Jeremy Corbyn: what happens if former Labour leader stands again?
Islington MP continues to serve as an independent following his 2020 suspension from the Labour Party

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that his “absurd and disgraceful” suspension from Labour be lifted so that he can represent the party at the next election.
The former Labour leader lost the party whip in October 2020 over his comments about an Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) investigation into anti-Semitism in Labour that uncovered “serious failings” during his time in charge. Corbyn claimed that the scale of the reported harassment and discrimination against Jewish members had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.
Since being “booted out” of Labour, said the Daily Mail, Corbyn has represented his Islington North seat as in independent MP, and “has been told he can only return if he apologises for downplaying the racism, something he refuses to do”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking to Global Radio’s The News Agents podcast last week, Corbyn argued that “Labour Party members ought to be allowed to decide who the Labour candidates are”. He also defended Labour backbencher Kim Johnson, who had apologised after being censured for branding the Israeli government “fascist”.
‘He would win’
Corbyn’s push to be reinstated has been backed by Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham. The union boss told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that “it’s clear he’s a Labour MP, and of course, I think that if he stood in his constituency, he’d win, actually”.
She added: “Rather than creating barriers, why don’t we try and bring people together?”
Unite remains the Labour Party’s main financial backer, but “relations have been strained since Starmer took the helm and adopted a more cautious approach to striking workers”, said HuffPost.
Keir Starmer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in December that he didn’t “see the circumstances” in which Labour would allow Corbyn to stand as the party’s candidate in the next election.
However, a question mark hovers over who would stand for Labour in Corbyn’s Islington North constituency, which he has represented for four decades, if he decides to run again as an independent. Despite leading Labour to a loss in the 2019 general election, Corbyn secured a personal majority of 26,188 in the London seat.
It’s no wonder that “no queue is forming” to run against him, said The Spectator’s Nick Cohen. The local party is about 4,000-strong, and “internal party elections for constituency officers show strong support for pro-Corbyn candidates”.
‘Special measures’
Following the publication of the EHRC’s report into Labour’s failings in tackling anti-Semitism, the party was forced to come up with an action plan or face legal action.
Labour was only the second political party ever to be investigated by the EHRC, after the British National Party (BNP).
The two-year monitoring period for Labour’s action plan has now ended, but the human rights watchdog is not yet expected to lift the party out of special measures, “suggesting it believes there remain some unresolved issues”, said The Sunday Telegraph’s chief political correspondent Camilla Turner.
In a further headache for Labour, Corbyn remains a focal point for Conservative attacks in Westminster. “When his back is against the wall in Parliament, Rishi Sunak is forced to bring up the ghost of ‘The Member for Islington North’ in a bid to haunt Keir Starmer,” wrote journalist and broadcaster J.J. Anisiøbi for Metro.
And “until the ghost of Corbyn is exorcised”, Anisiøbi predicted, the Tory leader “will continue to raise his name in an attempt to sow distrust towards Starmer”.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?
Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
New White House guidance means federal employees could be hearing more religious talk at work
The Explainer Employees can now try to persuade co-workers of why their religion is 'correct'
-
Real-life couples creating real-deal sparks in the best movies to star IRL partners
The Week Recommends The chemistry between off-screen items can work wonders
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?
Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?
Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Mortgage reform: is Rachel Reeves betting the house on City rules shake-up?
Today's Big Question Reforms could create up to 36,000 additional mortgages next year
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the Left
Talking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
-
How will Labour pay for welfare U-turn?
Today's Big Question A dramatic concession to Labour rebels has left the government facing more fiscal dilemmas
-
Backbench rebellions and broken promises: is it getting harder to govern?
Today's Big Question Backbench rebellions and broken promises: is it getting harder to govern?
-
Labour's brewing welfare rebellion
The Explainer Keir Starmer seems determined to press on with disability benefit cuts despite a "nightmare" revolt by his own MPs