Jeremy Corbyn ban could prove election distraction for Starmer

The decision by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee earlier this afternoon to slap a candidacy ban on him shows that while the domestic woes of the SNP have been on display for several weeks, other parties always have their little internal problems too.

The move proposed by the Labour leader - which earlier this afternoon succeeded quite comfortably by 22 votes to 12 - underlines his complete authority within the party and shows his determination to ensure nothing or no one will stand in the Opposition’s way of maximising its effort to supplant the Conservatives as the UK Government at the 2024 General Election.

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It’s important to note that there is no appeal within Labour's process, so Mr Corbyn has no way back, it would seem.

On Monday, the former Labour chief confidently declared he was “not going anywhere” and has previously argued the attempt to ban him from seeking the Labour nomination in the Islington North constituency, which he has represented for 40 years, was “undermining the party’s internal democracy”.

At the time of writing this piece, Mr C has still made no comment on the NEC’s decision. But it won’t be long before he does. The left-wing veteran might be consulting his lawyers.

Earlier today, Ed Miliband, the party’s climate change spokesman and a former leader himself, told the BBC the NEC’s meeting was “about one thing, which is about Jeremy Corbyn’s reaction to the Equality and Human Rights Commission[EHRC] report on anti-Semitism and his refusal to apologise for that reaction. That is the background of this. I don’t think there’s any mystery about that”.

Yet, interestingly, the motion before the NEC never mentioned the anti-Semitism row, but, in arguing his candidacy should be blocked, cited the dismal defeat Mr Corbyn led Labour to in the 2019 General Election, its worst since 1935.

The ruling body argued that Labour’s chances of winning the next election and securing a majority in the Commons would be “significantly diminished” if Mr Corbyn were endorsed.

Tony Blair (Image: free)

The London backbencher was suspended as a Labour MP by Sir Keir three years ago for saying, in his response to the EHRC report, that the scale of anti-Semitism within Labour had been “dramatically overstated” by his opponents and much of the media.

He also said anti-Semitism was "absolutely abhorrent" and "one anti-Semite is one too many" in the party.

Last month, the equalities watchdog lifted Labour out of two years of special measures in what its leader described as an “important moment in the history of the Labour Party”.

Some Corbynistas were quick to denounce the NEC’s decision.

John McDonnell, the former Shadow Chancellor and the closest of Mr Corbyn's comrades, claimed the NEC's decision would be "seen as divisive and brutal, victimising someone, who has given his life to our movement".

Nadia Whittome, the MP for Nottingham East, who has served on Sir Keir’s frontbench, described the motion before the ruling body as “divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction”.

Activist Jon Lansman, the co-founder of the Corbyn-backing Momentum pressure group, claimed the Labour leader was acting like an “authoritarian”.

“Keir Starmer unfortunately is behaving as if he was some kind of Putin of the Labour Party. That is not the way we do politics,” he declared.

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But then, intriguingly, he added that it would be a “big mistake” for Mr Corbyn to run as an independent, stressing how he wanted to see Sir Keir form a Labour government.

Mr Corbyn’s allies highlighted Sir Keir’s previous comments in which he expressed support for the local membership selecting their candidates “for every election” while he was running to become Labour leader.

“The selections for Labour candidates needs to be more democratic and we should end NEC impositions of candidates,” declared the chief comrade in 2020.

The Islington North Labour Party made clear it “strongly supports” Sir Keir’s previous position and rejected the NEC’s “undue interference” in the constituency.

It argued the ruling body’s decision “undermines our goal of defeating the Conservatives and working with our communities for social justice”.

At the root of Sir Keir’s strategy in blocking his predecessor’s desire to be a Labour candidate again is the need to secure as many red-wall seats in northern England as possible, as Rishi Sunak, through his pro-Brexit rhetoric and stop-the-boats policy, desperately seeks to shore up Tory support in the erstwhile Labour strongholds.

Both men know that the next year’s UK poll could well rest upon how well or badly each of their parties does in these battlegrounds. Even more so, if, as some predict, the comrades achieve a healthy revival in Scotland at the expense of the SNP, whose new leader, Humza Yousaf, knows, among the many tests he faces in his new role, is the imperative to hold onto as many of the 45 seats his party holds at Westminster.

A combination of a successful campaign in Scotland and the return of red-wall seats in England to the Labour fold might well determine a) its secures a victory at the General Election and b) Sir Keir heads a majority Labour government.

The speculation now is, once Mr C’s tirade against Sir Keir and the Shadow Cabinet dies down, that the ex-chief comrade will stand as an independent in his Islington North constituency. Of course, once that were to happen, he would be kicked out of the party he joined at 16.

But such a move would be a big distraction during the election campaign for the Labour leader as he tries to beat what, if economic circumstances improve sufficiently, could be a revived Conservative Party under Mr Sunak.

Key to any party’s campaign to become the next government is unity. Having the ghost from elections past shroud-waving for weeks on end will not do Sir Keir any favours in his determination to be Britain’s next prime minister.

If Mr Corbyn took a step back and reflected on his party’s attempt to end what would, by next year, be 14 years in opposition, then the wisest move would be to accept defeat, not be a distraction to Labour’s drive to power and look to spend more on the terraces of his beloved Arsenal FC.

However, chances are - with his loyal band of supporters in full cry - pride and indignation will take precedence and Mr Corbyn might just decide he prefers to play the thorn in Sir Keir’s New Labour side.