Zarah Sultana launches fundraising drive for new leftwing party
The Coventry South MP, who announced last Thursday that she would be co-leading the new party with Jeremy Corbyn, used the platform ActionNetwork to gather supporters. The landing page has so far recorded more than 64,000 'actions taken'.
But the move has caused further unease within the emerging left alliance, with organisers fearing control over donations and data might become concentrated within Sultana's camp.
After Sultana announced her co-leadership plan, Corbyn made a separate statement noting 'discussions were ongoing'. Concerns were fuelled by the fact that the movement lacked wider solid infrastructure, with some organisers fearing Sultana might retain ownership of the data and donations in the absence of them.
The announcement being made without an agreement was described as 'childlike behaviour' by a small few involved in the organisation of the nascent party.
But some concerns appear to have been allayed after a week of silence and off-stage manoeuvring – culminating in an apparent agreement to fold all assets into the new party's collective structure.
Those close to the talks now say the issue is resolved, with one insisting it was 'obvious' that was always going to be the case. But Corbyn's Peace and Justice Project, which has more than 50,000 subscribers, will remain a separate entity and is not expected to support the broader movement.
One ally said the backlash to Sultana's launch had been overblown and noted the scale of support she had already generated.
The incremental move towards the formation of a new leftwing challenger party came after a tense week of briefings and leaked messages, which appeared to show a lack of common ground between the two camps.
The communications gap has been compounded by the fact that Sultana and Corbyn are abroad with Corbyn in Colombia for Progressive International events, and Sultana in Bosnia for the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.
While Sultana's decision to push ahead with setting up fundraising infrastructure had triggered jitters, organisers believe if mailing lists and donation flows from her network and the Peace and Justice Project were combined, they could form the foundation of one of the largest left-aligned political infrastructures in Europe.
There has already been several weeks of informal organising between broad Labour-left figures, independents, and grassroots groups who formed a part of an early memorandum of understanding.
Supporters point to another broader context: more than 300,000 people are believed to have left the Labour party in recent years, many after Keir Starmer's withdrawal of the whip from Corbyn and the marginalisation of leftwing MPs. Several councillors and grassroots organisers involved in the new party effort have also been expelled or deselected under new party rules.
The new party's process document is expected to be published in the coming days and potentially resolve tensions between multiple grassroots formations. One source involved described the next steps as an attempt to 'find a common position that can get the ship sailing again'.
But the path ahead remains uncertain. 'There are a lot of moving parts, and a lot of egos,' one organiser said. 'The potential is enormous, but so is the risk of collapse. We've seen it before across the European left.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
We're prepared if protests turn violent, police say ahead of string of anti-migrant demonstrations
Police chiefs have warned they are ready to 'mobilise significant and specialist resources' if unrest breaks out at a string of anti-migrant protests planned at hotels housing asylum seekers. The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is working with forces across the country and monitoring intelligence in preparation for a fresh wave of protests on Friday, with demonstrations planned at up to 14 hotels across the country. It comes as the Metropolitan Police is also expected to come under pressure on Saturday when a National March for Palestine is planned in the capital. A separate pro-Palestine Action rally could result in mass arrests with 500 people expected to hold signs saying 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action' in defiance of anti-terror laws. Anti-migrant protesters are expected to return to The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, on Friday, where violence erupted last month after an Ethiopian refugee was charged with sexual assault for allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Demonstrators are also set to return to the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, where a group wearing face masks and carrying smoke bombs made a 'concerted effort' to break in last weekend. Other anti-migrant demonstrations are planned at hotels in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leeds and Norwich, among others, in what is being billed as UK-wide protests to 'abolish the asylum system'. Organisers have said the events will be 'locally led peaceful protests ' with no masks and no alcohol in posters shared widely on social media. Ahead of the widespread action, Chief Constable BJ Harrington, chair of the NPCC Operations Coordination Committee, said: 'We have robust and well-tested proactive plans in place, with the ability to mobilise significant and specialist resources, if necessary. "Public order response officers will be supported by investigation teams who will gather evidence and ensure those responsible for any acts of criminality, should they occur, are identified and held to account. 'Policing is not anti-protest, we are anti-crime and we will continue to work with local communities to ensure that they are safe and serious disruption is prevented.' The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, has warned that another summer of unrest places forces and officers under strain. 'Public order duties often mean long shifts, cancelled leave, missed family time and real risk,' a spokesman added. 