Rebel with a cause

Jeremy Corbyn

 

The former Labour leader, known for his left-wing activism and strong support for the Palestine cause, has won his Islington North constituency as an independent

PRIYALI PRAKASH

Leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has represented Islington North in the U.K. Parliament since 1983, won the constituency for a historic 11th time in the July 4 election. Mr. Corbyn, who led the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, is one of the six Independent MPs currently sitting in the U.K. Parliament, out of a total of 650 members.

Over the years, Mr. Corbyn has emerged as a tall figure of the British Left. Even though he was unceremoniously suspended from Labour in 2020, Mr. Corbyn has spent most of his life as a Labour leader, as a socialist on the political left. His tenure as the party leader was marred by complaints of antisemitism from within the ranks.

In July 2018, three Jewish newspapers in the U.K. printed the same headline — “United We Stand” — to draw attention to alleged antisemitism under Mr. Corbyn’s leadership. The Labour Party responded by saying there was no threat to the Jewish people, after concerns were raised regarding the party’s “failure” to completely adopt the definition of ‘antisemitism’ as given by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

A 2013 video of Mr. Corbyn speaking at a meeting convened by the Palestinian Return Centre also later became a focal point of criticism from Zionists. In his speech, he called Zionists out for two problems: “One is that they don’t want to study history and, secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don’t understand English irony either.” Mr. Corbyn had dismissed allegations of antisemitism as “political”. He said he supported “a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of racism".

Mr. Corbyn has never shied away from supporting the Palestinian cause, which forms a cornerstone of his politics even today. He has showed up at multiple protests demanding a ceasefire in Gaza following Israel’s invasion of the strip after Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023. Mr. Corbyn also questioned former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s refusal to support calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mr. Corbyn’s position as a backbench MP over the years has also allowed him to freely express his views, even if those are against the party’s official policies. He has often been called the “most rebellious Labour MP of recent times”. By 2015, he had voted against the party leadership over 500 times since when former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair came to power in 1997. He voted against the Blair government’s decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. As the Labour leader in 2016, he called the war a “catastrophe” after the Chilcot Report found that Mr. Blair knowingly exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.

LGBTQ rights

The Independent MP has also been a long-time ally of LGBTQ rights in the U.K. He famously spoke in favour of the community in 1983, although a statement in 2017 where he said people should not be persecuted if they “chose” to be gay or lesbian drew criticism from some sections of society. The U.K. allowed same-sex marriage in 2013.

Mr. Corbyn’s connect with the voters of his Islington North constituency is no surprise — he has been their candidate of choice to Parliament for over 40 years now. Islington is a diverse area in North London. According to the 2021 Census, 7.1% of Islington residents identified their ethnic group within the "other" category ("Arab" or "any other ethnic group").

“Corbyn always showed up to the protests and gatherings [in Islington North] which the local community appreciated immensely,” Annapurna Menon, a Sheffield University teaching associate who lived in Islington North while pursuing her PhD, told The Hindu. Ms. Menon reminisced about talking to Mr. Corbyn during a Black Lives Matter protest in the constituency, and how he stood as “a symbol against oppression and for resistance” for the local Islington community. In his last monthly update before the elections, Mr. Corbyn said the issues related to housing, refugees, and environment will continue to be of prime importance to him. He also added that he was “determined to ensure Gaza stays at the forefront of our politicians’ minds”.

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