The British left appears set to be further divided as far-left former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn officially announced the launch of a new leftist political party with fellow radical Zarah Sultana.
The launch of a new — and apparently still unnamed — leftist party was unveiled on Thursday by independent MPs Corbyn and Sultana, with the party claiming that the only solution to modern Britain’s ills would be to wage a campaign of “mass redistribution of wealth and power.”
In a shot against the populist right and the growing anti-migration sentiment in Britain, the Corbynista party said: “Our movement is made up of people of all faiths and none.
“The great dividers want you to think that the problems in our society are caused by migrants or refugees. They’re not. They are caused by an economic system that protects the interests of corporations and billionaires. It is ordinary people who create the wealth – and it is ordinary people who have the power to put it back where it belongs.”
To do so, the party advocated for “taxing the very richest in our society” and “bringing energy, water, rail and mail into public ownership.”
They went on to call for “a massive council-house building programme” to build new government-owned homes and to stand up to “fossil fuel giants putting their profits before our planet.”
In addition to grievance politics economic policies, the Corbyn-led party also appears to be set to cater to the Muslim vote, which has been a chief goal of the septuagenarian socialist since he was ejected from the Labour Party he previously led. After being kicked out over refusal to admit antisemitism within the Labour ranks, Corbyn stood among the explicitly pro-Gaza candidates to run in last year’s elections.
Corbyn, who has long faced criticism for cosying up to Islamist terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, and Pakistani-Muslim heritage Sultana have been leading voices accusing the British government of being “complicit” in the alleged war crimes by Israel during its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The issue has dogged the Labour government of Sir Keir Starmer, who has seen the once reliable Muslim vote begin to shift away.
“Millions of people are horrified by the governments complicity in crimes against humanity. Now, more than ever, we must defend the right to protest against genocide. We believe in the radical idea that all human life has equal value. That is why we will keep demanding an end to all arms sales to Israel, and for the only path to peace: a free and independent Palestine,” the party said.
Apparent communication failures from the outset have marred the launch of the leftist party. While it was indicated that the new name for the party would be “Your Party” — an apparent nod to the collective ownership favoured by socialists — Sultana came out hours after the launch to correct media reports and declare that it was not, in fact, the name of the party. The Coventry South MP suggested that the members of the party will determine its name at a later date.
This came after Sultana reportedly caught Corbyn off guard by announcing their plans for a new party early, and claiming that she would serve as co-leader alongside her former boss. So far, it has not been officially confirmed whether Sultana will serve as co-leader, but she was given co-billing on the party’s first official statement with Corbyn.
Regardless, whatever their name ends up being, recent polling has found that any Corbyn-led party would immediately secure at least ten per cent support among voters, with young voters in particular favouring the 76-year-old socialist. This would likely be to the detriment of the Labour Party while benefiting Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party.
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