Why Jeremy Corbyn has given up on running for London mayor

Jeremy Corbyn has run away from the chance to run as an independent candidate for mayor of London, revealing the collapse of the appeal of his kind of politics in the four years since he was Labour leader. The party was worried that, with the government abolishing the second-preference voting system, Corbyn would split the Labour vote and allow Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate, to win on first preferences. Another poll by Find Out Now suggested that Khan would still win comfortably if Corbyn stood: with Corbyn listed as an independent candidate, the poll put Khan at 39 per cent, Hall at 24 per cent and Corbyn at 14 per cent. And George Galloway may try to hold Rochdale, which he won in last month’s by-election, against Paul Waugh, the former Independent journalist, who is likely to be selected as Labour’s candidate.