Corbyn to be blocked from standing as Labour MP at next election, Starmer to confirm
Islington North #IslingtonNorth
Jeremy Corbyn will be blocked from standing as a Labour MP at the next general election, Sir Keir Starmer will confirm at a meeting of the party’s ruling body today.
The Labour leader will propose a motion that will make clear that the National Executive Committee (NEC) will not endorse his predecessor to fight for his Islington North seat.
The move has been branded a “venal and duplicitous act” by Momentum, the left-wing grassroots group set up in the wake of Mr Corbyn’s leadership victory.
Sir Keir ruled out the veteran MP standing again for Labour last month, as he insisted the party has undergone a transformation since he took over.
The motion, which the NEC is expected to back, says the Islington North MP “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
A senior Labour source said: “Keir Starmer has made clear that Jeremy Corbyn won’t be a Labour candidate at the next general election. The Labour Party now is unrecognisable from the one that lost in 2019.
“Tuesday’s vote will confirm this and ensure we can focus on our five missions to build a better Britain.”
Mr Corbyn was suspended from the parliamentary party in October 2020 over his reaction to a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which was critical of the party’s handling of antisemitism complaints under his leadership.
Immediately after its publication, he claimed “the scale of the problem” of Labour antisemitism allegations was “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.
Mr Corbyn, who has represented Islington North for 40 years with a significant majority, has been sitting as an independent MP ever since, though he is still a member of the wider Labour Party.
In a scathing statement, a Momentum spokesperson said: “We utterly condemn this venal and duplicitous act from Keir Starmer, which further divides the Labour Party and insults the millions of people inspired by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.”
The group said it should be for Islington North Labour members to decide their candidate and called the rationale behind Sir Keir’s decision “pathetic” and “patently factional”.
The motion explains that Mr Corbyn standing for Labour at the next election would lead to the party’s winning being “significantly diminished”.
It adds that “the Labour Party’s interests, and its political interests at the next general election, are not well served by Mr Corbyn running as a Labour Party candidate”.
The decision follows the announcement that the Equality and Human Rights Commission has decided to lift the party out of two years of special measures over its failings on antisemitism under Mr Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn, who still retains support within the party and in his constituency, could now be left with the option of running as an independent candidate in the seat.
Last month he called plans to ban him from standing as a Labour candidate a “flagrant attack” on his future, arguing it should be up to his constituents to decide who their candidate is.
“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.