Starmer to propose NEC motion formalising Corbyn candidacy bar

At tomorrow’s meeting of the national executive committee (NEC), Keir Starmer will confirm that Jeremy Corbyn will not be allowed to stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election. The Labour leader will do this by proposing a motion that will see the NEC agree not to endorse Corbyn as a Labour candidate at the next election. Starmer’s majority on the NEC means that the motion is expected to pass. The motion, seconded by national campaign coordinator Shabana Mahmood, asserts that “the Labour Party’s interests, and its political interests at the next general election, are not well served by Mr Corbyn running as a Labour Party candidate”.  A senior Labour source said: “Keir Starmer has made clear that Jeremy Corbyn won’t be a Labour candidate at the next general election. The Labour Party now is unrecognisable from the one that lost in 2019. Tuesday’s vote will confirm this and ensure we can focus on our five missions to build a better Britain.”

Commenting on the news, a Momentum spokesperson said: “We utterly condemn this venal and duplicitous act from Keir Starmer, which further divides the Labour Party and insults the millions of people inspired by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.” The spokesperson described the Labour leader as “drunk on his own power”, saying: “The rationale given is pathetic and fails to cover up the patently factional motivation. Keir’s paper suggests this blocking is necessary for Labour’s electoral prospects – that will come as a surprise to Jeremy’s constituents, who have elected him ten times with massive majorities.” They argued: “Keir is doing this because he knows Jeremy would wipe the floor in any selection contest.”

The Jewish Labour Movement expressed hope that the motion would pass, saying: “Jeremy Corbyn has shown no contrition or responsibility for the antisemitism which was rampant on his watch, which led to [the EHRC] finding Labour broke equalities law. Keir Starmer’s firm leadership on this will only win votes for Labour.”

This news is a formalisation of an earlier announcement that the former Labour leader would not be allowed to stand, which was revealed by Starmer last month. Following his speech on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s announcement that it had concluded its monitoring of Labour – which began after the equality regulator’s investigation into allegations of antisemitism within the party – Starmer said: “What I said about the party changing I meant, and we are not going back, and that is why Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour candidate.” Responding to the news at the time, Corbyn said Starmer’s announcement constituted a “flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Islington North Labour Party members”.

NEC member Mish Rahman, who was elected with Momentum backing, has stated that he will not be supporting the motion at tomorrow’s meeting, commenting: “I believe in a broad church Labour Party where members should choose their candidates. Now is not the time for the party to turn inwards.”