Jon Lansman, the founder of the left-wing Momentum campaign group, has announced he is standing down as its leader.
In an article for the Labour List website, Mr Lansman, 62, said the time had come to hand over to a new generation of activists.
“We are now a mass of dedicated activists fighting for a better world. And in this new era, it is time that a new generation of leaders put their ideas into practice,” he wrote.
Download the new Independent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
“That is why I have decided not to contest the forthcoming elections within Momentum and instead will hand over to a new leadership.”
Momentum grew out of the successful campaign to elect Jeremy Corbyn – a long-standing ally Mr Lansman’s – leader of the Labour Party in 2015.
It was credited with mobilising tens of thousands of young activists, but was distrusted by many traditional Labour members who accused it of acting as a party within a party.
1/50 15 May 2020
Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
2/50 14 May 2020
Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
3/50 13 May 2020
Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
4/50 12 May 2020
Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
5/50 11 May 2020
Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
6/50 10 May 2020
A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
7/50 9 May 2020
Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
8/50 8 May 2020
The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
9/50 7 May 2020
Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
Reuters
10/50 6 May 2020
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
11/50 5 May 2020
The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
12/50 4 May 2020
Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
13/50 3 May 2020
Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
14/50 2 May 2020
One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
15/50 1 May 2020
Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
16/50 30 April 2020
Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
17/50 29 April 2020
Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
18/50 28 April 2020
NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
19/50 27 April 2020
The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
20/50 26 April 2020
Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
21/50 25 April 2020
A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
22/50 24 April 2020
An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
23/50 23 April 2020
Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
24/50 22 April 2020
The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
25/50 21 April 2020
Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
26/50 20 April 2020
A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
27/50 19 April 2020
A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
28/50 18 April 2020
Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
29/50 17 April 2020
A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
30/50 16 April 2020
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
31/50 15 April 2020
A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
32/50 14 April 2020
The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
33/50 13 April 2020
Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
34/50 12 April 2020
A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
35/50 11 April 2020
A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
36/50 10 April 2020
Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
37/50 9 April 2020
Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
38/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
39/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
40/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
41/50 5 April 2020
A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
42/50 4 March 2020
New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
43/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
44/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
45/50 1 April 2020
Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
46/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
47/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
48/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
49/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
50/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
1/50 15 May 2020
Estonian freelance ballet dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso performs her daily fitness routine near her home in Glasgow, Scotland
Getty
2/50 14 May 2020
Senior charge nurse Jan Ferguson views artwork “Theatre of Dott’s” by Kate Ive, inspired by Professor Norman Dott and his neurosurgery theatres at the Western General from 1960-2019. It is one of a number of artworks which sit on the walls of NHS Lothians’ Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) which has been transferred into a purpose-built new home on the Little France campus in Edinburgh
PA
3/50 13 May 2020
Team GB’s karate athlete Jordan Thomas trains outside his apartment in Manchester
Reuters
4/50 12 May 2020
Nurses from central London hospitals protest on international nurses day about the chronic underfunding of the NHS and other issues surrounding the health service outside the gates of Downing Street, London
PA
5/50 11 May 2020
Waves crash at Tynemouth pier on the North East coast
PA
6/50 10 May 2020
A woman passes street art and a poster in East London
Reuters
7/50 9 May 2020
Police patrol the beach in Brighton
Getty
8/50 8 May 2020
The British Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a fly past over the statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) in Britain
MOD/Reuters
9/50 7 May 2020
Team GB sailor Eilidh McIntyre during a training session at her home in Portsmouth
Reuters
10/50 6 May 2020
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer listens to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during PMQs
UK Parliament/AFP/Getty
11/50 5 May 2020
The sun appears to explode over the horizon in this montage of images captured by photographer Nick Lucas near his home in Ringwood, Hampshire. Nick took a number of pictures just a few seconds apart on a tripod mounted camera which were then combined to give the eye catching dawn image
Nick Lucas/SWNS
12/50 4 May 2020
Leeds Green Watch firefighters observe a minute’s silence outside the fire station in Kirkstall Rd, in memory their colleagues that lost their lives in the line of duty
PA
13/50 3 May 2020
Staff at The Berkeley hotel give food to ambulance workers
Reuters
14/50 2 May 2020
One of a small group of anti-lockdown protesters speaks to a police officer as they gather outside New Scotland Yard in Victoria, London
AFP via Getty
15/50 1 May 2020
Bonnie the Llama grazes in a field in the Scottish Borders alongside a sign supporting the NHS as the UK continues in lockdown
PA
16/50 30 April 2020
Colonel Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah celebrate his 100th birthday, with an RAF flypast provided by a Spitfire and a Hurricane over his home in Marston Moretaine. Colonel Moore, formerly a Captain, received a promotion in honour of his birthday and in recognition of the funds, in excess of £30m, he raised for the NHS by walking laps of his garden
Capture the Light Photography/Getty
17/50 29 April 2020
Britain’s Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions, as members of Parliament observe social distancing due to the coronavirus, in the House of Commons, London, Wednesday, April 29, 2020
UK Parliament/AP
18/50 28 April 2020
NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
19/50 27 April 2020
The sun rises behind redundant oil platforms moored in the Firth of Forth near Kirkcaldy, Fife. Global oil prices have crashed after the coronavirus pandemic reduced demand, with analysts warning that the oil majors may be looking at one of their biggest quarter-on-quarter profitability hits in history.
