Friends of the ex-Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, are claiming he is deciding “within weeks” whether to launch a new political movement to capitalise on Left-wing disaffection with Keir Starmer.
The new party could take voters dissatisfied with the current Labour Party away from Sir Keir.
It would be an “anti-war movement” that would appeal to voters who believe the Labour leader betrayed them for not initially backing a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Labour insiders told The Mail on Sunday that even Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, thought his early response to the crisis was too “anti-Palestine”.
In an LBC interview with radio host Nick Ferrari, Sir Keir, the Labour Party leader, said Israel had the “right” to cut off power and water from the Gaza Strip causing some Labour voters to express fury.
Pro-Palestinian protests have continued in London and throughout the UK weekly since October 7, 2023.
Critics of Sir Keir warned that a movement led by the former leader would be “Labour’s Reform” because it could split the party’s support just as Richard Tice’s Reform UK party could divide the Tory vote.
But allies of the current Labour leader claim a review of internal party analysis of a new party would cost Sir Keir hardly any seats at all.
Speaking to Mail Online, a source close to Corbyn said: “It would be an anti-war movement and it would resonate across the country. There are many people concerned about what’s happening in Gaza, not just Muslim voters. But it would be wider than that. It could tap into environmental concerns with Starmer now backtracking on his commitment to spend £28 billion a year greening the country. Jeremy has a name recognition on the streets Starmer can only dream of.”
Labour insiders added that the former Labour leader was now unlikely to stand as a candidate to be London Mayor this May.
Corbyn has however, been currently tipped to run as an independent at the next election in his Islington North seat.
He was previously banned from standing as a Labour candidate following a bitter row over anti-Semitism in the party when he was leader.
Mr Corbyn has been approached by Express.co.uk for comment on this story.
