Jeremy Corbyn has joined forces with ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana to form a new political party.
The former Labour leader – who earlier this month appeared to have been blindsided by the announcement of a new party by Ms Sultana – said it was “time for a new political party”.
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In a post on X, he co-signed a statement with Ms Sultana, the independent MP for Coventry South, urging people to sign up at www.yourparty.uk.
However, despite the website name, a source close to Mr Corbyn told Sky News “Your Party” was being used on an interim basis to “kickstart the democratic founding process of a party that belongs to the people” and that the formal name was still to be decided.
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In the statement the two former Labour MPs said: “Our movement is made up of people of all faiths and none. The great dividers want you to think that the problems in our society are caused by migrants or refugees. They’re not.
“They are caused by an economic system that protects the interests of corporations and billionaires. It is ordinary people who create the wealth – and it is ordinary people who have the power to put it back where it belongs.”
They added: “It’s time for a new kind of political party. One that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements. One that builds power in all regions and nations. One that belongs to you.”
Sky News understands an inaugural party conference – where members will decide the party’s “direction, the model of leadership and the policies that are needed to transform society” – could possibly take place in the autumn, when the three main parties also hold their annual gatherings around the country.
Earlier this month, Ms Sultana, who was suspended last year alongside six other Labour MPs for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, announced she was quitting Labour to set up a new political party with Mr Corbyn.
However, the announcement appeared to have caught the Islington North MP off guard, as he stopped short of confirming his involvement and said only that discussions were “ongoing”.
‘It’s going to be fun’
Speaking to reporters shortly after the announcement, Mr Corbyn – who was suspended from Labour and barred from standing at its candidate at the last general election – denied the launch had been “messy”, saying: “It’s not messy at all. It’s a totally coherent approach.
“The broad political principles are there and that’s the important thing, important message to get across.”
Challenged on why Ms Sultana was not with him today, Mr Corbyn said she was in her constituency and that they were “working very well together”.
He also took aim at his former party, saying it was full of “control freaks”.
“The Labour Party is a very top-down, highly centralised party that is full of control freaks who want to control whatever goes on within the party,” he said.
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“This is going to be community-led, community-based, grassroot-led, this is going to be very different, and you know what? It’s going to be fun.”
The confirmation of a new left-wing party will create a fresh headache for Sir Keir Starmer, who will be challenged by his predecessor over his policy stances on Gaza, welfare, taxes on the wealthy and the environment.
The prime minister is already facing unhappiness in his party over the government’s handling of welfare cuts, which resulted in him having to water down his flagship bill to prevent it from being voted down.
In the end, he suspended four of his own MPs for voting against the government in the tense vote, while he stripped a further three of their roles as trade envoys.
Since her suspension, Ms Sultana has been sitting as an independent MP in the Commons, but Sky News understands she is now a formal member of the Independent Alliance – the parliamentary group of independent MPs consisting of Mr Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed.
They were elected as independent MPs for the first time in July, with all five taking a pro-Palestine stance in Labour-supporting constituencies with large Muslim populations.
A source close to Mr Corbyn told Sky News the members of the Independence Alliance were “fully supportive” of the process of forming the new party and had been consulted throughout.
A Labour source said: “The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.”
