On 24 July 2025, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana launched their website for a new party with the working title of ‘Your Party’. The call from the left-wing former leader of the Labour Party and suspended Labour MP – now resigned from the Labour Party – Zarah Sultana is clearly aimed at left-leaning voters, disaffected with the direction of the Labour Party under its right-wing, authoritarian leader Keir Starmer.
Within 24 hours 230,000 had signed up to express interest in Your Party. Various reports put that figure now at over 300,000 and growing by the minute.
This is a tidal wave of potential members, showing massive support for a left-wing alternative to the Tories, Reform UK and the Labour Party.
Labour’s pro-business and anti-benefits policies, combined with Starmer’s support for Israeli actions in Gaza, and Labour’s proscription of Palestine Action and suppression of protest with the arrest of protesters, have caused outrage amongst former Labour voters and others.
How should socialists respond?
Those of us who want to argue for democratic common ownership and production for need, not profit, [i.e genuine socialism/genuine communism] should welcome this development. It shows the desire for an alternative, for change – not more of the same.
It is a rejection of Starmer and Starmer’s Labour Party.
But how left-wing will the new party be? How socialist will it be? What programme will it adopt? How democratic will it be?
Who is drawing up the plans for its constitution, its founding conference, and its programme. How will the membership be involved in all this?
What structure should it have? What rights will members have? How will branches be organised? How will parliamentary and local candidates be selected? How will they be accountable?
Those of us who want to see the end of capitalism, and the creation of a new socialist society [real socialism/genuine communism] based on full democracy in every aspect of society, including democratic collective ownership of the economy, have the opportunity to argue for our ideas to a massive audience which is looking for answers.
This audience will include many former Labour members, trade union members, and anti-climate catastrophe and anti-poverty activists. It will include tens of thousands of young people horrified and enraged by the genocide in Gaza and the clamp-down on protest by Starmer’s Labour Party.
We must argue for real democracy in the new party now, as it is being built.
We must put forward clear policies for socialism. We cannot be satisfied with the mild left-reformist programme of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party manifestos of 2017 and 2019, but argue for policies that call for the complete abolition of the capitalist system. The new party must reject any ideas of managing capitalism.
What lessons can we learn from Jeremy Corbyn’s period as leader of the Labour Party? What did you think about Momentum, which may be put forward as a model for the new party?
How do you think socialists=communists should respond?
Will McMahon of the Network of Independent Socialists will introduce a discussion on Monday 28 July at 7.30pm on Zoom. This is the Zoom link.
It is perhaps the most important development for socialists in Britain in a very long time.
Don’t miss it!
Come along and join the discussion. Let us know what you think.
In Facebook discussions on the New party there is already an intolerence towards Socialists and communists from the supporters of a lowest common denominator old Labour politics for the new party. This party is not for you or is not your bag and so on. And this comes from people arguing for a broad party, but not broad enough for Socialist and communists.
As Communists/Socialists we do not go with the Social Democratic flow. We campaign to persuade members of the party to become Socialist/Communists and attempt to make the politics of the new Party Socialist. The nostalgia for the welfare state and the post war settlement will not be political effective. The political and economic circumstances are vastly different today.
Talking vaguely about Public ownership without specifying its nature and extent is a unrealistic attempt, to repeat the limited state ownership of some sectors of the economy while leaving the rest of the economy in Capitalist hands. Again this is totally inadequate to deal with failing British Capitalism. The aim should be to abolish Capitalism not manage it.