Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
‘I resigned from Labour to spend more time fighting for socialism’
Here CHRIS WILLIAMSON explains to Morning Star readers why he has decided to stand in Derby North as an independent

I am standing as an independent in Derby North, on a policy platform that will be the most Corbyn-friendly of any candidate in the country. We have a strong campaign team and hundreds of volunteers, locally and from around the country. We have experience, local credibility and local knowledge on our side.

The Labour Party should stand aside in Derby North and allow its members to campaign for me. Imposing a new candidate at this stage is unfair on CLP members and constituents alike. If the party fields a candidate against me, it could split the left vote and potentially thrust a Conservative on the people of Derby North. This would be disastrous for our fight against austerity and our bid to transform the country.

I would be the only MP in the next parliament with a fearless track record of challenging state-funded operations like the Integrity Initiative, which used taxpayers’ money and military intelligence officers to subvert democracy by smearing Jeremy Corbyn under Foreign Office direction.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
STOKING CONFLICT: US soldiers load pallets of weapons and ex
Opinion / 3 March 2023
3 March 2023
Arguing that the war has always been a proxy war between Nato and Russia, CHRIS WILLIAMSON argues that opposing the US-led imperialist alliance is key to avoiding a global conflagration
Chris Williamson
Opinion / 22 September 2022
22 September 2022
Announcing his intention to join the rival Socialist Labour Party established by Arthur Scargill in 1996, CHRIS WILLIAMSON argues that the time is now right to advocate a mass vote for parties that run against Starmer's Labour from the left
Features / 8 July 2021
8 July 2021
Questions remain unanswered over the government-funded Integrity Initiative. What have ministers got to hide, asks CHRIS WILLIAMSON
Features / 22 October 2020
22 October 2020
Of all the mainstream media, it is the institution priding itself on its liberal values and progressive heritage that has carried the worst betrayal against the whistleblower of the century. It must listen to our protests now — before it is too late, writes CHRIS WILLIAMSON
Similar stories
A ballot box arriving during the count for the Blackpool South by-election at Blackpool Sports Centre, Blackpool, May 2, 2024
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

In the run-up to the Communist Party congress in November ROB GRIFFITHS outlines a few ideas regarding its participation in the elections of May 2026

Alan Mardghum
Durham Miners’ Gala 2025 / 11 July 2025
11 July 2025

Durham Miners’ Association general secretary ALAN MARDGHUM speaks to Ben Chacko ahead of Gala Day 2025

MARCHING ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT: A pro-Palestine march in cen
Features / 28 March 2025
28 March 2025
The mass movement supporting Palestine represents potential political power that the left must now embrace as central to its strategy, writes HUGH LANNING, ahead of this Saturday’s Socialism or Barbarism day school in London
EXPULSION: The expulsion of Palestinian women and children f
Features / 7 November 2024
7 November 2024
From Israel’s creation in 1948 to today, views on the nature of the Jewish state have passed through several stages – but what remains constant is the projection of imperial power in the region, which is the barrier to peace and Palestinian self-determination, writes NICK WRIGHT