Starmer's move to block Corbyn running as Labour MP approved

Sir Keir Starmer's move to block Jeremy Corbyn from running to be a Labour MP at the next election has been backed by the party's ruling body.

A Labour spokesman said the National Executive Committee passed the leader's motion by 22 votes to 12.

The decision means it is now down to Mr Corbyn to decide whether to run as an independent candidate.

Mr Corbyn, the veteran left-winger who has represented Islington North since 1983, had criticised the move as "undermining the party's internal democracy" before its approval.

The motion says he "will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election".

'A distraction from the vital task of getting the Tories out'

The decision was immediately attacked by Mr Corbyn’s allies, threatening to spark a new civil war within Labour.

Nadia Whittome, the MP for Nottingham East, said: “It should be up to local members in Islington North to decide who represents them.

“The motion to ban Jeremy Corbyn from restanding is divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction from the vital task of getting the Tories out. I hope it’s withdrawn or rejected.”

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Streatham, added: “Labour members and trade unionists in Islington North deserve a free and fair vote on who gets to represent them.”

In a statement the officers of Mr Corbyn’s local constituency party (CLP) also hit out at the decision from party headquarters.

“We believe in the democratic of all constituency parties to choose their prospective parliamentary candidate,” they said.

“We reject the undue interference in Islington North, which undermines our goal of defeating the Conservatives and working with our communities for social justice.”

If Mr Corbyn did run as an independent in the north London constituency, it could cause a distracting challenge for Sir Keir at the next election.

The former leader had the Labour whip removed in October 2020 after claiming the scale of the party’s anti-semitism problem had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons” during his leadership.

He made the comments on the day that the Equality and Human Rights Commission was "responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination" against Jews.

'Not in the best interests of Labour to endorse Corbyn'

The NEC has the power to endorse, or not endorse, a candidate selected for election.

Sir Keir’s motion stated that the Labour Party’s purpose is to win election, and that “the Labour Party has not secured a Parliamentary majority in the House of Commons since 2005”.

It points out that “in the 2019 general election, led by Rt Hon. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party returned 202 MPs to Parliament, being the lowest number of Labour Party MPs returned since the 1935 general election”.

The motion goes on: “The Labour Party’s standing with the electorate in the country, and its electoral prospects in seats it is required to win in order to secure a Parliamentary majority and/or win the next general election, are both significantly diminished should Mr Corbyn be endorsed by the Labour Party as one of its candidates for the next general election.

“This meeting of the NEC considers and agrees that in order to effect the NEC’s primary purpose to maximise the Labour Party’s prospects of winning the next general election, and to avoid any detrimental impact on the Labour Party’s standing with the electorate in the country as a whole; the Labour Party’s interests, and its political interests at the next general election, are not well served by Mr Corbyn running as a Labour Party candidate.

“It is not in the best interests of the Labour Party for it to endorse Mr Corbyn as a Labour Party candidate at the next general election.”

'Denigrating the demographic foundations' of Labour

On Monday, Mr Corbyn accused Sir Keir of "denigrating the demographic foundations" of Labour - as he vowed that neither he nor his hard-left allies were "going anywhere".

But he did not address the question of whether he will stand as an independent against the official Labour candidate in Islington North.

In a statement, he said: "Today, 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 the 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.

"This latest move represents a leadership increasingly unwilling to offer solutions that meet the scale of the crises facing us all. As the government plunges millions into poverty and demonises refugees, Keir Starmer has focused his opposition on those demanding a more progressive and humane alternative."

He added: "I joined the Labour Party when I was 16 years old because, like millions of others, I believed in a redistribution of wealth and power.

"Our message is clear: we are not going anywhere. Neither is our determination to stand up for a better world."