Your Party woes continue as another MP quits Corbyn and Sultana’s project
A second MP has left the party of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana and returned to serve as an Independent MP, dealing another blow to the chaotic alliance.
Iqbal Mohammed’s departure comes just a week after Adnan Hussain said he was withdrawing from the “steering process” of the new party backed by Jeremy Corbyn, citing concerns about factionalism and “implicit bias” against Muslims.
Your Party, which has not yet even received an official name, has been torn apart by internal strife and divisions almost since it was announced earlier this year.
But the loss of just four more MPs left comes at a difficult time, just a week before the party’s first annual conference begins.
At the event to be held in Liverpool, members are expected to decide whether to elect co-leaders with the support of Sultana, whose relations with other parts of the party have been problematic for months.
Insiders said in September Independent He said “diplomatic efforts” were continuing within the new left group to bridge differences between Corbyn and Sultana.
It comes after she complained she was being exposed to a “sexist boys’ club” amid a dispute over the new membership system.
In a statement, Mr Mohamed said: “After careful consideration, I have decided to leave your Party and continue my service as I have been elected as an Independent Member of Parliament for Dewsbury & Batley.
“The many false allegations and smears made against me and others, passed off as fact without evidence, are surprising and disappointing. However, I am confident that I and my colleagues have acted professionally, patiently and in good faith throughout this process.”
Mr Hussain, MP for Blackburn, said he initially agreed to support the launch of your Party because he believed in “building a political home with mass appeal” and a “force that could challenge the rise of far-right rhetoric”.
But in a statement published on
The latest departure is the latest blow to a party that has been stumbling almost since its founding, from the moment Ms Sultana announced she would form a new left-wing political party with Mr Corbyn and he did not appear ready to confirm that was the case.
It was also reported that Blackburn clashed with Mr Hussain, the Independent MP, over their differing views on transgender rights.
At the same time, the party gained momentum, with more than 750,000 supporters registering at one point.
Pollsters also warned Labor that the new group posed a threat and could take significant numbers of votes.
The Discover Now poll suggested your party would come in third behind Labor on 15 per cent each, with Reform on 34 per cent and the Conservative Party on 17 per cent.
Luke Tryl, of pollster More in Common, told the Independent in August that the prospect of a new party led by Corbyn was doing very well in the polls, “taking 10 per cent of the vote from Labor and the Greens”.
Leading pollster Sir John Curtice also said Labor was “vulnerable to the left”, adding that the Greens “got their votes that way” at the last election.
But he also added a note of caution, saying: “I’m waiting now to see whether Corbyn can get his act together and manage to create a political party with some thought and organization behind it.”
This is breaking news. More to follow…
