A new left-wing movement is struggling to be born. On Monday evening (21 July), a collection of more than 1,000 trade unionists met on Zoom to talk about the need for a new party (“I didn’t leave the Labour party, the Labour party left me”). The meeting represented the latest attempt to formalise this breakaway, following the half-announcement of a new party led by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn earlier this month. But confusion still reigns. Speaking to the meeting, Sultana boasted that the party could claim over 20 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that Sultana herself is already being sidelined from the leadership of any new organisation.
Jeremy Corbyn and the former Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey were invited speakers, though only Corbyn spoke after McCluskey made several failed attempts to join from his holiday. But McCluskey’s presence had symbolic importance. After an emerging split between Labour and Unite was forced into the open last week (resulting in the suspension of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s union membership), it is becoming clear that this rupture stretches far beyond Unite to other members of the Trades Union Congress and beyond.
Sultana was not actually on the original list of invited speakers. The convenor was instead informed of her arrival at the meeting via message once the proceedings had got underway, and she was invited to say a few words. Her speech to attendees was punchy; she called for the new party to “acknowledge the polls”, describing the 10 per cent which recent More in Common polling which was revealed in the New Statesman found a new Corbyn-led party would win as a “floor, not a ceiling”. Sultana said the new party must aim to win “20-25 per cent”.
Corbyn’s call to arms was typically furious. He said of Labour: “They’ve made their choice. Spending more on weapons, more on arms, and an aggressive foreign policy rather than a foreign policy of peace.” He confirmed his involvement in the creation of a new party, and described it as being based in workers’ rights and the trade union movement. In an interview with the New Statesman last week, Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite had said: “I think it’s more likely that we would focus on building a strong, independent workers’ union that was the true, authentic voice for workers – and use that power to move political debate.” It appears Corbyn was echoing Graham’s call.
His words also echoed much of the dissatisfaction of various union reps who had earlier shared their members’ views with the call. Most notable was the number of motions put forward to the National Executive Committees of unions (including the National Education Union and the Universities and College Union) to call for the creation of a new left-wing party, and to fill the political vacuum which they think Labour has abandoned.
The meeting was organised by Dave Nellist, a former Labour MP who was elected in the same year as Corbyn (1983) but was expelled in 1992 for his support of the Trotskyist Militant group. Nellist cheerily told assembled viewers that his first office in Parliament was shared with “Anthony Charles Lynton Blair” who was soon moved due to the pair’s (predictably) acrimonious working relationship. Nellist was the MP for Coventry Southeast, the predecessor to the constituency currently held by Zarah Sultana.
This was one of many events being held by sympathetic organisers and insiders close to Corbyn and Sultana. Over the next few weeks, there are plans to host similar events with community campaigner and activists, building towards a launch. As more details emerge, progress is clearly building towards the creation of a new left-wing party. What is clear from yesterday evening is that this is Corbyn’s movement: he will decide where it goes next.
[Further reading: Sharon Graham: Unite’s Labour affiliation “getting harder to justify”]
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