Jeremy Corbyn is at the center of a major Labour row more than four years after he quit as party leader, after flouncing out to run as an independent at the July 4 election.
The 74-year-old hard Left icon made the announcement this morning after Sir Keir Starmer blocked him from being a Labour candidate over his attitude towards anti-Semitism when he was in charge.
The move by the Islington North MP means he is automatically expelled from Labour, almost five years since leading it to its largest electoral defeat in almost a century.
The current leader threw shade at his predecessor this morning, telling Sky News 'we are ahead in the polls because we are a changed party' from how it looked under Mr Corbyn.
But Corbynista allies of the old regime clapped back. Kate Dove, the chairwoman of the fringe group Momentum, accused Sir Keir of treating the people of Islington with contempt, setting the stage for a divisive and distracting election campaign' at the behest of a 'Westminster clique'.
She added that Sir Keir'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'.
And Jess Barnard, a member of Labour's ruling national Executive Council (NEC), said: 'This kind of dishonesty undermines trust in our party and the fight against racism.'
But the Campaign Against Antisemitism welcomed Mr Corbyn's expulsion from Labour, with a spokesman saying: 'Good riddance.
'The man who made the Jewish community feel so unwelcome in Labour has finally been told that he is unwelcome in the party he once led.'
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/08/85285531-13455097-image-m-13_1716534881152.jpg)
The 74-year-old far Left icon has sat as an independent for almost four years, having been kicked out of the parliamentary party over comments he made about a probe into anti-Semitism under his leadership.
![In a post on X Mr Corbyn said he would 'continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace'.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/08/85247555-13455097-A_run_as_an_independent_would_create_a_headache_for_Keir_Starmer-a-2_1716534619085.jpg)
In a post on X Mr Corbyn said he would 'continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace'.
![Mr Corbyn had repeatedly dropped hints that he could run as an independent, a move that will kick off a bitter campaign in the north London constituency, where the local party remains loyal to him.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/08/85285535-13455097-image-a-14_1716534890410.jpg)
Mr Corbyn had repeatedly dropped hints that he could run as an independent, a move that will kick off a bitter campaign in the north London constituency, where the local party remains loyal to him.
![It also raises questions about the future of Diane Abbott. The Hackey North and Stoke Newington MP was also suspended by Labour over remarks she made downplaying anti-gypsy racism.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/10/85249367-13455097-It_also_raises_questions_about_the_future_of_Diane_Abbott_The_Ha-a-15_1716541669057.jpg)
It also raises questions about the future of Diane Abbott. The Hackey North and Stoke Newington MP was also suspended by Labour over remarks she made downplaying anti-gypsy racism.
So deep was the morass that he left the party in, Sir Keir has made 'change' the main theme of his election campaign. This is about change within Labour from the Corbyn years as much as it is about change from Rishi Sunak's Tory administration.
Mr Corbyn had remained a Labour Party member, despite being kicked out of the parliamentary party in late 2020 over comments he made about a probe into anti-Semitism under his leadership.
This meant that technically he could still be picked as a party candidate. But Sir Keir Starmer blocked his attempts to be chosen in the constituency he has represented since 1983 until he apologised for what he said.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/16/85305413-13456883-image-a-4_1716565358376.jpg)
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/24/16/85305409-13456883-image-a-5_1716565361607.jpg)
Mr Corbyn, who repeatedly dropped hints that he could run as an independent, fired the start gun on what is expected to be a brutal internecine battle in north London, where many members of the Constituency Labour Party (CLP) remain loyal to him.
And it will raise questions about the future of Corbyn ally Diane Abbott, who is also currently suspended.
Labour has announced local campaigner and councillor Praful Nargund as its candidate for Islington North.
Mr Corbyn had a majority of 26,188 in his Islington North seat at the 2019 election when running as a Labour candidate, and was first elected to Parliament in 1983.
He becomes the first former Labour leader to run against the party since Ramsay MacDonald in 1931.
In a post on X Mr Corbyn said he would 'continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace'.
He threw down a gauntlet to Sir Keir by pledging to campaign on issues including scrapping the two-child benefit cap, something Sir Keir does not want to do.
He said: 'I am standing as an independent candidate for the people of Islington North. As your MP, I will continue to be an independent voice for equality, democracy and peace.
'Let's prove that when we come together, we can win.'
Mr Corbyn has been suspended by Labour since 2020 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 and said antisemitism had been 'dramatically overstated for political reasons'.
Mr Corbyn told the Islington Tribune that he would fight to retain a seat he has represented for 40 years, adding: 'We have to stand up and defend our rights.'
Mr Corbyn appealed to lifelong Labour voters, saying that '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 went on to say that 'these principles are needed now more than ever before', vowing to defend 'a genuine alternative to the corrupt years of this Tory government', including rent controls, public ownership of energy and water, the abolition of the two-child benefits cap, a Green New Deal, 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 on Wednesday unveiled a two-name shortlist for Islington North, the seat Mr Corbyn has represented since 1983, after he was banned from standing.
It also raises questions about the future of Diane Abbott. The Hackey North and Stoke Newington MP was also suspended by Labour over remarks she made downplaying anti-gypsy racism.
Sir Keir this morning said a Labour investigation into her comments will be resolved before the General Election.
Asked about the probe by LBC radio, the Labour leader said: 'It will be resolved, yes of course it will. We have got a cut-off date for, I think it is June 4, or thereabouts.
'So we have got a date in place.'
Pressed about whether the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP who currently sits as an independent, would have the whip restored, Sir Keir said: 'That is a process we are going through. The National Executive Committee in the end will decide that.
'But we have got a process in place and we will complete it reasonably soon now.'