Jeremy Corbyn confirms he will stand as independent candidate in the General Election

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been banished from the party after announcing he will stand as an independent candidate in Islington North in the general election.

Mr Corbyn’s announcement on Friday morning would have come as a headache for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who banned his predecessor from standing for Labour after he failed to apologise for his handling of antisemitism within the party.

In response, Sir Keir told Sky News reaffirmed why he blocked the 74-year-old from standing for Labour, claiming he “would tear antisemitism out of our party by the roots”.

He added: “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.”

Soon after, it emerged that Mr Corbyn had been informed that his party membership had been revoked.

Mr Corbyn, who has held Islington North seat for more than 40 years, made the announcement in an interview with his local Islington Tribune newspaper in which he said he would be “a voice for equality, democracy and peace”.

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He said: “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”.

He vowed to defend “a genuine alternative to the corrupt years of this Tory government”, focusing on rent controls, public ownership of energy and water and an ethical foreign policy based on peace and human rights.

Mr Corbyn 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 is yet to announce its candidate for the seat, which will be contested in the general election on 4 July, announced by Rishi Sunak earlier this week. Although, the party has shortlisted Sem Moema, a member of the London Assembly, and Praful Nargund, an Islington councillor.

Sir Keir gave his reaction on both Sky News and BBC Breakfast, saying it was a matter for Mr Corbyn.

He told BBC Breakfast: “In the end, this election is about a choice, a choice of five more years of the chaos and division that we’ve seen over the last 14 years or turning the page and rebuilding our country with Labour.

“That is what’s on the ballot paper, whether it’s in Islington North or anywhere else across the country.”

At the last general election in 2019, Mr Corbyn won the seat for Labour with a share of the vote of more than 64 per cent. The Lib Dems, who have named Vikas Aggarwal as their candidate for the seat, came second.

The size of Mr Corbyn’s majority had made the seat one of the safest for Labour in the country.

Earlier this week, Labour MP John McDonnell said Mr Corbyn would still have “a lot of very personal support” if he stood as an independent – he also said he hoped Labour leader Sir Keir would allow him to return as a Labour candidate.

It’s also believed that discontent over Labour leader Sir Keir’s stance on the war in Gaza could boost his vote.

However, a group of more than 100 local Labour party members who oppose Mr Corbyn say they are “confident” he does not hold the support of party voters.

Under the banner Win Islington North, the organisation’s organiser Alexander Gardiner said: “This is a narcissistic, 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.”

Mr Corbyn was suspended by Labour 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.

Mr Corbyn, who was leader of the party from 2015 to 2020, also said antisemitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.