Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana has formally resigned from the Labour Party, announcing plans to establish a new political party alongside her former leader Jeremy Corbyn. The move signals a fresh challenge to what she describes as a “broken” Westminster system, and comes amid deepening divides on the left of British politics.
Sultana, who had the Labour whip withdrawn last year for defying the party line over the controversial two-child benefit cap, said the new party would unite independent MPs and grassroots activists disillusioned with the current political establishment.
While Corbyn has yet to confirm his involvement publicly, he hinted strongly at the possibility during an appearance on ITV’s Peston programme on Wednesday evening. “There is a thirst for an alternative,” he said. “A grouping will come together.”
In a statement posted on social media, Sultana accused the government of being “an active participant in genocide” in Gaza and criticised Labour’s response to the crisis. She also pointed to the cost-of-living crisis, poverty, and the government’s stance on welfare as driving forces behind the creation of the new party.
“Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives,” she wrote. “And across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists. But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.”
Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described the humanitarian situation as “appalling and intolerable” and has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Some Labour MPs, however, have urged him to go further and recognise the events as genocide—an issue currently under review by the International Court of Justice.
Sultana also condemned the government’s recent welfare legislation, claiming: “The government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can’t decide how much.” She referenced a controversial immigration speech by the Prime Minister in May—remarks he later expressed regret over—saying: “We’re not an island of strangers.”
Looking ahead to the next general election, she offered a stark choice: “Socialism or barbarism.”
In response, a Labour spokesperson highlighted the government’s first-year achievements: “In just 12 months, this Labour government has boosted wages, delivered an extra four million NHS appointments, opened 750 free breakfast clubs, secured three trade deals and four interest rate cuts lowering mortgage payments for millions. Only Labour can deliver the change needed to renew Britain.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking to Sky News, acknowledged that Sultana had “always taken a very different view” from the Labour front bench. She defended the government’s record, citing reduced NHS waiting times, more neighbourhood police officers, expanded free school meals, and stronger renters’ rights. “These are real changes that have a real impact on people’s lives,” she said.
Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications under Tony Blair, told the BBC he believed Labour’s handling of Gaza had created a sense of disconnection. “There feels to me to be a gap between the scale of the challenges facing the country as the public feel them, and the sorts of policy responses coming forward,” he said.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also weighed in, saying: “I think this speaks to how much division there is within the Labour Party. They have a lot of people who are really student politicians, they are campaigners who don’t know how to govern.”
Sultana, first elected in 2024, was one of eight Labour MPs suspended for opposing the party’s position on welfare reform. While four have since returned to the fold, she and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell remain independent MPs. Despite her suspension, Sultana had continued to be a Labour Party member until this week.
Reacting to her departure, McDonnell wrote on social media: “I am dreadfully sorry to lose Zarah from the Labour Party. The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave.” The BBC understands McDonnell will not be joining the new party.
Labour MP Kim Johnson, a prominent voice on the party’s left, expressed disappointment at Sultana’s resignation. “It’s sad that the party is losing a young and passionate politician,” she said, but reaffirmed her own commitment to Labour. Fellow left-wing MP Ian Byrne said he had no plans to leave the party but found it “worrying” that someone of Sultana’s calibre was walking away. “She’s a woman of integrity,” he said, adding that she had endured “appalling comments” from colleagues “who aren’t fit to lace their own boots”.
Corbyn, who lost the Labour whip in 2020, has in recent months formed an informal parliamentary alliance with four other pro-Palestinian independents—Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed—all of whom defeated Labour candidates in July’s general election in constituencies with significant Muslim populations. Speaking to Peston, he said: “We will come together… There will be an alternative, based on peace rather than war.”
With growing unease among sections of Labour’s traditional base and deepening rifts over key issues such as Gaza and welfare, Sultana’s resignation and the prospect of a new political formation mark a significant moment for British politics—one that could reshape the landscape on the left in the months ahead.
