Left Foot Forward
The former Labour leader has sat in the Islington North seat for over 40 years
Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will run as an independent candidate in Islington North at the general election.
Corbyn has sat in the seat since 1983, most of which was spent as a Labour MP until he had the whip suspended in 2020 over his response to the equalities regulator report into antisemitism in the party. He has therefore sat as an independent since.
He broke the news that he will stand as an independent in an article for the Islington Tribune in which he wrote, “when I was first elected, I made a promise to stand by my constituents no matter what.”
In his campaign video, the former Labour leader said he would be an “independent voice for equality, democracy and peace” as he called for “fundamental change” and warned the country “has become more divided than ever”.
He called for a “redistribution of power and wealth”, and for public ownership of the water, mail and energy industries. Laying out his campaign demands and values he listed; a more equal society, housing justice, a fully-public, fully-funded NHS and for an “alternative to endless war”.
Labour’s shortlist for candidates in North Islington were confirmed this week as Hackney councillor Sem Moema and Islington councillor Praful Nargund.
Moema has served as a councillor in Hackney for over eight years and she is a Mayoral Advisor for the Private Rented Sector and Affordability. Nargund is an entrepreneur and campaigner, he works as Chief Executive of abc ivf, a chain of 15 clinics founded by his mother Geeta.
The winner of Labour’s selection process will be announced on June 1.
(Image credit: Flickr / Creative Commons)
Jeremy Corbyn will run as an independent in Islington North
MAY 24,2024
As the Labour apparatus imposes a shortlist of just two candidates in Islington North, with zero consultation with the local constituency party, Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will fight to retain his seat as an independent.
Kate Dove, Momentum Chair said: “This is an almighty mess for Labour and Keir Starmer alone bears responsibility.
“Jeremy Corbyn has loyally served the people of Islington North as their Labour MP for over 40 years. He wanted to run again as the Labour candidate and the local party backed him too. But Starmer and his Westminster clique again denied local people the chance to choose their own candidate and blocked Jeremy. Starmer has treated the people of Islington with contempt, setting the stage for a divisive and distracting election campaign.
“We urge the Labour Leadership not to repeat this damaging debacle in Hackney with Diane Abbott. Britain’s first black woman MP, who Keir Starmer rightly called a ‘trailblazer’, deserves to run as the Labour candidate, as local members voted.
“Jeremy’s leadership brought positions like public ownership, fairer taxation and opposition to war and austerity back to the mainstream, policies which are more urgent and popular than ever. He turned Labour into a mass membership party once again. In response he was subjected to the most vicious, relentless, and dishonest campaign of character assassination in modern British political history, which he has faced with dignity and decency.
“But where Starmer once decried how the media ‘vilified’ his ‘friend’ and promised to build on his legacy, he has done the exact opposite. Starmer’s attacks on Jeremy were never just about one man – they were about driving out the socialist politics he represented, in favour of elite interests. We will not allow Labour’s founding socialist values to be driven out of the party. Momentum will continue to stand up for real Labour values within the party, while campaigning for socialist and trade unionist Labour candidates in the coming election.”
As some on the right of the Party try to falsify history by claiming Jeremy Corbyn was blocked from being a Labour candidate because of “anti-Semitism”, it’s worth recalling that the motion Keir Starmer got passed at the National Executive Committee last year did not mention the issue.
Many socialists will feel highly conflicted about this turn of events. Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are calling for volunteers to sign up in large numbers to back his campaign.
Momentum are warning, however, that Party activists should be aware that Labour officials are likely to seek the expulsion of members who advocate support for Jeremy – even retweets, reposts or likes on a post.
A spokesperson said: “Momentum won’t let Labour’s founding socialist values be driven out of our Party. We will stay in Labour, the political home of the trade union movement, and keep fighting for real Labour values and a democratic party.
Labour Hub – http://www.threads.net/@labour_hub
Corbyn and Webbe run as independents as Starmer grilled on Abbott suspension
Jeremy Corbyn will run as an independent candidate at the general election, the former party leader has confirmed, with Labour moving quickly to expel him.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said Corbyn’s announcement was a “decision for him”, but told the BBC the party would have an “excellent candidate” and the choice in Islington North and elsewhere was Tory chaos and division or “turning the page” with Labour.
Meanwhile another once-Labour, now-independent MP Claudia Webbe also confirmed on Friday she would stand as an independent in Leicester East.
A Labour source told LabourList “we’re focused on returning as many Labour MPs as possible” after Corbyn’s announcement.
LabourList understands Corbyn is no longer a member of the party, with Labour rules stating members can’t run for rival parties. Corbyn was blocked from standing for Labour last year.
READ MORE: Labour picks two councillors for Islington North shortlist
It comes just after the Labour party shortlisted two candidates to run for the party in the north London seat, north London councillors Praful Nagrund and Sem Moema.
Journalist and activist Paul Mason also stood, but did not make the shortlist. The selection will be wrapped up within the next few days.
It comes as pressure grows on Starmer to restore the whip to Diane Abbott, suspended last year for suggesting Irish people, Jews and Travellers do not experience racism all their lives.
