Starmer says Corbyn won’t stand for Labour at general election

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Jeremy Corbyn is set to be blocked by Sir Keir Starmer from standing as a Labour MP at the next general election. The Labour leader will propose a motion confirming the move to a meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee tomorrow.

The motion, which the party’s ruling body 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.”

Sir Keir, who has sought to distance himself from his predecessor, last month confirmed he would not allow the former Labour leader to stand for the party at the next election.

He 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.”

But Mr Corbyn, who currently sits as an independent MP, accused Sir Keir of a “flagrant attack” on democracy.

In a lengthy statement at the time, he said: “Ever since I was elected as a Labour MP 40 years ago, I have fought on behalf of my community for a more equal, caring and peaceful society.

“Day in day out, I am focused on the most important issues facing people in Islington North: poverty, rising rents, the healthcare crisis, the safety of refugees, and the fate of our planet.

“Keir Starmer’s statement about my future is a flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Islington North Labour Party members.

“It is up to them – not party leaders – to decide who their candidate should be.

“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.

“At a time when the Government is overseeing the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, this is a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the Conservative Party at the next general election.

“I am proud to represent the Labour movement in Parliament through my constituency.

“I am focused on standing up for workers on the picket line, the marginalised, and all those worried about their futures. That is what I’ll continue to do. I suggest the Labour Party does the same.”

If Mr Corbyn decides to run as an independent candidate for the constituency he has represented for 40 years, Labour would come up against his personal popularity in Islington North as well as a potentially distracting row with the left-winger.

The former Labour leader was suspended from the parliamentary party over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s damning report in 2020 on anti-Semitism in Labour.

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