Inequality

The United Kingdom’s new left-wing political party, Your Party, cofounded by former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, has become mired in a bitter divide between its leaders.

On Saturday, Your Party cofounder Zarah Sultana said she would skip the first day of the newly formed group’s inaugural two-day conference following a serious disagreement over who could attend.

What is Your Party?

After the UK’s last general election in 2024, which the Labour Party won in a landslide following 14 years of Conservative Party rule, Corbyn and four other left-leaning independents – Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed – formed the Independent Alliance, which focused heavily on taking a pro-Palestine position over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Corbyn, 76, stepped down as leader of the Labour Party following yet another election defeat to the Conservatives in 2019.

Among other issues, Corbyn had long weathered accusations of anti-Semitism during his leadership of Labour, something many described as a “witch-hunt” against him and his supporters.

In 2020, the Equality and Human Rights Commission published its findings that Labour had broken the law on anti-Jewish racism. It partially blamed “serious failings” under Corbyn’s leadership of the party.

In response, Corbyn stated that anti-Semitism was “absolutely abhorrent”, but added: “The scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.”

As a result, he was immediately suspended from the party. He was readmitted in 2020, but ultimately left the Labour Party altogether in 2024 – after nearly 60 years of membership – to become an independent MP.

In late July this year, he announced that he would cofound a new socialist party with fellow independent MP Zarah Sultana, 32, who also became an independent after leaving Labour on July 3. Other members of the Independent Alliance also joined. The aim was to present the new party as a credible left‑wing alternative to the governing Labour Party.

In a statement at the time, Corbyn and Sultana said: “The system is rigged when the government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war.”

The statement added that they envisioned a party “rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements”.

“As a party, we’ve got to come together and be united because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent,” Corbyn said during the inaugural conference, which took place in the northwestern English city of Liverpool and finished with a rousing rendition of Bella Ciao – an Italian antifascist folk song – by attendees.

Why did Sultana refuse to attend the first day?

Sultana announced on Saturday that she would not attend in protest against one of her supporters being denied entry to the event and several others being expelled from the party for also allegedly being members of the far-left Socialist Workers Party.

Sultana told the Press Association news agency: “I’m disappointed to see on the morning of our founding conference, people who have travelled from all over the country, spent a lot of money on their train fare, on hotels, on being able to participate in this conference, being told that they have been expelled.”

She added: “That is a culture that is reminiscent of the Labour Party, how there were witch-hunts on the eve of conference, how members were treated with contempt.”

However, an unnamed spokesperson for Your Party defended the decision to bar members of the Socialist Workers Party. The spokesperson told UK media: “Members of another national political party signed up to Your Party in contravention of clearly stated membership rules – and these rules were enforced.”

Sultana attended the second day of the conference on Sunday, when she apologised for what she described as “hiccups” during the launch of the party.

However, she added, “The expulsions, bans and censorship on conference floor are unacceptable. It’s undemocratic. It’s an attack on members and on this movement.”

What else have the leaders disagreed about?

The fledgling party has been beset by disagreements over several issues.

Funding

In November, senior figures including Corbyn, Iqbal Mohamed, and Adnan Hussain accused Sultana of withholding more than 800,000 pounds ($1.06m) in donations made to the party when it was first announced in July.

Since the party was still in the process of being formally registered as a legal entity, the funds were temporarily collected by a private company called MoU Operations Ltd, which is controlled by Sultana.

The BBC reported on November 8 that an unnamed spokesperson for Sultana said she “is in the process of transferring all funds and data” but was conducting “essential due diligence as part of this process”.

As of mid-November, the party had received a “small portion” of the funds, according to a statement by Your Party leaders. There has not been a more recent update on the status of the remaining funds.

Leadership model

There was a disagreement over how the newly formed party should be led.

While Sultana was pushing for a collective of leaders to reflect grassroots representation – what she terms “maximum member democracy” – Corbyn said a single, traditional leader would be more effective.

In the end, the party voted for a collective of leaders by a narrow margin of 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent.

This means that the party will now be headed by a collective of leaders, which will be overseen by a party member who is not a member of parliament.

Ultimately, many see the problems which have beset the party as being down to a fight for control between Corbyn and Sultana.

The UK media have reported that Corbyn supporters were irritated by Sultana’s decision to hold a pre-conference rally on the night before the conference began. While she called it a Your Party event, they claimed it was organised solely by her.

Party desertions

Several members of the new party, including some working MPs, have already quit as supporters of Corbyn accuse Sultana of trying to undermine him and vice versa. On November 14, Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain announced in an X post that he had decided to leave.

“The culture surrounding the party has become dominated by persistent infighting, factional competition and a struggle for power, position and influence rather than a shared commitment to the common good,” Hussain wrote in a statement.

“Instead of openness, cooperation and outward focus, the environment has too often felt toxic, exclusionary and deeply disheartening,” he added.

After much thought, I have made the difficult decision to step out of the steering process for Your Party.

I wish those who continue to work on this endeavour the very best of luck and hope their hard work achieves the results they desire. pic.twitter.com/zz4EevEIzu

— Adnan Hussain MP (@AdnanHussainMP) November 14, 2025

A week later, Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed also announced his departure.

In a statement posted on X on November 21, Mohamed said: “The many false allegations and smears made against me and others, and reported as fact without evidence, have been surprising and disappointing. However, I am confident that my colleagues and I have acted professionally, patiently, and in good faith throughout.”

My statement on my departure from Your Party. pic.twitter.com/NsoNLHU7xI

— Iqbal Mohamed MP (@iqbalmohamedMP) November 21, 2025