Sir Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn

SIR Keir Starmer repeated his determination to block Jeremy Corbyn from standing as the Labour candidate in Islington North again in a radio appearance yesterday (Thursday).

But Mr Corbyn remains equally defiant that it is the members in the constituency that should get the final say as he continued with a packed programme of events, including visits to picket lines, rallies and community lines.

At a blue plaque event on Wednesday, he told the Tribune: “I love the people of my area. I’ve known so many people for so many years. It’s just a pleasure to be able to work with them and help them and a pleasure when we win cases like one of the appointments I had this morning, a woman with her citizenship. It’s sorted at last so she’s safe and secure here. That’s what this job is about. My element is always with the people.”

Mr Corbyn, who has been the MP for 40 years and who Mr Starmer served under in the shadow cabinet during his time as leader, was still getting asked for selfies and handshakes at that event.

Mr Starmer appeared on BBC Radio 4’sToday programme yesterday (Thursday) and said: “In relation to Jeremy Corbyn, the reason he won’t stand as a Labour candidate in the next election is because of the hard work that I’ve done in our party in relation to anti-Semitism having been found to be in breach of the law by the commission, and having now locked ourselves into a position where we have made enough progress for the commission to say that they’re satisfied we have a sufficient plan and that we’re not in special measures.”

Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a vigil in Upper Street for the victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake

In 2020 an investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found Labour had broken equalities law in relation to anti-Semetism within the party. Mr Corbyn responded at the time by saying: “One anti-Semite is one too many, but 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.”

Soon after these comments the parliamentary whip was removed from Mr Corbyn and the stand-off came to a head last week when Mr Starmer said there would be a new Labour candidate for the constituency at the next general election.

Later, Mr Starmer hit back at claims that he had ditched the pledges he made during his campaign to take the leadership of the party, saying that “the vast majority of Labour members and supporters are 100 per cent behind what we’re doing”.

His remarks come as the Labour leader announced his five “national missions” that will form the core of Labour’s manifesto.