Jeremy Corbyn

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Jeremy Corbyn
MP
Corbyn speaking at the 'No More War' event in Parliament Square in 2014
Member of Parliament
for Islington North
Assumed office
9 June 1983
Preceded byMichael O'Halloran
Majority21,194 (43.0%)
Personal details
Born
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn

(1949-05-26) 26 May 1949 (age 74)
Chippenham, England
Political partyLabour
Spouses
  • Jane Chapman (1974–1979)
  • Claudia Bracchitta (1987–1999)
  • Laura Alvarez (2015–present)
Children3
WebsiteOfficial website

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (born 26 May 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983.[1] He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Amnesty International, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition (of which he has been the national chair since 2001). Corbyn is currently a candidate in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.[2]

Born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Corbyn briefly attended North London Polytechnic. After a period of time working for the National Union of Public Employees and National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, he began his political career in 1974 when he was elected to Haringey Council. He continued in that role until his election as the MP for Islington North in 1983, where he has remained since. He was most recently re-elected in 2015.

As a self-described democratic socialist, Corbyn has advocated the renationalisation of public utilities and railways, re-opening coal mines, combating corporate tax evasion and avoidance as an alternative to austerity, abolishing university tuition fees and restoring student grants, a unilateral policy of nuclear disarmament and cancellation of the Trident nuclear weapons programme, quantitative easing to fund infrastructure and renewable energy projects, and reversing cuts to the public sector and welfare made since 2010 by the government of David Cameron.

Corbyn announced his campaign for Labour Party leader on 6 June 2015. Although initially being perceived as a fringe candidate in the leadership election, Corbyn emerged at the head of the race, becoming the overwhelming leader in many opinion polls and also gaining the support of the majority of trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party as well as the support of three non-affiliated trade unions.[3]

Early life

Corbyn was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and lived in Kington St Michael.[4] He is the younger brother of weather forecaster Piers Corbyn and the son of David, an electrical engineer and expert in power rectifiers, and Naomi (died 1987), a maths teacher. His parents were peace campaigners who met during the Spanish Civil War.[5] When Jeremy was seven they moved to Shropshire at Pave Lane where Jeremy's father bought the Yew Tree Guesthouse and converted it into a seven-bedroom manor house.[4]

Education

Corbyn attended the independent Castle House Preparatory School in Newport in Shropshire.[6] and Adams' Grammar School, a boarding and day school, also in Newport.[7] While still at school he became active in the Wrekin Constituency Young Socialists and local Labour Party, as well as the League Against Cruel Sports in Shropshire.[7] He gained two A-Levels before leaving school at 18.[8] After leaving school, he spent two years doing Voluntary Service Overseas in Jamaica before becoming a full-time organiser for the National Union of Public Employees,[9] followed by a brief period of study at North London Polytechnic, which he left without completing a degree. [6]

Life and career

Corbyn worked as an official with the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, became a member of a District health authority and in 1974 was elected to Haringey Council, representing the Harringay ward until 1983.[5][10] Corbyn worked on Tony Benn's unsuccessful 1981 campaign to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and was elected Secretary of the Islington Borough Labour Group.

Political career from 1983

File:Corbyn in Parliament 1990.png
Corbyn speaking to the House during Prime Minister's Questions in 1990

Corbyn was selected as the Labour Party candidate for his local seat of Islington North in 1982. At the 1983 general election he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Islington North and immediately joined the (then) Campaign Group, marking him one of the most left-wing of Labour MPs, and sat on the London Regional Select Committee from 1983 to 1987. Shortly after his election he began writing a weekly column in the Morning Star, which he has continued to do up to the present day. He later sat on the Social Security Select Committee from 1992 to 1997, the London Regional Select Committee for a second time from 2009 to 2010, and the Justice Select Committee from 2010 to 2015. Corbyn was re-elected Member of Parliament for Islington North seven times, most recently in 2015, where he gained 60.24% of the vote and a majority of 21,194.[11] Between 1997 and 2010, during the most recent Labour Government, Corbyn was the most rebellious of all Labour MPs, regularly defying three-line whips. In the 2005–2010 Parliament alone he defied the whip 238 times, approximately 25% of all votes.[12]

