Corbyn accuses Starmer of ‘flagrant breach of democracy’ over election ban
Jeremy Corbyn claims local members and not Keir Starmer must be allowed to decide if he can stand for Labour in next election
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Jeremy Corbyn has accused Keir Starmer of mounting a “flagrant attack on the democratic rights” of local Labour members after barring him from standing as a candidate for the party.
In a statement on Twitter, Corbyn said party members and constituents in Islington North were being denied the chance to “decide who their candidate should be.”
The MP, who had the whip removed in response to his claim after the publication of the 2020 EHRC report that antisemitism allegations were exaggerated for political reasons under his leadership, was responding to comments made by Starmer earlier on Wednesday.
Speaking in east London, on the day the EHRC lifted special measures on Labour over antisemitism, Starmer had said:”“Let me be very clear, Jeremy Corbyn will not stand at the next general election as a Labour party candidate.
“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.”
Responding on Twitter, Corbyn wrote of his 40 years as a Labour MP, and said the ban on him standing as a Labour candidate was “a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the Conservative party at the next general election.”
A statement on my future as the MP for Islington North. pic.twitter.com/LFOgujYGwN
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 15, 2023
But party sources told Jewish News that alongside Corbyn’s several statements on antisemitism, his remarks around NATO, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were “clearly problematic.”
One Labour source said:”Keir Starmer could not have been clearer on the Labour party’s values, not just on rooting out antisemitism, but also on issues around NATO.
“Corbyn has never apologised for his statement after the EHRC report, and has only made things worse with his ideology around NATO and Ukraine.”
The source added they could envisage a situation in which Labour’s national executive committee, which now has a clear majority in support of Starmer, could seek to block Corbyn from standing as a candidate.
This would only happen if Corbyn sought to ignore Starmer’s ban, and attempted to put himself for selection by members of his local CLP.
Another Labour source told Jewish News, that allies of Corbyn had already been sounding out activists in other North London CLPs, asking them to pledge to help the former leader if he campaigned in the seat as an independent.
One source claimed:”A few months ago Corbyn’s supporters approached some Labour activists in and around Finchley and Golders Green to work on his forthcoming independent campaign in the next election.
“I hear the answer was a firm North London ‘no.”
The Labour Party has changed from a party that looked inwards to a party that meets the public gaze.
From a party of dogma to a party of patriotism.
With my leadership there will zero tolerance of antisemitism, of racism, of discrimination of any kind. pic.twitter.com/y1dgSPOpdF
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) February 15, 2023
Some of Corbyn’s allies claim he has enough support in Islington North to win if he stood as an independent at the general election.
While he undoubtedly does have his support locally, including amongst some councillors, Islington North CLP voted for Keir Starmer in the Labour leadership election.
Away from the few hundred individuals actively involved in local Labour politics, history shows that independent candidates rarely triumph over parties that secure big majorities in individual seats.
Labour sources are confident that their candidate, once they are picked, would triumph over Corbyn come the election, especially with leader Starmer’s growing popularity in the country.
The Guardian reported that 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.
Last year Jewish News overheard Momentum activists at a Westminster hotel discussing the “nightmare scenario” of having to decide whether to campaign for Corbyn as an independent, and therefore face expulsion from Labour.
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