'That takes its toll. This isn't just about numbers; it's about resilience, wellbeing, and a system under strain.' It comes ahead of the possibility of yet more mass arrests in London on Saturday, after the Met vowed to continue its crackdown on those showing support for Palestine Action. Campaign group Defend Our Juries has said more than 500 people are ready to be arrested by holding placards supporting the banned direct-action group in Parliament Square. They have warned their demonstrations will continue until a legal challenge over its proscription as a terror group is heard at the High Court in November. At least 221 people have been arrested across the country under terror laws for supporting Palestine Action since it was banned in July, with ten people charged so far. Despite plans for a large-scale demonstration with the 'intention of placing a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system', a spokesperson for the Met said they are prepared for 'any eventuality' and anyone showing support for the group should expect to be arrested. Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Prevent and Pursue at Counter Terrorism Policing, said that they have 'robust plans' in place to respond to activity in support of Palestine Action. 'At this time, it remains illegal to be a member of or encourage support for the group Palestine Action,' she added. 'This legislation is specific to that group and does not interfere with the right to protest in support of the Palestinian cause. 'Operational plans are in place to ensure this right can be preserved over the coming days with protests expected in several major cities, including London.' Despite pressures on prison capacity, a Ministry of Justice spokesman insisted the system is prepared to 'act quickly' if more cells are needed. Officials will not hesitate to use contingency measures if they are faced with a sudden influx to the prison estate, The Independent understands. This could include activating Operation Early Dawn, which allows defendants to be held in police cells until prison beds become available. 'The swift and coordinated response to last year's unrest shows the criminal justice system is prepared to act quickly if needed to maintain stability and keep the public safe,' the spokesperson added.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fact check: Bank has held rates four out of nine times since Labour took power
The Labour Party has claimed that since it was elected to Government, the Bank of England has cut interest rates 'five times in a row'. The party said: 'Interest rates have now been cut five times in a row since Labour came into power.' The message was also shared in a social media graphic which read: 'Interest rates have been cut five times in a row with Labour.' Evaluation The Bank of England has cut rates five times since Labour got into power. But these cuts were not at consecutive meetings of the Bank's rate setters. At four meetings – every other meeting since July 2024 – the Bank has actually decided to hold rates unchanged. The facts Interest rates in the UK are not set by the Government, but by an independent nine-person committee run by the Bank of England. This group is called the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and it meets eight times a year. Since Labour got into power in early July 2024, the MPC has made nine separate decisions on rates. The committee has cut rates on every other occasion it has met since the election – starting on August 1 2024 – with the most recent cut being confirmed on August 7 2025. That has produced five cuts in total. But at the other four meetings the MPC decided to hold rates unchanged. By saying 'in a row' it is possible that Labour means that there have not been any interest rate hikes in between the cuts. However, this ignores all the times that the MPC has actively voted to leave rates unchanged. At the time of publication Labour had not responded to an email asking it to clarify how the five cuts are considered to be 'in a row'. Links
Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reeves could unlock £30bn with defence loophole in fiscal rules
Rachel Reeves could give herself an extra £30bn headroom next year if she follows Gordon Brown's advice to take increased defence spending outside the fiscal rules. The former prime minister said the Chancellor should follow Germany and declare that 'exceptional' increases in defence spending can be paid for by borrowing more. This is currently banned under Ms Reeves's fiscal rules, which say borrowing should never pay for day-to-day spending, and that debt should fall as a share of the economy by 2030. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the defence spending change could give the Government another £30bn next year. However, the economic think tank warned it would increase borrowing costs for households with mortgages. It comes as Ms Reeves comes under huge pressure to figure out how to fill a £50bn hole in the public finances, with tax rises seemingly increasingly likely. Mr Brown told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he would like the Chancellor to scrap the two-child benefit cap, raising the money to do so by increasing taxes on the gambling industry. He said another option was to treat a commitment to ramping up defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by the 2030s as 'exceptional' and as 'outside the fiscal rules'. 'When you come to the fiscal position, there is one thing that has happened over the last few months which has been quite unprecedented: to spend 5 per cent on defence expenditure as we want to spend by 2030,' said the former prime minister. 'But this is a Nato initiative, this is a European initiative, we should be doing this jointly, we should have either jointly issued bonds or a Nato defence fund and we should be sharing the cost across the Continent. 'That should be regarded as something extraordinary and exceptional, outside the fiscal rules and that would create the kind of headroom that Rachel Reeves needs.' Ben Zaranko, associate director of the IFS, said that if defence spending increased from 2.5 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent, this would be equivalent to around £30bn. He said: 'If the UK needs to spend a lot more on defence, and it needs to do so quickly, there could be a case for borrowing more in the short term to make that happen, and to smooth the path towards the new higher spending equilibrium. 'Some sort of one-off joint bond issuance with Europe or Nato could be part of that. 'But that extra borrowing wouldn't be free: we would expect it to push up borrowing costs for the Government and households with mortgages. 'And, importantly, more borrowing cannot be a permanent solution. Ultimately, if we need to spend more on defence on a recurring, permanent basis, we will need to either raise more in tax or spend less on something else.'
