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Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leadership campaign, 2015
Candidate Jeremy Corbyn MP
Status Announced: 3 June 2015
Nominated: 15 June 2015
Elected: 12 September 2015
Headquarters Walkden House, 10 Melton St, Kings Cross, Camden, London, NW1 2EJ
Key people
  • Simon Fletcher (Manager)
  • John McDonnell MP (Parliamentary Manager)
  • Carmel Nolan (Communications)
Slogan Straight Talking, Honest Politics
Chant "Jez We Can"

In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn ran to become the leader of the Labour Party in the UK. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North. His campaign aimed to make him the new leader.

Corbyn announced his campaign in an article on June 3, 2015. He promised to support the anti-austerity movement. This movement wanted the government to spend more money, not less. He also wanted to give regular Labour Party members more say.

Jeremy Corbyn's Leadership Campaign

Starting the Campaign

When Jeremy Corbyn first announced his plan, many people saw him as an "outsider." This meant he was not expected to win. Bookmakers, who guess the odds of things happening, said he had a very low chance. They put his odds at 200 to 1.

However, Corbyn took part in many TV and radio debates. He debated with the other three candidates: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and Liz Kendall. After these debates, he started to gain a lot of support.

Growing Support

Corbyn won the support of six out of fourteen trade unions. These unions are large groups of workers. They included the UK's two biggest unions, Unite and UNISON. He also got the most support from local Labour Party groups. By the end of July, over 100 local groups had nominated him.

Many well-known people also supported Corbyn. These included politicians like Ken Livingstone and Bernie Sanders. Famous actors like Emma Thompson and Daniel Radcliffe also showed their support. Even important thinkers like Joseph Stiglitz backed him.

Winning the Election

Getting Enough Nominations

To become a candidate, Corbyn needed 35 nominations from other Labour MPs. Many people in the media thought he would struggle to get enough. But at the very last minute, he managed to get 36 nominations.

About 12 of the MPs who nominated him actually supported other candidates. They "lent" him their support. This was to make sure there were enough candidates in the race. Corbyn reportedly said, "We had two minutes to spare, it was easy."

The Final Result

On September 12, 2015, a special meeting was held. It took place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. At this meeting, Jeremy Corbyn was announced as the new Leader of the Labour Party.

He won with a large number of votes. He received 59.5% of the first-preference votes. This meant he was the clear winner of the election.

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