Jeremy Corbyn

The Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn MP
Corbyn in 2020
Leader of the Opposition
In office 12 September 2015 – 4 April 2020
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	David Cameron Theresa May Boris Johnson
Deputy	Angela Eagle Emily Thornberry
Preceded by	Harriet Harman
Succeeded by	Keir Starmer
Leader of the Labour Party
In office 12 September 2015 – 4 April 2020
Deputy	Tom Watson
Preceded by	Ed Miliband
Succeeded by	Keir Starmer
Member of Parliament for Islington North
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Michael O'Halloran
Majority	7,247 (14.8%)
Chair of the Stop the War Coalition
In office 14 June 2011 – 12 September 2015
President	Tony Benn
Vice President	Lindsey German
Deputy	Chris Nineham
Preceded by	Andrew Murray
Succeeded by	Andrew Murray
Personal details
Born	Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (1949-05-26) 26 May 1949 (age 75) Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Labour (1965–2024)[a]
Spouse(s)	Jane Chapman ​ ​ (m. 1974; div. 1979)​ Claudia Bracchitta ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1999)​ Laura Álvarez ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	3
Relatives	Piers Corbyn (brother)
Education	Castle House School Adams' Grammar School University of North London
Alma mater	North London Polytechnic (did not graduate)
Occupation	Politician
Signature
Website	Official website
a.^ Membership suspended: 29 October 2020 – 17 November 2020; whip suspended from 29 October 2020 24 May 2024

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn MP (born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who was the 18th Leader of the Labour Party and the 34th Leader of the Opposition from 2015 until his resignation in 2020.^[1] He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. He was elected as Leader of the Labour Party in 2015.^[2] Corbyn calls himself a democratic socialist.^[3]

Corbyn was born in Chippenham in Wiltshire.^[4] Before becoming a politician, he worked as a representative for many trade unions. He was elected to Haringey Council in 1974.^[5] He was later secretary of the Islington Constituency Labour Party (CLP).^[1] He entered the House of Commons as an MP.^[1]

Corbyn won many awards for his work as an international human rights activist.^[6] As an MP, he is known for his activism and for voting against the Labour whip when the party was in government under New Labour leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.^[7] Corbyn works in support of the anti-austerity movement and stopping austerity cuts to public sector and welfare funding made since 2010.^[6]

During his career, he has worked to stop big businesses and very rich people avoiding tax.^[8] He has been an anti-war and anti-nuclear activist.^[8] Corbyn supports a foreign policy of military non-interventionism and a unilateral policy of nuclear disarmament. This means he wants all countries to stop building nuclear weapons.^[8] Corbyn is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Amnesty International and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).^[8] He was the national chair of the Stop the War Coalition from June 2011 until September 2015.^[9]

After Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election and the resignation of Ed Miliband, Corbyn announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Labour Party on 6 June 2015.^[10] Although many people did not believe he would win,^[11][12] he won enough votes to become the lead candidate. He won many votes from trade unions who supported the Labour Party, as well as left wing activists.^[10][13] He was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015 after winning 59.5% of the votes in the first round of the ballot.^[14]

In June 2016, after the events of the "leave" vote in the EU referendum, Labour MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Corbyn. It passed by 172 votes to 40 following the resignation of around two-thirds of Corbyn's Shadow cabinet.^[15] He then faced a second leadership contest, against Angela Eagle and Owen Smith. However, in July 2016, Eagle dropped out of the race leaving Smith and Corbyn as the only candidates.^[16] On 24 September 2016, Corbyn won the leadership contest against Smith with an increased majority of 61.8%.^[17]

After the 2017 general election was announced, Corbyn said he was ready to offer a "real alternative" to the Conservative government.^[18] In the election, the Labour Party gained 32 seats, but the Conservatives remained the largest Party.

In 2019, Corbyn created a plan to prevent a no-deal Brexit, which involved creating a temporary caretaker government and then campaigning for a "public vote on the terms of leaving the European Union, including an option to Remain".^[19][20] He has publicly criticized antisemitism within the Labour Party, however many believe than Corbyn is responsible for some antisemitic attacks within the party. In the 2019 general election, Labour suffered its worst defeat since 1935, lowering its seats held to just over 200. Corbyn said that he would not lead Labour into the next election, causing a leadership contest, where Keir Starmer won the contest and replaced Corbyn on 4 April 2020.^[21]

Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party on 29 October 2020 after he said that he would not accept what the Equality and Human Rights Commission found about antisemitism.^[22] He was given party membership again a month later, however his party whip remains suspended until February 2021.^[23] In May 2024, the Labour Party removed him from the party after Corbyn announced he would run for his parliamentary seat as an Independent in the 2024 general election. He won re-election with a majority of 7,247.^[24]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} ""Government and Opposition roles"". UK Parliament. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
2. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
3. ↑ James Quinn. "Jeremy Corbyn's first speech as Labour leader was 'six form' of Socialism". Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
4. ↑ Cite error: The named reference telegraph.co.uk was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
5. ↑ Cite error: The named reference graunprofile was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} "Jeremy Corbyn: The last defender of Human Rights?". Labourlist.org. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
7. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn's Labour rebellion: A sign of things to come?". BBC News.com. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Michael Wilkinson (24 September 2015). "What does Jeremy Corbyn stand for?". Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
9. ↑ "The bizarre world of Jeremy Corbyn and Stop the War". Politico.com. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Mason, Rowena (10 September 2015). "Labour leadership: all eyes on Jeremy Corbyn as voting ends". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
11. ↑ "Labour leadership: Yvette Cooper rejects poll predicting Jeremy Corbyn victory". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
12. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn: Labour leadership hopeful". Financial Times. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
13. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn elected Labour leader: How did he win?". BBC News. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
14. ↑ "Reaction to Corbyn victory". BBC News. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
15. ↑ ""Labour MPs pass Corbyn no-confidence motion"". BBC News.com. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
16. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :1 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
17. ↑ "Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn defeats Owen Smith". BBC News. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
18. ↑ Pickard, Jim; Tighe, Chris (18 April 2017). "General election raises fresh questions for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
19. ↑ Miller, Phil (14 August 2019). "Corbyn lays out plan to stop No Deal in letter to party leaders and senior backbenchers". Morning Star. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
20. ↑ "Brexit: Corbyn plans to call no-confidence vote to defeat no-deal". BBC News. 15 August 2019.
21. ↑ "Jeremy Corbyn: 'I will not lead Labour at next election'". BBC News. 13 December 2019.
22. ↑ Cite error: The named reference suspended was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
23. ↑ Cite error: The named reference guardian261120 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
24. ↑ Dyer, Henry (5 July 2024). "Jeremy Corbyn re-elected in Islington North after expulsion from Labour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.