Latest news with #politicalParty
Telegraph
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
If you're a hard-Left cultist, this is indeed Your Party
Oh, the relief! Yes, the long wait is over. Three weeks after former Labour MP Zarah Sultana announced that she would be launching a new party – and not only that but would also be leading it alongside Jeremy Corbyn (although, oops, it soon emerged she hadn't actually asked him) – here it is. Your Party is born. I guess it depends on how you define 'Your'. If you mean a party for rancid hate-mongers, hard-Left ideologues, economic basket cases and other cultists then yes, it is indeed your party. Or, more accurately, one of your parties, because there has never been a shortage to choose from. Take your pick from, among myriad others, the Workers' Party, the Socialist Labour Party, the Socialist Party and the Socialist Workers' Party, which sometimes make me wonder if they were the ones satirising Monty Python's Judean People's Party and People's Party of Judea, rather than the other way round. Your Party is barely an hour old and, deliciously, it's already the subject of a split. Or rather, it was before it had even been formally born. On the day Ms Sultana first revealed the new party three weeks ago, George Galloway leapt into denouncing mode: 'There has been no contact with us about this,' he spat out on his social media feed. 'We can't join it due to significant differences on the issues of'… oh, let's not lose the will to live quite yet. No one except Galloway, Sultana, Corbyn and the rest of the bunch of not so merry men and women gives a damn about their specifics of their internecine squabbles. Suffice to say that they're busy doing what they always do. But whoopee, we now have a bright shiny new party for the not so bright Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana to lead. Presumably Ms Sultana – who likes to portray herself as some sort of principled warrior, rather than just another failed politician afraid that after being kicked out of her former party, her career will be over before she reaches her mid-30s – will now insist on a recall petition by her constituents in Coventry South, given that in 2020 she voted for MPs who voluntarily change their party affiliation being subject to such a petition. Meanwhile, I have just spotted a pig flying outside my window. But let's not quibble. Who wouldn't want to join this exciting new venture and join the man who led Labour to its worst election performance since 1935 and whose Labour Party was found to have breached the Equality Act by committing unlawful harassment against Jews? Who wouldn't want to go along for the ride with Ms Sultana, whose desperate need for attention led her to scream 'We are all Palestine Action' in the Commons chamber in support of the proscribed terror group? Who wouldn't want to be a member of a party that seems purpose built to attract the more voluble and incendiary of the so-called Free Palestine hate marchers? And who wouldn't want to be part of a group that is, as its website reveals, 'managed by Peace and Justice Project Ltd'? That's the same Peace and Justice Project set up when Corbyn had the Labour whip removed, whose patrons include Noam Chomsky, rapper Lowkey, Ken Loach and Jeremy's old mucker Len McCluskey who was, it was revealed yesterday, accused by an investigation commissioned by his old union of overruling staff and lawyers to sign a contract for a building project which cost the Unite union £125m, despite being valued at just £38m (an allegation he denies)? What a starry, storied cast that is. And what a thrill the next few years promise.
