Yesterday, Mr Justice Foskett ruled to uphold the Labour National Executive Committee’s (NEC) decision to allow current leader Jeremy Corbyn to appear on the party’s leadership ballot without securing nominations from at least 51 MPs or MEPs, as is required in party rules from challenging candidates. The decision comes in response to a legal challenge leveled against the NEC decision by Labour donor Michael Foster, whose counsel argued that Mr Corbyn shouldn’t be able to stand without securing the minimum number of nominations.

‘Waste of time’

Following the ruling, the contest for the Labour leadership will proceed as a two-man contest between incumbent leader Mr Corbyn and challenger Owen Smith. Mr Corbyn welcomed the High Court’s decision to ‘respect the democracy’ of his party, but lamented the legal challenge as a ‘waste of time and resources,' adding that: ‘There should have been no question of the right of half a million Labour Party members to choose their own leader being overturned,’ commented Mr Corbyn.

Sources: The Guardian; The Independent