‘With Your Party gaining ground faster than both Labour and Reform combined, there is real hope again.’
Six Independent councillors in Hasting and one Labour councillor in Coventry have said they will join Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new party, which is currently operating under the temporary name ‘Your Party’.
One of the councillors, Grace Lewis, becomes the first sitting Labour councillor to quit Labour and join ‘Your Party’.
In a statement she posted on X earlier today, Lewis said she will now sit as an Independent, and pledged to help Sultana and Corbyn in setting up their new political party.
Lewis said: “Rather than address the real crisis facing people in our city, they have chosen the side of the rich and powerful. They have joined Reform in targeting minorities, including migrants and trans people, all whilst being active participants in the genocide in Gaza”.
On Tuesday, six Independent councillors in Hastings announced on the Hastings Independents Group on Facebook that they have “formally joined” Your Party.
All six councillors resigned from the Labour Party in December 2023.
Group leader councillor Paul Barnett said that the amount of sign-ups Your Party has had since Corbyn and Sultana announced it “shows the country has been crying out for a real alternative”.
He said: “In Hastings, stepping outside the party whip has allowed us to challenge bad decisions more freely from opposing the criminalisation of homelessness to standing with our Muslim communities in the face of local and global hostility.”
Barnett added: “With Your Party gaining ground faster than both Labour and Reform combined, there is real hope again. We look forward to building strong alliances with trade unions, grassroots organisations, and other progressive movements to shape a more equal, compassionate and accountable politics here in Hastings and across the UK.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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