Walk down the street with Jeremy Corbyn and you have to keep pausing while constituents stop to talk with him.
Such public recognition is rare for any MP, and explains why the former Labour leader continues to present a political problem for Sir Keir Starmer.
Perhaps worryingly for Sir Keir, his problem has no intention of going away.
In an interview with i, Mr Corbyn gave his strongest hint yet that he intends to stand against the party. He is barred from standing as a Labour MP after having the whip removed due to rows over his handling of antisemitism complaints.
He refused to rule out running for London Mayor, or against Labour as an independent candidate in his Islington North constituency in the next general election, likely to be next year.
“I’m here forever,” he said. “I love this area and I’m very happy to continue representing [it].
“I am not disappearing.”
This would present a significant challenge for Labour – currently between 16 and 20 points ahead in the polls.
Mr Corbyn spoke to i to raise concerns about Britain’s housing crisis, and to lobby the Labour leadership to ban Right to Buy.
His refusal to stay quiet on one of the most pressing issues in modern Britain has kept him in the spotlight since he was ejected from the parliamentary Labour party in 2020.
But further complicating matters is the escalating, intractable war in the Middle East. After the Hamas atrocities of October 7, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed, and more than 200 people, including women and children, were taken hostage, Mr Corbyn was criticised for his form of words.
He said “all attacks are wrong” but declined to specifically criticise Hamas. Since then, the Gaza health ministry says more than 8,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign, and the UN warns Gaza is running out of food, water and fuel.
i’s interview with Mr Corbyn took place before the Hamas terror attack, and his team said he would not be commenting on events that took place since the interview.
But Mr Corbyn is well known for his support of Palestinians, which has defined his career and embroiled him and the Labour Party in the antisemitism complaints that led to his suspension.
When pressed on the subject that has come to publicly define his legacy – Labour’s handling of antisemitism – he told i that “antisemitism is evil”. He declined to say whether he would handle complaints about it in the Labour party differently, were he to have his time again.
Now Sir Keir is facing difficulties with another wing of the party. His support for Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza has sparked fury and sadness among Muslim MPs, including on his front bench, and triggered the resignation of dozens of Labour councillors.
As the in-house writer for GallantCEO.com I prefer to remain anonymous as I do not seek anything from my writing only the self gratification of writing for a good cause such as this.
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