Sir Keir Starmer has categorically ruled out Jeremy Corbyn standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election.
The Labour leader issued an ultimatum to the hard-left in his party, urging them to “leave” if they did not like the changes he has made.
Speaking on the day the UK’s human rights watchdog announced it had concluded monitoring Labour over anti- Semitism concerns, Sir Keir said his predecessor could not stand for the party again under his leadership.
“Let me be very clear,” he told a crowd at Toynbee Hall in East London .
“Jeremy Corbyn will not stand for Labour at the next general election. What I said about the party changing I meant and we are not going back.”
Mr Corbyn was first elected as Labour MP for Islington North in 1983.
He became leader of the party in 2015, but resigned following a disastrous 2019 election in which Labour’s vote share fell by 32 per cent.
In October 2020, a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found the party was responsible for “unlawful” acts of harassment and discrimination during Mr Corbyn’s almost five years as party leader.
The investigation found serious failings in leadership and an inadequate process of handling anti-Semitism complaints.
The EHRC report revealed the party was responsible for three breaches of the Equality Act, including the interference in anti-Semitism complaints.
Sir Keir said that the party was “unrecognisable from 2019 and it will never go back”.
“It will never again be a party captured by narrow interests,” he said.
“It will never again lose sight of its purpose or its morals. And it will never again be brought to its knees by racism or bigotry.
“If you don’t like that, if you don’t like the changes we have made, I say the door is open and you can leave.”
Sir Keir was forced to defend being part Mr Corbyn’s front bench, where he served as shadow Brexit Secretary from 2016.
He said he realised his “first duty” as leader was to “tear anti-semitism out” of the party.
Mr Corbyn’s next steps are unclear, but if he decides to run as an independent MP Labour would face a challenge to win his seat.
The left-wing veteran commands significant local support there having represented the constituency for forty years.
He has also not ruled out standing against Sadiq Khan for Mayor of London.
A Labour source said they do not fear Mr Corbyn standing as an independent at “any election”.
A source close to Mr Corbyn said he would not be making a public statement until he had spoken to local party members.
