After much speculation, Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he’s considering running for London mayor.
The former Labour leader – blocked from standing for the party at the next general election – has previously refused to rule out running in the mayoral contest in May.
And now he has given his biggest hint yet that he could throw his hat in the ring.
Asked about whether he was thinking about it in an interview with PoliticsJOE, he replied: “Well, a lot of people have approached me, so yes, of course.”
He then added elusively: “I don’t know. See what happens.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is looking to secure a third term
A poll conducted by YouGov andTimesRadio in September showed that a Corbyn campaign for mayor could give him 15% of the vote.
However, it would lead to splitting numbers on the left, clearing the way for Conservative Susan Hall to potentially take the win from current mayor Sadiq Khan.
Mayor Khan, who will be running to secure a third time in office, has been at the centre of much criticism following the ULEZ expansion in Greater London.
In the interview, Mr Corbyn hinted the reasons behind a potential candidacy would be to pose a “much more radical alternative to this government.”
A three way leadership race could split the left-wing vote and clear the way for Tory candidate Susan Hall
After running for prime minister in 2020 and garnering record popularity with young voters, he was suspended from the Labour party in October 2020 amid an anti-semitism row.
The role of Mayor would provide Corbyn with bigger budgets and more autonomy over the capital than his current parliamentary position.
“We cannot go forward with the idea of accepting these levels of poverty, these levels of inequality, these levels of injustice in this country or anywhere else,” he said. “We cannot go on demonising refugees and asylum seekers, restricting free speech and liberties and just assume that all is well.
“We have to be a seriously democratic society and that means equality of opportunity, proper funding of education, proper quality housing. Those are the issues I’m absolutely passionate about.”
