A Jeremy Corbyn-led Your Party will work with the Green party and others to push for a “coordinated left-flank offensive” against Reform and Labour, the Guardian understands.
After winning a comprehensive victory to become the de facto leader of the leftwing startup party on Thursday, Corbyn will seek to rebuild bridges with pro-Gaza communities “alienated” by his rival Zarah Sultana, sources close to Corbyn said.
Corbyn will become Your Party’s parliamentary leader, after an election in which Sultana was also voted on to the party’s leadership committee under its collective leadership model. Corbyn-backed candidates took 14 of the 24 available places on the party’s central executive committee (CEC). Sultana-backed candidates took seven of the seats and three went to independents.
After an acrimonious two-week election period, Your Party announced that 25,347 people had voted out of 40,985 verified members, a 61% turnout.
Corbyn said it was time for the “real work” to begin and that the movement had to come together to defeat “the fear, divisiveness and racism of Reform”.
“I am delighted that members have voted for a mass, socialist party that takes the fight to Starmer and Farage,” he said. “Now, the real work begins. We have a precious opportunity to unite our movement around a bold vision for this country – one that creates a more caring, equal and peaceful world for all. I look forward to working with all members to make this vision a reality.”
The veteran socialist hopes to move on quickly from damaging rows and infighting in Your Party which have marred its eight-month existence. “Your Party will not view the Greens as enemies moving forward, or people to target. Jeremy believes in working together with others on the left, in a coordinated left-flank offensive,” said a source.
They insisted that despite the setbacks Your Party has experienced since it was launched, support would grow with Corbyn as leader. “Zarah alienated many people in Muslim communities by saying things like there was no place for social conservatives in the party, and we need to rebuild that trust,” they said.
“With the collapse in the traditional Labour vote there are people who are pro-Gaza or who feel abandoned by Labour who are looking for a political home, and Your Party can be that home.”
Despite the decision to govern the party using a collective leadership model, the election was widely seen as a battle for its future, with different visions offered by the co-founders Corbyn and Sultana. Both put forward a “slate” of candidates, with Corbyn’s “The Many” slate seeking to appeal to a broader coalition of leftwing voters and “campaign on the big issues”, such as the cost of living and Palestine.
Sultana’s “Grassroots Left” slate offered a narrower ideological vision, emphasising the need for “maximum member democracy”, and cautioned against the danger of “Labour 2.0” if Corbyn’s camp won. Candidates with no affiliation also stood, with some complaining that independent voices had been crowded out by the two big names.
After the result, there was little sign of an end to the conflict that has dogged the party, with Sultana’s Grassroots Left issuing a statement saying there must be “no more witch-hunts or stitch-ups” and calling for the reinstatement of its members who had been expelled.
Sultana, who has fallen out with Corbyn on a number of issues in the past six months, including over the launch of Your Party and the gathering of funds from a membership portal, said that while her Grassroots Left slate had not secured “the result we hoped for” it had “sent a clear message”.
She added: “Now is the time to work together. The stakes are too high. With fascism growling at the door, we must take the fight to the country on the cost of living crisis, the housing emergency, the climate emergency and in standing firmly against genocide and injustice wherever it occurs.”
Sultana said she remained committed to “building a socialist, anti-imperialist, anti-Zionist party”, adding: “The work continues – together.”
Sources close to Sultana said she had no intention of quitting the party, despite Corbyn’s victory. “She will stay and fight,” they said. “She’ll be fighting with the other seven women that have been elected from Grassroots Left to make sure that the party is as democratic as it can be and to give as much power to the members as ‘The Many’ will allow.”
The 24-person CEC, on which 20 women will sit, will decide who takes the roles of chair, deputy chair, secretary, treasurer, political officer and spokesperson. After months of public spats, rows over money, accusations of sexism and rifts over policy and direction, Your Party is hoping to turn a page on the controversies that have beset it since its launch in July last year.
After the result, the former Your Party MP Adnan Hussain said he was “delighted” at Corbyn’s victory, though he stopped short of saying he would rejoin the party. “The results clearly demonstrate members’ trust in his leadership and vision for the party, the same vision which inspired me to join the project,” he said. “I wish him the best of luck in putting into action his vision for a mass movement for the many.”
