Islington North Labour chair resigns after being caught campaigning for Corbyn
EXCLUSIVE: Alison McGarry allegedly tried to hide in a bush when activists spotted her with supporters of the former MP
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The chair of Islington North constituency Labour Party has been forced to resign after activists caught her campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn.
Angry Labour members spotted Alison McGarry urging locals to back the former MP and former party leader, standing as an independent candidate in the constituency, against the party’s candidate, local councillor Praful Nargund.
Realising she had been rumbled, McGarry, a long-time staunch supporter of Corbyn and treasurer of the hard-left Labour Representation Committee, is alleged to have attempted to hide in a bush.
Sources confirmed that Momentum supporter McGarry, who would almost certainly have faced expulsion from Labour, has now resigned from the party instead.
News of the incident emerged as an MRP survey by the polling firm YouGov put Labour on course for victory in the seat, held by Corbyn since 1983.
It put Nargund on 41 percent, with Corbyn on 36 percent of the vote in Islington North.
Corbyn, who led Labour between 2015 and 2020, had the party whip removed in October 2020 after he refused to accept the conclusions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) report on antisemitism in the party under his leadership.
In a Facebook post, Corbyn had said the scale of antisemitism in the party had been “dramatically overstated” for political reasons by his rivals and the media.
By standing as an independent in the forthcoming election he was automatically expelled from Labour.
Jewish News has contacted McGarry for comment.
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