Jeremy Corbyn has said Sir Keir Starmer barring him from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election is a ‘flagrant attack’ on democracy.
He added: ‘This is a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the
Conservative Party.’
Corbyn, who led the party for five years from 2015, had the whip removed from him in 2020 after saying antisemitism within the party had been ‘dramatically overstated’.
Earlier today, Sir Keir said: ‘Let me be very clear about that. Jeremy Corbyn will not stand for labour or the next general election as a Labour Party candidate.
‘What I said about the party changing meant that we are not going back and that is why Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.’
He said he had ‘challenged’ Jeremy Corbyn ‘both in the shadow cabinet and publicly’ on antisemitism.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Mr Corbyn said any attempt to block his candidacy for the seat was ‘denial of due process’.
The Islington North MP said: ‘Ever since I was elected as a Labour MP 40 years ago, I have fought on behalf of my community for a more equal, caring and peaceful society.
‘Day in day out, I am focused on the most important issues facing people in Islington North: poverty, rising rents, the healthcare crisis, the safety of refugees, and the fate of our planet.
‘Keir Starmer’s statement about my future is a flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Islington North Labour Party members.
‘It is up to them – not party leaders – to decide who their candidate should be. Any attempt to block my candidacy is a denial of due process, and should be opposed by anybody who believes in the value of democracy.’
He continued: ‘At a time when the Government is overseeing the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, this is a divisive distraction from our overriding goal: to defeat the Conservative Party at the next general election.
‘I am proud to represent the labour movement in Parliament through my constituency. I am focused on standing up for workers on the picket line, the marginalised, and all those worried about their futures.
‘That is what I’ll continue to do. I suggest the Labour Party does the same.’
Corbyn made the comments following a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) which stated the party had breached the Equalities Act over its handling of complaints of anti-Semitism during his tenure.
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