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Jeremy Corbyn
Member of Parliament for Islington North
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 June 1983
Preceded by	Michael O'Halloran
Majority	21,194 (43.0%)
Personal details
Born	Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (1949-05-26) 26 May 1949 (age 75) Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Claudia Bracchitta (div.)
Relations	Piers Corbyn (brother)
Children	3
Website	www.jeremycorbyn.org.uk

Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (born 26 May 1949, Chippenham, Wiltshire) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North since 1983. He is a candidate in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election.

Early and personal life

He attended Adams' Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire. He is the younger brother of weather forecaster Piers Corbyn. They are the sons of David B. Corbyn, an electrical engineer and expert in power rectifiers. After school he spent two years doing Voluntary Service Overseas in Jamaica.

He married Claudia Bracchita; the couple had three sons before divorcing. While protective of his private life, Corbyn said in 2015 that he "gets on very well" with his ex-wife, commenting "Well, I’ve got three boys and love them dearly and we get along great".

Corbyn opposes grammar schools and the segregation of children by ability at the age of eleven. In an interview in 2014, he described himself as "parsimonious" and added "Well, I don’t spend a lot of money, I lead a very normal life, I ride a bicycle and I don’t have a car". He currently lives in Finsbury Park and before that lived in Harringay.

Political career

From 1974 to 1983, before his election to Parliament, Corbyn was an elected councillor in the London Borough of Haringey. He was also a full-time organiser for the National Union of Public Employees and served as a member of a health authority. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, writes a weekly column in the Morning Star, and is considered one of the more left-wing of Labour politicians. He is on the London Regional Select Committee.

He was re-elected to the House of Commons in May 2015 with 60.24% of the constituency vote, and a majority of 21,194.

Economic issues

Corbyn is a socialist, and a strong anti-poverty advocate. He voted against introducing tuition fees in England, and later voted against their being raised. He was opposed to academies and private finance initiatives. He supports renationalisation of railways and the introduction of a living wage. In addition, he advocates a higher rate of tax for the wealthiest and a higher rate of corporation tax to fund public services. In 2015, he fiercely condemned Chancellor George Osborne's budget as an attack on the poorest in the country.

Stop the War

Corbyn was fiercely opposed to both the Iraq War and considers the War in Afghanistan a mistake, and has spoken at many anti-war rallies in Britain and overseas. He is an elected member of the Stop the War Coalition steering committee. On 31 October 2006, Corbyn was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the war. He is strongly opposed to weapons of mass destruction and is a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and is one of its three vice-chairs.

Views and campaigns

He was a well-known campaigner against Apartheid in South Africa. In 1984, he was arrested for protesting outside South Africa House in London. He served on the National Executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He also campaigns against what he regards as Apartheid in Israel.

In an interview on BBC Newsnight in June 2015, Corbyn stated he would prefer if Britain were a republic, however recognised that at this time it is not a major political issue to tackle.

He is a long-standing supporter of a United Ireland, inviting Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to London in 1984. He is a prominent Amnesty International member. He campaigned for the trial of the late former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet.

Corbyn announced in December 2006 that he was considering running for the Labour party deputy leadership to provide an anti-war candidate but later changed his mind.

Corbyn has been a long-time campaigner on animal rights issues. He was one of the signatories to Tony Banks' "Pigeon Bombs" Early Day Motion and in 2015 signed a motion calling for a ban on the importation of foie gras into the United Kingdom and was a sponsor of a motion opposing the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

He was also a signatory to Michael Meacher's Climate Change Early Day Motion, in stark contrast to his brother, weather forecaster Piers Corbyn's views on climate change.

He has campaigned against the Gaza–Israel conflict and promotes the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He is also a Venezuelan solidarity activist and has advocated for the rights of the forcibly-removed Chagossians to return to the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In early 2013, Corbyn co-signed a letter which was published in The Guardian newspaper that indicated his support for the People's Assembly movement. He has been a sponsor of the March for Homes.

