Jeremy Corbyn has been filmed snapping at a journalist asking him whether he should be allowed to stand for Labour at the next election.
The former Labour leader, who is currently sitting as an independent MP after losing the party whip, was blocked by Labour’s NEC on Tuesday from standing for the party at the next election.
Quizzed outside Parliament about the move by a Sky News journalist prior to the vote, Mr Corbyn refused to speak about it.
“I’m not doing interviews at the moment, thank you. I’m going to a demonstration against the Immigration Bill and I suggest you report that too,” he told the female reporter.
When she responded that the demonstration was being covered, he said: “Well good, you can come and listen to what I have to say. I look forward to seeing you over there, thank you very much.”
As she attempted to again ask whether he would stand as an independent MP at the next election, Mr Corbyn refused to answer, snapping: “Thank you very much.”
The motion proposed by current leader Sir Keir Starmer, which passed 22 votes to 12, states Mr Corbyn “will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election”.
Referencing the bruising defeat Mr Corbyn led Labour to in 2019, the motion argued the party’s chances of winning the next election and securing a majority in the Commons would be “significantly diminished" if he was endorsed.
Mr Corbyn, who has represented Islington North since 1983, had criticised the move as “undermining the party’s internal democracy" before its approval.
Left-wing allies in the party have criticised the move, arguing it is undemocratic.
MP Nadia Whittome, who has served on Sir Keir’s frontbench, described the motion as “divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction".
Prominent Labour activist Jon Lansman, the co-founder of the Corbynite Momentum pressure group, suggested Sir Keir Starmer was acting like an “authoritarian” in blocking Mr Corbyn’s candidacy.
“Keir Starmer unfortunately is behaving as if he was some kind of Putin of the Labour Party. That is not the way we do politics," he told Times Radio.
If Mr Corbyn runs as an independent in Islington North, it could cause a distracting challenge for Sir Keir at the next election.
However, his ally Mr Lansman advised him against doing that, despite some unconfirmed reports that he has already decided to do so.
While Mr Corbyn does not have the Labour party whip and will not be endorsed as a Labour candidate at the next election, he remains a member of the party.
