Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is in discussions about creating a new left-wing political party, hours after MP Zarah Sultana announced she was leaving Labour to co-lead the project. Sultana, the MP for Coventry South who had the Labour whip suspended last year, stated on Thursday night she would “co-lead the founding of a new party” with Corbyn.
Corbyn, the MP for Islington North who was blocked from standing for Labour at the last election, expressed delight at Sultana’s “principled decision” and said “the democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape”. However, he is understood to be reluctant to take the title of leader, preferring collective decision-making to avoid fragmenting the coalition of like-minded MPs.
Sultana’s departure makes her the sixth member of the Independent Alliance of non-party-aligned MPs, which includes Corbyn, giving the group a larger Commons presence than the Greens or Plaid Cymru. Polling by More in Common suggests a left-wing bloc focused on Gaza, poverty and the cost of living could attract about 10% of Labour’s 2019 supporters in urban seats.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and veteran MP Diane Abbott both said on Friday they would not be joining the new party. A Labour source responded: “The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn-led party.” Meanwhile, Reform UK figures welcomed the prospect of the left-wing vote splitting further, and the Green party has stepped up campaigns urging disgruntled left-wing voters to join them.
Sultana’s announcement took some on the Labour left by surprise and was seen as premature. She criticised the Westminster system in a statement, saying the “two-party system offers nothing but managed decline”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper dismissed the accusations, noting Sultana had “taken a very different view” on several issues.
