Jeremy Corbyn's recently formed Your Party could contest the 2028 London mayoral election, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
The former Labour Party leader, who now heads the left-wing party, said he will hold talks with the Green Party and various independent groups about election strategy in 18 months' time.
Talks with Greens and independents planned
In an exclusive interview with the LDRS, Mr Corbyn told My London's podcast The London Brief: "We'll be in discussion with the Greens, with the various independent groups around London – and earlier this year in the council elections, we worked very closely with independent groups supporting their candidates."
He added: "We worked with the independents in Enfield, in Redbridge, in Newham, in Tower Hamlets, as well as many outside London including in Kirklees, in Blackburn, Southport, and so on. And so I think we'll be in discussion with them about how best to approach the Mayoral election."
Zack Polanski's Green Party is the only major challenger not to have started its candidate selection process yet. Reform UK has selected Laila Cunningham, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are expected to choose their nominee by early 2027.
Party growth and branch expansion
Your Party candidates contested only five wards across four London boroughs at this year's local elections, and none were elected, with the Green Party taking most of the progressive vote in the capital.
However, Mr Corbyn said Your Party has seen steady growth in London and will soon have branches in 20 boroughs. "That's two-thirds of London, and then we'll move on from there," he said, adding: "The principle behind the branches is they've got to be locally open campaigning branches, local forums with the involvement of the community."
This includes established independent groups such as the Redbridge Independents and Aspire in Tower Hamlets, the party of Mayor Luftur Rahman. Your Party branches will work with such groups to develop "pan-London policies ahead of the 2028 Mayoral election", Mr Corbyn confirmed.
Potential candidacy and next steps
Khalid Sadur, the Your Party branch officer for Enfield, said: "We're still a new party – it takes a lot of effort and time to build up the infrastructure. I absolutely want a Your Party candidate [to be there] for people to be able to vote for in 2028."
In 2023, Mr Corbyn told an event at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival he would "have a think" about standing as an independent candidate for City Hall himself. He would not rule out running for another term in office, telling the LDRS: "I'm here with the people."
Should the current Mayor of London, Lord Sadiq Khan, decide not to stand for a fourth term, the Labour Party race to succeed him is expected to be wrapped up in the spring.
