The battle-lines between Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party have been comprehensively drawn ahead of the General Election, which is set to take place on Thursday 4 July – and some of those with divided loyalties are paying a high price.
It’s understood that Phil Graham, a Labour councillor in Islington North where Corbyn will be running for office, has been suspended following his activity on social media this week.
On his Facebook page, Graham shared a number of articles backing the former Labour leader and his decision to run as an independent against the party, in a seat he has held for more than 40 years.
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Among his displays of support, Mr. Graham also posted a status which rallied his followers to accept Jeremy Corbyn as ‘the only candidate’ they should be supporting at the upcoming election. Labour officials then swiftly made the decision to suspend him.
“If you live in Islington North, there is only one candidate you should be considering in the general election, and that is Jeremy Corbyn. I know quite a lot of people will want to support him in this.” | Phil Graham
Graham is the first Labour councillor to be suspended over a declaration of support for Corbyn, who himself was fully expelled by the party earlier this week. After four decades of service in the constituency, the 74-year-old is confident he’ll remain as an MP.
Meanwhile, Labour’s replacement candidate for Islington North is Praful Nargund, an entrepreneur and long-time member of the local council. His appointment process has been expedited, giving him a full seven weeks on the campaign trail to state his case.
