Zarah Sultana has resigned from the UK’s Labour Party after 14 years to lead a new party with former Labour leader and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn.
“Today, after 14 years, I’m resigning from the Labour Party,” she said in a statement on Thursday evening local time.
“Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.”
Sultana cited the Starmer government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza as a reason for leaving, saying that “this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.”
Just for anyone still following this odd developing story, Corbyn has now issued a statement in which he says ‘discussions are still ongoing’ about a ‘real alternative’, but does not say he’s going to be co-leader of anything. This seems to me to match what Jessica Elgot and Gabriel Pogrund were reporting yesterday: that, contra Zarah Sultana’s statement, there’s not (yet) a new party and Corbyn is not co-leader.
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I would be all for a new left-wing party but I don’t particularly think it would be a good idea to have Corbin anywhere near it. As much as I agree with him as a person he’s truly awful at being a politician. He just doesn’t seem to play the game very well.
Him being in an advisory role would be absolutely fine.