Former Labour leader Corbyn to stand as independent in UK election

Reuters

Updated 24 May 2024 at 0:22 pm·1-min read

Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange protest in London

LONDON (Reuters) -Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of Britain's Labour Party, said on Friday he would stand as an independent candidate at a national election on July 4, in a move which could lead to a potential upset for Labour in his north London seat.

Labour, far ahead of the governing Conservatives in the polls, suspended Corbyn in 2020 following a report into how anti-Semitism complaints were handled under his leadership.

Corbyn was Labour leader at the last election in 2019. He has held the Islington North seat since 1983.

Labour officials have not included the 74-year-old in a shortlist for candidates for the seat, prompting his decision to go it alone as an independent.

"I want our political parties to be democratic, but members of Islington North Labour have been denied the right to choose a candidate," Corbyn said in a video announcing his plan.

"So we have to stand up. We have to stand up and say, we're not taking this anymore. We will assert our rights. That's why I'm standing to be an independent candidate for the people of Islington North."

Asked about Corbyn, Labour leader Keir Starmer told reporters at a later campaign rally: "I think Jeremy Corbyn's days of commenting on what the Labour Party is doing are over."

(Reporting by William James and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle)

The Telegraph
Sunak may have made the biggest electoral mistake in British history
When the history of this election campaign comes to be written, one question will perplex the compilers more than any other: why now? The Tory officials and police officers being investigated for alleged gambling law infractions by betting on a snap contest in July will have secured very good odds for the simple reason that no one was expecting it.
The Telegraph
The Tories have abandoned the one thing that made them electable
The outcome of the general election is now considered such a foregone conclusion that the post-mortem examination is being conducted while the corpse is still twitching. Many pundits and politicians seem to think that the Government’s imminent demise can be explained by its failure to listen to one faction or another.
HuffPost
'Look At The Evidence': Karl Rove Drops Bad News For Trump Live On Fox News
The longtime GOP strategist pointed to a shift that's taken place over the past few weeks — and predicted what will happen next.
The Telegraph
Brace yourself for Keir Starmer’s puritan war on life’s pleasures
This is how the Conservative world ends, not with a bang but a flutter. The Tories in office were gamblers, shaggers, nutters and clowns, but at least they were funny – and their wrist too limp to grasp power entirely. Now the cavaliers are leaving the stage; here come the roundheads. Brace yourselves for a war on joy.
The Independent
Shock new poll confirms Reform lead over Tories despite Farage’s Putin comments
Nigel Farage’s comments about Putin and Ukraine do not appear to have dented Reform’s popularity according to a major new poll of 10,000 voters
The Telegraph
Russia is crumbling from within
On Sunday evening, the North Caucasus region of Dagestan was rocked by a series of brutal terrorist attacks. Gunmen opened fire in a synagogue in Derbent, graphically slit the throat of Russian Orthodox priest Father Nikolay, and attacked Jewish and Christian houses of worship in Dagestan’s largest city Makhachkala. These brutal crimes claimed the lives of at least 15 people, including police officers.
The Telegraph
Will voting Reform put Labour in power? Check your postcode
“A vote for Reform is a vote for Labour.”
Business Insider
A Russian soldier's killing of a wounded comrade highlights the 'brutal culture' rampant inside Russia's military, war analysts say
Experts called out the callous behavior within the Russian armed forces after drone footage showed a soldier shooting a wounded comrade.
Yahoo News UK
Who will you vote for in the general election? Tell us what you think
With just over a week to go until the general election, have you made your mind up yet?
HuffPost
'Truly Shocking': Prankster Reveals Trump Rally Moment That 'Knocked Me Over'
Jason Selvig of The Good Liars said he had never seen this before at one of the former president's rallies.
HuffPost
Ex-Aide Predicts Future Of Donald And Melania Trump's Relationship
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff weighed in on the former first lady's absence from the campaign trail.
The Hill
Trump campaign fundraising email says he was ‘tortured’ in jail
CORRECTION: A May fundraising email by former President Trump’s campaign mentioned him being “tortured” in the Fulton County jail. Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story included incorrect information. Former President Trump’s campaign in a Monday fundraising email criticized his treatment at the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, saying he was…
The Telegraph
For intolerant Farage supporters, grown-up debate has clearly become a farce
Much heartened by the onslaught of criticism I’ve been receiving from Telegraph readers, I am returning to the subject of one of Clacton’s parliamentary candidates. Two weeks ago I got myself into a vat of boiling oil for saying we should turn our heads to the wall from Mr Farage’s sort of bitter and divisive populism. My column was greeted with such outrage and affront that I knew I was onto something.
Associated Press
Iran's supreme leader warns sole reformist in presidential race, while calling for 'maximum' turnout
Iran's supreme leader issued a thinly veiled warning Tuesday to the sole reformist candidate in the country's upcoming presidential election, saying anyone who believes “all ways to progress” come from the United States shouldn't be supported. While often speaking in parables like many Iranian politicians, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to directly undercut the candidacy of 69-year-old heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, who has aligned himself with officials from the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani helped reach Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord Pezeshkian has fully embraced in contrast with his five hard-line opponents, who want an agreement fully on Iran's terms.
Associated Press
Trump has spent months painting Biden as incompetent. Now he's changing his tone before the debate
After months of casting President Joe Biden as a shell of a man incapable of putting two sentences together, Donald Trump has changed his tune days before their first debate. The changed rhetoric marks a dramatic shift from how Trump typically describes the man he will face in a rematch this November. At his rallies and in speeches, Trump typically casts the Democratic incumbent as a “low-IQ individual” who is “the worst, most incompetent, and most corrupt president” in the nation’s history, and often imitates Biden appearing lost on stage.
The Telegraph
‘Their manifesto is like a wishlist’: How Reform seduced Gen Z
Nathan Hobbs has been arguing with his sister about politics lately. She is 22, has a progressive outlook and, like most young voters, is likely to vote either Labour or Liberal Democrat at the General Election. Nathan, a 19-year-old student, disagrees with her and doesn’t fit the mould of much of his peer group either. He is planning to vote Reform UK on July 4. “There’s a real split [between us],” he says of the siblings’ divergence in political opinion. “She dislikes Nigel Farage.”
The Guardian
HMRC is threatening my terminally ill father with debt collectors
He is 92 and doesn’t actually owe the money, but there is nothing he can do to stop the tax demands coming
CNN
Biden administration moves toward allowing American military contractors to deploy to Ukraine
The Biden administration is moving towards lifting a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine, four US officials familiar with the matter told CNN, to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems.
The Telegraph
Letters: The coming rejection of the Conservatives is more than a mere protest
SIR – I read Nick Timothy’s article with alarm (“Tories who vote Reform will get the opposite of what they really want”, Comment, June 24).
HuffPost UK
'Are You A Betting Man?': Sky News Presenter Leaves Top Tory Squirming Over Gambling Scandal
The controversy is intensifying with the election just 10 days away.

Latest stories