Kicking Jeremy Corbyn out of Labour a mistake, say allies

Jeremy Corbyn’s allies have hit out at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to block him standing for the party at the next election.

The former leader, 73, has sat as an independent MP since October 2020 when he was suspended for saying anti-Semitism in Labour under his leadership was ‘dramatically overstated’ by opponents.

It followed a damning report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell called Sir Keir’s decision not to readmit him ‘a mistake’, and Diane Abbott noted he once called his predecessor a friend.

She rejected a claim Sir Keir fought privately to address issues under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, calling it ‘nonsense’.

But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Sir Keir had shown ‘what standards had to be met’.

Mr Corbyn, who called Wednesday’s decision a ‘flagrant attack on democracy’, could stand as an independent or seek the nomination of local Labour members in his Islington North constituency. He has been the MP there since 1983.

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