Jeremy Corbyn's fledgling hard-left political movement has issued a formal warning to candidates in its inaugural internal election, urging them to avoid launching 'personal attacks' against rivals. This directive follows a turbulent formative period marked by public factional disputes.
New Rules for Committee Candidates
The rules for those seeking a seat on Your Party's new Central Executive Committee (CEC) explicitly demand that all contenders behave in a 'respectful, comradely, and non-abusive manner'. Nominations for the powerful committee opened today.
This committee will assume responsibility for running the party after members voted to block sitting MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn himself, from serving as the leader. The online rules state: 'Candidates shall refrain from personal attacks during the election', applying this standard to both party meetings and social media conduct.
Background of Factional Clashes
The call for civility comes directly after months of internal strife. In December, interim leader Jeremy Corbyn and his allies clashed sharply with fellow former Labour MP Zarah Sultana. The dispute escalated to the point where Sultana accused the Corbyn camp of operating a 'sexist boys club'.
The party's inaugural conference in Liverpool in early December, described by some attendees as a 'sh**show', was characterised by infighting, disputes over Palestinian policy, and was followed by months of what insiders termed 'bad vibes' and factionalism.
A New Collective Leadership Model
The upcoming election stems from a pivotal constitutional decision. Members narrowly voted against having a single elected leader, opting instead for a collective model championed by Zarah Sultana. 51.6% of the more than 9,000 voting members supported the proposal, which places a committee of ordinary members in charge and bars MPs from standing for it.
Sultana, who left Labour in July vowing to co-lead the new party with Corbyn, called the decision 'exciting', stating she had 'fought for maximum member democracy since day one'. Her proposed co-leadership model was itself blocked from consideration by the membership.
The election process is set to take the best part of two months, with results announced at the end of February. In his new year message, Jeremy Corbyn declared that 2026 would be 'the year we demonstrate a radical, socialist alternative'. However, after a fractious 2025, the nascent socialist party will likely be hoping for a quieter and more unified run-up to that goal.
