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The Communist Party of Great Britain will not stand any candidates in the election, and has called for supporters to vote for Jeremy Corbyn .

It’s the first time since 1920 the party has fielded no candidates in a general election.

The party, which has had five MPs elected to parliament in its 97 year history, said they would be ‘campaigning for a Labour victory.’

A Labour party spokesman said: “Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.”

Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths said: “Labour's policies in this election include more progressive taxation, state bank investment in public services, support for industry, an end to NHS privatisation, public ownership of the railways, community ownership of energy, an end to zero-hours contracts, the restoration of employment and trade union rights and building half a million new council houses.

(Image: PA)

“The Communist Party is in no doubt that this second option is the only one that serves the interests of workers and their families. Therefore our members will be campaigning for a Labour victory as the essential first step towards the formation of a left-led government at Westminster.”

He added: “The higher the Labour vote and the number of Labour MPs elected, the more secure will be the position of Jeremy Corbyn and his left allies in the Parliamentary Labour Party .”

Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael said: “From 1920 to 2017 the Communist Party of Great Britain elected 5 MPs.

“They have obviously concluded they can continue in that tradition by backing Jeremy Corbyn ’s Labour Party. I think that they are probably right about that.”