High Court takes 30 seconds to throw out bid to keep Corbyn off Labour leadership ballot
Judge agrees with NEC decision to allow veteran leftie automatically on the Labour leadership race ballot paper
JEREMY Corbyn will be allowed to stand in the Labour leadership contest without needing the support of MPs after a High Court judge took just 30 seconds to throw out the legal challenge.
Mr Justice Foskett made the ruling this afternoon after a last-ditch effort by Labour donor Michael Foster to overturn a decision made by the party's National Executive Committee.
Former parliamentary candidate Mr Foster took the matter to the High Court to try to overturn the Labour Party's decision to guarantee Mr Corbyn a place on the leadership ballot.
He brought the claim against the party's general secretary Iain McNicol, who was being sued in a representative capacity, and Mr Corbyn.
Speaking after the decision was announced Mr Corbyn said: "I welcome the decision by the High Court to respect the democracy of the Labour Party.
“This has been a waste of time and resources when our party should be focused on holding the government to account.
“There should have been no question of the right of half a million Labour Party members to choose their own leader being overturned.
"If anything, the aim should be to expand the number of voters in this election.
“I hope all candidates and supporters will reject any attempt to prolong this process, and that we can now proceed with the election in a comradely and respectful manner."
Polls show that Jeremy Corbyn is comfortably ahead of Owen Smith in Labour's leadership contest
And Labour's General Secretary Iain McNicol said: "We are delighted that the Court has upheld the authority and decision of the National Executive Committee."
Mr Foster now has to pay both Mr Corbyn's legal costs and the Labour Party's costs.
He told the he has no plans to appeal against the court's decision and said: "We wanted the courts to adjudicate. They have."
If the judge had decided in Mr Foster's favour it could have ended Mr Corbyn's time as Labour leader.
It is thought he would have had difficulty getting the support of 51 MPs and MEPs - the required number to get on the ballot paper.
This is after an overwhelming vote of no confidence last month, where only 40 MPs supported him compared to 172 who said they had no confidence.
Ballot papers will start to be sent out on August 22 with the result announced at a special conference in Liverpool on September 24.
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reports that in his judgement Mr Justice Foskett insisted the key clause in the leadership rules has "a natural and ordinary meaning that seems to me to be entirely clear."
He insisted political considerations have played no part in his decision: "I wish to emphasise as strongly as I can (i) that no court brings to any case any political agenda and (ii) that such political consequences or implications as there may be are of no relevance to the legal analysis asked of the court and that analysis is wholly uninfluenced by political considerations or indeed by media or other comment on the issues to be considered ...
“It is quite obvious that one side will be pleased with the outcome of the case and the other side will not.
“Doubtless the dichotomy of view on the outcome will reflect the well-publicised divisions that exist within the Labour Party.
“I repeat as firmly and unequivocally as I can that the resolution of the narrow legal issue I have been asked to decide is wholly uninfluenced by which side will be pleased with the outcome.”
Mr McNicol announced a leadership election on July 11 but frontrunner Angela Eagle withdrew from the race, leaving Owen Smith to take on 67-year-old Mr Corbyn, who became leader in September last year.