Why Jeremy Corbyn has given up on running for London mayor

After months of speculation, the former Labour leader has decided not to stand as an independent candidate – and ruin Sadiq Khan’s easy path to a third term – after all. So what is he really up to, asks John Rentoul

The former Labour leader protesting outside the Royal Courts of Justice last month (Getty)

Jeremy Corbyn has run away from the chance to run as an independent candidate for mayor of London, revealing the collapse of the appeal of his kind of politics in the four years since he was Labour leader.

Instead of trying to widen the electoral base of Corbynism, it seems that the man who nearly became prime minister in 2017 is devoting his resources to trying to hold on to his Islington North parliamentary seat at the general election.

He hasn’t yet confirmed that he will stand as an independent in Islington North – despite confident reporting by The Times that an announcement “could come as early as this week” a year ago. But it seems almost certain that he will. It was reported 10 days ago that a friend of his had emailed a printing company to ask about the cost of producing election leaflets for him.