ISp statement
On July 24th MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zara Sultana together launched an initiative for a new mass left party for England, Scotland and Wales. “Your Party” attracted nearly 800,000 people in a wave of enthusiasm and determination in a matter of weeks.
Unfortunately, just 57 days later, Your Party went into a full-blown crisis. Corbyn and Sultana publicly attacked each other on September 18th after the latter opened an online portal to allow for the payment of membership fees for the new party-a party still without a name, structures or policies. Within a few hours, 20,000 had taken this first step, only then to receive an email from Corbyn and the four Independent Alliance MPs who also back Your Party not just disowning Sultana’s initiative but declaring her step to be “illegal” and indicating that she had been reported to the Information Commissioner. Sultana hit back at what she describes as a “sexist old boys’ club” and sought legal advice for alleged defamation. On September 21st she announced that she was not going to pursue a legal case and appealed for a unified appraoch.
It seems likely that Sultana and her supporters lost patience with Corbyn and those around him, who are interminably slow decision makers, and decided to take the initiative. This seemed to “work” before: on July 3rd she announced that she was leaving the Labour Party and forming a new party with Corbyn, apparently without informing Corbyn that she was doing so. Corbyn was visibly annoyed, but his hand was forced, and the result was the joint announcement of July 24th. If Sultana thought, she could force the pace for a second time she badly misjudged the response from Corbyn. She had attacked Jeremy Corbyn’s decisions and policies when he was Labour Party leader in an interview after July 24th in an unnecessary and provocative step. This interview set the scene for the bad-tempered exchanges on September 18th. Trust had been lost, and whatever the rights and wrongs her unilateral step was likely to be met with a robust response.
The result was that Your Party was thrown into a crisis with hundreds of 1000s of supporters disappointed and disillusioned. Some walked away immediately but the vast majority continue to hope that the differences between the two groups will be reconciled and that a united drive for a new party can recommence. Even if this is achieved there is a real danger that residual distrust will remain, and it will be very difficult to build again to the previous levels of enthusiasm and confidence in Your Party. Nevertheless, that is what supporters of the party must all collectively strive for.
There has never been a greater need for a broad left alternative. The Starmer Government is arguably the most right-wing Labour government ever. Whilst it was elected with a large majority, its share of the total vote was the second lowest ever for an incoming government. Its victory resulted not from enthusiasm for Labour but from revulsion at the Tory party –its vote dropped to its lowest ever– and the splintering of the vote in several different directions. The far-right populist Reform UK returned MPs for the first time ever, the Green Party grew from one MP to four, and the four Independent Alliance MPs were elected, largely in opposition to the genocide in Gaza. Corbyn himself, standing as an independent after being expelled from Labour, retained his seat.
In recent opinion polls the historic parties of government, Labour and the Conservatives, are together only winning 40% of the vote. At the last election they won an historic low of 53% between them, whereas across the previous three elections they took 75-85%. If there was an election tomorrow, Reform UK would be the largest party and could form a far-right government in alliance with the rump Tories.
The many hundreds of 1000s of supporters of Your Party deserve better. Compromise is very difficult however because of the words and actions from each side. There should be no rush to judgment in the short term about the relative merits of the Sultana or Corban groupings. Each has strengths and each hasweaknesses. To say that Sultana is definitely to the left of Corbyn is misjudged. Time will tell, and in the short term, we have to accept the comrades act in good faith and the best interests of Your Party as they see it.
Sultana, Corbyn and their support teams should sit down and discuss the way forward urgently. Key trade union figures who are supportive of Your Party, and other genuine and experienced figures on the left should be brought into the room. The aim should be unity around the basic principles of a new broad party and agreement on moving forward on the basis of a genuine democratic approach. Compromise is essential and part of that must be agreement to avoid unnecessary divisive words and actions. This does not mean that we stop discussing politics, of course, but all discussions must take place in a comradely atmosphere of genuine discussion and listening.
Establising firm democratic structures whenthere are, as yet, no members and no branches of the new party is difficult, but achievable. It is commendable that in many towns and cities, meetings have been held to establish proto branchesand it should be possible, through a process of town and citywide meetings to elect delegates to a conference in the coming months. A delegate-based conference is the best way forward, but it is also important that a place is given for groups and platforms which are committed to a unified approach, and which helped through to get us to this point.
The first conference could decide on the party name and basic structures and a basic platform but postpone the more complex discussions to a second conference, by which time formal branches, constituency parties and regional parties will have been established. By then, a delegate structure would have stabilized and will be representative of the large mass membership.
In the early days of building a new party on this scale, there will inevitably be confusion. It will take time to settle on policies, and initially, effort should be around a basic program centred on class demands. Other issues, especially those which we know in advance will be contentious, can be settled at a later stage. A broad party must allow for dissent from day one and not exclude working class activists by an insistence on fixed positions which require debate and discussion.
The policies of the newly elected Starmer government means that any faint hope that Labour would deliver have been dashed. It is increasingly clear that the despair of many working-class people is driving the rise of the far-right Reform UK in opinion polls. The need for a new party for working class and radicalised young people has never been clearer, and it is to the credit of Corbyn and Sultana that they took the initiative.
It still remains possible for a unified party to contest the local elections in England next May and the Welsh and Scottish elections, but time is not on our side. The workers movement and young people deserve better than what they have witnessed in recent days. A transformed approach from all sides, with a renewed sense of comradeship and determination to defeat our real enemies, can see us through this crisis. History will not easily forgive those in charge if they do not collectively seize the time.
