Jeremy Corbyn said he is “ruling nothing out” as he fuelled speculation he could launch a bid to oust Sadiq Khan as London mayor.
The former Labour leader left the door open to standing in next year’s contest as an independent, which would cause a headache for Mr Khan.
Mr Corbyn’s popularity in the capital would pose a challenge for Labour, which stripped him of the whip in October 2020. Betting odds suggest he is the fifth favourite for the job, behind Mr Khan, the two Tory candidates and London minister Paul Scully, who was not shortlisted to be the Conservative candidate.
He was sanctioned for saying that the scale of antisemitism in the party while he was leader was “dramatically overstated” by political opponents.
He has been sitting as the independent MP for Islington North ever since, with questions mounting about his future plans.
Asked on LBC whether he will stand as an independent candidate against Mr Khan, Mr Corbyn said: “I’m ruling nothing in and nothing out at this moment.”
It comes as speculation also mounts about whether Mr Corbyn will fight his former party at the next general election.
He has previously hinted at a run in Islington North as an independent, saying he “loves” his job and wants to “carry on doing it”.
In May, after winning the symbolic backing of his local Labour branch, Mr Corbyn said: “I am proud to represent Islington North in Parliament. I’ve spent the past 40 years campaigning alongside my community for a redistribution of wealth, ownership and power – that is what I’ll continue to do.”
Experts believe a win as an independent in such a safe Labour seat would be a mammoth task for Mr Corbyn.
And he would likely face a similar uphill battle in London if he decided to run against Mr Khan.
Mr Corbyn was also asked about the row over his successor as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s U-turn on the Conservatives’ two-child benefits cap.
The policy prevents parents from claiming benefits for any third or subsequent child born after April 2017.
It has been described as “heinous” by senior members of Sir Keir’s top team, but he told the BBC on Sunday that he was “not changing” the Tory policy if Labour wins power.
Mr Corbyn told LBC: “I have spoken to quite a lot of Labour MPs about it.
“They are seething with anger, particularly as commitments have been made regularly by the party that we would take children out of poverty.
“Even the Blair government, which Keir Starmer often quotes, did do a great deal to lift children out of poverty by not having a two-child policy.”
