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Telegraph
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Corbyn targets Streeting's seat with new hard-Left party
Jeremy Corbyn held an event in Wes Streeting's constituency hours after announcing that he would help to create a new Left-wing party. The former Labour leader, now an independent MP, spoke in Ilford North alongside Leanne Mohamad, the pro-Palestiniancandidate who came within 528 votes of defeating the Health Secretary at last summer's general election. Mr Streeting will face an uphill battle to keep his seat if the backlash over Labour's stance on the Israel-Gaza war continues. He is one of the most prominent MPs in Labour's moderate wing, and widely tipped to run for the party leadership when Sir Keir Starmer's tenure comes to an end. At the event, Mr Corbyn singled out the Starmer Government's record on tackling child poverty and failure to be more critical of Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, according to one source present. His appearance at the event at the City Gates Conference Centre, attended by around 300 people, took place at 6.30pm on Friday – five hours after he issued his statement about setting up a new party. The event, called Breaking the Two-Party Nightmare, had been planned before the public statement and was held to mark a year since the election. Mr Corbyn was joined on stage by Andrew Feinstein, the pro-Palestinian candidate who stood against Sir Keir in Holborn and St Pancras. One person present said of his speech: 'He talked about the failures of the Labour Government, particularly on child poverty, and critiquing arms to Israel and the Government's position on Palestine.' Mr Corbyn is also understood to have repeated comments made on ITV last week, where he said he and fellow pro-Gaza independents would 'come together' and 'there will be an alternative'. There was also fund-raising to help those campaigning against Labour. Two pots of Mr Corbyn's home-made jam raised £1,500. After the event, the former Labour leader shared footage of the gathering on the X social media platform in a post along with the words 'real change is coming'. Last week, it emerged that former Labour MPs on the Left were planning to launch a new political party. Zarah Sultana, suspended from Labour for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap, said on Thursday that she and Mr Corbyn 'will co-lead the founding of a new party'. Mr Corbyn released his own statement on Friday, saying that 'a new kind of political party will soon take shape' but not stating Ms Sultana would be co-leader. It is still not known what the party would be called or what policies it will adopt, but it is widely expected that it will position itself considerably to the Left of where Sir Keir has taken Labour and be pro-Palestinian. Both issues could cause problems for Labour, which has attempted to balance its support for a two-state solution and condemnation of the lack of aid for Palestinians during the conflict in Gaza with supporting Israel's right to defend itself. Critics have warned that the new movement could help Nigel Farage's Reform UK, currently topping opinion polls, by splitting the Left-wing vote. Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader, on Sunday called it the 'Farage Assistance Group'. Mr Corbyn enjoyed vast popularity with Labour members in 2015, when he surprised Westminster by claiming the leadership, and 2016, when he saw off a challenge from Owen Smith after the country had voted for Brexit. Labour's defeat in the 2019 election was followed the next year by his suspension from the party, after Sir Keir became leader, over his response to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission's report on how it had handled complaints about anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn never regained the Labour whip, meaning he stood as an independent candidate at the last general election. He was re-elected in Islington North, the London seat he has represented since 1983.
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Jeremy Corbyn says he WILL form (and probably lead) a new hard-Left party to challenge Labour - as polls suggest 10% of voters could back it
Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed that he is working to create a new Left-wing party to challenge Labour - and did not rule out leading it the age of 76. The former opposition leader claimed there was a 'thirst' among voters 'for an alternative view to be put' forward, he said in a TV interview. Mr Corbyn has sat as the independent MP for Islington North since being suspended by Labour in 2020 for downplaying the extent of anti-Semitism in the party under his leadership. He was expelled last year but retained his seat in the general election, since when he has been part of the Independent Alliance, a loose grouping of independent MPs with left wing political views. Appearing on ITV 's Peston last night - after opposing plans to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group - he said he was working with groups 'all around the country' 'That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative view and there will be an alternative put there which is about a society that deals with poverty, inequality and a foreign policy that's based on peace rather than war,' he said. Asked if he would like to lead the party he said: 'I'm here to work, I'm here to serve the people in the way I've always tried to do.' It comes after a poll last week found that a new Left-wing party led by Mr Corbyn would attract 10 per cent of voters and pose a fresh challenge for Sir Keir Starmer. The survey by More in Common showed, if the ex-Labour leader were to front a new party, it would be backed by one in 10 voters. At the same time, Labour 's share of the vote would drop from its current 23 per cent to 20 per cent - leaving Sir Keir's party on the same level of support as the Tories. In a further split on the Left of British politics, the Greens would drop from 9 per cent to 5 per cent if Mr Corbyn took the helm of a new party. MPs last night backed the Government's move to ban direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, despite claims by Mr Corbyn that it would have a 'chilling effect' on protest. Legislation passed in the Commons on Wednesday, as MPs voted 385 to 26, majority 359 in favour of proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000. The motion is expected to be debated and voted on by the House of Lords on Thursday before it becomes law. If approved, it would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of the direct action group or to support it. Mr Corbyn said: 'Surely we should be looking at the issue that Palestine Action are concerned about, and the supply of weapons from this country to Israel, which has made all this possible. If this order goes through today, it will have a chilling effect on protests.'
