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The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
How Jeremy Corbyn's new party plans to take on Starmer's Labour
It may have been a rather turbulent launch, but the potential for Jeremy Corbyn's new party to shake up the UK's fractured political landscape has certainly not gone unnoticed in Westminster. The MP for Islington North has promised to "build a democratic movement that can take on the rich and powerful' in the form of a 'new kind of political party'. But as the as-yet-unnamed party looks to the future – and the next general election – it could well contain more familiar faces than you might expect. The former Labour leader's new party hopes to tempt a number of his former comrades-in-arms to join as it attempts to seize on Labour's struggles in the polls and position itself in part as the party on the left of British politics that can take on Nigel Farage 's Reform, according to insiders. The pitch to current Labour MPs will, among other things, suggest that they can stick with Sir Keir Starmer and a stumbling Labour party – and lose their seat – or join Corbyn's new group and save it. While insiders would not be drawn on specific targets, a number of sitting MPs and constituencies are thought to have already been identified. Among those rumoured to be under consideration are MPs in the Socialist Campaign Group, which includes former shadow minister Ian Lavery and Ian Byrne, and those disillusioned by the recent row over Labour's welfare cuts. More than 120 Labour MPs, including MPs like Kim Johnson from Liverpool, a pocket of the country where the new Corbyn party has in recent days thought to have attracted strong support, backed a bid to block the government's planned welfare changes, before ministers eventually backed down. Meanwhile senior ministers, including health secretary Wes Streeting and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, saw their majorities slashed last year in the face of challenges from pro-Gaza candidates, and could be targeted by Corbyn's new party as it seeks a major scalp at its first general election. There is potential for a party that offers disaffected voters disillusioned with Starmer and Labour something new. A recent Find Out Now poll suggested that the new party would be equal third to Labour in support, on 15 per cent each, with Reform on 34 per cent and the Tories on 17 per cent. Luke Tryl, from the pollsters More in Common, said the prospect of a new Corbyn-led party polled very well and 'took 10 per cent of the vote, taking votes from Labour and the Greens". Leading pollster Sir John Curtice told The Independent that 'Labour are vulnerable to the left', adding that the Greens 'were taking votes off them in that direction' at the last election. But he added a note of caution, saying: 'At the moment, I'm waiting to see whether Corbyn manages to get his act together and manages to create a political party that has some thoughts and organisation behind it.' While far from enough to win an election, the early polling does suggest the group could cause real problems for Labour. And, despite the belief inside the party that they are the ones who can beat Reform in many seats, another ex-Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, has attacked the group, saying the only people they will help are Mr Farage and the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. The public has certainly taken notice too – a call out on social media has seen 600,000 people register as supporters, according to Mr Corbyn, with heavy concentrations in areas insiders believe to be very open to the new party's message. The party is planning to hold a founding conference later this year, but before that, there will be a series of meetings in different parts of the country, after places like Liverpool and other northern cities saw a huge number of people sign up. But with popularity comes danger. Insiders are worried about the possibility of 'entryism' into the new group – including from the right. Ironically, this is what Corbyn supporters were accused of, albeit from the other side of the political spectrum, when he became Labour leader in 2015 after Ed Miliband allowed the public to take part for a £3 fee. The group is aware that it cannot be hijacked by left-wing activist groups either, such as the Socialist Workers, as that could limit its potential to appeal to a wider group of voters keen for something new and different in their politics. And while the party wants to convert as many people as possible into full members, there is a wariness over pitching the cost of membership too low and potentially encouraging right-wingers keen to sabotage the party by disrupting its internal democracy, including potentially trying to build momentum behind a stupid name. The party created a flurry of headlines and jokes when it was unveiled after Mr Corbyn sent supporters to a website called Your Party, only for Zarah Sultana, a potential co-leader, to take to social media to insist that was not the new outfit's name. That, along with many other things, will be decided at the conference – part of Mr Corbyn's long-standing commitment to internal democracy in political parties. Some within the party, including Ms Sultana, are pushing for the party to be called 'The Left'. Others back the idea of 'the People's Party', although that is also the name of a conservative political party in Spain and in 2011, David Cameron famously took the Tories out of a European centre-right alliance called the 'European People's Party'. Whatever it is called, the party's performance at the next election could be helped or hindered by how many Labour MPs Mr Corbyn manages to persuade to join him and Ms Sultana.
