Jeremy Corbyn, fired from Labour Party for antisemitism, wins as Independent candidate

Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, has won as an Independent candidate in the UK general elections.

Last year, Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party after he dismissed a report that found the Labour indulged in unlawful antisemitism under his leadership and said the accusations were exaggerated for political benefits. He was also barred from contesting elections as a Labour candidate.

“The scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media,” said Corbyn at the time.

Following Corbyn’s statement, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suspended him from the party after saying he was disappointed by his stand.

As an Independent candidate, Corbyn won the seat of Islington North and defeated his nearest rival Praful Nargund by a margin of more than 7,000 votes.

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Following the announcement of the result, Corbyn said that “we made history” tonight.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Corbyn took a swipe at the Labour —his former party— and said that dissent could not be crushed without consequences.

“This election was never about me. It has always been about our community and the values we share. And it’s about our undying belief that there is an alternative to inequality, poverty and war. Tonight’s result in Islington North gives us a glimpse of a different future, which puts the interests of the many ahead of those of the few. It is also a warning - a warning to the incoming government that dissent cannot be crushed without consequences,” said Corbyn in the statement.

Tonight, we made history.

This is just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/tY1MdOAsjY

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 5, 2024

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Corbyn had led the Labour in the 2019 UK general elections in which the party suffered the worst defeat in nearly 90 years. Throughout his leadership, the party had faced accusations of antisemitism from amongst its own voters and supporters.

Following the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, Corbyn further made headlines and faced accusations of antisemitism and shielding terrorists when he refused to condemn the attack and said that the war was not started by Hamas. In a conversation with Outlook magazine, he dubbed the terrorist group Hamas a “Palestinian force” and said the war was not started by them.

“I’m against violence of any form but I don’t think this war was started by a Palestinian force,” said Corbyn.

“While the media tried hard to squeeze out of him a statement condemning the Hamas attack, he has maintained that it is impossible to address the question without delving deep into history,” noted the Outlook article featuring Corbyn’s comments.