The dispute between Jeremy Corbyn and the party he represented for more than four decades could soon come to a bitter conclusion, after the ex-Labour leader accepted a donation that has reportedly angered senior figures.
The ‘We Deserve Better’ campaign group are actively working to put more socialist and left-leaning candidates into government, supporting politicians in local and upcoming national elections. Last month, Corbyn received a £5,000 donation from them.
This is seen as highly problematic, given that We Deserve Better are plotting to unseat ‘centrist’ representatives from Labour with progressive candidates from other parties. Supporting this cause could be the final red line for the Islington MP.
As resported by Politics Home, he now faces the prospect of being excluded altogether from the Labour Party.
It also looks like the friction between the official opposition and its former leader will run into the General Election, too. Journalist Paul Mason has applied to contest Islington North for Labour after candidate selection to run in Jeremy Corbyn’s seat opens.
Corbyn, who is still suspended for comments he made in the aftermath of the equalities watchdog report into antisemitism in Labour, has been barred from standing again for the party. He has held the seat for over 40 years, and won it with a majority of more than 26,000 in 2019.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting was quizzed about the donation earlier on Sunday. He was scathing in his assessment, and lashed out at the ‘complete failure’ of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Indeed, this is likely to ruffle a few feathers.
“It’s not acceptable, but quite frankly, what Jeremy Corbyn does is of no concern to me any longer. He isn’t a Labour candidate and he won’t be in Parliament after the next election. We’ve turned the page on that complete failure in our history.”
“When Keir Starmer said he was going to change the Labour Party, he was serious and he meant it. We are in a much better position now than we were in 2019, because we understand why the public rejected us.” | Wes Streeting
