Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he is in discussions about creating a new leftwing political party, hours after the MP Zarah Sultana announced she was quitting Labour to co-lead the project.
Sultana, the MP for Coventry South who had the Labour whip suspended last year for voting against the government over the two-child limit on benefits, said on Thursday night she was quitting Labour and would “co-lead the founding of a new party” with Corbyn.
Her announcement took some by surprise and was seen as premature and potentially counterproductive.
While Corbyn has long hinted at plans to establish a more organised platform for leftwing and pro-Palestinian campaigning, he has so far avoided confirming any formal structure or leadership arrangements.
Corbyn, the MP for Islington North, is understood to be reluctant to take on the title of leader, consistent with his preference for collective decision-making. It is understood that he believes imposing a hierarchy too soon could risk fragmenting the coalition of like-minded MPs he has spent months encouraging to work together.
In a statement on X, Corbyn on Friday congratulated Sultana “on her principled decision to leave the Labour party” and he expressed his delight that “she will help us build a real alternative”.
“The democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape,” he continued. “Discussions are ongoing – and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve.
“Together we can create something that is desperately missing from our broken political system: hope.”
Sultana’s departure makes her the sixth MP in the Independent Alliance, alongside Corbyn, giving the group a bigger presence in the Commons than the Greens and Plaid Cymru.
Reform UK figures had privately welcomed the prospect of the leftwing vote splintering further. The Green party has ramped up its social media campaigns, urging disgruntled voters on the left to join the party and vote in the forthcoming leadership election.