PA
20/50 26 April 2020
Frankie Lynch celebrates on the Mall where the finish of the London Marathon was due to take place today after running 2.6 miles instead of 26 miles to raise money for The Running Charity
Reuters
21/50 25 April 2020
A muslim woman walks past balloons outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
Reuters
22/50 24 April 2020
An empty Brighton Pier, closed during the Coronavirus pandemic as temperatures reach 20 degrees in the South East
Rex
23/50 23 April 2020
Farmers work with vehicles to prepare a field next to a field of flowering rapeseed near Pontefract, West Yorkshire
AFP/Getty
24/50 22 April 2020
The Northern Lights, the Milky Way and a Lyrid meteor at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak
PA
25/50 21 April 2020
Badger the Border Collie surrounded by bluebells at Shrawley Wood in Worcestershire
PA
26/50 20 April 2020
A dog walker on Blyth beach in Northumberland
PA
27/50 19 April 2020
A piece of coronavirus themed street art grafitti in East London
AFP via Getty
28/50 18 April 2020
Members of the City Specialist Cleaning team spray disinfectant around posts in the town centre of Eastleigh, Hampshire
PA
29/50 17 April 2020
A taped-up bench in the hamlet of Diglea, Greater Manchester
AFP/Getty
30/50 16 April 2020
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past graffiti in Bow, London
Reuters
31/50 15 April 2020
A burned down mobile phone mast in London. According to reports, at least 20 mobile phone masts across Britain are believed to have been vandalised and government and telecom sources are increasingly concerned about the impact of conspiracy theories linking coronavirus to 5G networks
EPA
32/50 14 April 2020
The new Nightingale Hospital in Washington, Tyne and Wear, being fitted out
PA
33/50 13 April 2020
Walkers enjoy the bluebells in Wanstead Park in London
PA
34/50 12 April 2020
A woman prays at the closed doors of Westminster Cathedral ahead of the Easter morning mass in London
PA
35/50 11 April 2020
A man jogs on an empty beach in Scarborough as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
36/50 10 April 2020
Military personnel testing people at a coronavirus test centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures
Reuters
37/50 9 April 2020
Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
38/50 8 April 2020
A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
39/50 7 April 2020
A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
40/50 6 April 2020
A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
41/50 5 April 2020
A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
42/50 4 March 2020
New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
43/50 3 April 2020
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
44/50 2 April 2020
A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
45/50 1 April 2020
Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
46/50 31 March 2020
Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
47/50 30 March 2020
Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
48/50 29 March 2020
Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
49/50 28 March 2020
Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
50/50 27 March 2020
A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
The failure of Rebecca Long-Bailey – the favourite of the left to succeed Mr Corbyn – to win this year’s party leadership election was seen as a sign of its waning influence.
However, Mr Lansman insisted that it had changed the party for good.
“Thanks to our movement, Labour can never again be the party of illegal invasions, anti-immigration mugs or support for Tory policies of austerity and privatisation,” he said.
“The Labour Party is now much closer to being a socialist party than simply a party with socialists in it.”
Press Association
