Jeremy Corbyn To Stand Against Labour As Independent In Upcoming Election

Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, left, sits waiting to speak next to Keir Starmer Labour’s then-Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union during their election campaign event on Brexit in Harlow, England on Nov. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confirmed he will stand as an independent candidate against his former party in the upcoming general election on July 4.

Corbyn will contest his long-held Islington North seat, which he has represented since 1983, while Labour is set to announce its candidate for Islington North on June 1 in a departure that indicates the party’s break from Corbyn’s leadership under successor Sir Keir Starmer.

Shortlisting of two candidates was drawn up by Labour officials. Corbyn reportedly delayed his announcement until this process began, emphasising he was being forced out rather than leaving willingly.

In an interview with the Islington Tribune, Corbyn said: “Local Labour Party members in Islington North have been prevented from choosing their own candidate, which has disempowered everyone in the community.”

Corbyn was suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party in 2020 after suggesting that the scale of anti-Semitism complaints had been “dramatically overstated” by opponents, following an Equality and Human Rights Commission report.

His campaign will likely attract left-wing supporters disillusioned with Starmer’s leadership. Corbyn’s platform includes 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.