Jeremy Corbyn has been informed he is no longer a member of the Labour Party after he announced he is standing as an independent candidate in the General Election.
The former Labour leader, who was blocked from standing again for his old party, on Friday said he will seek election in the Islington North constituency he has represented for 40 years.
Sir Keir Starmer said his predecessor’s move was “a matter for Jeremy”, as he defended his decision to ban Mr Corbyn from standing for Labour as part of his efforts to “tear antisemitism out of our party by the roots”.
Mr Corbyn has been suspended by Labour since 2020 after he refused to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge and said antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
Shortly after Mr Corbyn announced his intention to stand as an independent, a source told the PA news agency that he had been informed he is no longer a Labour Party member.
Mr Corbyn vowed to be “an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace”.
His candidacy will come as a headache for Sir Keir just as he is kicking off his campaign to replace Rishi Sunak in Downing Street.
Left-wing pressure group Momentum hit out at Sir Keir for treating the people of Islington “with contempt” by blocking Mr Corbyn and accused him of “driving out the socialist politics he represented, in favour of elite interests”.
I am standing as an independent candidate for the people of Islington North.
As your MP, I will continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace.
Please join our campaign at https://t.co/dRySocs48C. Let's prove that when we come together, we can win. pic.twitter.com/rkyf5yakod
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 24, 2024
Reacting to his predecessor’s move, Sir Keir told Sky News: “I’m very clear, the first thing I said as Labour leader is that I would tear antisemitism out of our party by the roots.
“That was my first solemn promise, and I followed through on that, and that is why I took the decision that Jeremy Corbyn would not stand as a Labour candidate at this election.
“Now what’s happened with Jeremy standing as an independent, that’s a matter for him.
“We will have an excellent Labour candidate in Islington North making the same argument as we will across the country, which is it’s time to end 14 years of chaos and division, it’s time to turn the page and a fresh start and rebuild our country together.”
Mr Corbyn told his local Islington Tribune newspaper that he would fight to retain a seat he has represented for 40 years, adding: “We have to stand up and defend our rights.”
He appealed to lifelong Labour voters, saying that “I am here to represent the people of Islington North on exactly the same principles that I’ve stood by my whole life: social justice, human rights and peace”.
Mr Corbyn went on to say that “these principles are needed now more than ever before”, vowing to defend “a genuine alternative to the corrupt years of this Tory government”, including rent controls, public ownership of energy and water, the abolition of the two-child benefits cap, a Green New Deal, and an ethical foreign policy based on peace and human rights.
He added: “When I was first elected, I made a promise to stand by my constituents no matter what. In Islington North, we keep our promises.”
Labour has reduced its search to replace Mr Corbyn as a General Election candidate to two people.
The former party leader has been sitting as an independent MP for Islington North since 2020 when he had the Labour whip suspended.
The party has shortlisted Sem Moema, a member of the London Assembly, and Praful Nargund, an Islington councillor.
Mr Corbyn had a majority of 26,188 in his Islington North seat at the 2019 election when running as a Labour candidate, and was first elected to Parliament in 1983.
