UK’s former Labour chief starting new left-wing party
London: Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said Thursday he is forming a new left-leaning political party to advocate “mass redistribution of wealth and power” and take on his former colleagues at the ballot box.The new formation has a website – yourparty.uk – but does not yet have a name.“It’s your party,” Corbyn said. “We’re going to decide (a name) when we’ve had all the responses, and so far the response rate has been massive.” Corbyn said he hoped the new party would have its inaugural conference in the fall.Corbyn, 76, led Labour to election defeats in 2017 and 2019, but the veteran socialist campaigner remains popular with many grassroots supporters. The long-dominant Labour and Conservative parties now have challengers on both left and right, including the environmentalist Green Party and hard-right Reform UK.Plans for a new party emerged earlier this month when lawmaker Zarah Sultana, who has been suspended from Labour for voting against the govt, said she would “co-lead the founding of a new party” with Corbyn. At the time, Corbyn did not confirm the news. A longtime supporter of the Palestinians and critic of Israel, Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 after Britain’s equalities watchdog found anti-Jewish prejudice had been allowed to spread within Labour while he was leader. ap