In 2013, Corbyn attended a conference in London, organised by the Argentine Foreign Ministry, calling for dialogue between the UK and Argentine governments on the question of Falkland Island sovereignty.

In 2013, Corbyn an advocate for dalit rights, told The Indian Express newspaper that caste prejudice was "exported to the U.K. through the Indian Diaspora. The same attitudes of superiority, pollution and separateness appear to be present in South Asian communities now settled in the UK".

Political and community organisations

Corbyn is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Committee (APPC) on the Chagos Islands, Chair of the APPC on Mexico, Vice-Chair of the APPC on Latin America and Vice-Chair of the Human Rights APPC. He is also a Member of the Bolivia, Britain-Palestine, Great Lakes, Dalits, Cycling, International Parliamentary Union and Traveller Law Reform groups. He is a patron of Centre 404, a service for those with educational disabilities, Islington Music Forum, Refugee Therapy Centre and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He is also Chair of Dalit Solidarity Campaign and Liberation the anti-racism and anti-imperialism organisation. He is the joint president of the Islington Pensioners Forum. He is a trustee of Socialist Campaign Group, Hanley Crouch Community Association and the Highbury Vale and Blackstock Trust. He is a member of a number of union groups in Parliament. Corbyn is sponsored by several trade unions, such as Unison, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and Unite the Union and is a committed anti-fascist having spoken at the Unite Against Fascism and Barking and Dagenham TUC anti-British National Party rally in December 2001 and also speaking at the organisations annual conference in 2007 attacking the record of the media and calling for a No Platform of the BNP.

Rebellion

Since 2005 he has defied the Labour Party whip 238 times (about 25% of votes in the Commons), making him one of the most rebellious Labour members of parliament, a record matched only by Kate Hoey. He was one of sixteen signatories to an open letter to Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling for the party to make a commitment to opposing further austerity, to take rail franchises back into public ownership, and to strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.

Labour leadership bid, 2015

On 3 June 2015, BBC News Online reported that Corbyn was a candidate in the contest to become the next Leader of the Labour Party following Ed Miliband’s resignation. The BBC report quoted Corbyn as telling the Islington Tribune that he would stand on a "clear anti-austerity platform". Corbyn added: "This decision to stand is in response to an overwhelming call by Labour Party members who want to see a broader range of candidates and a thorough debate about the future of the party. I am standing to give Labour Party members a voice in this debate". He achieved the 35th nomination required to be present on the ballot just before the noon deadline on 15 June. In July 2015, Corbyn took a surprise lead by scoring the highest number of constituency Labour party nominations with 70, a lead over closest rival Burnham at 68. A YouGov poll has put him as the the first choice, with 43 per cent of first preferences among those who are eligible to vote in the leadership election. The poll suggests he could win the leadership election, getting 53% of the vote to Andy Burnham's 47%. While many Labour MPs are alarmed and the generally Right-wing British newspapers pour scorn at the prospect of a Corbyn victory The Independent has pointed out that many of his policies (No Trident replacement, renationalisation etc) are in fact highly popular with the public at large.

Expenses

From 7 May until 31 August 2010, Corbyn was the lowest expenses-claimer in the House of Commons. He has always been one of the lowest-claiming MPs. He told the Islington Gazette "I am a parsimonious MP. I think we should claim what we need to run our offices and pay our staff but be careful because it's obviously public money. In a year, rent for the office Durham Road, Finsbury Park, is about £12,000 to £14,000." He rents his constituency office from the Ethical Property Company.

Awards

Corbyn has won the Parliamentary Beard of the Year award a record five times, and the Beard of the Year, having described his beard as "a form of dissent" against New Labour.

In January 2013, Corbyn was awarded the Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Honouree for his ongoing support for a number of non-government organisations and civil causes, where Corbyn is reported to go out of his way to attend and speak at NGO events across the country. The same year, he was awarded the Gandhi International Peace Award.

