Islington North Labour group claim Corbyn ‘does not have support of local members’
Confirming he is standing against Labour as an independent in Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn pledges to campaign on 'global issues of peace and justice'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Jeremy Corbyn does not have the support of the majority of local Labour party members, it has been claimed, as the former leader confirmed he was standing as an independent.
As widely expected Corbyn set to stand against Labour as an independent candidate the former Labour leader confirmed he was standing in Islington North on July 4th, campaigning on “global issues of peace and justice” in a video showing him speaking at a pro-Palestine rally.
He claimed “members of Islington North Labour have been denied the right to choose their own candidate, and alongside that the community as a whole has been disempowered” as a result of his failure to apologise over his response to the report into antisemitism in the party under his watch.
But in a statement, the Win Islington North group, formed of over 100 members of the local Labour Party said:”It saddens us as active members of Islington North Labour Party that our MP should turn his back on our local campaign to elect a Labour Government.
“We are confident Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t have the support of the majority of local party members and his announcement today is a distraction from the real fight which is against the Tories. He is someone who doesn’t represent the future but is of the past.
“We call on those members of the executive of the CLP who won’t condemn the candidacy of Jeremy Corbyn and wholeheartedly support the Labour candidate to stand down. ”
Corbyn will face a challenge from the Labour candidate Praful Nargund, who was picked by party chiefs on Friday, to stand on July 4.
A spokesperson for the Jewish Labour Movement also said: “The Labour Party became an unsafe space for Jews under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. He refused to acknowledge the scale of antisemitism in Labour, even when the Equality & Human Rights Commission found the party guilty of breaking the law.
“The Labour Party we see today is unrecognisable from what it had become under Corbyn, thanks to the leadership of Keir Starmer. We are a serious party of power, just four years after Corbyn led Labour to its worst defeat for 80 years. Voters in Islington North deserve a Labour MP and Government – we’ll be campaigning to make sure they get one.”
Corbyn will now be auto-excluded from Labour as a result of his decision to stand against the party.
In a social media clip to launch his campaign, the former Labour leader is pictured speaking at a pro-Palestine rally. “Whoever the prime minister is, I’ll be holding them to account … on global issues of peace and justice”, Corbyn says in the clip. “That is what an MP should do.”
He said he was ready for the attention he knows his campaign will receive. “This is going to be a campaign with an awful lot thrown at us. I’m ready for that I know everybody else is ready for that.”
In a statement released on social media, he said: “We have to stand up and say we’re not taking this any more. We will assert our rights.
Alexander Gardiner, group organiser of Win Islington North , added: “Britain desperately needs a change to clear up the disaster of 14 years of Conservative Government. This is a self-indulgent distraction by a man who can’t accept that his time is up. Islington is a diverse community that faces real challenges. It needs a dynamic, forward-thinking MP ready to bring about real change.”
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