Jeremy Corbyn gave his strongest hint yet on Monday that he will stand as an independent against Labour in Islington North.
The Leftwinger wrote a lengthy piece in the Islington Tribune on the need for an economic alternative to Sir Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak’s plans.
He tweeted: “We have mobilised against austerity before.
“We will do so again. My piece in the @IslingtonTrib on why my constituents deserve an economic alternative worth voting for.”
In his article, Mr Corbyn appeared to take a swipe at the way Sir Keir has moved the Labour Party to the centre.
He argued: “Between 2015 and 2019 we turned Labour into a proud anti-austerity party. We did not do so by diktat.
“We did so by empowering a democratic movement that shaped our transformative programme of public investment, wealth redistribution, and social justice. Challenging political orthodoxy is not always easy.”
In another apparent targeting of Sir Keir’s stances on social issues, including keeping the two-child benefit cap, he added: “How are the electorate meant to make sense of an opposition that, on one hand, insists the Tories has destroyed this country, yet on the other, agrees with their method of destruction?”
He continued: “Austerity will always be a war against the poorest in our society, no matter who wages it.
“We have fought back against this cruel ideology before. And we will do so again. Resistance comes in multiple forms: protesting on the streets, organising in our workplaces, mobilising in our communities and, yes, defending our place in parliament.
“Ultimately, when faced with a choice between a politics of incompetence and a politics of pessimism, the people of Islington North will look elsewhere for a vision worth voting for.”
Mr Corbyn led Labour in 2019 to its worst election defeat since 1935.