Telegraph
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Corbyn launches hard-Left ‘Your Party' to challenge Starmer
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have confirmed the launch of a new hard-Left party to fight Sir Keir Starmer's Labour. The former Labour leader and his fellow now-independent MP said it was 'time for a new kind of political party' in a statement on Thursday. The pair have invited voters to sign up to the party via the website although The Telegraph understands the new project will not be called Your Party and that its name is to be confirmed. It comes after Mr Corbyn told activists that the new party would be established in time to fight Labour nationwide at the local elections in May next year. In a joint statement, Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana said: 'It's time for a new political party. One that belongs to you. 'The system is rigged. The system is rigged when 4.5 million children live in poverty in the sixth-richest country in the world. The system is rigged when giant corporations make a fortune from rising bills. 'The system is rigged when the Government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war. We cannot accept these injustices – and neither should you.' Opinion polls have suggested that a new party led by Mr Corbyn could win about 10 per cent of the vote and peel away support from Sir Keir in a similar way to how Reform UK has hurt the Tories on the Right. But Labour dismissed the prospect of the new party, with a source saying: 'The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn led party.' Mr Corbyn's statement went on to attack Sir Keir's policies on public ownership and call for higher taxes on 'the very richest in our society' as well as the 'mass redistribution of wealth and power'. It also called on the Government to end all arms sales to Israel, which it accused of committing 'genocide' in Palestine. The statement continued: '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.' It's time for a new kind of political party - one that belongs to you. Sign up at — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 24, 2025 This will be seen as a thinly-veiled swipe at Sir Keir's crackdown on migration, and the controversy that followed his warning that Britain risked becoming an 'island of strangers' in the wake of record levels of net migration in recent years. Sir Keir went on to say that he regretted his choice of words but not the message behind them. The website reads: 'Sign up to build this party, together. Soon, we'll host an inaugural founding conference so you can help shape how your party works, what it stands for, and how we organise to win. 'Fill in this form so that Your Party, and the new party that develops from it, can update you on news, activities and ways to get involved.'
Bloomberg
09-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Why Elon Musk's Third Party Plans Face Big Hurdles
Elon Musk, the single biggest Republican donor in the 2024 elections, says he wants to create a new political party to lower the US national debt, which currently stands at $37 trillion. After spending more than $290 million in 2024 to help elect President Donald Trump and secure a Republican majority in Congress, Musk very publicly broke with Trump and his party over their 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warns could boost the debt by as much as $5 trillion over a decade.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Commentary: Why Elon Musk should stick to business
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is undoubtedly brilliant. But a glaring blind spot is his inability to learn from other people's mistakes. Musk's on-and-off feud with President Trump is back on, now that Trump has signed a huge tax-cut package Musk objected to. Musk threatened to form a new political party if Congress passed the bill and Trump signed it, a threat Trump and his fellow Republicans ignored. Musk objects to the bill because it will add at least $4 trillion to the already monstrous national debt and because it short-changes booming sectors such as green energy while boosting legacy industries such as fossil fuels. The multibillionaire argues that Republicans and Democrats actually constitute a 'uniparty' — depicted in one meme as a two-headed snake — that shares the common sin of perpetually pumping up the national debt. The 'America Party' Musk plans to form would represent the '80% in the middle,' Musk says. Its policies would be centrist, and its prime mission would be getting the nation's wayward finances back on sound footing. Musk's numbers are a bit off, but many voters will find his pitch is compelling. Self-described independents now represent 43% of the electorate, the highest portion in Gallup polling that dates to 1988. That reflects growing disgust with both established parties. Musk is generally right that both parties are guilty of financially reckless tax hikes and spending cuts, relying on ever more borrowed money. Fed-up independents and centrists are the coveted 'swing voters' who now determine virtually every presidential election outcome, and many other state and local races as well. Musk, however, will sooner or later learn what many other fed-up centrists know: Forming a meaningful third party in the United States is almost impossibly difficult. Terry Haines of research firm Pangaea Policy calls Musk's third-party bid an 'almost-certain failed political gambit that won't move the political needle and looks like a cross between a petty vanity project and a pick up toys and go home temper tantrum.' There's a robust history of failed efforts to form centrist third parties in modern times. Ross Perot famously tried it in the 1990s, and while he created some populist buzz, he failed to win a single electoral vote in two presidential campaigns. Third-party efforts of the last three decades include the Reform, Libertarian, Green, and Constitution parties, along with No Labels and many lesser-knowns. If