No Jeremy Corbyn: What’s next for Labour’s left?

Sean O’Grady examines what Keir Starmer’s bid to cast predecessor into exile might mean for the party

Frenemies: Corbyn and Starmer attend an election campaign meeting in 2019 (Reuters)

Jeremy Corbyn won’t be a Labour candidate at the next general election, Sir Keir Starmer has said, also warning that members resistant to changes in the party should leave. Mr Corbyn, who has been MP for Islington North since 1983, has been sitting as an independent since having the Labour whip withdrawn in October 2020. He has not yet said if he will stand as an independent, but some supporters believe he could win a contest because of strong local support. “Jeremy Corbyn will not stand for Labour at the next general election as a Labour Party candidate,” Sir Keir said. “What I said about the Labour Party changing I meant, and we are not going back.”

Could Corbyn still be an MP in the next parliament?

It is possible, but difficult. There’s no rule to prevent him from standing as a non-Labour candidate. This has occasionally happened in the past, where an ex-Labour MP has stood either as “independent Labour” or for a new party, such as the SDP in the 1980s or Change UK in 2019. Few have managed to win, and even fewer have managed to hang on for more than one parliamentary term. Labour activists who assisted Corbyn in a campaign against an official party candidate would be liable for expulsion. WO Davies, Dick Taverne and Eddie Milne are some historical examples of Labour MPs going on to defeat an official candidate in their constituency. George Galloway did so in a different constituency with the support of the specially formed group, Respect.