Jeremy Corbyn blocked from running as Labour MP at next election after Keir Starmer motion passes

Jeremy Corbyn has been blocked from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.

Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) approved Sir Keir Starmer’s motion that could force the former party leader to run as an independent in 2025.

Sir Keir’s motion says Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.

The veteran Labour MP has represented the London constituency of Islington North since 1983.

The bid led to the accusations from Corbyn that Starmer was undermining the party’s internal democracy.

A statement on the latest attempt to block my candidacy for Islington North. pic.twitter.com/ytZSK4oEKI
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) March 27, 2023

In a statement on Monday, he said: “Keir Starmer has broken his commitment to respect the rights of Labour members and denigrated the democratic foundations of our party.

“I have been elected as a Labour MP for Islington North on 10 consecutive occasions since 1983.

“I am proud to represent a community that supports vulnerable people, joins workers on the picket line and fights for transformative change.

“The latest move represents a leadership increasingly unwilling to offer solutions that meet the scale of the crisis facing us all.”

Sir Keir ruled out Corbyn standing again for Labour last month, as he insisted the party has undergone a transformation since he took over.

He confirmed the move after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) lifted Labour out of two years of special measures over its failings on antisemitism under Corbyn.

The veteran MP has been suspended from the party since 2020 following a report which found Labour had broken equalities law.

Ed Miliband, another former leader, defended the bid to oust Corbyn.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m not privy to exactly what goes on in the national executive, but I don’t think there is any mystery about the background to today’s discussion at the national executive committee.

“It’s about one thing, which is about Jeremy Corbyn’s reaction to the EHRC report on antisemitism and his refusal to apologise for that reaction.

“That is the background of this. I don’t think there’s any mystery about that.”