‘None Of This Needed To Happen’: How Corbyn’s Party Is Already Causing Hand-Wringing On The Labour Left

Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn seemed to fade from the public conscience after he led Labour into its catastrophic electoral defeat in 2019.

Keir Starmer, with a reputation for being “sensible”, was elected in his place as Labour leader – and he soon acted on his promise to pull the party towards the centre again by promptly ousting Corbyn in an antisemitism row.

The left-wing figure, who galvanised a whole generation of new Labour voters during his four years at the helm of the party, was suddenly relegated to the backbenches while most of his followers drifted away, disappointed they missed out on the chance to implement real change at the final hurdle.

Starmer’s landslide victory in July 2024 then seemed to cement the theory that a more pragmatic, centrist take on politics worked (even if voters actually flocked to Labour out of frustration with the Tories).

Fast-forward a year, and voters are once again embittered, furious with the government and desperate for change, while right-wing Reform UK are easily beating Labour in the polls.

Enter, stage left: Corbyn.

Having been elected as an independent MP for Islington North, Corbyn is now a comfortable distance from the dissatisfying Labour government, his disappointing performance in the 2019 election forgotten.

When he announced last week that he was launching a new political group – with the confusing placeholder name,yourparty.uk – more than 600,000 people signed up within days.

That’s larger than the Labour membership was at its height, during the Corbyn days.

Of course, those are just sign-ups not paid-up members – and so his announcement was initially written off by those within Labour.

With an exasperated eye roll, some government sources just shook their heads, and called him a “martyr”.

But, as the sign-up numbers rose, they began to acknowledge he could definitely “split the vote on the left”.

“He’s not a practical option,” they insisted to HuffPost UK. “But it’s his name that draws people in.”

Corbyn represents the very best of the Labour movement, in my opinionSuspended Labour MP Brian Leishman

That’s true – More in Common polled 2,000 Brits last month and found a hypothetical Corbyn party could attract 10% of the vote, which would take three points off Labour’s vote share.

The pollster’s UK director Luke Tryl said: “In an era of very fragmented politics, small shares could make the difference across the board, and it is totally conceivable that the performance of this left-wing party could be the difference between a Labour-led government and a Nigel Farage Reform-led government on current polling.”

Similarly, Ipsos pollster Keiran Pedley wrote on X that he now believes the party could do pretty well, particularly under the UK’s first past the post system.

He said the party were a “headache for Labour that should be taken seriously”.

At the moment, the party only has two MPs: Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, who was suspended from Labour after voting against the government’s two-child benefit cap policy last year.

But could they win over frustrated Labour MPs on the left?

The bigger problem is Starmer and the people running the party and government.

As of the end of July, there are six MPs who were elected to represent Labour but are currently suspended from the party for rebelling against Downing Street.

However, it seems any who might be considering it are keeping their cards close to their chests for now.

MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, who was suspended from Labour for voting against the government’s welfare reforms, told HuffPost UK she did not support the rise of another left-wing party.

She said: “I cannot support the setting up of a new party when all it will achieve are more divisions.

“Political parties need to be broad coalitions, as it is the only way to build consensus and build bridges. I want to see the main political parties returning to this tradition as ultimately it is the only way to bring the country together.”

MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, Brian Leishman – suspended at the same time as Maskell – said he was working to get the whip back, adding: “I still think the Labour Party is the most likely vehicle to redistribute power, wealth and opportunity for the benefit of the many across society.”

However, Blow To Labour As Reform Voters Prefer Jeremy Corbyn To Keir Starmer On Almost Every Metric