour party from before either of you were alive,” she told the presenters.

She also shed a little light on the relationship between him and his successor, saying the “only thing” that divided the two in the past was Brexit.

“Jeremy in his heart of hearts is a Brexiter and Keir Starmer at that point was passionately pro-European,” Abbott said. “I would say, deep down he was a Brexiter.”

Those who have been in touch with the former leader say even privately he has said nothing more than to stress he still wants to seek the Labour nomination.

He has been able to attend local party meetings as he is a Labour member – though suspended from the Labour whip by Starmer.

“He will definitely seek to stand because he has majority support in the CLP,” one friend said, but added that they believed Corbyn would eventually stand as an independent once all the routes to become the Labour nomination had been exhausted.

In his statement, Corbyn said he had been an MP for 40 years fighting on key local issues. “Day in day out, I am focused on the most important issues facing people in Islington North: poverty, rising rents, the healthcare crisis, the safety of refugees, and the fate of our planet.

“I am proud to represent the labour movement in parliament through my constituency. I am focused on standing up for workers on the picket line, the marginalised, and all those worried about their futures. That is what I’ll continue to do. I suggest the Labour party does the same.”

Starmer had previously indicated Corbyn would not be able to stand as a candidate for the party, but had not gone as far as confirming the barring of the Islington North MP.

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“Let me be very clear: Jeremy Corbyn will not stand at the next general election as a Labour party candidate,” he said on Wednesday while answering questions after a speech in east London. “What I said about the party changing, I meant, and we are not going back, and that is why Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.”

The Labour leader was speaking as he marked an “important moment” for the party after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) lifted it out of special measures over its past failings on antisemitism.

In a clear mark of his growing confidence, Starmer also invited Labour MPs who have long supported Corbyn to leave the party if they did not agree with his stance on driving out antisemitism.

Corbyn led the party for nearly five years, and has been supported by Momentum since his 2015 leadership campaign. If he decided to run at the next election as an independent, it would pose a potentially existential dilemma for the leftwing grassroots group.

Asked whether he would put Momentum “on notice”, Starmer said: “Well, I have many powers and duties and responsibilities in the Labour party, but that one is not for me, I’m afraid. But look, whatever group or individual in the Labour party, I think the message from this morning couldn’t be clearer.”

A Momentum spokesperson said on Wednesday: “Labour is a democratic socialist party – it’s written on our membership cards. This party does not belong to one man alone – it belongs to its members and trade unions.

“It should be for Labour members in Islington North to decide their candidate. That is their democratic right.”

Labour party officials are said to be looking for a strong candidate in the constituency, which Corbyn has held since 1983. “The local party is likely to be difficult and the campaign will be very tough if Jeremy stands as an independent,” a source said.