Your Corbyn/Sultana Party - Discussion thread

[fromorbit]

The new left party is going to have significant implications for gender and sex discussions on the left in the UK and in wider political debate as well. Lets talk about it.

Four of its prospective MPs are Gaza independents whose votes and comments in the Commons indicate a social conservative background . One of them Adnan Hussain has already got into a row on X with prospective members over his social conservatism.

The hilarious breakdown of the Islamo-left alliance
The progressive left has suddenly noticed that most British Muslims are not exactly woke.
This uneasy marriage got a reality check last week when a Green Party councillor and practising Muslim, Mothin Ali, appeared reluctant to sign a set of ‘pledges’ on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ Greens, Feminist Greens and other similar groups. The MP for Blackburn, ‘Gaza Independent’ Adnan Hussain, then waded into the debate. ‘It’s no secret that Muslims tend to be socially conservative’, Hussain said. ‘Is there a space on the left to create a broad enough church to allow Muslims an authentic space, just as it does other minority groups?’
https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/08/04/the-hilarious-breakdown-of-the-islamo-left-alliance/

The initial statement for Your Party focuses on poverty, fighting the system and Gaza, but makes no mention of progressive social issues, . This already signals something significant.
https://www.yourparty.uk/statement

Zarah Sultana on the other hand has already signaled out trans rights as a key principal in a recent interview which has received push back from others. Discussion here:

The Elephant in the Room for Zara Sultana’s “Your Party”
https://labourheartlands.com/the-elephant-in-the-room/
But here’s the rub. Sultana also pledged to “resolutely” advocate for a pro-trans socialist programme. She insists these discussions must happen openly and democratically.

That sounds fine in theory. In practice, the left has already shown itself utterly incapable of having this conversation without collapsing into authoritarian cancel culture.

Can the Left Have an Honest Trans Debate Without Cancelling Women?

For years, women who raise legitimate questions about the impact of gender self-ID on female-only spaces, or about the safeguarding implications highlighted by the Cass Review, have been branded as bigots and driven out of the movement. “Demonising trans people” is often code for “asking difficult but necessary questions.” If Your Party repeats this mistake, it will bleed support from countless socialist women before it even begins.

The truth is, many women will not get involved in this project precisely because of the Corbyn–Sultana line on trans issues. Others may hope the problem quietly goes away. It won’t. Nor is this a side issue: women’s rights are not negotiable add-ons to socialism; they are foundational. To ignore them is to build on sand.

TAs online and who are planning to join are already girding up for war, it is looking messy.

I can see a number of factions inside the new party who are going to make things complicated:

Muslim social conservatives - as mentioned they will be a major part of the party's voting bloc.

Old school Marxists who regard gender ideology as neo liberal capitalist identity politics and a distraction from class.

Realists who will see gender stuff as a marginal issue which needs to be sidelined because it is so toxic and unpopular with the general public.

Last but certainly not least actual left wing feminists who see through gender nonsense and are not going to be quiet about it !!

I expect fireworks over gender at the the party's initial conference supposedly to be held in November. TAs will attempt to make genderism a key principal of the party and will face resistance. Whether it happens or not it will be another nail in the TAs attempt to pretend the left inherently back neoliberal capitalist ideas like genderism. The big terfy mother elephant is going to be at the conference because women keep doing awkward things like existing and saying things.

Corbyn's position is going to be a focus in this because for all his occasional signalling on trans issues like stating pronouns and saying mantras it is not a core issue for him, and moreover he doesn't believe in it narrowly . His circles have long contained gender critical people who he has refused to cancel, because Corbyn for all his faults believes in open debate. So I think this could be a wedge issue between those around Sultana and Corbyn. There are already signs of disagreements between them over other issues like antisemitism:
Sultana: Corbyn 'capitulated' on antisemitism definition
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79lr40rqelo

Because the left left have such a history of arguing I'm not sure their party will get anywhere. Our problem is that the left has more of a split vote already, that's why we've ended up with the Tories so many times over the years, even when more voters have voted against them. The right have fewer parties to vote for. So all they're doing is splitting the left votes further. But that's a First Past the Post conversation.
I'm inclined to think that Corbyn will treat GI/women's rights with the light touch he was accused of treating anti-Semitism with.

I can see it being a rerun of Respect in the way it got lots of interest in the beginning before imploding in spectacular fashion. Corbyn may lack some of Galloway's obvious personality flaws, but he's got a few flaws of his own, not least that he's a habitual ditherer who usually agrees with the last person he spoke to.

