Corbyn's Career Effectively Over as Labour Conference Votes Against Lifting Ban

Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 over his response to a report into allegations of anti-Semitism in the party. Although the suspension was formally made by Labour General Secretary Dave Evans, new leader Sir Keir Starmer later admitted that he ordered the move.

Labour Party Conference delegates have voted against lifting the suspension of left-wing former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The 59 to 41 percent vote against the motion at the annual party gathering in Liverpool on Monday could end the Islington North MP's political career.

The motion sought to allow Corbyn's branch to re-select him to stand at the next general election, which must be held by late January 2025.

That could have pressured Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to reinstate the parliamentary whip to his former shadow cabinet boss.

"We need a range of Labour candidates. We need to demonstrate that the Labour Party truly is a broad church," said Islington North delegate Peter Talbot before the Liverpool vote. "And that's particularly important in relation to the thousands of young people that Jeremy brought into supporting Labour.'

Talbot warned that "If we don't change the rules and Jeremy can't stand for Labour at the next election, well that would just be a disaster for us," saying it would be "a gift to the Greens, to the Lib Dems and the Tories."

Corbyn was suspended in October 2020 over his response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into allegations of anti-Semitism in the party he had led since 2015.

While stressing that "one anti-Semite is one too many", Corbyn insisted that "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."

Although the suspension was formally made by Labour General Secretary Dave Evans, new leader Starmer later admitted that he ordered the move.

Corbyn still has the option of standing as an independent candidate in his constituency, but other former Labour MPs who have done so — including Chris Williamson, who Corbyn himself suspended in 2019 for defending the party's record on anti-Semitism — have fared dismally with voters sticking to the party.

At 73, Corbyn is one of the 24 oldest members of the 650-seat House of Commons. Only three other MPs have served continuously in parliament longer.