Novara Media@novaramedia
EXCLUSIVE: A group of around two dozen grassroots organisers has launched a surprise bid to lead the new leftwing party, provisionally called Your Party, after a public spat broke out between co-founders Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn.
The group, calling itself Our Party, is drawn from the trade union, tenants’ union, anti-racist and pro-Palestine movements, as well as local Your Party groups. Among them are renters’ union organiser Josh Virasami and Palestine solidarity organiser Jeanine Hourani.
Our Party's petition, which it is calling on members of the public to co-sign, demands that the six Independent Alliance (IA) MPs – including Sultana, Corbyn and the four “Gaza independents” – step back from the leadership and allow members to take over.
“The MPs got us this far, but now it's time to hand over the reins,” the group said in a statement. “The people should take things forward from here.”
“A mass party is nothing until it belongs to the masses,” they added.
The group demands that the leadership of the party be given to a handover committee, including a trade union general secretary, a social movement lawyer and a representative from the climate movement, whose names will be confirmed next week.
Infighting broke out within the new left party this week when an email was sent out to the more than 800,000 people who had registered their interest with the party, inviting them to sign up to join. Corbyn released a statement saying that the email was “unauthorised” and that “legal advice is being taken”.
Sultana later claimed she had acted unilaterally “after being sidelined” by the other IA group members, saying she was the victim of a “sexist boys’ club”.
“We watch with frustration and disappointment the public divisions within the steering group, whose process for constructive resolution has clearly broken down,” Our Party said in its statement.
“The opportunity to build a new mass party truly of the people is quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Far too much is at stake. We cannot waste it.”