Notes

1. "Jeremy Corbyn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
2. "Labour's leadership contest". www.labour.org.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
3. Jeremy Corbyn: ‘I don’t do personal’ - The Guardian
4. Hattenstone, Simon. "Jeremy Corbyn: 'I don't do personal'". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
5. ^ Bloom, Dan (3 June 2015). "Who is Jeremy Corbyn? Everything you need to know about Labour's most left-wing leadership hopeful". Daily Mirror. London: Trinity Mirror. ISSN 9975-9950. OCLC 223228477. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
6. ^ "About me - Jeremy Corbyn MP". jeremycorbyn.org.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
7. "Jeremy Corbyn MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
8. "Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq". BBC News. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
9. Proctor, Kate (13 June 2015). "Labour MPs switch from Andy Burnham to left-winger Jeremy Corbyn in leadership race". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
10. "MPs, actors, authors and musicians among 21,000 demanding arms embargo on Israel". Retrieved 23 June 2015.
11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-gJD6PvUO0
12. "Jeremy Corbyn". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
13. "Find Your MP – Islington North – Jeremy Corbyn". BBC News.
14. Mulholland, Hélène (20 December 2006). "Meacher set to challenge Brown from left". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
15. "Early Day Motion 1255 - Pigeon Bombs". UK Parliament. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
16. "Early Day Motion 136 - Importation of Foie Gras". UK Parliament. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
17. "Early day motion 134 - Yulin Dog Meat Festival 2015". UK Parliament. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
18. "Early Day Motion 178 - Climate Change". UK Parliament. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
19. "British MP Jeremy Corbyn Speaks out for Venezuela". teleSUR English. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
20. "Letters: People's Assembly Against Austerity". The Guardian. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
21. "Sponsors". marchforhomes.org. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
22. Ghosh, Palash (12 July 2013). "Indian Caste System Imported To Britain? Dalits Say Yes, Upper Caste Hindus Say No". International Business Times. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
23. "Voting Record for Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington North (10133)". The Public Whip. 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
24. Eaton, George (26 January 2015). "The Labour left demand a change of direction - why their intervention matters". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
25. "Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn enters race". BBC News Online. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
26. "Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn makes it on to ballot". BBC News. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
27. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/19/labour-leadership-andy-burnham-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet
28. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-set-to-win-labour-leadership-contest-poll-finds-10406172.html
29. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-jeremy-corbyn-policies-that-most-people-actually-agree-with-10407148.html
30. Hussein, Meyrem (8 December 2010). "Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn is the country's lowest expenses claimer". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
31. Malvern, Jack (10 January 2002). "Beards – Diary". The Times.
32. "Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who". Grassroot Diplomat. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
33. "GULLIVER: Jeremy Corbyn - An MP with 'Gandhian values'". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 20 June 2015.

External links

• Jeremy Corbyn MP official site
• Islington North Labour Party
• Jeremy Corbyn MP, Grassroot Diplomat
• Guardian articles authored
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Template:Persondata

• 1949 births
• Living people
• Councillors in Haringey
• Labour Party (UK) MPs
• People from Newport, Shropshire
• Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
• UK MPs 1983–87
• UK MPs 1987–92
• UK MPs 1992–97
• UK MPs 1997–2001
• UK MPs 2001–05
• UK MPs 2005–10
• UK MPs 2010–15
• UK MPs 2015–20
• Politics of Islington
• British republicans
• Democratic socialists
• People from Harringay
• People from Chippenham
• People educated at Adams' Grammar School
• Anti-war activists
• British anti-fascists
• Anti–nuclear weapons activists
• Anti–Iraq War activists
• Gandhi International Peace Award Recipients
• Human rights activists
• British socialists
• Anti-poverty advocates
• Housing rights activists
• International opponents of apartheid in South Africa
• People from Finsbury Park
• Venezuela solidarity activists
• Amnesty International people
• British environmentalists