Former leader of the UK's Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn speaks during a protest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's supporters outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, United Kingdom, 28 October 2021;
Credit: Reuters/Henry Nicholls/ FIle Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, said on Friday 24 May 2024, he would stand as an independent candidate at the general election on 4 July, in a move which could lead to a potential upset for Labour in his north London seat.
Labour, ahead of the governing Conservatives in the polls, suspended Corbyn in 2020 following a report into how anti-Semitism complaints were handled under his leadership.
Corbyn was the Labour leader at the last election in 2019. He has held the Islington North seat since 1983.
Labour officials have not included the 74-year-old in a shortlist of candidates for the seat, prompting his decision to go it alone as an independent.
"I want our political parties to be democratic, but members of Islington North Labour have been denied the right to choose a candidate," Corbyn said in a video announcing his plan.
"So we have to stand up. We have to stand up and say, we're not taking this anymore. We will assert our rights. That's why I'm standing to be an independent candidate for the people of Islington North."