There's a common assumption (always unspoken, usually unconscious) on the far left that, in this sort of alliance, the far left will be the brains of the operation, write the policies and decide on the strategy, and the Muslims will be NPCs whose role is to show up in large numbers and support whatever the left wants to do.

I think this is even less likely now than it was in the 2000s. Galloway's key insight was that, if Muslims are going to move into being players in British politics, they'll do so on their own terms and not as NPCs for a heavily white, non-religious, hyper-liberal left. The Muslims had enough of that bullshit in the Labour Party, and the far left doesn't even offer the material incentives that Labour does.

Corbyn's position is going to be a focus in this because for all his occasional signalling on trans issues like stating pronouns and saying mantras it is not a core issue for him, and moreover he doesn't believe in it narrowly

Jeremy Corbyn who, at the Durham Miners' Gala in July this year, turned his back on women when they shouted up to him on the balcony of the County Hotel, "‘Do you support women’s right to single-sex spaces?’?

That Jeremy Corbyn?

Yeah that JC.

one thing to note is that Zack Polanski (ex hypnotist) who’s hoping to win the Green Party leaders election is using JC’s new party as reasoning for him to be voted in by the greens.

The one thing you can say in favour of Corbyn on gender is that he's resisted pressure to shun old friends like Lindsey German who are somewhat GC. It's not nothing, because it's become quite a thing in lefty circles to cut off and denounce any friends who you suspect of being a bit terfy, but it's pretty weak sauce, because who's going to cancel Corbyn?

I agree that it's not one of his core issues, and I doubt if he's given much or any thought to it, but look, we know JC of old, once he's picked a position there is no way you will shift him from it.

The best case scenario is that the reliance on votes in heavily Muslim areas will force him to deprioritise genderwoo. Adnan Hussain is worth listening to, because he knows that's not a vote winner in Blackburn.

Likewise, Sultana is planning to do the chicken run from Coventry, where she has no hope of retaining her seat, and it's being trailed that she will run against Shabana Mahmood in Birmingham Ladywood. If she thinks she's going to win Ladywood on a TWAW platform, she is a very silly young woman.

It looks like it’s going to be an interesting mix of TRAs, pro Hamas anti semites and communists.

hopefully having these factions removed from the Labour Party means they can take a more centrist view which actually appeals to voters

In their statement:
The system is rigged when 4.5 million children live in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world.
Why are they picking on Switzerland?

Here are the top countries ranked by GDP per capita (Purchasing Power Parity - PPP) based on IMF data from 2025:

1. Singapore: $156,755
2. Luxembourg: $152,915
3. Ireland: $134,000
4. Qatar: $121,605
5. Norway: $107,892
6. Switzerland: $97,581
7. Brunei Darussalam: $95,758
8. Guyana: $94,258
9. United States: $89,105
10. Denmark: $88,934

And Ireland is up there because of their excellent tax regime for businesses. Reeves should take note.

And the way poverty is measured mans there will always be lots of people in poverty - although 'poverty' might not be what you think it is.

The Labour Heartlands article has been posted to their Facebook page. There are some good comments under it, as well as the usual accusations of bigotry.

Not hard to see this coming really.

I often think the converse is true as well- there seems a lot of crossover between right wing conservatism and mainstream Muslim thought- opposition to abortion and gay marriage, clear gender roles, importance of marriage for children, sidelining homosexuality (so no mention in schools, flags etc.), anti-TRA, importance of religion and religious guidance to the social order.

I suppose economic views and the fact that Muslims are Muslim keeps them apart? But with the move to populist economics maybe not for long?

In the UK I also think the conservatives concentrated on breaking Jews, Hindus and Sikhs from Labour so that may have impacted on their ability to appeal to Muslim voters.

The truth is, many women will not get involved in this project precisely because of the Corbyn–Sultana line on trans issues. Others may hope the problem quietly goes away. It won’t. Nor is this a side issue: women’s rights are not negotiable add-ons to socialism; they are foundational. To ignore them is to build on sand.

That's about where I am. I never thought JC was the worst person in the world, but the comment about him agreeing with the last person he spoke to rings true. I don't think he is very interested in the gender issue. But Sultana is, which is depressing, cos she is clearly a smart woman.

It's not going to get anywhere. Did anyone else read Left Out, the account of life during Corbyn's time as leader of the Labour Party? He was a void of indecision who drove even his closest aides, people like Karie Murphy, mad with his inability to communicate or action anything. He's not a leader.

