British parliament
British parliamentiStock

Former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s attempt to run as the party’s candidate in the seat he has held since 1983 may be thwarted by party leaders.

Corbyn’s campaign to secure a spot as the Labour candidate in Islington North for the next election is the subject of discussions by insiders trying to figure out how to stop his nomination, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

Corbyn was removed as the party whip and has been sitting as an independent MP since October 2020 – when he alleged that Labour’s internal issue with antisemitism that led to a wide ranging investigation was “dramatically overstated” by his political opponents. But he has remained a member of the party.

In January 2020, Corbyn and his supporters within Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) attempted to have the parliamentary whip reinstated to the former party leader, but it was voted down.

Corbyn was suspended from Labour following the publication of a report compiled by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which found numerous cases where the party leadership under Corbyn underplayed, belittled or ignored complaints by Jewish members, and sometimes actively interfered to support political allies.

He was reinstated by Labour after appearing to apologize for belittling the report, but his successor as Labour leader, Keir Starmer, said he would deny Corbyn the party whip even after he was reinstated as a party member.

While Labour officials do not currently have the power to deselect Corbyn as the candidate, they held discussions this week about how to work around party rules in order to prevent him from standing.

Corbyn is also said to be forming a new far left party, which could potentially take shape next week, with several major British unions rumored to be on board.