Jeremy Corbyn announces his intention to stand as an independent in the General Election

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I’ve fought in every election for the past 40 years as a Labour candidate, this time I’m denied that. So I’m offering my services as an independent in Islington North. I hope you’ll be able to support me.

I’m looking forward to the PhDs that are going to be written; that are going to analyse what happened in the Labour Party that welcomes Tory MPs who had voted for all of the horrible legislation introduced by David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. (I exclude Liz Truss from that list; she didn’t have time to introduce anything!)

They’ve been welcomed, whereas Labour MPs like me have been removed from the party. Doesn’t that say something about the principles on which we’re operating?

When I stepped down as leader of the Labour Party, the party membership was hovering around 600,000: the largest membership it had ever had. Money came in large amounts from very small donations, from a very large number of people. Since then party membership is much smaller, and much more money comes from very wealthy donors.

The democracy in the Labour party has been under sustained attack. Many Labour Party members have been suspended or expelled. Local parties have often been denied the right to choose the candidate they want, and despite promises that were made, candidates have been imposed on people in constituencies.

Democracy is not always easy it’s often complicated, but it’s more important and more vital than the headline of tomorrow, or the ease of somebody sustaining their power today.

I joined the Labour Party as a young man in 1966 and I frequently disagreed with the party’s policies, for example, over the strategy on the Vietnam War of the Wilson government of that time.  I disagreed with Tony Blair on the war in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and on his proposal to increase student fees.  I wasn’t expelled from the party. I wasn’t suspended from the party, I was recognised as having a legitimate voice along with a large number of other people.

If you start shutting down dissent and preventing people from speaking out, it’s not a sign of strength, it’s a sign of weakness. A sign of strength is when you can absorb and listen to the other person’s arguments.

I want to see the end of the Tory government. This Tory government that has presided over this enormous growth in inequality within our society. Working class communities are about 20% worse off than they were at the time of the great crash of 2008–9. And this government that has persisted with so much draconian legislation: police law and other [legislation] which try to shut down the right of dissent and the right of protest. But what has become more depressing is the growing sympathy between the two front benches on economic strategy in our society.

If I’m in Parliament and the government comes forward to put more money into the National Health Service, I’ll be right behind them. If they want to put more resources into education and end the stress of testing, I’ll be right behind them. But if they come forward with an economic strategy, which further enriches the very richest in our society, and further impoverishes the poorest in our society, then I will be speaking up against them and speaking up for a society based on social justice, based on need, and a world based on peace and environmental sustainability.

Being a member of parliament is an enormous privilege, and in Parliament it means being prepared to take up causes that are sometimes not popular. I was involved from the very beginning in the campaign for the innocence of the Guildford Four. Four young people who were disgracefully imprisoned on life sentences for a crime they did not commit. It wasn’t very popular to take up that cause. But over years we eventually won that cause and they were released.

Being a member of parliament is lots of long hours and hard work. I’m not afraid of that.

This election is obviously a very important one, and defeating the Tory government is very important. But there’s many diverse forces that are opposing this Conservative government. All kinds of political alliances will arise after the election.

I say to socialists all over the country: stick to your principles, carry on campaigning in all the social justice and peace causes you do, and also participate in the election, so you can advance the ideas of a socialist society.

To the people of Islington North, thank you for your support. Thank you for all you’ve taught me over the years. It is a wonderful community: cohesive, united, determined to bring about social justice.

Yes, we have huge issues to deal with, but we deal with those together. And it’s my joy to work with all of our communities in our community centres, in our schools, on our housing estates to try and bring about a better world.

Our campaign – and it is ours not just mine – for the general election, is going to be people powered. Check it out on votecorbyn.com and join in.

Together grassroots politics here in Islington North will get into Westminster.