Corbyn urged to run for London mayor to rile Sir Keir

JEREMY Corbyn is coming under mounting pressure to humiliate Sir Keir Starmer by standing as a Left-wing independent candidate in the next London mayoral election.

The ex-leader is being urged by supporters to emulate Ken Livingstone by going up against Labour’s official candidate for the post in 2024.

Mr Livingstone famously stood as an independent candidate in 2000 – after failing to win the Labour nomination – and won.

One key Corbyn ally said the former Labour leader, currently forced to sit as an independent MP, was so popular he could defeat current Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan. The ally said: ‘Plenty of people around him are urging him to do it.’

Mr Livingstone told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I will support Jeremy whatever he runs for. He’s a man of absolute integrity.’

Sir Keir’s allies last night reacted furiously to any talk of Mr Corbyn mounting a bid to become London Mayor, warning he could split the Labour vote, causing a Tory to win the contest in 2024.