On 21 September 2001, Corbyn was elected as the National Chair of the Stop the War Coalition, which began to oppose the Afghanistan War later that year. He was fiercely opposed to the Iraq War in 2003, and spoke at dozens of anti-war rallies in Britain and overseas. As Chair he helped organise the February anti-war protest which was thought to be largest political protest in British history. In 2006, Corbyn was one of 12 Labour MPs to support Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.[13] He is strongly opposed to weapons of mass destruction and a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, being one of its three vice-chairs.

Corbyn is a member of a number of trade union groups in Parliament. He is sponsored by several trade unions, including Unison, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and Unite the Union. He is a committed anti-fascist, having spoken at the major Unite Against Fascism and Trades Union Congress joint anti-British National Party rally in December 2001, and was the keynote speaker at Unite Against Fascism's annual conference in 2007.

Corbyn is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Chagos Islands, Chair of the APPG on Mexico, Vice-Chair of the APPG on Latin America and Vice-Chair of the APPG on Human Rights. He has advocated for the rights of the forcibly-removed Chagossians to return to the British Indian Ocean Territory and is also a Venezuelan solidarity activist.[14] He is a member of the Bolivia, Britain–Palestine, Great Lakes, Cheese, Dalits, Cycling, International Parliamentary Union and Traveller Law Reform APPGs.

Expenses

During the 2009 expenses scandal, Corbyn was revealed to have claimed the lowest amount of expenses of any Member of Parliament.[15][16] In 2010 he claimed the smallest amount of all 650 MPs. In an interview with the Islington Gazette he said: "I am a parsimonious MP...I think we should claim what we need to run our offices and pay our staff but be careful because it's obviously public money...in a year, rent for the (constituency) office in Finsbury Park is about £12,000 to £14,000."[16] He rents his constituency office from the Ethical Property Company.

Activism against perceived miscarriages of justice

Corbyn became known in the 1980s for his work on behalf of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six, who were eventually found to have been wrongly convicted of responsibility for a series of bombings carried out in England in the mid-1970s by the IRA that killed 28 people.[17][18][19][20][21] Corbyn also supported the campaign to overturn the convictions of Jawad Botmeh and Samar Alami for the 1994 bombing of a London Embassy. Botmeh and Alami had admitted possessing explosives and guns but denied they were for use in Britain. The convictions were upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2001 and by the European Court of Human Rights in 2007.[22][23] In 2013 he supported Botmeh's appointment as a governor at London Metropolitan University.[22]

Political views

Domestic policy

Corbyn has campaigned strongly against tuition fees in England, the creation of academies and private finance initiative schemes. He supports the introduction of a living wage, a higher rate of income tax for the wealthiest in society, and an increase in corporation tax to fund public services such as free higher education. He has described year-on-year corporation tax cuts[24] of current governments as a "race to the bottom".[citation needed] In 1990 Corbyn participated in the tax resistance movement against the Community Charge, also known as the "poll tax", for which he faced imprisonment.[25]

Corbyn has been a long-standing supporter of a United Ireland and controversially invited Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams to London in 1984. A second meeting in 1996 was cancelled following pressure from the Labour Party.[26][27] Corbyn responded by saying "dialogue with all parties remains essential if the peace process is to continue".[28] He has been strongly criticised by Labour and Conservative MPs for holding meetings with former members of the IRA in the Houses of Parliament to discuss topics such as conditions in Northern Irish prisons and the IRA ceasefire.[29][30] Corbyn voted against the Anglo-Irish Agreement, saying that it strengthened the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and he opposed it as he wished to see a United Ireland.[31] In an interview on Northern Irish radio in August 2015, Corbyn stressed his opposition to "all bombing" and welcomed the ceasefire and peace process, although he did not express a direct opinion about the actions of the IRA specifically.[32][33]

He was one of sixteen signatories to an open letter to then-Labour Leader Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling for Labour to make a commitment to opposing further austerity, to take rail franchises back into public ownership, and to strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.[34]

