Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, the pair spearheading a new leftwing party, have fallen out publicly over a membership portal the former Labour leader said had been set up without approval.
From being unsurprised to hopeful for the party’s future, six people share their views on the split and what they think will happen next.
‘Corbyn and Sultana are not afraid to speak up. It’s great, but in this case it won’t help us’
I’m a member and I’m not surprised by what’s happened. My dad was a south Welsh miner and my first involvement in politics was the miners’ strike when I was a teenager. I have always been left wing. I joined the new party yesterday before it all kicked off. It was them or the Greens but I feel the Greens are primarily focused on the environment. The thing is, Corbyn and Sultana are people who are not afraid to speak up. It’s great of course but in this case it won’t help us.
There will be a new leftwing party in whatever guise. It might not be this one right now but there will be something – there has to be for people like me. I was a member of the Labour party until two years ago but I can’t go back to them at the moment. Like many others, I need a voice and this new party is that for me, whatever form it takes.
Dave Ricketts, 56, logistics manager, Warrington
‘I still want to join the party, but I’ll wait’
I still want to join the party because I think Jeremy Corbyn’s great, but I want to wait until it’s more stabilised and they’re not fighting. It just seems crazy to me. It is disheartening that egos and arrogance come before rising to the challenge of creating a potentially huge, all-changing movement that so many people have been desperately waiting for. Why didn’t they sort it out behind the scenes and then present something? For Zarah Sultana to publicise the infighting seems to be unprofessional. Aren’t they trying to achieve something bigger than that?
Gina, 68, Devon
‘If this party can’t run a membership portal, how can they challenge the far right?’
I am a former Labour member and voted Green in the last election in a safe Labour seat. I would have voted Labour in a swing seat, but now I feel somewhat politically homeless on the left. That Corbyn and Sultana could not agree over a membership portal seems symptomatic of the two core difficulties that the left seem unable to escape: factionalism and poor organisation.
It is essential that the left jettisons Corbyn. I was sympathetic to many of his domestic policies at the time of his leadership, and voted for him at the time. But he is an electoral liability. If this party can’t run a membership portal, how on earth are they meant to convince an electorate that they can manage major political and economic challenges involving complex trade-offs, deliver for working people, and challenge the rise of the far right?
Richard, 26, Cambridge
‘The party offered nothing – it was childish and egotistical on the part of both of those involved’
I signed up for their emails and received the first one yesterday. There was so little information that I was suspicious. It seemed to come from the right site but when clicking on the link the rest of the site wasn’t accessible. When I received the second email saying legal advice was being sought, I started to feel annoyed. What was going on? It seemed farcical – like they didn’t respect those who were interested in the party.
It was then that I discovered this new party offered nothing – it was childish and egotistical on the part of both of those involved. The left just seems to be really good at self-sabotage. I had high hopes for the party being a real, viable option. A true leftwing party that listened, wanted shared ownership, and could challenge and address the mess politics is currently in. But trust is important and they proved to me they weren’t worthy of mine so I asked to be removed from the mailing list.
Cathy, artist and retired psychotherapist, East Sussex
‘When you’re building a new party, moments like this matter’
I previously voted for Labour and then the SNP after I moved to Scotland from Yorkshire in 2013. But when Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced this party, it was refreshing. It’s natural for people in politics to have different views – we see disagreements all the time in both Labour and the Tories. But when you’re building a new party that claims to be a home for people across the country, moments like this matter.
It didn’t put me off voting for them because I’m grateful to Corbyn for speaking up on Palestine. But the split between Corbyn and Sultana over the membership portal is disappointing – not just because of the disagreement itself, but because of how it’s playing out in public. If this new movement is serious about being the people’s party, it needs to show it can handle internal challenges better than the old ones.
Asma Razaq, 45, Edinburgh
‘The last hope we have must now lie with the Greens’
Even before this fallout, the launch of the party has been marred by bad comms and a lack of clarity about what the party stands for. But it has made me more sceptical. This is a tragedy for those who have been crying out for real economic change – a change that would include everyone in society. As we face down a resurgent far right, I wonder how many people would fall for the anti-immigration rhetoric if they had warm homes, secure employment and a sense of purpose in a society that works for everyone. This kind of infighting benefits nobody. The last hope we have must now lie with the Greens.
Nick, 38, Kent
