Jeremy Corbyn | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 12 September 2015 – 4 April 2020 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Harriet Harman |
| Succeeded by | Keir Starmer |
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 12 September 2015 – 4 April 2020 | |
| Deputy | Tom Watson |
| Preceded by | Ed Miliband |
| Succeeded by | Keir Starmer |
| Member of Parliament for Islington North | |
| Assumed office 9 June 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Michael O'Halloran |
| Majority | 7,247 (14.8%) |
| Chair of the Stop the War Coalition | |
| In office 14 June 2011 – 12 September 2015 | |
| President | Tony Benn |
| Vice President | Lindsey German |
| Deputy | Chris Nineham |
| Preceded by | Andrew Murray |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Murray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jeremy Bernard Corbyn 26 May 1949 Chippenham, Wiltshire, England |
| Political party | Independent (part of the Independent Alliance) |
| Other political affiliations | Labour (1965–2024)a |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Piers Corbyn (brother) |
| Education |
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| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
| a.^ Membership suspended: 29 October 2020 – 17 November 2020; whip suspended since 29 October 2020 | |
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (/ˈkɔːrbɪn/; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. An independent, Corbyn was a member of the Labour Party from 1965 until his expulsion in 2024, and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus. He served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. Corbyn identifies ideologically as a socialist on the political left.[1][2]
Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Corbyn joined the Labour Party as a teenager. Moving to London, he became a trade union representative. In 1974, he was elected to Haringey Council and became Secretary of Hornsey Constituency Labour Party until elected as the MP for Islington North in 1983. His activism has included Anti-Fascist Action, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and advocating for a united Ireland and Palestinian statehood. As a backbencher, Corbyn routinely voted against the Labour whip, including New Labour governments. A vocal opponent of the Iraq War, he chaired the Stop the War Coalition from 2011 to 2015, and received the Gandhi International Peace Award and Seán MacBride Peace Prize. Following Ed Miliband's resignation after the party had lost the 2015 general election, Corbyn won the 2015 party leadership election to succeed him. The Labour Party's membership increased sharply, both during the leadership campaign and following his election.[3]
Taking the party to the left, Corbyn advocated renationalising public utilities and railways, a less interventionist military policy, and reversals of austerity cuts to welfare and public services. Although he had sometimes been critical of the European Union (EU), he supported the Remain campaign in the 2016 EU membership referendum. After Labour MPs sought to remove him in 2016 through a leadership challenge, he won a second leadership contest against Owen Smith. Despite hostile treatment from the media, in the 2017 general election Corbyn led Labour to increase its vote share by 10 percentage points to 40 per cent, their largest rise since the 1945 general election. During his tenure as leader, Corbyn was criticised for the antisemitism within the party. He condemned antisemitism[4] and apologised for its presence,[5] while his leadership saw a strengthening of disciplinary procedures regarding hate speech and racism.[6] In 2019, after deadlock in Parliament over Brexit, Corbyn endorsed holding a referendum on the withdrawal agreement, with a personal stance of neutrality. In the 2019 general election, Labour's vote share fell to 32 per cent, leading to a loss of 60 seats, leaving it with 202, its fewest since the 1935 general election. Corbyn remained Labour leader for four months while the leadership election to replace him took place. His resignation as Labour leader formally took effect in April 2020 following the election of Keir Starmer, who led the party to victory at the next general election in 2024.
After asserting that the scale of antisemitism had been overstated for political reasons, Corbyn was suspended from the party in 2020. In May 2024, after the 2024 general election had been called, Corbyn was not allowed to stand as a Labour candidate for his constituency, and subsequently announced he would stand as an independent candidate for Islington North; he was then expelled from Labour.[7] He won re-election with a majority of 7,247.[8]
- ^ Calamur, Krishnadev (18 August 2015). "How a Socialist Prime Minister Might Govern Britain". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
- ^ Settle, Michael (18 August 2015). "Corbyn: I'm a Socialist not a Unionist". The Herald. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ibtimeswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Corbyn decries anti-Semitism as 'vile and wrong' following chief rabbi's rebuke". The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. 26 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ MEE staff. "BBC issues correction after saying Corbyn refused to apologise on antisemitism". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (26 September 2017). "Labour to adopt new antisemitism rules after conference row". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ Brown, Faye (24 May 2024). "General election: Jeremy Corbyn confirms he will stand as independent in Islington North". Sky News. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Dyer, Henry (5 July 2024). "Jeremy Corbyn re-elected in Islington North after expulsion from Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.