Telegraph
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
In a perfect storm for Starmer, next week may see the birth of a Left-wing Corbynista party
For some, this coming week sees an alignment of the stars. For others, it's a perfect storm. Not only is the Government facing division and humiliation over two key crunch votes – the first on its already defenestrated welfare proposals and the other on the proscription of Palestine Action – but it's widely reported that a new Left-wing party, led by none other than Labour's former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is set to launch. Early polling suggests the new party could enjoy the support of ten per cent of the electorate, damaging both Labour and the Greens. It's hardly a mould-breaking moment, but any high-profile Left alternative is the last thing our beleaguered prime minister needs right now. Despite Labour's 170-seat majority secured a year ago, the party still feels bruised over the loss of four formerly 'safe' seats to independent pro-Gaza candidates, plus, of course, the loss of Islington North after Corbyn himself was prevented from standing as a Labour candidate and went on to win as an independent. And it's likely that the new party will be keen to woo a handful of whipless Labour MPs who have yet to be welcomed back into the fold after they rebelled over the two-child benefit threshold last July. Starmer suspended seven of his MPs over their refusal to support the continuation of the threshold originally introduced by the Conservatives. Since then, four have been restored to the party's embrace while three – former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana – remain suspended with no indication that the whip will be restored to them this side of the next general election. That being the case, none of them would have anything to lose by hitching their star to Corbyn's new vehicle. Following a truly disastrous week for the prime minister, the next seven days might actually eclipse it. After months in which he insisted the welfare reforms, aimed at cutting benefit costs by a modest £5 billion, would not be watered down, Starmer did exactly that on Thursday evening as a concession to more than 100 Labour MPs who had threatened to vote against them. Hot on the heels of the government's humiliating reversal over the Winter Heating Allowance and the prime minister's unprompted admission in a newspaper interview that he 'deeply regrets' using the phrase 'Island of strangers' in his recent anti-immigration speech (a speech that is primarily known for the phrase he now disavows), it is little wonder that speculation as to how long he can remain at Number 10 has been re-energised. Even after promises to maintain Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for existing claimants, whips still expect there to be a rebellion of at least a dozen Labour MPs, and maybe more, unhappy with the principle that welfare should ever be reduced. And the debate and vote on the categorisation of the Palestine Action group that damaged RAF planes at Brize Norton last week will reveal the extent of discontent with the Government's unexpectedly robust approach to direct action. It will be fascinating to see if that unhappiness extends beyond the usual suspects in the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs. And as the parliamentary drama unfolds, the latest addition to the plethora of Britain's smaller parties will be announced. The first-past-the-post electoral system does not treat newcomers to the political arena well; in fact Corbyn's new party will likely do little more than further split the Labour vote, making Reform UK's advance easier. Next week ends with the first anniversary of the 2024 general election. But there is little for Labour to celebrate and Keir Starmer might be advised to leave his party hat locked inside his red box.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Could Jeremy Corbyn split the Left? Poll finds a new party fronted by ex-Labour leader could take 10% of the vote
A new Left-wing party led by would attract 10 per cent of voters and pose a fresh challenge for Sir Keir Starmer, a poll has found. A survey by More in Common showed, if the ex-Labour leader were to front a new party, it would be backed by one in 10 voters. At the same time, Labour 's share of the vote would drop from its current 23 per cent to 20 per cent - leaving Sir Keir's party on the same level of support as the Tories. In a further split on the Left of British politics, the Greens would drop from 9 per cent to 5 per cent if Mr Corbyn took the helm of a new party. Meanwhile, the SNP would drop one percentage point to 2 per cent. Yet, Nigel Farage 's Reform UK - who are mounting a stern challenge to both Labour and the Tories - would remain on 27 per cent in both scenarios. The poll revealed the potential headache Sir Keir might face at the next general election as he attempts to remain as Prime Minister. To stay in power, Labour would have to guard against leaking votes to Reform on the populist Right, as well as to a Mr Corbyn-fronted party on the populist Left. At the same time, Labour 's share of the vote would drop from its current 23 per cent to 20 per cent - leaving Sir Keir's party on the same level of support as the Tories Last month, Mr Corbyn reportedly raised the prospect of a potential new party being formed by the time of next year's general election. The veteran politician now sits as part of an independent alliance of pro-Palestinian MPs in the House of Commons after being kicked out of Labour by Sir Keir. He was said to have told an event in Huddersfield: 'This whole cause is coming together so that by next year's local elections - long before that, I hope - we're going to have something in place.' An ally of Mr Corbyn, speaking about the prospect of a new party, told the New Statesman - which first published the poll results - there was a 'large hole in politics'. 'You can see it from the very low turnout figures, the high levels of volatility and Labour being in the low twenties,' they added. There has also been speculation about an electoral pact between a new left-wing party and the Greens. Adrian Ramsay is currently seeking re-election as co-leader of the Green Party alongside fellow MP Ellie Chowns. Current co-leader Carla Denyer has announced she would not stand again in order to focus on her work as an MP. The Greens had four MPs elected to Parliament at last year's general election, the best result the party has ever had at Westminster. Zack Polanski, the party's deputy leader and a member of the London Assembly, has also announced a leadership bid focused on transforming the Greens into an 'eco-populism' mass movement. He has said the party needs to be more 'bold'.
