Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen
8.59am BST
Good morning. Today the high court is due to rule on whether Jeremy Corbyn can contest the Labour leadership without having 51 nominations from MPs and MEPs like his challenger, Owen Smith. It is expected that the court will back the decision of Labour’s national executive committee to let Corbyn stand without the nominations, and if that happens the leadership contest already underway will just carry on. But there is a chance that the court could rule against the NEC, and that would trigger – well, not just an appeal, but chaos too.
A decision against the NEC would not automatically mean that Corbyn could not be a candidate. But it would mean that he would have to obtain nominations from 20% of MPs and MEPs, which might be difficult for him.
A decision is to be given in a legal action aimed at overturning the Labour Party’s decision to guarantee Jeremy Corbyn a place on the leadership ballot.
Labour donor Michael Foster, a former parliamentary candidate, has brought the claim against the party’s general secretary Iain McNicol, who is being sued in a representative capacity, and Corbyn.
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Sig Nordal 