As Diane Abbott stood outside Hackney Town Hall to declare she would stand whatever the party decided, and as Lloyd Russell-Moyle received word that an eight-year old complaint, which he could not challenge in time, meant he would be barred from standing, Jeremy Corbyn belatedly appeared in a small red-brick community centre, green suit falling off his shoulders, shirt untucked, in Islington North to launch his campaign to be the area’s independent MP.
Corbyn was a few steps ahead of his fallen comrades. He announced his much-predicted independent candidacy last Friday before being immediately expelled from the party. The posters at his launch were still Labour-red, but there were splashes of green and a promise to be an “independent voice for all of us” in the constituency he has represented for more than 40 years.
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