Jeremy Corbyn 2015 Labour Party leadership campaign

Jeremy Corbyn for Labour Leader
Campaigned forLabour Party leadership election, 2015
CandidateJeremy Corbyn MP
StatusAnnounced: 3 June 2015
Nominated: 15 June 2015
Won election: 12 September 2015
HeadquartersWalkden House, 10 Melton St, Kings Cross, Camden, London, NW1 2EJ
Key people
  • Simon Fletcher (Manager)
  • John McDonnell MP (Parliamentary Manager)
  • Carmel Nolan (Communications)
  • Jon Lansman (Director of Operations)
SloganStraight Talking, Honest Politics
Chant"Jez We Can"
This article is part of
a series about
Jeremy Corbyn
Backbencher
Leader of the Opposition and Labour Party
Elections
Cultural depictions

Jeremy Corbyn, the Member of Parliament for Islington North, stood as a candidate in the 2015 British Labour Party leadership election, in a successful campaign that made him the leader of the Labour Party.

His campaign was announced in an article for the Islington Tribune on 3 June 2015. Corbyn pledged to stand on a "clear anti-austerity platform" and because he wanted to "give Labour Party members a voice" in the debate.[1]

Commentators in the media widely predicted that Corbyn would struggle to pass the threshold of 35 nominations from Labour MPs required to become a candidate. However, he managed narrowly—and at the last minute—to secure sufficient support from parliamentary colleagues, with 36 nominations in total.[2] Around 12 of the MPs who nominated him actually supported other candidates, but "lent" him their support in order to widen the contest.[3] Corbyn was reported to say: "We had two minutes to spare, it was easy."[4]

He was originally seen as a rank-outsider, given odds of 200/1 to win by bookmakers in June 2015.[5] However, following a series of televised and radio debates with the other three candidates, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall, Corbyn received the highest number of supporting nominations from Constituency Labour Parties, winning over 100 by the end of July.[6] Corbyn went on to gain the support of six of the Labour Party's fourteen affiliated trade unions, including the UK's two largest trade unions, Unite and UNISON,[7][8]

On 12 September 2015 Corbyn was elected Leader of the Labour Party in a landslide victory, with 59.5% of first-preference votes.[9]

  1. ^ "Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn enters race". BBC News. 3 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn makes it on to ballot". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Margaret Beckett: I was moron to nominate Jeremy Corbyn". BBC News. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  4. ^ William James (17 August 2015). "Corbyn sets up clash with Cameron over Europe". Reuters News Agency. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. ^ Odell, Mark (12 August 2015). "Bookmakers fear losses as long-shot Corbyn breaks betting records". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 September 2019. (Subscription required.)
  6. ^ Perraudin, Frances (19 July 2015). "Labour leadership: Andy Burnham keeps door open for Jeremy Corbyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Unite backs Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader". BBC News. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. ^ Gosden, Emily (29 July 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn receives Unison's backing for Labour leadership". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  9. ^ Rowena Mason (12 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn elected Labour leader in stunning victory". TheGuardian.com.