Her long suspension has faced criticism even from some of her critics who do not share the veteran left-winger’s politics, and Starmer faced questions in broadcast interviews on Friday about whether she would stand as a Labour candidate – and why she was excluded while Natalie Elphicke was in the party.
Starmer said the disciplinary process was independent, but that it should be wrapped up very soon given deadlines for confirming electoral candidates.
Kate Dove, co-chair of Momentum, the Labour left campaign group launched to support Corbyn before and when he led the party, said: “Starmer and his Westminster clique again denied local people the chance to choose their own candidate and blocked Jeremy. Starmer has treated the people of Islington with contempt, setting the stage for a divisive and distracting election campaign.
“We urge the Labour Leadership not to repeat this damaging debacle in Hackney with Diane Abbott. Britain’s first black woman MP, who Keir Starmer rightly called a ‘trailblazer’, deserves to run as the Labour candidate, as local members voted.”
Meet Labour Islington North candidate fighting Corbyn as NEC denies CLP vote
Labour has confirmed Praful Nargund will stand as its candidate in Islington North, just hours after Jeremy Corbyn announced he will run as an independent in the constituency.
The announcement by London Labour comes in spite of a ballot of members originally being planned over the next week, choosing between Nargund and another candidate, Hackney councillor and London Assembly Member Sem Moema.
LabourList understands the National Executive Committee stepped in to accelerate the process though with the election weeks away, and selected Nargund over Moema.
Moema said: “Congratulations – you will be a fantastic Labour MP for Islington North, and I can’t wait to join you on the doorstep to help get you elected!”
The NEC decision to deprive members of a vote is likely to be controversial, with anger among Corbyn’s supporters in the CLP already that he is not on the ballot.
READ MORE: Watch as Jeremy Corbyn launches independent campaign
The Islington councillor will face a tough campaign against the veteran former party leader in the north London seat he has held for four decades.
Nargund had been widely seen as a likely contender in the lead-up to the selection. He describes himself on his website as an “entrepreneur and campaigner”, who has spent a decade “using innovation to tackle inequalities in fertility treatment.”
He is on Islington council’s health, wellbeing and adult social care scrutiny committee, and his website says he has campaigned on issues including skills, home insulation and fuel poverty.
His website states too that he grew up “in an NHS family”.
Nargund has remained tight-lipped during the campaign so far in recent days, however.
“Hellooo, is Praful there? It’s total silence from the Labour hopeful eyeing up seat,” ran the headline in local paper the Islington Tribune this morning.
Nargund has not responded to LabourList requests for comment previously about his campaign, either.
Islington North: Two councillors make shortlist as Paul Mason misses out
Labour’s shortlist for its candidate in Jeremy Corbyn’s seat of Islington North has been announced, with two London councillors still in the running to be selected while journalist Paul Mason has missed out.
The shortlist of two was confirmed as London Assembly member and Hackney councillor Sem Moema and Islington councillor Praful Nargund, as Labour looks to get candidates in place in its unfilled seats following Rishi Sunak’s surprise announcement of a general election on July 4th.
Mason – who has stood for selection as a Labour candidate on a number of occasions in this election cycle – confirmed in a post on X this morning that he had not made the shortlist and thanked those who had backed his campaign.
The former BBC and Channel 4 journalist wrote: “It’s vital that we get out the vote [for] the selected candidate, and keep Islington North red!”
The selection process has attracted criticism from within the party over Corbyn’s exclusion and central party control over the process, with MPs on the left of the party including John McDonnell, Mick Whitley and Beth Winter saying members should be able to choose, with the former party leader on the ballot.
The local Constituency Labour Party’s (CLP) officers also called for “local democracy [to] be respected” and the local party to be allowed to choose its candidate “from amongst any Labour Party member in good standing”.
Corbyn remains a member of the party but has had the party whip suspended since October 2020 following his response to a report into allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party. The party’s governing national executive committee (NEC) last year voted to block him standing as a Labour candidate at the coming election.
Islington North CLP’s general committee almost unanimously passed a motion in support of Corbyn and its “democratic right” to choose its candidate shortly after the NEC barred him.
Corbyn has not made his intentions explicitly clear about whether he will stand as an independent. But he said last year after members passed the motion backing him: “I have spent the past 40 years campaigning alongside my community for a mass redistribution of wealth, ownership and power. That is what I’ll continue to do.”
He then told The Observer: “40 years ago, I made a promise to my constituents that I would always stand up for democracy and justice on their behalf. In Islington North, we keep our promises.”
ITV News’ political editor Robert Peston said in a post on X today that he ‘understands’ the former Labour leader will confirm today that he will be standing as an independent candidate.
Moema was reelected as the London Assembly member for the North East earlier this month, with her constituency covering the areas of Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest. She also currently serves as a councillor on Hackney council, representing Hackney Downs ward.
Nargund has been a councillor in Islington since 2022, representing Barnsbury ward. He is the founder and director of Create Impact Ventures, an early-stage investor.
The Labour candidate is expected to be in place by June 1st. The head of one Labour affiliate told LabourList before the shortlisted names were confirmed: “The party has a real duty of care to candidates it puts on that shortlist.
“The campaign will be utterly toxic and there will be a real half life to that, following the general election even if we win, with a big effort to rebuild the local party. I wouldn’t want to see a friend go through that campaign.”
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