Jeremy Corbyn Quote

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North from 1983 to 2024. He ideologically identifies as a socialist on the political left. Corbyn is standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming general election.
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 lost the 2015 general election, Corbyn won the 2015 party leadership election to succeed him. The party's membership increased sharply, during the leadership campaign and following his election.
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 critical of the European Union, he supported membership in the 2016 referendum. After Labour MPs sought to remove him in 2016 through a leadership challenge, he won a second leadership contest against Owen Smith. In the 2017 general election, Labour increased its share of the vote to 40%, with its 10% rise their largest since 1945. During his tenure as leader, Corbyn was criticised for antisemitism within the party. He condemned antisemitism and apologised for its presence, while his leadership saw a strengthening of disciplinary procedures regarding hate speech and racism. 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%, leading to a loss of 60 seats, leaving it with 202, its fewest since 1935. Corbyn resigned, triggering a leadership election in 2020 won by Keir Starmer. 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 was called, Corbyn announced he would stand as an independent candidate for Islington North; he was expelled from the Labour Party.