Within hours of Jeremy Corbyn’s callf for unity, the conference was thrown into chaos as former Labour MP Zarah Sultana boycotted the first day and rallied against a members’ ‘witch hunt’
Your Party organisers had hoped to turn the page on toxic rows.
At its founding conference over the weekend, ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn issued a plea for unity. “We’ve got to come together,” he told over 2,000 delegates in an opening speech.
There was one inaudible heckler but there was no storming of the stage as rumoured in the party that has been dogged by in-fighting since its summer launch. Rows over donations, a botched membership launch and the departure of two of the independent MPs – Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed – have been a gift to the Greens.
Mr Corbyn – who last appeared on the same stage in the Liverpool ACC arena in 2018 as Labour leader – warned the crowd against “division and disunity”. He said: “This is our opportunity and our time. We are going to seize it with both hands, build that party, build that society, and campaign forevermore for real socialism and real social justice.”
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But within hours the conference was thrown into chaos as former Labour MP Zarah Sultana – who launched the party this summer with Mr Corbyn – made a brief appearance outside. She said expulsions from the party’s ranks on the eve of conference were “disappointing”. One of her supporters, Kingston councillor James Giles, was also denied entry.
“We’re not here to expel people – we’re not here to build the culture of witch hunt,” she told a scrum of assembled journalists. One activist shouted: “We love you Zarah!” Another added: “Corbyn and Sultana – shame on both of them. No confidence in both of them. Not again.”
After photographs with activists, she then sparked confusion as she headed in the opposite direction of the conference centre. Her spokeswoman later explained: “Zarah met members outside the conference and condemned the recent expulsions. This witch hunt is indefensible. We must build a party that welcomes all socialists. She will not be entering the conference hall today.”
The temporary boycott ended the following day as Ms Sultana took to the conference stage to deliver her keynote speech – apologising for “hiccups” in the founding process. “Some of that is my fault, and for that I am sorry,” the MP conceded. But there was also stinging criticism from unnamed figures “at the top” of the new party over expulsions.
She said some activists had “travelled across the country, took time off work, booked hotels, spent hundreds of thousands of pounds they could not easily spare – discovered that they had been barred”.
But she was jubilant from the result of the members’ vote on a new leadership structure. They had rejected the traditional single leadership model – favoured by Mr Corbyn – and instead opted for a committee of “ordinary members” to lead the party until late 2027.
Concluding the inaugural conference on Sunday, Mr Corbyn also took the stage for a final time to announce the result of members’ vote for the party’s official name. Options included its holding name since the summer – “Your Party” – alongside other options, including “Our Party”, “Popular Alliance”, and “For the Many”.
Mr Corbyn said: “We have a party, we have rules, we have a constitution, we have enthusiasm, we have commitment, we have principles. And, above all, we have a name. Your Party is the name of Your Party.”
But he also had another call for unity to delegates as they press ahead with a new model of leadership alien to Westminster. He said: “It is important that we all absolutely work together on all of this and recognise what we say and what we do has huge implications for people all over this country.” It remains to be seen whether he’s listened to this time round.