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova jails pro-Russian regional leader for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
A court in Moldova has sentenced a Kremlin-friendly regional politician to seven years in prison for funneling money from Russia to finance a political party. Evgenia Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a historically pro-Russian ethnic region in southern Moldova, was detained in March on suspicion of electoral fraud and sentenced on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2022, Gutul channeled undeclared funds into the country to finance a political party founded by Ilan Shor, Reuters reported. Shor is a pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova and now lives in exile. Gutul's conviction comes just weeks before Moldovans vote in a crucial parliamentary election, in which Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president of the former Soviet country, is hoping to retain her governing majority. Sandu was reelected as president last year in a vote held on the same day as a referendum on joining the European Union, which Moldovans backed by a razor-thin majority. Both votes were marred by what prosecutors said was a massive vote-buying scheme orchestrated by Shor, who has spent much of his time in Russia since he was convicted for his role in the 2014 theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. Before the referendum, Moldova's national police chief said some 130,000 citizens had received a total of $15 million from Shor in exchange for voting 'no' or persuading others to do so. The police chief said it was 'clear' that Russia was financing the scheme; Moscow has denied meddling in Moldovan politics. Gutul, a former secretary for Shor's now-banned party, was elected governor of Gagauzia in 2023. That election also drew accusations of vote-buying. Last year, Gutul was sanctioned by the EU for actions 'destabilizing' Moldova and promoting separatism in her region. Gutul denies wrongdoing and claims her prosecution was politically motivated. In March, she penned a letter to Donald Trump, claiming that she, like the US president, had been subjected to 'propaganda efforts and pressure from the corrupt globalist elites.' Responding to her sentencing Tuesday, Gutul said she would appeal the ruling, which she claimed was an attempt to intimidate Gagauzians 'who dare to vote' for a party other than Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). 'This decision has nothing to do with justice. This is a political reprisal, planned and executed on orders from above,' she wrote on Telegram. The Kremlin also claimed the verdict was politically motivated, and that Moldova was systematically suppressing the opposition. 'In effect, people are being deprived of the opportunity to vote for those they prefer. Of course, what we are seeing is a clear violation of democratic rules and norms in this country,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Moldova's parliamentary election will be held on September 28. Although Sandu's PAS won by a landslide in the last vote in 2021, Moldova has since faced major economic and security challenges spilling over from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stirring anti-government sentiment in parts of the country.
Russia Today
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moldova jails regional opposition leader
A Moldovan court has sentenced Yevgenia Gutsul, the leader of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, to seven years in prison on charges of illegal financing of a political party. Gutsul has denied the accusations, calling the case politically motivated. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Telegraph
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Corbyn: My party might be called Your Party after all
Jeremy Corbyn has said his new political party might be called Your Party after all. The former Labour leader and Zarah Sultana, his co-founder, invited voters to sign up to their new faction via the website when it launched on Thursday. Ms Sultana then declared: 'It's not called Your Party!' in response to a post on X by the news site Politics Joe, which claimed that it was. But in an interview with Novara Media on Saturday, Mr Corbyn said: 'The working title is – it's your party. 'Now, it may not end up being the name, but it might be the name. I want ideas for the name. If you've got ideas for the name, let me know, OK?' Mr Corbyn has said that more than 300,000 people have now registered their interest in the new party, which is expected to have its founding conference this autumn. The party hopes to have the infrastructure in place to fight Sir Keir Starmer's Labour at the local elections in May 2026, which are already being viewed as a key test for the Prime Minister. Asked about his party's core message, Mr Corbyn said: 'Britain should be a voice for peace in the world, not a voice for new nuclear weapons, not a voice for war, not a voice for selling arms. 'Secondly, our country is deeply divided. The levels of poverty are getting worse and worse. We're having none of that. 'We are a community-based, grassroots united organisation determined to challenge the establishment and bring about real political change to give real hope.' When challenged on whether he wanted to be prime minister, Mr Corbyn replied: 'Listen, mate, let's see what happens.' Mr Corbyn made two failed attempts to enter Downing Street when he led Labour to losses at the 2017 and 2019 general elections, with the 2019 defeat being Labour's worst since 1935. The MP for Islington North was stripped of the Labour whip by Sir Keir, his successor, the following year after claiming that problems in Labour with anti-Semitism on his watch had been 'overstated'. He went on to win Islington North, which he has represented since 1983, as an independent candidate. Polling suggests that a party led by Mr Corbyn could command anything between 10 per cent and 18 per cent at a general election. This would deal a significant blow to Sir Keir's blow of retaining his Commons majority after a first year in power which has already seen his popularity decline rapidly. The new outfit led by Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana is likely to split the political Left in a similar way to the rise of Reform UK on the Right, which has heavily damaged the Conservatives. The Left-wing pair have said they want to set up a political party 'that belongs to you' to take on what they claim is a 'rigged' system. Their priorities already include hitting the wealthiest Britons with heavier taxes and ending all arms sales to Israel, which they have accused of committing 'genocide' against Palestinians. Labour has dismissed the prospect of the new movement, with a source saying: 'The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.'
