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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, the Member of Parliament for Islington North, stood as a candidate in the British Labour Party leadership election. His campaign that would eventually result in his becoming the leader of the Labour Party.

His campaign was announced in an article for the Islington Tribune on 3 June 2015. Corbyn promised support for the anti-austerity movement and because he wanted to "give Labour Party members a voice" in the debate.

Background

Announcement

He was originally seen as an "outsider" in the leadership race. This means that, though he was a member of the Labour Party, he was not someone people expected to be leader. Bookmakers had his odds of winning at 200-to-1. However, following a series of televised and radio debates with the other three candidates – Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall – Corbyn went on to gain the support of six of the fourteen trade unions affiliated with the Labour Party. This included the UK's two largest trade unions, Unite and UNISON. He received the highest number of supporting nominations from Constituency Labour Parties, winning over 100 by the end of July.

Many politicians, unions and celebrities supported Corbyn such as Ken Livingstone, Emma Thompson, Russell Brand, Daniel Radcliffe, Joseph Stiglitz, Bernie Sanders and Michael Meacher.

Victory

To become a candidate in the party's election, 35 nominations from Labour MPs are needed. Commentators in the media widely predicted that Corbyn would struggle to get this many. However, he managed at a very late stage, to secure enough support, with 36 nominations in total. Around 12 of the MPs who nominated him actually supported other candidates, but "lent" him their support in order to widen the contest. Corbyn was reported to say: "We had two minutes to spare, it was easy."

On September 12, 2015, at a special conference held in the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre, Corbyn was announced to have been elected Leader of the Labour Party. He won 59.5% of first-preference votes.

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