By Eniola Amadu
Coventry South MP, Zarah Sultana has said that her newly formed left wing political party co-founded with Jeremy Corbyn is intending to take control of the government, notwithstanding divisions within the group.
In her appearance at the BBC’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, the former Labour Party member said she yearns to “change people’s lives for the better”, which needs “winning state power”.
She said to the BBC that the new campaign will be “socialist, democratic and member-led” focusing on “nationalising, building council homes, providing people with good secure jobs”.
“I’m in politics because of a desire to change people’s lives for the better, and that means winning state power, that means actually running the government.
“We’re building a party of the left that can win power and deliver justice”. She added.
Revealing the duration of the project she said “This is a 10,20,30-year project.”
The MP for Coventry South resigned from the Labour Party in July to establish the new political group, currently operating under the provisional name Your Party.
Her remarks come after a challenging beginning for the party, which, despite drawing hundreds of thousands of new members, has been subdued by disputes over its leadership, funding, and even its name.
Sultana’s interview followed the resignation of three officials from the board of MoU Operations Ltd (MoU) — the board established to manage Your Party’s finances and membership — leaving her as the sole director.
The resignations come amid reports that the party is still striving to recover about £800,000 in donations and membership data controlled by MoU.
The dispute stems from a split within the party, which began after Sultana used the party’s official email account to launch a membership portal that collected payments and personal data from around 20,000 people.
The co-founder, Corbyn urged supporters to cancel direct debits and tagged the emails as “unauthorised”.
Following the disagreement which led to legal threats and allegations of a “sexist boys’ club”, the membership portal was eventually replaced. The two sides reconciled after this.
Sultana has advocated renaming the movement The Left Party, while Corbyn has suggested that Your Party might remain its title.
Members are expected to decide on the party’s official name during its founding conference in Liverpool next month.