Corbyn speaking at the People's Assembly Demonstration in 2014

In 2013, Corbyn co-signed a letter which was published in The Guardian newspaper that indicated his support for the People's Assembly Against Austerity.[35] He has also been a prominent sponsor of the March for Homes.[36]

Corbyn has been a long-time campaigner on animal rights issues. He was one of the first signatories to Tony Banks' "Pigeon Bombs" Early Day Motion and in 2015 signed a motion calling for a ban on the importation of foie gras into the United Kingdom and sponsored a motion opposing the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.[37][38][39] He also sponsored two Early Day Motions relating to the McLibel case.[40]

Corbyn has "unwaveringly" supported LGBT rights, having been the only Labour MP to vote in a favour of a Liberal Democrat amendment to outlaw homophobic discrimination in 1998, before the introduction of the Equality Act. He was a signatory of Early Day Motions in 2015 calling on the Russian government to end the anti-gay laws in that country, described as the "persecution of the LGBTQ community", and another demanding the UK government to force the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland following its legalisation in the rest of the UK; Corbyn voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.[41]

Corbyn has stated his personal preference for Britain to become a republic, but said it is "not a battle I am fighting" and does not wish to campaign for republicanism.[42][43] In 1991, Corbyn seconded the Commonwealth of Britain Bill brought forward by Tony Benn, which called for the transformation of the United Kingdom into a "democratic, federal and secular Commonwealth of Britain", with an elected President, devolution, abolition of the House of Lords and an equal representation of men and women in Parliament.[44]

Corbyn has said that the NHS should be "completely publicly run and publicly accountable"[45] and is a supporter of the NHS Reinstatement Bill 2015.[46] Corbyn is opposed to the Private finance initiative, saying that the NHS will have to repay 6 times the amount of the initial grant over the length of the contract. In 2010, he said on Twitter that he believed homeopathy could work for some people[47] and signed a parliamentary motion introduced by the Conservative MP David Tredinnick calling on the government to consider the experiences of other countries such as India, which backs homeopathy treatment, when formulating health policy.[48]

Corbyn opposes the replacement of Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system, and supports the creation of a Defence Diversification Agency to assist the transfer of jobs and skills to the civilian sector.[49][50] He has said that the 11,000 jobs supported by Trident could be replaced by "socially productive" jobs in renewable energy, railways and housing.[51]

Foreign affairs

Corbyn was a well-known campaigner against apartheid in South Africa, serving on the National Executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement,[43] and was arrested in 1984 for protesting outside South Africa House.[25]

He is a prominent member of Amnesty International, and campaigned for the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to be put on trial. Corbyn and fellow MP Robert Kilroy-Silk were reported to have scuffled in the House of Commons Division Lobby over the issue in 1985, but Kilroy-Silk denied reports he punched Corbyn.[52][53]

Views on Ukraine, Russia, and NATO

Corbyn has stated that NATO is to blame for the crisis in Ukraine and described Russia's actions as "not unprovoked".[54] He has said it "probably was" a mistake to allow former Warsaw Pact countries to join NATO: "Nato expansion and Russian expansion – one leads to the other, and one reflects the other."[54][55] Corbyn's views on Ukraine, Russia, and NATO were criticised by a number of writers, including Halya Coynash of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group,[56] Anne Applebaum in The Sunday Times,[57] Ben Judah in The Independent,[58] and Roger Boyes in The Times.[59] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Edward Lucas saw Corbyn as having a "desire to appease Russia by sacrificing Ukraine" and said that Corbyn's "anti-imperialist sentiments did not stretch to understanding countries such as Ukraine."[60] In April 2014, he wrote an article for the Morning Star attributing the crisis in Ukraine to NATO. He said that the "root of the crisis" lay in "the US drive to expand eastwards" and described Russia's actions as "not unprovoked".[54] Corbyn told The Guardian in August 2015: "I am not an admirer or supporter of Putin's foreign policy, or of Russian or anybody else’s expansion". Corbyn would like to pull out of NATO,[61] but has acknowledged that there is not an appetite for it among the public and instead intends to push for NATO to "restrict its role". [62]

