• Zarah Sultana says their alternative is ‘rooted in justice & equality’
• Group includes MPs Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed
LONDON: In an overnight reshaping of Britain’s political landscape, Zarah Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, has announced she will co-lead the formation of a new political party alongside former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The move signals a break with the Labour Party, which both politicians accused of abandoning its core values.
Sultana declared her resignation from Labour on Thursday evening in a statement that described Westminster as “broken” and accused the two major parties of offering “nothing but managed decline and broken promises.”
She urged supporters to join the duo in building an alternative, rooted in justice and equality.
Though Corbyn has long floated the idea of a more formal vehicle for left-wing and pro-Palestinian politics, Sultana’s announ-cement surprised many within the Independent Alliance, the loose group of five MPs, including Corbyn, who parted ways with Labour mainly over its stance on Gaza. Sources close to Corbyn indicated frustration with the timing of Sultana’s decision, describing it as potentially “premature.”
Still, Corbyn acknowledged ongoing discussions about forming a new political organisation. Speaking on ITV’s Peston, he said: “That grouping [of independents] will come together, there will be an alternative.”
While he declined to label it a party or confirm a leadership role for himself, he reaffirmed a commitment to a political movement centred on “peace rather than war,” tackling poverty and inequality.
The pair’s new initiative has drawn comparisons to rising progressive movements abroad. Economist Richard D. Wolff tweeted: “A new political left is rising… in the US, Sanders-AOC-Mamdani, and in the UK now Corbyn-Zarah Sultana. Finally!”
However, some questioned her focus, accusing her of neglecting local issues in Coventry.
‘Collective leadership’
Corbyn, who led Labour from 2015 to 2020 before being suspended in a row over antisemitism, has been cautious about titles, preferring collective leadership. The new group, which includes MPs Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed, now matches Reform UK and the DUP in parliamentary numbers, and outpaces the Greens and Plaid Cymru.
Last September, Corbyn attended a closed meeting to discuss launching a new party called Collective, intended to challenge Labour’s centrist turn under Keir Starmer.
In an opinion piece, Guardian columnist Andy Beckett noted that Sultana is usually “one of the most effective political communicators” in the UK.
“She has more followers on TikTok than any MP except Nigel Farage. Unlike him, she has an ability to talk with moral force and clarity: about Palestine, inequality, the rightward shift of the government and other issues particularly important to Britain’s large minority of left-wing voters, a neglected electoral bloc since Corbyn’s Labour leadership ended in 2020.”
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2025
