Former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have sparked confusion over the name of their new socialist political party after announcing its launch for a second time with a website called yourparty.uk.
Mr Corbyn, the independent MP for Islington North said the party, which does not yet have a name, would offer an alternative to the “control freaks” of Labour and the “dangerously divisive” politics of Reform UK.
In a joint statement released by Corbyn and Sultana, the pair declared, “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 .. we cannot accept these injustices – and neither should you.”
This is the second time the plan to launch a new left-wing party has been officially announced by the two socialists.
Sultana publicised the plan after quitting the Labour Party on July 3. Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, was stripped of the Labour whip last year for backing a move to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
She said the new party would be formed with other independent MPs and activists, aiming to challenge a “broken” Westminster system.
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Corbyn was slow to respond at first but later officially confirmed the news and has backed the project since.
Asked whether his party would be a re-hash of Labour under his leadership, Corbyn said: “The Labour Party is a very top-down, highly centralised party that is full of control freaks who want to control whatever goes on within the party.
“This is going to be community-led, community-based, grassroot-led, this is going to be very different, and you know what? It’s going to be fun.”
Your party or not?
The statement announcing the launch sparked a wave of confusion and ridicule online over assumptions by commentators that the new party was called Your Party.
Journalists assumed the name based on the name of the sign-up website www.yourparty.uk.
The name Your Party became so widespread that Sultana was forced to tweet a clarification on X, saying: “It’s not called Your Party!” under a post by PoliticsJoe.
Corbyn rejected suggestions the new venture had been haphazardly launched, telling reporters: “It’s not messy at all, it’s a totally coherent approach.”
Asked when they would choose a name for the party, 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.”
He also insisted relations with Sultana were “all fine”, saying “we’re working absolutely together on this” although his co-leader was in her Coventry constituency.
It has been speculated that Corbyn’s team were irritated by Sultana for jumping the gun and announcing the new party ahead of Corbyn. Corbyn has denied these rumours.
The idea for the new party is to be totally democratic, providing members the chance to decide on most aspects of the party’s character including the leadership, direction, party policies and the name of the party.
The votes on the party’s future will be held at an inaugural conference, details of which will be announced at a later date.
The Muslim independents
The independent Muslim MPs who were elected in the last general election by a Muslim-led pro-Gaza ticket have released a joint statement welcoming the move and pledging support to the new party.
“We are proud to welcome our newest member to the Independent Alliance, Zarah Sultana. Together, we are building a new type of political party – one that belongs to you.”
The announcement means that Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohammed, Shockat Adam and Ayoub Khan – the independent MPs for Blackburn, Batley and Drewsbury, Leicester South and Birmingham Perry Barr will also join the new party bolstering its MP count.
The move means that the MPs will no longer be independent. It remains unclear at this stage of the independent MPs have received the blessing of their supporters prior to pledging to the new party.