Palestine

He is a member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, regularly campaigning against conflict in Gaza and what the organisation considers to be Apartheid in Israel.[63] Asked in an interview on Channel 4 News in July 2015 why he had called representatives from Hamas and Hezbollah "friends" at a parliamentary meeting, Corbyn explained that he had used the word in a "collective" sense, and does not condone the actions of either organisation. "There is not going to be a peace process unless there is talks involving Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas and I think everyone knows that," he argued.[64]

Iran

Corbyn has called for the lifting of sanctions as part of a negotiated full settlement of issues concerning the Iranian nuclear programme, and the starting of a political process to decommission Israel's nuclear weapons.[65]

In July 2015, Corbyn said that if Prime Minister David Cameron negotiated away workers' rights and environmental protection as part of his renegotiation of Britain's EU membership, he would not rule out advocating a British exit from the EU in the proposed referendum on Britain's membership.[66]

2015 Labour leadership candidacy

Corbyn speaking at one of his leadership candidacy rallies at Nottingham Albert Hall
Main article: Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015

Following Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election on 7 May, Ed Miliband resigned as Leader of the Labour Party, triggering a leadership election. On 2 June, it was reported in various media sources that Corbyn was considering standing as a candidate, having been disillusioned by the lack of a left-wing voice. The next day, Corbyn confirmed to his local newspaper, the Islington Tribune, that he would be standing in the election on a "clear anti-austerity platform". Corbyn added: "This decision is in response to an overwhelming call by Labour Party members who want to see a broader range of candidates and a thorough debate about the future of the party. I am standing to give Labour Party members a voice in this debate."[67]

It was widely predicted that Corbyn would struggle to reach the required threshold of 35 nominations from Labour MPs to enter the contest, but he was able to secure a place on the ballot just 2 minutes before the deadline closed on 15 June.[68] Corbyn secured 36 nominations, one more than was needed to qualify for the contest. Around 12 of the MPs who nominated him actually support other candidates, but "lent" him their support in order to widen the contest. One of them, the former Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, later described herself as a "moron" for nominating Corbyn.[69] Corbyn was reported to say: "We had two minutes to spare, it was easy."[70]

Following a series of televised and radio debates with the other three candidates – Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall – Corbyn went on to gain the support of six of the Labour Party's fourteen affiliated trade unions, including the UK's two largest trade unions, Unite and UNISON,[71][72] and received the highest number of supporting nominations from Constituency Labour Parties, winning over 100 by the end of July.[73]

Opinion polls

See also: Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015 § Opinion polling

On 21 July 2015, a YouGov poll for The Times, sampling the voting intentions of current Labour Party members, projected Corbyn to win the leadership election, with 43% of first preferences and 53% of the final redistributed total.[74] The surge in popularity was reported to have greatly surprised even Corbyn himself.[75] On 11 August, The Times published the results of its second YouGov poll, indicating that Corbyn was on course for a "decisive victory"; it claimed that support for Corbyn had increased further to 57% and that he would therefore win on first preferences.[76] The Guardian reported a Survation poll showing that, after being shown a short video of all four candidates, more voters from both the wider electorate and previous Labour, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence Party (UKIP) voters indicated a preference for Corbyn.[77] On 15 August, The Independent on Sunday reported a ComRes poll it had commissioned of the general public, revealing that if Corbyn were to become Labour Leader, voters believed it would reduce Labour's chances of winning the next election, whilst the election of David Miliband, who was defeated by his brother in 2010, would stand the best chance of Labour winning the next election.[78]

Proposed policies

Tax policies

Corbyn speaking at the Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally in 2015

