Warning for Keir Starmer as Green leadership hopefuls say they’re open to a pact with Jeremy Corbyn’s new party – who boast of 600,000 sign-ups
Sir Keir Starmer has been sent a warning shot after the Green Party‘s leadership hopefuls opened the door to a pact with Jeremy Corbyn‘s new left-wing outfit.
Zack Polanski, dubbed an ‘eco-populist’, said it would be ‘madness to not at least be curious’ about whether Mr Corbyn’s party would offer a coalition or alliance.
Ellie Chowns, who is rivalling Mr Polanski for the Green leadership on a joint ticket with Adrian Ramsay, also did not rule out joining forces with Mr Corbyn.
She told Channel 4 that ‘cooperation is in the DNA of the Greens’ as she spoke about possible links with the former Labour leader’s new movement.
Mr Corbyn has teamed up with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana to launch an outfit currently known as ‘Your Party’.
They today formally confirmed they are working with Mr Corbyn’s colleagues in the ‘Independent Alliance’ of pro-Gaza MPs, giving them more MPs than Reform UK.
Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed will play a part in the ‘founding process’ of the movement ahead of an autumn conference, Your Party said.
Mr Corbyn’s outfit also boasted that they had seen more than 600,000 people sign up to their new party in just one week.
Sir Keir will be fearful that any cooperation between the Greens and Mr Corbyn’s outfit would harm Labour’s chances of retaining power at the next general election.
Polls have shown that a new party led by Mr Corbyn would attract 10 per cent of voters, while the Greens have already been challenging Labour in some areas.
Sir Keir Starmer has been sent a warning shot after the Green Party ‘s leadership hopefuls opened the door to a pact with Jeremy Corbyn’s new left-wing outfit
Zack Polanski, dubbed an ‘eco-populist’, said it would be ‘madness to not at least be curious’ about whether Mr Corbyn’s party would offer a coalition or alliance
Ellie Chowns, who is rivalling Mr Polanski for the Green leadership on a joint ticket with Adrian Ramsay, also did not rule out joining forces with Mr Corbyn
Mr Corbyn’s movement has the website yourparty.uk, with a welcome message saying ‘This Is Your Party’.
But Ms Sultana sowed confusion immediately after its launch by insisting a name had not yet been chosen. She posted on social media: ‘It’s not called Your Party.’
The Coventry South MP has since said she wants the party merely to be known as ‘The Left’, with the name to be decided on by members at a later date.
Despite the comments by the Green leadership hopefuls, Mr Corbyn has ruled out an alliance between the parties.
The Islington North MP told the commentator Owen Jones in an interview posted on YouTube that ‘we’re not forming an alliance’ with the Greens.
He said: ‘Would we work with them? Yes, on issues. Generally we would agree on environmental issues, we would agree on social justice issues.
‘They are not a socialist organisation and they seem to me into an eternal, riven debate between trying to appeal to a sort of semi-conservative voting suburban electorate as opposed to a committed, environmentally conscious electorate.
‘So yes, we work with them in Parliament and yes, we would co-operate, but we’re not forming an alliance with them. They don’t want to form an alliance with us.
‘But we do recognise each other’s positions and I think we will come to some good positions and good agreements in the future.’
Sir Keir will be fearful that any cooperation between the Greens and Mr Corbyn’s outfit would harm Labour’s chances of retaining power at the next general election
Mr Ramsay, the Greens’ current co-leader who is standing for re-election alongside Ms Chowns, has warned that ‘becoming a Jeremy Corbyn support act is not the right direction for our party’.
The Greens’ occasionally fractious leadership contest has entered its final stages as members begin voting on Friday.
In an email to supporters, Mr Corbyn’s outfit said – in just one week – that ‘more than 600,000 people have signed up to build a democratic party that can take on the billionaires – and win’.
‘This is just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, you will hear more about the blueprint for a founding process, culminating with an inaugural conference before the end of the year,’ the email added.
‘This conference will be the moment where, together, we will decide the direction, structure and platform of this party.
‘To make it as accessible and democratic as possible, the conference will be hybrid – both in-person and online – so that everyone can take part in the decisions that will shape its future.
‘Make no mistake: whatever the name, it is always going to be your party.’
