Keir Starmer accused of a 'purge' of Labour's left-wing candidates (2024)

It was midday on Tuesday, June 4, at Nag's Head Market, in northeast London's Islington North constituency, where Jeremy Corbyn, who led the Labour Party until 2020, is running as an independent in the July 4 general election, after having been expelled from the party by his successor, Keir Starmer. His reelection in the constituency, which he has represented for over 40 years, is a test for Labour's left wing, which is refusing to give in to Starmer's recentering of the party.

The market, with its sari sellers, exotic fruit, and telephone repair stands, is a good barometer of the neighborhood: Support for Corbyn is undeniable, but not in the majority. Jacqueline, who sells Caribbean dishes (most of the shop owners declined to give their last names), isn't "too interested" in the elections, but still asked if "Jeremy" was a candidate for Labour and how to vote for him if he's running as an independent. Raham Singh, who sells used watches, said he likes "Jeremy" (everyone here seemed to call him by his first name) and will "definitely" vote for him, but "it'll be hard to get elected without Labour's support."

Nico, a shoemaker, won't be voting: "I don't trust politicians anymore. Nigel Farage [for the far right] is a clown, Keir Starmer is like a conservative and Jeremy has two faces: He looks good, but he's like all the other politicians." He didn't even mention Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who is sinking in the polls. "I won't vote Labour, the way they fired Jeremy isn't right," said one of Nico's friends.

Chosen by Labour Party members on very socialist policies (promises of nationalization and taxation of large fortunes), Starmer, a former public prosecutor with a reputation for being stern, has dropped all these proposals, promoting only budgetary discipline, security, and reasoned management of migration.

Since 2020, he has methodically weakened the party's left wing, dismissing Corbyn because he hadn't done enough to fight suspicions of antisemitism internally, and marginalizing the influence of Momentum, his predecessor's grassroots movement in support of the Labour Party. Since Sunak announced early elections on May 22, the "purge," as Momentum members call it, has accelerated.

'Double standard'

Diane Abbott, who represents the Hackney constituency near Islington North, came close to paying the price. The MP, who enjoys iconic status on the left for her tireless fight against inequality and for being the first Black woman elected to the House of Commons in 1987, was only allowed to stand for the party again on June 4, following a strong show of support from Hackney residents after she maintained that the leadership wanted to push her into retirement. Abbott had been suspended from Labour in 2023 over a letter in The Observer in which she downplayed racism directed against Jews, the Irish and Traveller people compared with that aimed at Black people.

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