An initial proposal to find up to £120 billion that Corbyn alleged to be lost through tax avoidance and evasion, by investing £1 billion in HMRC, was strongly criticised by former Labour Leader Ed Miliband's former independent financial adviser, Jolyon Maugham Q.C., who claimed to have found a £100 billion "black hole" in Corbyn's plans. Richard Murphy clarified that the £120 billion figure reflects what he believes is the overall tax gap (which is substantially bigger than the HMRC figure of £34 billion for the overall tax gap).[79] of which Murphy calculates the collectable portion of is up to £20 billion.[80][81] Maugham stated that this lower figure would only be available if a range of very unlikely decisions were to be made by the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, saying that "if this [plan by Corbyn] was a brilliant 'slam dunk' thing to do, it would have been done already".[82][83] In an interview with CNBC, Murphy said that "This issue is bigger than HMRC can deal with at the moment. Spending up to £300 million on staff could raise £8 billion extra, according to people I speak to at HMRC."[84]

Corbyn also planned to reduce the £93 billion which companies receive in tax reliefs,[85] but has not yet specified which reliefs he would cut. This amount is made up of several reliefs, including railway and energy subsidies, relief on investment and government procurement from the private sector.[86] He has also described the year-on-year high income corporation tax cuts[24] of current governments as a "race to the bottom".[87]

Public ownership

In an interview with The Independent on Sunday on 9 August, Corbyn said: "I think we should talk about what the objectives of the party are, whether that’s restoring Clause Four as it was originally written or it’s a different one. But we shouldn’t shy away from public participation, public investment in industry and public control of the railways.”[88] The Independent has cited opinion polls to suggest that many of Corbyn's policies, such as the renationalisation of railways and energy companies, have polled popularly with the general public.[89]

Corbyn claims renationalisation would save money by both joining up a fragmented market, thereby reducing duplication in the privatised rail market (estimated by Ian Taylor as costing up to £1.2 billion in a 2012 report written for trade unions, but the Rail Delivery Group notes this amount includes the cost of leasing trains as well as the cost of Network Rail using private contractors, something which British Rail did as well, thus would be an inaccurate estimate of savings)[90] and keeping what is currently profit for the energy and train operating companies. Both the energy and the train operating companies claim that they make a low return on their money (3.9% for the energy companies[91] and 3.4% for the train companies)[92] and a City analysis cited by The Guardian and Financial Times newspapers, of the nationalisation policies advocated by Corbyn, indicates a figure of at least £124 billion would be needed to purchase controlling shares in the "Big Six" national energy providers plus the National Grid, a large sum to borrow at a time of high national debt, and £185 billion if he wanted to buy the smaller companies as well.[93] The plan would have to comply with European Union competition law, as while currently several European countries have state-owned passenger railway systems organised to comply with this law,[90] future EU proposals may require states to open up passenger railway markets.[94] Both energy markets and freight railway markets also must have competition and therefore a state-owned company would have to compete with other companies.[95][96]

Bank of England policy

Corbyn proposes to have the Bank of England create money to invest in housing and public transport, described by Corbyn as "people's quantitative easing". This would aim to turn the UK into a high-skill, high-tech economy and to build more council houses in order to lower long-term housing benefit costs. To achieve this, the Bank would purchase bonds for a state-owned "National Investment Bank".[97].

Corbyn's proposed economic policies, referred to as "Corbynomics" by some in the media, are reported to be "heavy influenced" by the accountant Richard Murphy.[98][99][100] Corbyn's economic platform has been endorsed by a number of prominent economists, including David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, and Steve Keen. They were among 41 academics who signed a letter to The Guardian which argued: "The accusation is widely made that Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters have moved to the extreme left on economic policy. But this is not supported by the candidate’s statements or policies. His opposition to austerity is actually mainstream economics, even backed by the conservative IMF.".[101] The Nobel-Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said he was unsurprised at support for anti-austerity campaigners like Corbyn following the "disappointment" of policies pursued by New Labour.[102] Robert Skidelsky offered a qualified endorsement of Corbyn's proposals to carry out QE through a National Investment Bank.[103][104]

