Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he will stand as an independent candidate in Islington North.
Corbyn, who was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party following a row over antisemitism, announced he will contest the north London seat he has held for more than 40 years in a widely expected move.
In a video posted to social media, the former Labour leader urged his supporters to help him “prove that when we come together, we can win”.
“As your MP, I will continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace”, he said.
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As a result, Corbyn has reportedly been informed that he is no longer a member of the Labour Party.
While still a member of the party, Corbyn has sat as an independent MP since 2020, having had the whip removed for claiming the scale of antisemitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated” during the period he served as leader.
At the time, Corbyn labelled his successor Keir Starmer’s decision to remove the whip from him as “political”.
In March 2023, Starmer effectively barred his predecessor from ever standing as a Labour candidate when he proposed a motion by the party’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which said Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
The motion said Labour’s chances of securing a majority in the commons would be “significantly diminished” if he was endorsed.
Corbyn secured a huge majority of 26,188 in his Islington North constituency at the 2019 general election, which he contested nationally as Labour leader.
Labour has shortlisted Sem Moema, a member of the London Assembly, and Praful Nargund, an Islington councillor, in the contest to be the party’s election candidate in the seat.
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