A New Party's Old Problems
The founding conference of the new left-wing political movement, Your Party, concluded in Liverpool this weekend, but not before exposing significant internal divisions and dated behaviour that threatened to overshadow its launch. The two-day event on the banks of the Mersey was marked by acrimonious disputes, expulsions, and a visible tension between its two most prominent figures, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
Internal Strife and Lexicon Bingo
Delegates and observers were treated to a spectacle of classic left-wing infighting. Anyone familiar with the movement's terminology would have heard all the usual phrases, from 'witch hunt' and 'sabotage' to complaints about 'faceless unelected bureaucrats'. The atmosphere was further charged when a right-wing newspaper reporter found himself unable to access the venue due to a mysterious and unfixable error with his accreditation.
Despite presenting itself as the fresh face of the left, the conference was steeped in dated habits. Attendees were met by a gauntlet of leafleters from a vast array of left-wing factions, including:
- The Revolutionary Communist Group
- The Socialist Workers Party
- The Socialist Equality Party
- The Democratic Socialists
- The Spartacist League
This plethora of groupings led to predictable, yet compelling, political theatre and positional tensions.
Leadership Rifts and Constitutional Chaos
The most significant tension lay between the party's two figureheads. Zarah Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, spent much of the weekend directly accusing figures around Jeremy Corbyn of trying to drum out some of her supporters. Her protest was so severe that she boycotted the first day of her own conference in response to expulsions carried out on the eve of the event.
When questioned about their relationship, Sultana insisted they were friends, noting, "Jeremy came to my wedding." However, the former Labour leader seemed less certain, offering a simple and somewhat brutal response: "we're colleagues."
The internal chaos was exemplified by the Democratic Socialists, who first split from the formal Your Party grouping to align with Sultana's supporters, then split from Team Sultana itself. They initially called for members to reject the founding constitution they had spent 24 hours trying to amend, only to pivot once more and encourage their base to vote in favour.
An Uncertain Future and Electoral Threats
Looking ahead, Your Party faces a critical juncture. Instead of electing a single leader, the party will establish a leadership committee chaired by a rank-and-file member, with four spots reserved for MPs and councillors. This pioneering structure aims to hand more power over policy-making to the grassroots, but it also risks becoming a new venue for further falling out.
This internal warfare matters because the political space Your Party aims to occupy is already contested. The slickly communicated and comparatively collegiate Green Party was frequently mentioned in Liverpool, with many members speaking highly of Zack Polanski. Senior figures were open to exploring electoral pacts on a constituency-by-constituency basis, suggesting that a broader progressive alliance may be the party's most realistic long-term future.
The fundamental question remains: for all the rage directed at Sir Keir Starmer, would the comrades on the Mersey really allow Nigel Farage to slope into Downing Street just to lash out at Labour? As the events of this weekend in Liverpool demonstrated, internecine warfare comes naturally to the left, and old habits die hard.