Corbyn's economic proposals have been criticised by other economists that say that Corbyn's 'People's QE' initiative might be a "damaging threat to fiscal credibility",[105] and by the economist John Van Reenen at the London School of Economics,[106] the BBC Economics Editor Robert Peston,[107][108] The Economist,[97] the free-market Centre for Policy Studies,[109] the Financial Times[110] (although it also complimented the "People's QE" proposal),[111] the Daily Telegraph,[112] Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie,[113][114] former Foreign Secretary David Miliband,[115] Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna[116] and the three other leadership candidates.[117][118][119]. It has also been argued that it could possibly increase the risk of investing in the UK, meaning that the government might have to pay higher interest rates on its debt.[120] It might also clash with Article 123 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty which prevents central banks from printing money to finance government spending and could cause a legal battle with the European Court of Justice, although it has been argued that money wouldn't be printed and would be issued in the form of bonds.[121][122] The Register wrote that as quantitative easing had the potential to cause inflation, currently the Bank of England holds onto the money it creates and thus has the power to 'unwind QE' by reversing it, whereas if the money had gone into Corbyn's National Investment Bank, this would not be possible.[123]

Other policies

In August 2015, when asked by Glasgow's Herald newspaper if he would describe himself as a British unionist, Corbyn replied "No, I would describe myself as a socialist. I would prefer the UK to stay together, yes, but I recognise the right of people to take the decision on their own autonomy and independence". He also criticised the decision by Scottish Labour to work with Scottish Conservatives in the Better Together campaign, and said that he had not actively participated in the referendum campaign. Corbyn also stated his belief that economic inequality exists across the UK, and that Labour should unite people on the basis of a "radical economic strategy".[124]

Corbyn has also pledged to get rid of Britain's nuclear weapons.

After initially being recommended by women[125] the idea of introducing women-only carriages on public transport, Corbyn raised the possibility in August 2015, as well as a 24-hour hotline for women to report cases of harassment. He said that although his aim was to "make public transport safer for everyone from the train platform, to the bus stop to the mode of transport itself", he would consult women on whether such carriages would be welcome, after the idea was suggested to him.[125] His statement was condemned by Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall, with Cooper stating that Corbyn's plan was "turning the clock back instead of tackling the problem",[126] while Conservative Women's Minister Nicky Morgan said she was "uncomfortable with the idea", which sounded like "segregation".[127]

Responses to leadership bid

Main article: Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015 § Media reaction

Corbyn has been accused of being "unelectable" at the next General Election by former party leaders Neil Kinnock,[128] Tony Blair[129] and Gordon Brown.[130]

Others have praised him, saying that he "offers a coherent, inspiring and, crucially, a hopeful vision".[131] Corbyn's supporters argue that his socialist manifesto and unexpected popularity have expanded grassroots support for the Labour Party, reconnecting it with people who had lost interest in politics, and contend that many of his policies have a mainstream appeal across political divides. Dave Ward of the Communication Workers Union said that Corbyn would reconnect the party with its left-wing roots[132] and Owen Jones posited in The Guardian that Corbyn offers "a hopeful vision" by addressing social injustice and economic inequality.[133]

The Conservative-affiliated newspaper The Daily Telegraph[134] and other right-wing columnists[135] suggested that people vote for Corbyn to "destroy" the Labour party, The Telegraph later declared "Jeremy Corbyn must be stopped".[136]

In August 2015 The Jewish Chronicle[137] and other media questioned the motivations behind Corbyn's associations with individuals and organisations accused of antisemitism.[138][139] In response, Corbyn described Holocaust denial as "obviously vile and wrong"[140] and that accusations of his holding racist sympathies are "beyond appalling."[141] The Chronicle described Corbyn's response as unsatisfactory[142] but prominent Jewish critics of Israel defended Corbyn a week later in an open letter to the newspaper.[143] Of the accusations, Diane Abbott suggested a smear campaign by character assassination, commenting that "the British establishment is frozen with fear about the prospect of his victory."[144]

Personal life

In 1974, Corbyn married Jane Chapman, then a fellow Labour Party councillor in Haringey, who described Corbyn as her "political soulmate"; the couple divorced in 1979. He later married Chilean exile Claudia Bracchita in 1987, with whom he had three sons. Following a disagreement over whether or not to send their son Ben to a grammar school – Corbyn opposes selection at 11 – the couple divorced in 1999, although Corbyn said in June 2015 that he continued to "get on very well" with his ex-wife.[9][145] Ben was later sent to Queen Elizabeth's School, which was Bracchita's first choice.[146] In 2015, Corbyn married his long-term domestic partner Laura Alvarez,[147] a Mexican who works as an importer of fair trade coffee.[148]

