Your Corbyn/Sultana Party - Discussion thread - Part 2

[fromorbit]

The YP starting conference is in the ACC in Liverpool between 29-30 November so only three weeks off. With competing factions involving Islamic conservatives, every variety of Marxist/Communist, former Labour members, trade union activists, entryists from SWP and SPEW, splitters from the Scottish Greens, trans activists and actual left wing feminists [not the nice kind] it is difficult to underplay how much controversy there is likely to be. So we will need a second thread in advance.

Thus far following the internal drama of the UKs newest left party has taken a whole thread. It has been a wild ride and the party still does not have a name.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5394557-your-corbynsultana-party-discussion-thread

Very interesting snippets here. You have to read between the lines. The conflict in Your Party Birmingham is almost certainly between Muslim members and TAs. Notice the refusal to actually admit to the conflict.

Your Party’s grassroots are losing patience
There is no point affiliating with a party that cannot even define itself

As well as this scattered youth effort, there is the equally confused and under-resourced world of local proto-branches. One local member described the reality of trying to function without the basics: “On a boring level it’s really annoying; trying to set up a bank account, for example, requires a constitution and name but we don’t have any of those practicals.” They summarised it bluntly: “We’re in a limbo.” With no central organisation to refer back to, the entire process has become, “bureaucratically and administratively… a bit of a pain.”

Even where branches do exist, they can be uneasy spaces. A member in Your Party Birmingham described strenuous internal cultural tensions. He mentioned ongoing questions about what role – if any – social conservatism should occupy in the movement, with several younger and queer members leaving the branch as a result, citing recurring issues with transphobia. Older members tend to emphasise sticking together “for the sake of the movement”, while younger activists refuse to compromise on views they see as fundamentally incompatible with their politics. The divide is generational: those who feel unity must be prioritised versus those who believe certain lines cannot be crossed.

https://archive.is/ZixCG

I wonder how the Greens are managing to hold together the same demographic (if they are) and for how long they will be able to do it?

I always find it heartening how many people agree with him on his Facebook page (and they are all on the left).

There's a whole council election in Birmingham next May, with an extremely unpopular Labour administration. Gaza candidates could sweep the board in the predominantly Muslim wards - but I assume they would be Ayoub Khan candidates, whether or not they have the YP branding.

If you want to be a councillor in Birmingham, Ayoub's endorsement will be more valuable than neon hair and pronoun badges.

I suppose there's the option of joining the Greens, who might pick up some gains, but the cold hard fact of Birmingham is that there are loads of socially conservative Muslims and only a smallish number of TRAs.

I wonder where Sultana has got this stuff about nationalising food and turning corner shops into workers' co-operatives from. I can't think it's from her new pals in the SWP – they always used to say the details of how things will actually work will be sorted out after the revolution.

Don't fall into the trap of using the TRA language “socially conservative”. Say “people who don’t believe men are women”.

I don't know what her sudden fixation on food is all about. She doesn't seem to know anything about agriculture or supply chains. I assume it's a brainwave she had while standing in the queue at Tesco.

I assumed she is taking inspiration from Mamdani city owned grocery shops? Then putting the Sultana spin on it.

Sultana’s Sultanas!

The Politics Joe vox pop of YP "youth" at the conference was rather funny. Whether by accident or design, it included:

• Samira Ali, a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers Party, who heads up their "women against the far right" grift
• A member of the Revolutionary Communist Group, best known on the left wing scene for doing Tanzanian folk dancing at demos, which is extremely funny when done by white people who look exactly like Student Grant from Viz
• A young lad from Northern Ireland who is almost certainly a member of the Socialist Party, based on his hand gestures which can also been seen in footage of Miliant meetings from the 1970s
• A couple of young pronoun people with neon coloured hair

I'm afraid that is the sociological base of the Sultana faction.

Must it be a directly financial gain or might it be argued that the gain she sought to secure was that of control of YP? It's a material gain of sorts.

Does she mean things like John Lewis partnership and coop? Both more expensive than other supermarkets/shops!

Does she mean things like John Lewis partnership and coop?

The annoying thing about the Coop now being so bloody expensive is that they have their roots in the sort of co-operatives that Sultana probably has in mind. Co-ops had existed previously but worked along the lines of extending credit to people who didn’t have any money so - surprisingly - they didn’t work. The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers had the idea of banding together to be able to buy in bulk for members and therefore keep prices down. Their principles are what The Co-Operative in the UK is based on, but they are no longer true to them IMO (especially when they got rid of their members’ discount and/or every time I look at a till receipt).

Although in common with Sultana portal / Your Party, co op did mess up their users data

I know! Im a member of the co-op. I havent had my £5 dividend this year either!

Agree

🤣 That's it

Breakdown of YP members per constituency has leaked there is a map.

https://inacioinvita.substack.com/p/yourdataleak-your-partys-membership?

Main take away is could be predicted YP membership is very urban. Also they are going to have an conflicting relationship with the Greens as they have strong membership in same areas. Besides London there are a lot of YP members in Bristol, Sheffield, Norwich and Brighton.

Top 5 constituencies

🟣 Islington North (405)
🟣 Brighton Pavilion (380)
🟣 Liverpool Wavertree (311)
🟣 Liverpool Riverside (303)
🟣 Hackney North (299)

A lot of poorer constituencies have fewer members. Also noticeable is that looks to me that heavy Muslim areas don't have many members. This shows the mostly white demographic at the conference is not surprising.

Even in London, there's a massive dropoff in the outer boroughs.

Clusters outside London showing up in Liverpool or Hastings where they have incumbent councillors with a bit of support beside them - but not in somewhere like Burnley where half the Labour group on the council (the Muslim half) has gone independent but not joined YP.

One of the really glaring things on the map is that the nearest thing they have to a stronghold in Wales is Ceredigion Preseli - that will almost entirely be students at Aberystwyth.

150 members across the two Warrington constituencies is not nothing, but Reform's Warrington branch has around 1800 members by comparison. I'd guess those proportions are replicated across lots of northern towns.

Outside of Islington North, I don't see any areas of strength where the Greens aren't better placed. And if Corbyn decides to retire, there might not even be Islington North.

Sorry if this has already been added to this thread https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/12/05/your-party-hits-back/

Compared to this https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/labour-muslim-conference-uk-government-confronted-over-islamophobia-far-right-and-gaza

One of the really glaring things on the map is that the nearest thing they have to a stronghold in Wales is Ceredigion Preseli - that will almost entirely be students at Aberystwyth.
Aberystwyth has a strong Politics course too, but the students need to move elsewhere for jobs so that membership will likely be redistributed around the country by the next election. Whether YP is something young people want to join by then is questionable when they have The Greens as an alternative.

No surprise about Liverpool there....plenty of committed Socialist activists who still yearn for Corbyn; but as mentioned the Greens are strong too in pretty much the same constituencies.I imagine the youth vote will go Green, and the older vote YP.

From this week’s Popbitch:

In addition to his Your Party commitments, Jeremy Corbyn is currently performing as the “Wizard of Oz-lington” at the Pleasance Theatre, as part of drag panto Wicked Witches. At a show this week during Corbyn’s appearance he mentioned that he’s been “busy founding a new party”. At which someone in the audience immediately yelled “it’s behind you”.

Brilliant!

Megan Kenyon in the Staggers:
Is Your Party doomed to petty squabbling forever? - New Statesman

Scrupulously fair, though I think it's clear that the Corbyn side want an orientation to a mass audience, even if their flaws stop them quite achieving it, while the Sultanates are looking to build a big sect based on ideological purity.

With the qualification, that ideology will be based on whatever is floating through Madam Mao's mind at any particular time.