Former Labour Party leader and Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is launching a new political party.
Corbyn has issued a joint statement with Zarah Sultana, who recently quit Labour to become an independent, saying: “It’s time for a new kind of political party – one that belongs to you”.
The pair are encouraging people to sign up to get involved in building “a real, democratic alternative rooted in communities up and down the country”.
Labelling the current political system as “rigged”, they are inviting supporters to an inaugural conference “to be part of the founding process”.
Child poverty, giant corporations making “a fortune from rising bills” and the government saying “there is no money for the poor, but billions for war” are among the issues highlighted in the letter.
“We cannot accept these injustices and neither should you,” it adds.
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana come from very different political generations – Corbyn’s been an MP for almost half a century, Sultana for only six years.
But they share a conviction that there is an energy on the left of British politics on which they can capitalise.
In their statement they say that the inaugural conference will determine the party’s policies.
But their placement on the political spectrum is clear: to the left of the Labour Party on tax, nationalisation and immigration; and significantly more anti-Israel.
Their declared ambition is to “take on the rich and powerful – and win”.
But at a general election even a fairly modest share of the vote could leave Labour at risk of losing quite a few seats, even if not directly to the new party.
Their first test may come sooner. The party now seems likely to be up and running in time for the local elections in May 2026, which include council elections in London and other cities which are likely to prove the most fertile territory for this party of anywhere.
Although the website for people to sign up is called Your Party, this appears to only be a temporary name, as the site also says “Your Party – and the new party that develops from it”.
Sultana tweeted: “It’s not called Your Party!” to a media report of the launch on X.
Your Party is also not currently registered with the Electoral Commission, which is required in order to field candidates for elections.
The letter gives a flavour of the policy direction supporters can expect, talking about a “mass redistribution of wealth and power. That means taxing the very richest in our society”.
Sultana was one of a dozen MPs on Labour’s left flank who have been calling for a wealth tax, including before the Chancellor’s first budget.
The letter also talks of nationalising energy, water, rail and mail, keeping the NHS “free from privatisation”, and “investing in a massive council house-building programme”.
The new party appears to support moves to tackle climate change, protecting the right to protest, and an end to arms sales to Israel.
Rumours of a Corbyn-led party have been rumbling for months but Sultana appeared to have jumped the gun when she quit the Labour Party at the start of this month and announced she would be co-founding a new party with him.
Sultana was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party last year, along with six other MPs, when she voted against the government to back scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
Although four of those Labour MPs returned to the party, former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Apsana Begum have not.
That led to speculation about whether McDonnell could re-join his former leadership partner, although this has been ruled out to date.
Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 but successfully stood as an independent candidate in the 2024 general election.
He has since been coordinating a small group of four independent MPs, who share similar views on the Israel-Gaza conflict, and are expected to form the core of any new party.
