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The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Jeremy Corbyn ‘getting 500 people a minute' wanting to join his new political party
Jeremy Corbyn said he is 'getting 500 people a minute' wanting to join his new political party. The former Labour leader launched a new outfit with Zarah Sultana that does not yet have a name, on Thursday (24 July), calling for a 'mass redistribution of wealth and power'. Asked what the new name of his party would be, Mr Corbyn said: 'We're going to decide when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive. 'They've been coming in at 500 a minute wanting to support and join the new party.' He also said that he and Coventry South MP Ms Sultana are 'working very well together'.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Corbyn promises ‘new kind of party' as he launches as-yet unnamed venture
Jeremy Corbyn has promised 'a new kind of political party' as he launched a new outfit with Zarah Sultana that does not yet have a name. The former Labour leader has called for a 'mass redistribution of wealth and power' as he encouraged people to sign up on Thursday. In a statement posted on X, the pair said that it is time for a party 'that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements' and 'belongs to you'. At the moment there is no agreement on the party's name, but Mr Corbyn denied that the launch had been 'messy'. The movement has the website with a welcome message saying 'this is your party' – but Ms Sultana said: 'It's not called Your Party.' It comes after Ms Sultana said she was launching the party with Mr Corbyn earlier this month, but the former Labour leader appeared unready to formally announce the move until now. Speaking to reporters, it was put to Mr Corbyn that the party 'looked a bit messy', to which the former Labour leader said: 'It's not messy at all. It's a totally coherent approach. 'It's democratic, it's grassroots and it's open.' He also said that he and Coventry South MP Ms Sultana are 'working very well together'. Asked why it was him alone doing broadcast media to launch the party, and also asked where Ms Sultana was, he said: 'We're working absolutely together on this. 'She happens to be, as far as I know at this moment, in Coventry. 'I was in touch with her just a few moments ago. So it's all fine. We're working very well together, all of us.' An inaugural conference will take place for members to 'decide the party's direction, the model of leadership and the policies that are needed to transform society', the X statement said. Mr Corbyn told reporters that the conference will 'hopefully' take place mid-autumn and that he wants the name of the new project to be 'inclusive' and 'bring people in'. Asked what the new name would be, he said: 'We're going to decide when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive. 'They've been coming in at 500 a minute wanting to support and join the new party.' Mr Corbyn was forced to shield himself with a large black umbrella amid a downpour following a broadcast appearance to announce the new party outside Islington Town Hall. He was stopped at one point by a couple getting married at the venue who said it was 'great' to meet him and asked to take a picture with him, followed by a man who shouted: 'Yes Jezza' at the former Labour leader. Adnan Hussain, the independent MP for Blackburn who was elected last summer, appeared to give his backing to the project, posting an image of Mr Corbyn's and Ms Sultana's statements on X, adding 'let's do this'. A Labour source said: 'The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.' Mr Corbyn led the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020 before being suspended following a row over a report into antisemitism in the party. He was expelled in 2024 and successfully contested the summer election as an Independent candidate. Ms Sultana had the Labour whip withdrawn after rebelling against the Government to vote to scrap the two-child benefit cap shortly after the general election. She resigned her Labour membership in 2025.
Al Jazeera
7 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn launching new left-wing party
United Kingdom lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn has announced he is launching a new political party to run to the left of the Labour party that he previously led. On Thursday, Corbyn and Member of Parliament Zarah Sultana, who both became independents after leaving Labour, announced the new party, which did not yet have an officially registered name but was temporarily dubbed 'Your Party' on its website. In a joint statement, they said it was 'time for a new kind of political party' focused on righting social injustices and combating a 'rigged' system. 'The system is rigged when the government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war,' the statement said, envisioning a party 'rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements'. It further laid out broad policy objectives, including 'mass redistribution of wealth and power' and a commitment to a 'free and independent Palestine'. It's time for a new kind of political party – one that belongs to you. Sign up at — Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 24, 2025 The statement called on supporters to sign up to 'be part of the founding process', adding that an inaugural conference would be held to determine the party's structure of leadership, direction and policies. While the timeline of the party's launch was not immediately clear, the announcement comes when Labour leader Keir Starmer has been haemorrhaging support after his party ended nearly two decades of Conservative rule in last year's July general election. Starmer has faced particular criticism for failing to unify his party behind signature legislation seeking to pare down the country's welfare spending. In the end, Starmer passed a softened version of the bill, later suspending a handful of the Labour rebels who led opposition to the proposed cuts. Starmer has also faced pressure to more firmly reset ties with Israel amid its war on Gaza and to recognise a Palestinian state. The 76-year-old Corbyn, who took control of the opposition Labour party in 2015, had stepped down as leader after a trouncing by the Conservatives in the 2019 general election. The Labour party under Starmer then suspended Corbyn in 2020 after he refused to fully accept the findings of a probe into claims that anti-Semitism had become rampant within Labour's ranks under his leadership. Corbyn maintained that anti-Semitism had been 'dramatically overstated for political reasons'. The avowed socialist, who was one of the most left-wing Labour party leaders in decades, ran as an independent in last year's general election, winning his Islington North seat handily. Sultana, meanwhile, has been a member of parliament for six years, and had been a member of Labour's young, left-leaning flank. She was also suspended from the party in 2024, after she broke from the party in her opposition to a cap on benefits for parents with more than two children. In a post on X on Thursday, Sultana addressed the naming of the new party, which has generated some confusion. 'It's not called Your Party!' she wrote.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party
Former British Labour Party leader Jermy Corbyn said Thursday he is forming a new left-leaning political party to advocate "mass redistribution of wealth and power' and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box. The new formation has a website — — but does not yet have a name. 'It's your party,' Corbyn said. 'We're going to decide (a name) when we've had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive.' Corbyn said he hoped the new party would have its inaugural conference in the fall. Corbyn, 76, led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019, but the veteran socialist campaigner remains popular with many grassroots supporters. and the new party has the potential to further fragment British politics. The long-dominant Labour and Conservative parties now have challengers on both left and right, including the environmentalist Green Party and hard-right Reform UK. Plans for a new party emerged earlier this month when lawmaker Zarah Sultana, who has been suspended from Labour for voting against the government, said she would 'co-lead the founding of a new party' with Corbyn. At the time, Corbyn did not confirm the news. On Thursday he denied the party launch had been messy, saying the process was "democratic, it's grassroots and it's open." A longtime supporter of the Palestinians and critic of Israel, Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 after Britain's equalities watchdog found anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour while he was leader. He was suspended after failing to fully accept the findings¸ claiming opponents had exaggerated the scale of antisemitism in Labour for 'political reasons.' Corbyn was reelected to Parliament last year as an independent. Prime Minister Keir Starmer succeeded Corbyn as Labour leader in 2020 and dragged the party back toward the political center ground. He dropped Corbyn's opposition to Britain's nuclear weapons, strongly backed sending weapons to Ukraine and stressed the party's commitment to balancing the books. Starmer won a landslide election victory a year ago, but has struggled to maintain unity among Labour lawmakers as the government struggles to get a sluggish economy growing and invest in overstretched public services. He has been forced into a series of U-turns by his own lawmakers, including one on welfare reform that left his authority severely dented.
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ex-UK Labour leader Corbyn says he's starting a new left-wing party
LONDON — Former British Labour Party leader Jermy Corbyn said Thursday he is forming a new left-leaning political party to advocate 'mass redistribution of wealth and power' and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box. The new formation has a website — — but does not yet have a name.