you don't recognize any of those, well, see? Musk is perhaps the world's foremost startup expert, so maybe he thinks he will succeed where others have failed. Eh. Musk also thought his DOGE commission would be the first to meaningfully streamline government after dozens of prior attempts had failed. DOGE ran into the immovable object of Beltway political resistance and flopped within six months. Along the way, Musk's bromance with Trump turned sour, with the two giant egos now engaged in a trolling war. The American system of government simply leaves little turf for a third party to get much traction. As the Washington Post explained recently, the electoral college's winner-take-all system tends to snuff out small vote-getting efforts, and there's no American tradition of multiparty coalition building, as there is in many parliamentary systems. There are also elaborate rules for getting onto the ballot in every state that heavily favor the two entrenched parties. Musk is also personally unpopular, with a favorable rating of around 37% and an unfavorable rating of around 55%. Negative views of Musk spiked after he became Trump's government hatchet man, and his net approval rating, at -18%, is about 11 points worse than Trump's. The centrist ideology Musk is touting is probably a lot more popular than Musk without a third party, however, Musk could wield outsized political influence — as he already did as Trump's BFF for a few heady months. The next step for Musk is to be the agenda-setter, rather than the rich donor funding somebody else's agenda. And there's already a model for how to do this, driven by other business titans more patient and politically savvy than the impulsive Musk. The Koch Brothers, David and Charles, built one of the most influential organizations in American politics largely while operating within the Republican Party. Money from the family conglomerate helped finance a well-organized network promoting limited government and free markets that helped foment the Tea Party takeover of Congress in 2010 and is deeply influential to this day. Big-money critics lambast the Koch network for buying political outcomes with financial wealth, yet it's a model for what Musk seems to be trying to do. Other big donors have used their wealth to build deep levels of influence within the established political parties. Some of the most effective donors on the Republican side include banking heir Timothy Mellon, casino magnate Miriam Adelson (and her deceased husband Sheldon), Schlitz beer heir Richard Uihlein, and hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. Democrats claim fewer big-money business backers but still enjoy lavish support from the likes of Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, and every conservative's favorite villain, hedge fund pioneer George Soros. Even Michael Bloomberg, the finance billionaire who served part of his three terms as mayor of New York City as an independent, donates almost exclusively to Democratic causes. He switched from independent to Democrat in 2018, most likely because he was planning to run for president and knew he wouldn't have a chance as an independent. If Musk is serious about being an influential voice in American politics for years to come, the best thing would be to first recommit to the half-dozen businesses he runs, where shareholders, workers, and customers feel Musk's political adventures are a painful distraction. Business is what he does best, and that should come first. Musk could then form a Koch-style political operation with like-minded techno-libertarians that would establish basic principles and hire political sharks to turn them into reality. He already has a political-action committee, called America PAC, that mainly served as a Trump-funding vehicle when Musk was his biggest donor in the '24 race. The PAC seems to have been dormant lately, but it's an obvious starting point for a new organization promoting Musk's favored policies. PACs are crucial for raising and distributing funds, and money, of course, is the lifeblood of politics. Money isn't enough. Making common cause with like-minded allies is also essential. For all his billions, Musk would also need activists and dealmakers who know how to work the system in every state, district, or ward where he wants to make a difference. He could buy much of that expertise, but it could test Musk's patience, since cash alone doesn't win elections, and it can take years to build a well-run political machine. Musk has hinted at going this direction. He says he'll tilt some congressional races in 2026 by using 'extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield.' That suggests picking a handful of House or Senate incumbents he hopes to defeat, finding challengers able to beat them in a primary or general election, funding those candidates and providing the support they need to navigate the electoral process. Much of that infrastructure already exists — in the Republican and Democratic parties. Musk could piggyback on that, candidate-by-candidate, without wasting the resources on a whole new party likely to fail. Musk may think he has to single-handedly pioneer every innovation that interests him, but sometimes there's a playbook showing him how to get halfway down the field. Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Bluesky and X: @rickjnewman. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Latvia Questions Party Leader for Russian Comments in Parliament
Latvian authorities detained and questioned the leader of a political party catering to the country's Russian-speaking minority for allegedly inciting hatred in parliament earlier this month. Aleksejs Roslikovs was ejected from a parliamentary session earlier this month during a debate on restricting the public use of the Russian language, in which the party leader said 'there are many more of us' in Russian and made a vulgar gesture. The episode lays bare the tension in the Baltic nation over its biggest minority group.
