Jeremy Corbyn faces being deselected as Labour’s MP in the Islington North in the next election.

Party officials held discussions this week about how to field a new Labour candidate in the seat that the 72-year-old has held since 1983.

Although he remains a Labour member, the former leader has been sitting as an independent MP since he had the whip withdrawn in October 2020, following his claim that Labour’s antisemitism crisis had been “dramatically overstated” by political opponents.

The Labour leadership has secured new powers over the selection of candidates but current rules prevent the deselection of Mr Corbyn, who is committed to standing again.
This week, however, officials met to discuss ways in which this could be circumvented in order to remove the former leader.

Mr Corbyn’s path to avoid this fate looks difficult. When the whip was withdrawn, he was told an apology would pave the way for readmission.

But senior Labour sources told the JC that 15 months later, this would “ring pretty hollow” and the party was “fast approaching the point of no return”.

Mr Corbyn is considering forming a new party — a move that could come as soon as next week, when MPs return from half-term recess.

A hard-left breakaway party risks fresh headaches for the current Labour leadership if it secures the support of unions, which are increasingly unhappy with Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

Len McCluskey, former general secretary of Labour’s biggest backer, Unite, warned that if the “grave injustice” of Mr Corbyn’s suspension was not reversed it would create “chaos within the party and compromise Labour’s chances of a general election victory”.

“A split party is doomed to defeat,” he added.

Unite has already reduced its financial contribution to Labour and current General Secretary Sharon Graham has warned the “remaining support” is under review amid an ongoing dispute between a Labour council and its bin lorry drivers. She has demanded that Labour becomes the “party for the workers”.

It also emerged this week that train drivers’ union Aslef will debate a motion at its conference in May to end its 120-year affiliation to Labour.

With the bakers’ union and the rail union RMT already disaffiliated and the communication workers’ CWU and the transport staff union TSSA also considering breaking away, Labour is facing a financial crisis.

Legal costs resulting from defending Labour against antisemitism claims have cost the party millions. Redundancies have been drawn up at Labour’s headquarters and staff are facing the prospect of a real terms pay cut.

However, party insiders were bullish at the prospect of a showdown with the unions, saying the “threats won’t work” and it was time union leaders “got the message” that Labour was under new management.