Inside Corbyn's fight to win a seat without party backing

It has been seven long years since the White Stripes song Seven Nation Army” became an anthem for a new generation of Labour voters.

- JOE MIDDLETON

In 2017 the chant “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” rang out at music festivals and political rallies as young people got behind the socialist firebrand. But fast forward to 2024 and not only is Mr Corbyn not Labour leader, he is no longer a member of the party he championed for 40 years, and is instead running as an independent.

Unfortunately for the man who has served Islington North since 1983, not all of his supporters appear to know that, and that could at least partly explain why the veteran campaigner appears to have a real fight on his hands despite winning a majority of 26,000 in 2019.

A Survation poll commissioned for left-wing news website Novara Media just over a week before polling day showed that he is on 29 per cent, 14 points below Labour rival Praful Nargund.

When The Independent visited the constituency to speak to the former Labour leader on the campaign trail, we found at least some voters who were still not aware he had been expelled from the party by his successor Keir Starmer.

Among them was Darren, 49, who said: “I’ve been a Labour voter all my life and I’ll be backing Jeremy again, he’s a brilliant MP and takes principled stands on things unlike others who I think are in it for the money.”

Whether any voter confusion about which party he represents will translate to the ballot box will be answered on 4 July. But in the meantime, the trip to north London was a chance to see how, for some, his rather unlikely rock star persona remains undiminished.