Jeremy Corbyn re-elected: Chants of 'Free Palestine' as former leader beats Labour

Supporters celebrate as expelled Labour leader retains London seat as an independent

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Even before Jeremy Corbyn was declared the winner of the seat he has held for more than 40 years, his supporters were in a boisterous mood.

As the votes for the Labour candidate Praful Nargund were about to be announced, “bad luck, mate” pierced the air of the sports centre in north London that was being used to count the votes.

It was clear the Corbyn backer wasn't genuinely offering his commiserations.

After laughter, came chants of “Free Palestine” as the former Labour leader began to speak.

His voice betrayed the emotion he felt at being returned to Parliament as an independent, after previously representing the area for Labour.

Jeremy Corbyn speaks after being declared winner of the North Islington Parliamentary seat, in London. EPA

“I owe my life and my learning and my abilities entirely to the people of Islington North. This victory is dedicated entirely to them,” Mr Corbyn said.

He also said voters who backed his old party would be “looking for a government that on the world stage will search for peace and not war and not allow for terrible conditions that are happening in Gaza at the present time”.

His supporters’ glee at their hero turning the tables on a Labour Party that had first suspended him, in 2020, and then expelled him when he chose to run as an independent was palpable.

A chant of ‘oh, Jeremy Corbyn’ broke out as a keffiyeh was waved around in the air, a nod to his lifelong support for the Palestinian cause.

On a night in which Labour overturned the disastrous result of the 2019 general election, overseen by Mr Corbyn, and secured a historic majority, the former leader of the party secured his own turnaround.

He was suspended by Labour in 2020 after he refused to fully accept the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s findings that the party broke equality law when he was in charge and said anti-Semitism had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.

But there he was on stage giving a victory speech in the general election.

Jeremy Corbyn supporters celebrate as he is declared the winner. EPA

After finishing addressing the hall and as he talked to a scrum of reporters, Mr Corbyn was asked by The National what he hoped he could achieve on Gaza in the new parliament.

“The issue of a ceasefire in Gaza is absolutely central and quite obviously there are a lot of Labour MPs, and Greens and Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives who recognise that we cannot go on observing the destruction and loss of life in Gaza,” he said.

“There has to be a ceasefire in Gaza and I’ll be on the demonstration on Saturday and I will be making that case and I will also, of course, be making that case in parliament when it resumes.”

Labour wins UK election - in pictures

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  Labour leader Keir Starmer celebrates winning the UK general election with a speech at Tate Modern in central London. Getty Images

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  Mr Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive at the Tate Modern. PA

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  Mr Starmer gives a victory speech at the Tate Modern. PA

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  Mr Starmer greets former Labour leader Neil Kinnock. AP

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  Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak retained his seat as MP for Richmond and Northallerton, in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. AFP

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  Jeremy Corbyn (C) gives a speech after being declared winner of the North Islington Parliamentary seat, in London, Britain, 05 July 2024. Britons went to the polls on 04 July 2024 to elect new members of Parliament following the call by Britain's Prime Minister Sunak for a snap election. EPA / JON ROWLEY

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  Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, was victorious in Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex. Bloomberg

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  Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg leaves University of Bath after losing his seat in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. AP

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  Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey celebrates at London Art Bar, central London, after his party seemed poised for a successful night. AP

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  Penny Mordaunt lost her seat in the Portsmouth North constituency to Labour. PA

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  Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar celebrates with Maureen Burke after she won in Glasgow North East. Reuters

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  Sir Archibald Stanton standing for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party poses for a picture at the Richmond and Northallerton count centre in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. AFP

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  Mr Starmer is congratulated by fellow candidates Bobby 'Elmo' Smith and Nick 'The Flying Brick' Delves after winning his seat for Holborn and St Pancras, at the Camden Council count centre in London. AFP

Earlier, Labour’s press team were tight-lipped about the party’s chances in the seat, a sign that they were not optimistic about their chances. Soon after rumours began circulating that Mr Corbyn had won.

The sight of him looking at what appeared to be a victory speech beside the stage where the results were read out was the first hint that talk of a Corbyn victory was not merely speculation.

In the end, Mr Nargund was probably on a hiding to nothing trying to unseat his 75-year-old rival from a constituency he has held since 1983, more than half his adult life.

What pollsters YouGov had predicted could be “toss up” between Mr Corbyn and his rival in fact turned out to be anything but that as he romped home with a 7,247 majority.