Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party to rub shoulders with UK's super rich after being forced out of Westminster offices
Labour party HQ will move to Kensington while it searches for more convenient accommodation closer to Parliament
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.He might be the most left-wing leader of the Labour party since Keir Hardie but Jeremy Corbyn and his staff will soon be rubbing shoulders with some of the richest people in Britain when his party’s headquarters move to the west London suburb and Tory stronghold of Kensington later this year.
Labour has been told to vacate its current offices in Westminster by Christmas and having failed to find an affordable base near Parliament, the party has been forced to decamp three miles away to High Street Kensington.
It means Mr Corbyn’s staff will be working in the richest borough in London, where the average house price is a cool £1.4m.
His aides will be able to witness at first hand the super-rich lifestyles of residents who Mr Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell want to target with higher rates of tax to deliver their socialist dream of ending inequality.
Their new neighbours will include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and some of the richest UK citizens, including Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 boss who owns four homes worth more than £2bn and Conservative peer John Sainsbury, whose net value is estimated at £1.3bn, while the Daily Mail, one of the fiercest opponents of Mr Corbyn’s left-wing agenda, will be less than a stone’s throw away.
The Labour party will also be able to count The Independent as its new neighbour.
A Labour insider told the Financial Times that the new office will be a cheap “shell” building and sources insist the move will be temporary while the party searches for a more convenient headquarters closer to Parliament.
The party is currently based in Brewer’s Green – a five minute walk from Parliament – but the owners of the building, Anquila Corporation, is redeveloping it next year and has told occupants to move out by Christmas, according to the Financial Times.
Office space is hard to come by in and around Westminster, with an increasing number of offices being converted into residential buildings and some landlords have been put-off from renting office space out to political parties after rioters targeted the Conservative party headquarters during the student protests in 2011.
Mr Corbyn’s inner team will not be affected by the move and will remain in Parliament, while staff working for Sadiq Khan will move to offices nearby.
A Labour party spokesperson said: “Discussions are on-going about the future location of the Labour party’s offices.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments