In an interview with Left Foot Forward, Khan also said that he wanted to see collaboration with the Greens
Members of Your Party are gathering in Liverpool this weekend for their founding conference. Throughout the weekend, party members will be setting the future direction of the fledgling party on a whole host of fronts – from its name to its basic political statement.
Ayoub Khan is one of the four MPs who are members of Your Party – alongside Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana and Shockat Adam. Just weeks ago, there were two additional names on that list, but Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed both left the party in the run up to the event.
Their departures were just a small indication of the scale of division within Your Party. Very public spats between leading members have continued, and the conference itself has been riddled with briefings, counter-briefings, expulsions and more besides. Sultana even decided to boycott the first day of the event, alleging a ‘witch-hunt’ was taking place within the party.
Khan spoke to Left Foot Forward at the conference and said he was ‘disappointed’ about Hussain and Mohamed’s departure. He told Left Foot Forward: “I am obviously disappointed that they’re not part of this conference. I would very much like them to be here.”
Khan then went on to say that he wanted to have space within Your Party to air disagreements. He said: “Ultimately, my personal view is there will naturally be differences but we can all agree to disagree. And there must be space to have that discussion in a very respectful manner. But for me, the key priorities are dealing with some of the bigger challenges where everything else can be secondary and we can have those discussions.”
Reflecting more broadly on the conference, Khan said that it was “very energetic” and “exciting”. He said that Corbyn’s address on the first day was “amazing” and claimed the party was “heading in the right direction”.
What direction is that though? At the time of writing, we are waiting to see the results of the votes from the first day of the conference, including on a key element of the party’s political statement – whether or not the party explicitly describes itself as ‘socialist’.
Khan told Left Foot Forward that he didn’t have a view on this question, but that whatever the decision, Your Party would be a ‘vehicle that can deliver real change and hope’.
He said: “You had the fors and against, and both arguments are compelling. You have some that say that we are naturally socialist but do we need to make that explicit? Are we – by making it explicit – cutting out people that may want to be in this movement. And so, I tell you that from my perspective I’m looking at the wider picture, at some of the challenges that we’ve got in society, the division that’s been created out there.
“I believe that this new movement – Your Party, or whatever it’s going to be called by the end of conference – is the vehicle that can deliver real change and hope and tackle some of the challenges that we have. So I am genuinely telling you that I haven’t got an opinion in terms of what the narrative should be in its documentation.”
The founding of Your Party has come at the same time as the Green Party has seen significant increases in support in the opinion polls and a rapid growth in membership. Left Foot Forward asked Khan whether the Greens were stealing Your Party’s thunder and occupying the territory that they would want to be in.
“Look, naturally we’ve had teething problems and it’s an impact of having teething problems that feel slightly let down and maybe they’ve joined the Green Party,” he told Left Foot Forward.
He went on to say that he would see Your Party as ‘working collaboratively’ with the Greens. Khan said: “There’s always going to be progression and working collaboratively with people which have a common agenda. And I believe that once this movement picks [up] pace that we will be to attract or re-attract those people that have been disenfranchised.”
Pressed on what that collaboration might look like, Khan indicated that he would want to see some for electoral agreement with the Greens in the future.
He said: “I think naturally there will be some form of understanding in terms of how we deal with elections. And for me, its a matter of common sense – this is just my personal view. Obviously, ultimately members will make a decision as to how we go forward.
“But on a personal level I think that when you take Birmingham for example, the city where I’m a member of parliament there are two Green Councillors. And I would understand if we didn’t challenge those councillors and split the vote. I think there’s common sense around that. But how we move forward will ultimately be decided by members.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
