PUT the politics of hope at the heart of the election, Jeremy Corbyn told his supporters as he officially launched his campaign to be re-elected in his Islington North constituency.
Pledging to be a voice for “peace, justice and socialism,” the former Labour leader told a packed rally that he would ensure that “those that are silenced are heard” and “those that are pushed aside are brought back in.”
He outlined his opposition to growing inequality, with “millions dependent on food banks just to get by” while “billionaires get richer.”
Slamming the two-child benefit cap, which both main parties have pledged to maintain, as “immoral,” he promised to campaign within Parliament “to end that injustice.”
On the subject of the private water industry, Mr Corbyn said he did not know if there were parasites in the water of the Thames, but there were certainly “parasites on the board of Thames Water.”
He added that the industry should be brought back into public ownership, as Labour had committed to do when he was leader.
His speech also highlighted his commitment to tackling climate change and he promised to continue to be a “voice for peace, looking for diplomatic solutions, looking at the causes of conflict,” which he said included the “overwhelming power of the arms industry.”
The rally also heard from a range of Islington voices praising Mr Corbyn’s 41-year record as local MP.
Mr Corbyn’s campaign definitely has a hyper-local focus, with many tributes to his work on behalf of constituents but nothing on his national and international significance as a socialist leader.
His demands align with the policies he promoted as party leader, including a “more equal society,” housing for all, “a greener Islington,” a fully public NHS and defence of peace and human rights.
There are reports that Labour’s own campaign in the constituency has not been going well so far, with imposed candidate Praful Nargund struggling to find much support for his tilt against the local hero.
Speaking to journalists after the rally, Mr Corbyn, who was blocked by the Starmer leadership from re-standing for Labour, said: “The Labour Party ought to be a broad church.
“Any movement that intends to represent a working-class community has to be a broad inclusive church.”
He warned that it looked as if Starmer was trying to purge the left from the party “but there has to be a voice for justice for peace and socialism in our society. And you’ve seen the message here tonight.”
Mr Corbyn also rallied to the support of his long-time comrade Diane Abbott, saying that the way the Hackney North MP had been treated “is an utter disgrace — and I am disgusted by the blatant double-standards, hypocrisy and contempt for local democracy, in plain sight for all to see.
“If Parliament had listened to Diane Abbott, we wouldn’t have invaded Iraq, black Britons wouldn’t have been deported in the Windrush scandal, and our country wouldn’t have been decimated by austerity and privatisation.
“In blocking Diane from standing, they are trying to silence a female black voice who has the courage to stand up for a better world. Whatever Diane chooses to do, I’ll support her.”
Ms Abbott indicated at a rally outside Hackney Town Hall that she is considering fighting the election as an independent, like Mr Corbyn, if she is denied the right to represent Labour while Faiza Shaheen, barred as Labour’s Chingford candidate, is threatening legal action.
The rows are engulfing Labour’s campaign. Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Diane Abbott is a powerful, popular advocate for Labour. She and other candidates have been treated in an appalling manner.
“There are clearly double standards in how they have been treated as leftwingers and as women of colour when compared to more centrist MPs.”
