Jeremy Corbyn’s name will be staying on the ballot for Labour party leadership race, after the high court found in the current leader’s favour.
Advertisement
A ruling against Corbyn would have plunged the party even further into civil war and left MPs with a hard decision about whether to nominate him to give the membership a choice, even though 172 have said they do not have confidence in the current leadership.
The Labour donor brought the case against the party’s general secretary Iain McNicol, who was sued in a representative capacity, and Mr Corbyn – who did not appear at London’s High Court today.
He claimed that the Labour Party’s rules were “misapplied” when its national executive committee (NEC) voted by a majority of 18 to 14 that Mr Corbyn could stand without needing nomination by 51 MPs and MEPs.
“In any case, the conclusion reached by the NEC is entitled to great respect and the court should not interfere with it”.
“I repeat as firmly and unequivocally as I can that the resolution of the narrow legal issue I have been asked to decide is wholly uninfluenced by which side will be pleased with the outcome”.
It is the latest chapter in a protracted civil war in the Labour Party that has seen increasingly bitter recriminations between the warring factions.
While he enjoys massive support among Labour members, the same is not true among MPs.
Although welcoming the decision by the court, he added it was a “waste of time and resources”.
Labour lawmakers are trying to unseat leader Jeremy Corbyn, a 67-year-old left-winger considered unelectable by the party’s more centrist members.
“If anything, the aim should be to expand the number of voters in this election”.
Commentators say it is expected that the court will back the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Corbyn lost the confidence of the bulk of his colleagues in parliament but has refused to stand down, citing the overwhelming support from members during the party’s leadership election in September.
Advertisement
The results of the leadership contest will be announced on 24 September at the start of the party’s conference.