BBC News
25-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Could Jeremy Corbyn's new party shake up politics?
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is launching a new political party, promising to "build a democratic movement that can take on the rich and powerful".It doesn't have a name yet but the MP for Islington North says the plan is for the group to fight May's local elections ahead of the next general election, which is likely to take place in four years' new venture has the potential to shake-up the political landscape, with Labour and the Greens appearing to be the most at risk of losing votes. Polling of around 2,000 Britons by More In Common last month - on whether they would vote for a hypothetical Corbyn-led party - suggested it could pick up 10% of the vote. This would potentially take three points off Labour's vote share and extend Reform UK's lead in the polls by the same pollster's UK director, Luke Tryl, says that if this plays out at a general election Labour risks losing seats outright to Corbyn's party, while a splintering of the left-wing vote could also allow Reform UK or the Conservatives to make gains."In an era of very fragmented politics, small shares could make the difference across the board, and it is totally conceivable that the performance of this left-wing party could be the difference between a Labour-led government and a Nigel Farage Reform-led government on current polling," adds Mr party could gain support in parts of the country where pro-Gaza independents have performed strongly such as Birmingham, parts of east and north London and north-west England. More In Common's research suggests a Corbyn-led party would be most popular with those aged under 26 so inner-city student areas could also be key of these urban areas are holding local elections in May, which will mark the first real test for the new party. However, polling suggests the Green Party - where many disgruntled former Labour voters have already turned - stands to lose the most support from a Corbyn-led Greens were second to Labour in 40 constituencies at last year's general election but an insurgent left-wing party could eat into their depends on whether the Greens form electoral pacts with the new party, with both sides agreeing to stand down in seats where the other has a stronger chance of winning. The four pro-Gaza MPs who formed an independent alliance with Corbyn after the general election are expected to make up the core of the new party, along with former Labour MP Zarah Sultana. But how could they work with the Greens?Corbyn has suggested he will cooperate with the Greens but whether they will agree a formal deal remains to be Schneider, a close ally of Corbyn who is involved in the new group, tells the BBC it would make "perfect sense for our new party to have some form of pact with the Greens".Green Party leadership candidate Zack Polanski has also said he will "work with anyone who wants to take on Reform and this government". However, his rival, Green MP Adrian Ramsay, warned his party must not become "a Jeremy Corbyn support act" and maintain its "distinct" identity and broad appeal beyond the traditional Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, says a Corbyn-led party is a big threat to the Greens."Corbyn has a level of name recognition, a level of celebrity, that no one in the Green Party can possibly match," he tells BBC Radio 4's PM programme."Now, they have one big advantage which is that they have a core issue, the environment, which is one that Corbyn doesn't necessarily seem particularly interested in."So there is a world in which they could divide up the pie, so to speak, but they're going to need to think hard about that or they risk being pushed aside." Another poll of more than 2,500 Britons by YouGov earlier this month found that while 18% say they are open to voting for a new left-wing party led by Corbyn, just 9% of these would not consider voting for any of the five existing significant national the fractious and unpredictable state of politics, 11% of this group were also open to voting for Reform UK.A lot could change in the four years there is likely to be before the next general Tryl argues that if Labour presents that election as a choice between Sir Keir Starmer and Reform UK's Nigel Farage as prime minister, many on the left may choose to vote tactically. In this scenario, voters who are sympathetic to Corbyn's party could hold their nose and back Labour to stop a Reform candidate winning in their has also been a chaotic start for the party, with confusion over the name and who will lead it, after Sultana appeared to jump the gun by announcing her intention to form a new party with Corbyn earlier this sources have dismissed their former leader's latest venture, saying "the electorate has twice given their verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party" at the 2017 and 2019 cabinet minister Peter Kyle went on the attack on Times Radio, accusing Corbyn of "posturing" and of not being "a serious politician". Mr Schneider argues the impact of the new party will not be limited by how many MPs it manages to claims more than 200,000 people have already signed up to get involved in less than 24 hours. There's no guarantee all of them will go on to join the party but it suggests some enthusiasm for the idea amongst sections of the public."We're going to be having a huge outside influence on the political debate in this country," Mr Schneider says."Of course the long-term goal is to win elections and enter office and be really in power. "But in order to have real sustainable power you need to have people coming with you and have your foundations in the society you want to be building up." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