Having described himself as parsimonious in the past,[16] Corbyn told Simon Hattenstone of The Guardian in June 2015: "Well, I don’t spend a lot of money, I lead a very normal life, I ride a bicycle and I don’t have a car."[9] He is teetotal,[149] an Arsenal fan[150] and has been a vegetarian since the age of 20 following a period working on a pig farm.[151]

Other organisational commitments

Corbyn speaking at an ATOS Demo in Parliament Square in 2012

He is a patron of Centre 404, a service for those with educational disabilities, the Islington Music Forum, and the Refugee Therapy Centre. He is also Chair of the Dalit Solidarity Campaign and "Liberation", an anti-racist and anti-imperialist organisation. He is the joint president of the Islington Pensioners Forum, and is a trustee of the Socialist Campaign Group, Hanley Crouch Community Association and the Highbury Vale and Blackstock Trust.[10]

Awards

In 2013, Corbyn was awarded the Gandhi International Peace Award for his "consistent efforts over a 30-year Parliamentary career to uphold the Gandhian values of social justice and non‐violence."[152][153] In the same year, he became a Grassroot Diplomat Initiative honouree for his "ongoing support for a number of non-government organisations and civil causes".[154] Corbyn has won the Parliamentary "Beard of the Year Award" a record five times, as well as the official Beard of the Year, having previously described his beard as "a form of dissent" against New Labour.[155]

Notes

  1. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Labour's leadership contest". www.labour.org.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/sep/10/jeremy-corbyn-all-eyes-as-labour-leadership-voting-ends
  4. ^ a b Mendick, Robert (22 August 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn, the boy to the manor born". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  5. ^ a b Pickard, Jim (23 July 2015). "Leftwing outsider Jeremy Corbyn moves to Labour's centre stage". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Jeremy (Bernard) Corbyn Parliamentary Profile by Andrew Roth" (PDF).
  7. ^ a b "Confrontation looms large in life of a rebel with a cause". Shropshire Star. 22 August 2015. p. 20.Part of Special Report on Corbyn and Labour leadership campaign.
  8. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn's A-levels didn't go too well, to say the least". Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Hattenstone, Simon (17 June 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn: 'I don't do personal'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b "About me – Jeremy Corbyn MP". jeremycorbyn.org.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Voting Record for Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington North (10133)". The Public Whip. 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq". BBC News. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
  14. ^ "British MP Jeremy Corbyn Speaks out for Venezuela". teleSUR English. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  15. ^ Elgot, Jessica (1 August 2015). "Jeremy corbyn on night Bus". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  16. ^ a b c Hussein, Meyrem (8 December 2010). "Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn is the country's lowest expenses claimer". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  17. ^ Paul Hill, Ronan Bennett, Stolen Years, Doubleday, 1990, p. 219.
  18. ^ Hughie Callaghan, Sally Mulready, Cruel Fate: One Man's Triumph Over Injustice, University of Massachusetts Press, 1993, pp. 178, 191.
  19. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn", BBC News, 22 October 2002.
  20. ^ Peter Gruner, "As he reaches 30-year milestone, Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn reflects on his career in politics", Islington Tribune, 7 June 2013.
  21. ^ "The Birmingham bombings 40 years on: what can we learn from IRA terror?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  22. ^ a b Swinford, Steven (1 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for release of Embassy bombers". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  23. ^ Dysch, Marcus (1 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn campaigned for Israeli embassy car bombing pair". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Rates and allowances: Corporation Tax". HMRC. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  25. ^ a b Prince, Rosa (22 July 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn: full story of the lefty candidate the Tories would love to see elected as Labour leader". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  27. ^ "Find Your MP – Islington North – Jeremy Corbyn". BBC News.
  28. ^ Millar, Frank (26 September 1996). "Adams cancels Commons visit as Labour criticises Corbyn". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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