Corbyn and Sultana’s new left party has shared its draft founding documents. Here’s what you need to know
Zarah Sultana MP’s announcement that she would be quitting Labour and co-founding a new left-wing party with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn back in July brought hope for many on the left. But things quickly turned quite messy.
A recap of what’s happened so far
First, Corbyn did not confirm his involvement in the new political venture until the following day, and when he did, he made no mention of co-founding it with Sultana.
Infighting followed in September, before the party had even properly launched. The Independent Alliance MPs behind Your Party confirmed that their founding conference would take place in November.
Sultana had reportedly disagreed with the details about the roadmap to the launch having been published, as she reportedly objected to the conference arrangements committee not being gender-balanced. The Coventry MP then unilaterally launched a membership portal so Your Party supporters could sign up as members.
Corbyn’s team then published a statement saying that the email inviting supporters to join the party was “unauthorised” and that he was taking legal advice. A lot of back and forth ensued. Sultana accused Corbyn and other Independent Alliance MPs (Iqbal Mohamed, Adnan Hussain, Shockat Adam and Ayoub Khan) of subjecting her “to what can only be described as a sexist boys’ club”.
Sultana accused those involved in Your Party of making “baseless attacks on my character” and said she had instructed specialist defamation lawyers against Corbyn and others. She later said she’d dropped the legal action. In the midst of all that chaos, a group of left-wing activists, who aptly named themselves “Our Party” said they were trying to launch a takeover of the party…
Now, with Your Party’s draft founding documents finally released, is the party moving beyond the infighting that nearly derailed it?
The leadership election
Elections for the Party’s leader and Central Executive Committee (CEC) will kick off in January 2026, which the document says is “the earliest practical start time following the founding conference”.
The elections will conclude no later than 31st March 2026. The draft documents state that the party’s first leader “shall serve for a term of no more than 21 months”.
While Sultana originally said she and Corbyn would co-found the party, there will only be one leader. We’ll wait to see who is on the ballot…
How will Your Party be run?
The Central Executive Committee (CEC) will run the party. Like the party’s first leader, members of the CEC will serve for no more than 21 months. There will be 16 members on the committee, which will be gender-balanced.
The leader and four public office holders, including two MPs and two local or regional politicians will also sit on the committee.
In the party’s second year, the committee will review options for the future leadership, meaning there may not be just one leader after the initial 21-month term.
What does the party stand for?
Your Party has yet to set out its policies but has been clear about its core ideologies. It describes itself as a member-led democratic socialist party. It emphasises its anti-war stance, stating that it opposes “a global system of imperial domination, colonisation and exploitation, and supports movements for national liberation and self-determination”.
Your Party is focused on transferring wealth and power from billionaires and corporations to all people.
Will Your Party candidates run in the 2026 elections?
It appears that Your Party will endorse independent candidates rather than field its own in 2026. The draft documents state that Your Party will endorse independent socialist candidates “of good standing” who have the support of their local communities or trades unions branches.
Local members will vote to select candidates, with the Independent Alliance overseeing the process.
Regional assemblies
On Sunday, Your Party held its first regional assembly in Norwich. The party called it “brilliant”, but member reactions were mixed. Norfolk YP said they were notified too late and given “zero clarity” on the event’s purpose.
The party says the purpose of the regional assemblies is for members to debate and shape drafts of the party’s founding documents.
However, attendee Larry O’Hara wrote on Notes from the Borderland that there wasn’t enough time to discuss the documents, and members were given no guarantees around how their feedback would be used.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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