Islington North: Who could replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour’s candidate in the general election?
Names have begun to emerge in what will likely be a tense and toxic contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the Labour Party’s candidate for Islington North at the next general election.
The party formally launched the process to select its candidate for the north London seat after months of uncertainty.
Paul Mason, the former Channel 4 journalist, has confirmed he will seek the Labour nomination for the safe seat, as has transport author Christian Wolmar.
Labour insiders also suggested Islington councillor Praful Nargund could throw his hat in the ring, along with fellow local councillor Sheila Chapman and London Assembly member Sem Moema.
Uma Kumaran, a former adviser to Sir Keir Starmer, is also rumoured to be considering running to be the Labour candidate.
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Sources close to Sam Tarry, the current Labour MP for Ilford South who was deselected by local party members in October 2022, dismissed rumours he was considering running in the selection, pointing out that he once served as Mr Corbyn’s campaign manager.
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Another Labour insider said running in a contest potentially against Mr Corbyn was “a hard sell for most activists”.
“You will have a target painted on your back for the rest of your career,” they added.
Mr Corbyn was first elected to represent Islington North in 1983 and has won it at each of the last 10 elections.
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Labour bans Jeremy Corbyn
Sir Keir effectively barred his predecessor from ever standing as a Labour candidate when he proposed a motion by the party’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which said Mr Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
It cited the dismal defeat Mr Corbyn led Labour to as leader in the 2019 general election in arguing his candidacy should be blocked and said the party’s chances of securing a majority in the Commons would be “significantly diminished” if he was endorsed.
Mr Corbyn has been without the party whip – meaning he cannot sit as a Labour MP in the Commons – since 2020 following his response to a report into antisemitism within the party by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which Sir Keir and his allies felt downplayed the significance of the problem while he was leader.
Since the passing of the NEC motion, speculation has been rife as to what Mr Corbyn’s future could hold, including rumours he had considered running for London mayor, which he ultimately decided against – and that he could run against his former party as an independent candidate in Islington North, the seat he has represented for more than 40 years.
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Sky News understands that although Mr Corbyn could still technically apply to be the Labour candidate for the seat he currently holds, because of the NEC motion, his application would be immediately dismissed and would not be considered by the party’s selection committee.
That reality could prompt Mr Corbyn into formally declaring he will stand as an independent in Islington North – a move that is likely to result in him being suspended from the party he has been a member of for 50 years.
Applications to be selected to run for Labour in the seat opened on Wednesday, with candidates expected to be shortlisted next week.
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The hustings will take place online, with Labour dismissing suggestions this is unusual. The result is expected to be announced on 1 June, according to reports.
Momentum, a grass-roots group set up in the wake of Mr Corbyn’s leadership election victory back in 2015, hit out at the decision to bar Mr Corbyn from standing – pointing to his support among local Labour members.
John McDonnell, who served as shadow chancellor while Mr Corbyn was leader, said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The wishes of the Labour Party members of Islington North should be respected and they should be allowed to select the candidate of their voice and that includes Jeremy Corbyn, who has given his life to representing his community.”
Sky News has approached Mr Corbyn and the people named in this article for comment.
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Politics
Angela Rayner promises flagship workers’ law next month as she pledges ‘things can get better’
Angela Rayner has promised to bring Labour’s flagship workers’ rights bill to parliament next month as she told her party’s conference: “Things can get better if we make the right choices.”
The government has faced criticism in recent weeks over its pessimistic messaging around the economy, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warning October’s Budget would be “painful” in order to deal with the £22bn “black hole” he claims was left by the Conservatives.
But while his deputy said the party “can’t wish our problems away”, she said “hope won” when Labour achieved its landslide at the last election, adding: “Change has begun.”
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Speaking on the conference floor on the first full day of Labour’s annual gathering, Ms Rayner said: “Let me be blunt. We can’t wish our problems away. We have to face them. That’s the difference between opposition and government.
“But… things can get better if we make the right choices. Sustained economic growth is the only way to improve the lives of working people, and we’re fixing the foundations to put Britain back on the path to growth. No more talking, but doing.”
