Pollsters predict a large victory for the Labor Party, in opposition for 14 years, during the British legislative elections on July 4. But Labor has been shifting to its right for several years, since the party’s former leader, socialist Jeremy Corbyn, was expelled – partly due to accusations of anti-Semitism. In his London constituency, however, the former leader of the opposition must face a Labor candidate.
2 mins
With our correspondent in London, Emeline Vin
Duel on the left in Islington: on one side, the Labor Party Praful Nargund, on the other the independent Jeremy Corbyn, former leader excluded for anti-Semitism… The vote promises to be close. On July 4, Jo will vote useful.
“ We need change, the country has been going badly for a while. Voting for Corbyn would weaken the Labor majority », thinks Jo.
But Keir Starmer, the new leader, has shifted Labor towards the center, and refused to take a position on Gaza for example. Cowardice, for Shoaib who displays his support for Jeremy Corbyn in the window of his dry cleaners.
“ We have always supported the Labor Party. My father voted Labour, I grew up Labour… “, he insists. “ But replacing Jeremy Corbyn with Keir Starmer was the party’s worst decision. He is the only one who is sincere in the political landscape. »
Read alsoAnti-Semitism: Jeremy Corbyn will no longer be able to sit in Parliament as a Labor MP
“We need a Labor MP”
Elsewhere in the country, Corbyn supporters were refused the Labor nomination for these legislative elections… Ben, an activist from Islington, who goes door to door for Labour, denies any purge.
“ We are campaigning in positivity, it’s not about him or us… “, he assures. “ But of course people tell us about him. Most of us campaigned with him, we don’t hate him! But we need a Labor MP, to support a Labor government. »
If Jeremy Corbyn wins, Labor will lose Islington North for the first time since 1937.
British legislative elections: towards a historic victory for Labor?
Two weeks before the British legislative elections, two new polls on Wednesday June 19 placed Labor on the road to a historic victory against the Conservatives in power for 14 years. According to a poll by the YouGov institute, as the race stands, Labor (center-left) would win 425 of the 650 seats in the British Parliament on July 4, “ the largest number in the history of the party », with 39% of the votes. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tories would gain 108 seats, losing 257 MPs, compared to the current composition of Parliament.
The Savanta institute, for its part, even increases the number of seats won by Keir Starmer’s Labor to 516, double the number obtained by Tony Blair during the Labor victory of 1997. The Conservatives would then fall to only 53 seats , a crushing and unprecedented defeat for the party. Worse, the Savanta study, for the newspaper The Telegrapheven gives the Conservative Prime Minister losing his seat of Richmond, in Yorkshire (northern England) against Labour, a situation never seen before for a head of government.
The Reform UK party, which has been making progress since the surprise entry into the race of Brexit champion Nigel Farage in early June, would win its first five seats with 15% of the vote, including that of Clacton, in the east of England, where the party leader introduces himself, continues YouGov. Savanta, conversely, believes that the party should not win any seats due to the one-round voting system in the constituencies, registering an eighth defeat in Nigel Farage’s tally.