Despite a chaotic start involving two fumbled launches and one very public fall-out, Your Party finally published its draft founding documents on Friday. They include the party’s constitution, political statement, standing orders and organisational strategy. They also reveal that, under the party’s proposed guidance, members will be asked to select a single party leader, not co-leaders, when leadership elections commence in January next year.
This is a significant development. Up until now, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have been widely billed as the party’s co-leaders (sources close to the proceedings have insisted throughout that the pair are co-founders, not co-leaders). Sultana’s initial July statement, announcing the launch of the new left-wing party, read: “Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party.”
However, under the party’s proposed strategy, when members are given the choice in early 2026, they will not be offered a co-leadership model. The draft organisational strategy explains that the party’s “first leader will be elected by the whole membership” and adds that they shall serve “for a whole term of no more than 21 months”. The leadership election is expected to commence in January 2026, with the result confirmed no later than 31 March.
In the party’s second year, its Central Executive Committee (CEC) will “commence a review into different options for future leadership”. These will then be put to a vote of party members in advance of elections to be held at the party’s annual conference in late 2027.
A Your Party source confirmed to the New Statesman that the draft proposal is for a single leader. But they added that this could change. “Everything is a draft, to be evolved through the assemblies before amendments are voted on by delegates at conference, and then the final one member one vote proceedings.”
The draft documents also state that the party will continue to be stewarded by the Independent Alliance of MPs (which includes Corbyn, Sultana, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, Shockat Adam and Iqbal Mohamed) until a leader is elected. However, any candidate running for leader will be excluded from oversight of operations around the election.
This is an interesting development in the founding of Your Party. From the start, it has seemed as though Corbyn and Sultana were gearing up to become the inaugural co-leaders of this new force on the left. But if the draft founding documents are passed, the new party could have a burgeoning leadership contest on its hands.
Neither Sultana nor Corbyn have expressed a public desire to run in a head-to-head and there are even some whispers that Corbyn may step aside altogether if faced with an election. Even so, considering the particulars of this party’s turbulent road to existence, there could be several potential hopefuls to take on the leadership. If Your Party is founded as its current overseers are proposing, the possibility of a Corbyn-Sultana co-leadership is off the table.
[Further reading: Kinnock: Keir has “months, not years” to change]
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