The deputy prime minister reiterated her party’s plans to improve renters’ rights, including ending no-fault evictions “for good”, as well as promising a “devolution revolution” in the north of England, and the “biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation”.
But some of the biggest cheers from delegates came over her long-trailed plan to increase workers’ rights across the country, with her promising to bring the Employment Rights Bill to the Commons in October.
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Concerns have been raised over the legislation by some in the business community, with an Institute of Directors’ survey earlier this month citing the bill as a reason for pessimism among firms who fear the impact on their operations.
But the government has sought to play down any divide, and held several roundtables with company leaders in recent weeks to allay their fears.
Championing the bill, Ms Rayner said: “They said we couldn’t do it. Some tried to stop it in its tracks. But after years of opposition, we are on the verge of historic legislation to make work more secure, make it more family friendly, go further and faster to close the gender pay gap, ensure rights are enforced and trade unions are strengthened.
“That means repealing the Tories’ anti-worker laws and new rights for union reps too. A genuine living wage and sick pay for the lowest earners, banning exploitative zero-hour contracts and unpaid internships, ending fire and rehire. And we will bring in basic rights from day one on the job.
“This is our plan to make work pay, and it’s coming to a workplace near you.”
Concluding her speech, the deputy prime minister said: “On 4 July, the people entrusted us with the task of change and hope won. Now is our moment, not just to say, but to do.
“Labour governments of the past took on this same challenge at a time when Britain desperately needed change. They delivered a better Britain when the odds were stacked against them.
“And that is exactly what this Labour government must deliver once again. So conference, let’s get on with it.”
Angela Rayner will set out measures to protect renters from fire safety defects, damp and mould in her speech at the Labour Party conference.
The deputy prime minister, who is also the housing secretary, will commit to “building homes fit for the future” when she opens the party’s first annual gathering since winning the general election.
The package will include bringing forward a Remediation Acceleration Plan this autumn to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding on high-rise buildings.
Deadly cladding remains on more than half of all residential blocks of flats identified as at risk since the Grenfell fire in 2017.
The issue has come back into the spotlight following the conclusion of the inquiry into the tragedy, which found that “systematic dishonesty” contributed to the blaze that killed 72 people.
The announcement of the acceleration plan was thin on detail, but the government said it would go “further and faster to fix unsafe cladding and make existing homes safe”.
Other measures Ms Rayner will announce on Sunday include consulting on a new “decent homes standard” for the social and private rented sectors, and a new law to make landlords respond to complaints about disrepair within legally binding timescales.
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These have already been announced as part of Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which builds on long-awaited legislation that was promised by the Tories but ultimately shelved ahead of the general election.
The law regarding repairs will be named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died as a direct result of exposure to mould in the social home his family rented in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
Awaab Ishak
The Conservatives first proposed Awaab’s Law to cover the social rented sector, but Labour will extend it to cover the private sector in a move they say will help tenants in 746,000 homes with reported serious hazards secure faster repairs.
Commenting ahead of her speech, Ms Rayner, who has also pledged to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, said: “Just because Britain isn’t working at the moment, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed.
“We will deliver for working people and, in doing so, show that politics can change lives.
“This Labour government is taking a wave of bold action to not only build the housing our country needs and boost social and affordable housing, but to ensure all homes are decent, safe, and warm.”
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‘All MPs take gifts and donations’
The speech comes as a donations row threatens to overshadow the optimistic mood of the party’s first conference while in government for 15 years.
The prime minister has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000 worth of gifts he has accepted, including tickets to football matches, concerts and luxury clothes.
Following days of press coverage on the issue, it emerged on Friday that Sir Keir and his most senior ministers – Ms Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves – will no longer accept donations to pay for clothes.
On Saturday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Sky News that there had not been an undue influence in gifts accepted by her colleagues but “we don’t want the news and the commentary to be dominated by conversations about clothes”.
She defended the prime minister’s actions as being within the rules, saying that the taxpayer doesn’t fund these things “so MPs will always take donations, will always take gifts in kind”.
She added: “We expect our politicians to be well turned out, we expect them to be people who go out and represent us at different events and represent the country at different events and are clothed appropriately.
“But the point is that when we accept donations for that or for anything else, that we declare them and we’re open and transparent about them.”
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