Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana has climbed down from a controversial stance against socially conservative people being members of the new socialist party, after earlier comments sparked a backlash from Muslims online.
In an interview with the Middle East Eye (MEE) outside the Your Party conference venue in Liverpool on Saturday, Sultana responded to a question about views she had expressed back in September.
A clip of Sultana went viral after she told a live audience during a podcast discussion that socially conservative people have no place in the Your Party “period”, referring indirectly to independent Muslim MP Adnan Hussain following a row over his stance on transgenderism on X.
When asked by the MEE about the blowback and whether she now stands by those same views, Sultana clarified that socially conservative people will indeed be active in the party.
“There are socially conservative people in all communities, in the trade union movement and in all parts of society and we are seeking to reflect the whole country and seek their vote so obviously even our membership will reflect that broad base. I don’t deny that.
“I think it is important to highlight that as a socialist party we have to centre the most marginalised. We see a ruling class which divides our communities. It divides Muslims against trans people, against disabled people and against migrants. We have to build coalitions and fight back.”
The climb down comes after the Your Party was rocked by the sudden departure of two Muslim MPs, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed.
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The two left amid bitter internal feuds and factionalism within the party. In a statement posted on X, Hussain bemoaned factionalism and an exclusionary atmosphere.
Hussain also made some alarming claims of “veiled prejudice” against Muslim men within the movement, alluding to possible Islamophobic attitudes among senior stakeholders.
“I have also been deeply troubled by the way certain figures within the steering process, particularly Muslim men, have been spoken about and treated. At times, the rhetoric used has been disturbingly similar to the very political forces the left claims to oppose.
“I witnessed insinuations about capability, dismissive attitudes and language that carried, at the very least, veiled prejudice. This was especially painful given that these individuals, amongst them myself, achieved something remarkable: winning seats, against all odds, in long-established Labour strongholds through sheer grassroots hard work, community credibility and determination, without party machinery or institutional support.”
Speaking to 5Pillars inside the conference hall, fellow Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn confessed that he thought Sultana’s comments were an “unfortunate choice of words.”
“I thought it was an unfortunate choice of words. I do think we need to bring people in and get people to agree on a process where you bring people together. The whole point of a political party is to bring people together and that’s what we are doing.”
Corbyn also told 5Pillars that he regretted seeing Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed quit the party but that he remained good friends with them and that they had wished the Your Party all the best and success in the future.
Before Sultana co-founded the Your Party, she was elected as a Labour MP in Coventry South during the 2024 general election. At the time, Muslims were abandoning Labour over the party’s immoral stance on Gaza and support for Israel.
Sultana stood as a Labour candidate despite calls for all Labour Muslims to abandon the party amid the genocide. However, she did eventually quit Labour in July to start the new party with fellow former Labour MP Corbyn.
Since the launch of the Your Party, the project has become embroiled in a number of scandals with rival factions battling for the leadership and soul of the movement. Corbyn and Sultana have reportedly fallen out so badly over various issues that the two struggle to share a platform with one another at this time.
Sultana created fresh headlines after she boycotted the first day of conference amid a new row over expulsions of hard-left duel membership members of the Your Party, a move which Sultana has condemned as a “witch hunt” against legitimate socialists.
