Former Labour Party chief Jeremy Corbyn retains seat despite being ousted from the party and forced to run as an independent – thanks to support from Muslim voter organization.
By World Israel News Staff
While the U.K.’s Labour Party appears to have scored a historic victory in the general elections held on Thursday, receiving at least 410 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, the party suffered some high-profile defeats across the country, thanks in part to efforts by a grassroots Muslim voter organization which held push independent, far-left anti-Israel candidates over the top in tight races.
One of the biggest upsets came in the district of Islington North, where former Labour Party chairman Jeremy Corbyn defeated Praful Nargund, Labour’s candidate, 49% to 34%, to retain his seat in Parliament.
Corbyn, who led Labour to one of its worst defeats in history in the previous election in 2019, was expelled from Labour in May after he announced plans to run as an independent.
The 75-year-old MP benefited in part from support by The Muslim Vote (TMV) organization, which rallied British Muslims behind far-left candidates who had endorsed the group’s anti-Israel agenda.
A long-time critic of Israel, Corbyn actively campaigned on the issues of Palestinian statehood and the war in Gaza.
“Palestine is on the ballot paper,” Corbyn tweeted on the day of the election.
Days earlier Corbyn pledged to serve as “an independent voice in Parliament, I will always stand up for the Palestinian people.”
Corbyn repeatedly called for Britain’s recognition of unilateral Palestinian statehood ahead of the election, tweeting: “We need the unconditional and immediate recognition of the state of Palestine,” and “We must recognise the state of Palestine.”
Elsewhere, The Muslim Vote helped Adnan Hussein, another independent candidate, narrowly defeat Labour incumbent MP Kate Hollern by just 132 votes in a district which has strongly aligned with Labour since 1945.
MP Jonathan Ashworth, a shadow secretary and prominent Labour lawmaker, was unseated in a surprising defeat for Labour in Leicester South, losing out to TMV endorsee and pro-Palestinian candidate Shockat Adam.
In Dewsbury, another TMV-backed candidate, Iqbal Hussein Mohamed, defeated Labour’s Heather Iqbal.
In Rochdale, however, George Galloway, a staunchly anti-Israel MP who campaigned heavily on his support for Gaza, was defeated by Labour’s Paul Waugh.