‘Your Party’ Might Not Be Yours For Much Longer

Amid growing dissatisfaction with the current Labour government, messy firings and resignations of top officials, and increased social unrest on both sides of the political spectrum, the promise of a new left-wing party has emerged to shake up the scene even more. (Walker, 2025) Led by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, and operating under the interim name ‘Your Party,’ it promises to fill the gap on the British political left, appealing mostly to disillusioned Labour voters unsatisfied with the rightward turn of their government. However, the bid to unite these voters under a single banner is under threat after a very public split between the two founders in the last few days.

 

The party is led by figureheads of the socialist movement in the UK. Jeremy Corbyn is currently an independent MP of the Islington North constituency, having been first elected in 1983 for Labour. He led the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020 as the official opposition to the Conservative government before being ousted by current Prime Minister and Labour leader Keir Starmer. He holds traditionally left-wing views, and declares himself focused on protecting minority rights as well as opposing nuclear weapons and military intervention. He is the recipient of the 2013 Gandhi International Peace Prize and the 2017 Sean McBride Peace Prize. (Corbyn, n.d.) However, Corbyn has built up a questionable reputation over his lengthy career. Numerous allegations of anti-semitism were brought against the Labour Party under his leadership, in addition to accusations of sexism against Corbyn himself. (Besser, 2019)

 

His counterpart, Zarah Sultana, has also built up a reputation as a critic of the Labour government. She currently sits as an independent MP for Coventry South and was first elected in 2019. (Kaliczak & Sultana, n.d.) She often critiques her former party on social media from a left-wing and pro-Palestinian standpoint, saying, “The Labour Party is dead” and must be “held criminally accountable.” She announced the launch of the new party on social media on the 3rd of July, a move that was seemingly premature and took Corbyn by surprise. 

 

The ‘Your Party’ website opens with the strong claim that “the system is rigged.”  It promises a “new kind of political party” and touches on many of the major political talking points in the UK today, including the cost of living, the NHS crisis, and devotes an entire paragraph to addressing the conflict in Palestine. It also pledges to invest in a “massive council-house building program” to combat homelessness and to “stand up to fossil fuel giants”—there is no elaboration on how this will be orchestrated. (Your Party, n.d.)

 

However, the future of the party remains uncertain after a recent and very public dispute over membership registrations. On September 18, Sultana announced that it was possible to sign up as a member of the party using a “safe and secure” link. Corbyn then dismissed this as “unauthorised”, prompting a fiery response from Sultana in which she claimed that she had been “effectively frozen out of the official accounts”. She declared that she had been subjected to a “sexist boys club”. (Francis, 2025) This split has caused many supporters of the party to consider withdrawing their membership, even though as it stands, the party is still due to host their inaugural conference in November. (Sky News, 2025)

 

The party has been the subject of debate since its official launch in August 2025. Peter Walker, a senior correspondent for The Guardian, argues that the advantage that Corbyn and Sultana have is due to their stance as a hard left party, meaning that there is no need for them to “temper opinions to court the middle ground” as new parties often need to do. He predicts that they will attract mostly “Gaza-focused independents,” although a common concern among the British left is how the addition of a new party will divide the left vote. Walker points out that “even a 5% haul” for the Corbyn-Sultana party could mean the difference between a Labour win and a Reform UK win. (Walker, 2025) Some voters argue that ‘Your Party’ could merge with the pre-existing left-wing Green Party led by Zack Polanski, who has maintained a positive attitude towards this idea while still asserting that it is hard to know how this would work without a clear structure for the new party. (Walker, 2025)

 

Supporters of Corbyn and Sultana are also disappointed after the feud between the two founders. Some see it as “quite embarrassing” and believe that their £5 a month membership fee would be better spent elsewhere. Others declared that the messy split “destroyed a bit of hope” that they had for the party. (Sky News, 2025) Additionally, Green Party membership has surged in the 24 hours since the split. (Walker, 2025)

 

Overall, the public opinion of the Corbyn-Sultana party is distrustful. 66% of the British population say that they would not trust Corbyn and Sultana to form an effective government, (YouGov, 2025) while only 26% view Corbyn favourably. (YouGov, 2025) It remains to be seen how the leaders will respond following this setback, or what the future of ‘Your Party’ is.

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References

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Besser, L. (2019, December 11). Why is Jeremy Corbyn seen as so unelectable by so many British voters? ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-12/jeremy-corbyn-is-most-unpopular-leader-in--british-politics/11786960 

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Corbyn, J. (n.d.). About me – Jeremy Corbyn MP. Jeremy Corbyn. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://jeremycorbyn.org.uk/43-2/about-me/ 

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Francis, S. (2025, September 18). Corbyn and Sultana clash over new party membership. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgkn3v1e7g3o 

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Kaliczak, V., & Sultana, Z. (n.d.). About. Zarah Sultana. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://zarahsultana.com/about/ 

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Morgan, K. (2025, September 2). Your Party announces its presence in Swindon. BBC. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xwvpy437o 

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Sky News. (2025, September 18). 'It's embarrassing' - Your Party members speak out following Corbyn and Sultana clash. Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/its-embarrassing-your-party-members-speak-out-following-corbyn-and-sultana-clash-13433528 

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Walker, P. (2025, July 24). Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana agree to launch leftwing party. The Guardian. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/24/jeremy-corbyn-and-zarah-sultana-agree-to-launch-leftwing-party 

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Walker, P. (2025, July 24). No fear or favours: how Corbyn and Sultana's party could blow up British politics. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/24/no-fear-or-favours-how-corbyn-and-sultanas-party-could-blow-up-british-politics
 

Walker, P. (2025, September 18). Apparent Your party implosion leaves big political vacancy on the left. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/18/apparent-your-party-implosion-leaves-big-political-vacancy-on-the-left 

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Walker, P. (2025, September 19). Green party membership surges after public split between Corbyn and Sultana. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/19/greens-membership-surge-after-public-split-between-corbyn-and-sultana 

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YouGov. (2025, August 19). Political favourability ratings, August 2025. YouGov. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/52795-political-favourability-ratings-august-2025 

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YouGov. (2025, September 11). How do Britons see Jeremy Corbyn and his new party, 10 years since his Labour leadership victory? YouGov. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/52935-how-do-britons-see-jeremy-corbyn-and-his-new-party-10-years-since-his-labour-leadership-victory 

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Your Party. (n.d.). Statement — Your Party. Your Party. Retrieved September 19, 2025, from https://www.yourparty.uk/statement