'Jeremy Corbyn is an extremist. Expelling him from Labour is very good news for the party' - Bill Rammell

And his standing as an Independent against Labour in his former Constituency of Islington North, after Keir Starmer expelled him from the Parliamentary Labour Party and made clear he would not be a Labour candidate at the General Election, is very good news for Labour.

Because it shines a bright spotlight on Keir Starmer’s strength of leadership and symbolises how much Keir has changed the Labour Party and brought it back to the centre ground.

It takes guts and certainty of your values to expel your predecessor as leader, who was elected at the time by over 60 per cent of party members.

It highlights how Keir has rooted out Corbynism from Labour and expunged the vile creed of antisemitism. It symbolises how he has changed Labour.

Compare and contrast with how Rishi Sunak avoided voting to sanction Boris Johnson for repeatedly lying to parliament and how he has done nothing to sanction Liz Truss after crashing the economy and implicitly agreeing with a US far-right Republican who lavished praise on right-wing extremist and convicted felon Tommy Robinson.

Keir has defined himself against his predecessor. Sunak didn’t have the guts and conviction to do so against his former leaders.

Sunak had a chance when he became leader to chart a new Tory course, instead, he chose party unity. Sunak wants this to be a “Presidential” election between his leadership (sic) and Kier’s. I say bring it on.

But why should Corbyn be expelled from Labour?

This is the man who voted over 500 times against the last Labour Government. No loyalty, no discipline whatsoever.

The man who talked about “our friends in Hamas” - the terrorist thugs who raped and slaughtered 1200 innocent Israelis. (Whatever support and sympathy you have for the plight of the Palestinians, and I do, to describe Hamas as “friends” is appalling).

The man who, faced with incontrovertible evidence from our security services that the Russians had poisoned two people on British soil, said: “Let’s ask the Russians what they think."

The man who in major part was responsible for Brexit because he refused and couldn’t lead Labour’s patriotic campaign to remain in the EU, to such an extent that 35 per cent of Labour voters were not aware Labour was a pro-remain party.

The man who shockingly said the antisemitism under his leadership was exaggerated. The man who put forward a manifesto in 2019 which literally bore no relationship with what was affordable or deliverable in Government.

People were never going to elect a Labour Party led by Corbyn, and by putting himself in that position he betrayed those who need and rely on Labour Governments.

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Corbyn’s values, beliefs and actions were an affront to Labour’s historic commitment to pragmatic progressive change to support the poor and vulnerable, as well as hard-working people.

It was a total aberration that Corbyn ever became Labour leader, and by throwing him out of Labour, Keir Starmer has shown real leadership and demonstrated how he has changed Labour and brought it back to the people.

And the centre ground which you must at least be on speaking terms with to win an election in Britain.

As Starmer has said: “Jeremy Corbyn’s days of influencing Labour Party policy are well and truly over. Because the choice in the election…is between more of the chaos and division we’ve seen over the last 14 years, which has got us nowhere, and turning a page and a fresh start and rebuilding with Labour.”

Amen to that, and good riddance to Corbyn.