Sir Keir Starmer says Jeremy Corbyn will not stand as a Labour Party candidate at the next general election.

Mr Corbyn, MP for Islington North, had the Labour whip removed over his response to the scathing Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report into antisemitism in the party in October 2020.

Sir Keir’s comments came after he welcomed the equalities watchdog’s decision to lift the party out of two years of special measures over its past failings on antisemitism earlier today (February 15).

Speaking at Toynbee Hall in Whitechapel, the Labour Party leader, who is also MP for Holborn and St Pancras, said: “Let me be very clear, Jeremy Corbyn will not stand at the next general election as a Labour Party candidate.

“What I said about the party changing I meant, and we are not going back.”

The EHRC had been monitoring Labour since ruling in 2020 it was responsible for unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination under Mr Corbyn.

But the watchdog has now judged that under Sir Keir Labour has improved its complaints and training procedures to protect current and future party members.

Sir Keir has long indicated Mr Corbyn will not be standing again for Labour, but this is the first time he confirmed the barring of the veteran MP, who led the party to two election defeats.

In December 2022, the Labour leader told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I don’t see the circumstances in which he will stand at the next election as a Labour MP.”

At the time, Mr Corbyn told the Islington Gazette: “I don’t know why he [Sir Keir Starmer] would say that.

“The local party ought to be in the position to decide who the candidate is, not the party leader.”

In an official statement, he added: "I am honoured to be the full-time representative of Islington North, and will continue to tackle the most important issues - the cost-of living crisis, stagnant wages and growing inequality - affecting my constituents. 

"I was elected as a Labour MP and proud to be so. I have made it clear that the whip was wrongly removed, and it should be reinstated.

“Labour members have the democratic right to choose their candidate. Currently, members in Islington North are being denied that right, and it should be restored immediately."

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 Islington North for 40 years.