Politics

Jeremy Corbyn signals he could run for London mayor

Jeremy Corbyn has fuelled speculation that he could run for London mayor as an independent in next year’s contest.

Asked on LBC whether he might mount a bid to challenge Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, he said he is “ruling nothing out” as he considers his options after being stripped of the labour whip by Sir Keir Starmer.

He has already won the backing of former mayor Ken Livingstone, who said he would “do everything he can to help him get elected”.

The Islington North MP also spoke out about his disillusionment with his successor Sir Keir Starmer following his U-turn on the Conservatives’ two-child benefits cap.

The policy prevents parents from claiming benefits for any third or subsequent child born after April 2017.

It has been described as “heinous” by senior members of Sir Keir’s top team, but he told the BBC on Sunday that he was “not changing” the Tory policy if Labour wins power.

Corbyn told LBC: “I have spoken to quite a lot of Labour MPs about it.

“They are seething with anger, particularly as commitments have been made regularly by the party that we would take children out of poverty.

“Even the Blair government, which Keir Starmer often quotes, did do a great deal to lift children out of poverty by not having a two-child policy.”

Related: More bad news for Sunak as approval rating hits all-time low, polling suggests

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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