I will be delighted if the new Corbyn/Sultana party takes a hardline pro-trans viewpoint and sets its policies accordingly. This will put enough clear water between them and the Labour Party - who as they are in Government have to actually pay attention to common sense, have to consider the impact on other minority groups, and have to be cautious what they promise because they don't have anyone else to blame but themselves if they don't deliver, so cannot match the virulent hardline preaching of a minor party with no power. The new party becomes the natural home for fantasists and true believers, and the Labour Party can be handed back to the grownups.

JC is a good constituency MP, and the fact that he managed to get re-elected as an independent is testament to that. But, you are right, he is not a good leader. There are issues that will potentially cause fractures in this new party, and he will not be able to bring people together to resolve these.

Jeremy Corbyn who, at the Durham Miners' Gala in July this year, turned his back on women when they shouted up to him on the balcony of the County Hotel, "‘Do you support women’s right to single-sex spaces?’?
That Jeremy Corbyn?

When he was up for election I took my kids to see him at a rally.
I won't be paying his party or labour the slightest bit of attention now.

This is how I'm viewing the new party atm. It will hopefully remove the people from Labour I won't vote for so make Labour more appealing to vote for again.

Sort of like a safe place to store nuclear waste away from everyone 😂

It is going to be great fun watching the hard left eat itself

This image ( from one of the first anti Israel protests) speaks a thousand words about one of the inevitable fracture points of this new coalition.

Who on earth is that?

I don't know...but the image is a very telling one.

I wonder if his amazing hair is natural, or if he's in disguise.
And why does he look so painfully earnest?

In what way is it telling.

The source, context of where the photo is taken isn't clear.

I thought this thread would be an interesting read, but just seems to be about personalities.

The new party will probably do well, and increasingly so, if Starmer's Labour goes on being the failure it is.

ie in most elections it isn't that a party wins, but that other parties fail.

which is how we landed up with Starmer.

And never forget, that whether you like him or not (I am indifferent) Corbyn won more votes in each of the elections he was Labour leader, than any other.

But because the Tories got more he lost. So in fact in terms of a vote winner JC has a big advantage.

ie Starmer is only in power because so many tories didn't vote tory.

So at the next election we will end up with 3 right wing parties, Reform, Tories & Labour. And the others are more centrist, ie Lib Dems.

And as usual women will be politically homeless.

Some of these figures are estimates, and membership doesn't always turn into votes!

But if these figures are approximately true, a Tory Reform coaltion would only be a few votes more that Labour. And Labour would loose to YourParty.

Tories . . . 123,000
Labour . . . 348,500
LibDem . . . 90,000
Green . . . . 65,000
Reform . . . 234,000
YourParty . 700,000

Well, if we step back and take a look at the landscape:

The Conservatives are moribund at this point. It's not just that Kemi isn't working; they'll probably swap her out for Cleverly and he won't make any impact either. Their history over the past 15 years is a giant albatross around their neck, there's nothing they can do about that, so they're reduced to crossing their fingers and hoping Reform implodes. (Which might still happen, but I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it.)

Equally, I don't see an obvious path to recovery for Labour. Their big problems are the economy, immigration and crumbling public services, and those are likely to be chronic problems with no easy solution. This government already has a definite whiff of the John Major government limping along to its inevitable doom.

Starmer's credibility is shot; Reeves' credibility is shot; McSweeney's whole project is shot. All three might go, but it's almost impossible under Labour rules to depose a sitting PM, and it's likely the successor would be Rayner, who also hasn't shown that she has ideas for turning things around. Labour have done what Boris/Truss/Sunak did a few years ago and alienated almost every part of the coalition that brought them to power.

I feel that the two-party system is on its last legs, and we just don't know who is going to replace Labour at this point.

If Jezbollah gets off the ground, my instinct is that it will do just well enough to damage Labour and severely damage the Greens. If there are sensible people in the Greens they should be thinking about what to do when Polanski's people all go off to support Corbyn.

I also don't believe that Corbyn attracting all the headbangers will give us a sensible Labour Party. It's at least as likely that a Rayner-led Labour would go chasing after the Corbyn vote. Lots of the current PLP would see that as their comfort zone.

So at the next election we will end up with 3 right wing parties, Reform, Tories & Labour. And the others are more centrist, ie Lib Dems.

Respectfully I disagree. At the next GE I think we'll end up with Reform on the right, Conservative and Labour in the middle, (centre right and centre left respectively) and 'Your Party' on the left with the greens and lib dems.

I think the suggestion that Labour are a right wing party is laughable.

Is that membership of YourParty, or people who've signed up to express an interest though

I've signed up to find out more because I'm interested, but it will be a cold day in hell before I voted for them!!!