The botched launch of the joint venture party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana may be the biggest political comms mishap in recent years.
Initially, Corbyn looked disinterested to join the party and was seemingly name dropped by Sultana without the proper go ahead.
Two weeks later a joint statement finally emerges; except with a miscommunication over what the party is actually called – a grand mistake for an announcement of such importance.
I can’t help by find the irony in the farce. To me it embodies exactly what is wrong with far- left parties when they do come about: The inability to even get the basics right.
When this Corbyn – Sultana party does finally get up and running it is destined to spiral into disarray.
There is a feeling within this new party that this will deliver what Corbyn could not as Labour leader.
I don’t figure that those in support actually believe they can get enough seats to win a majority – let alone winning five. This begs the question about what the real aim is of this project.
The main driving factor of the party seems to be fuelled by disdain for Labour – with both Sultana and Corbyn finding themselves as outcasts.
From their statements and personal twitter outbursts in recent months, it would appear they would much rather take votes from Labour – and in the process creating a clear path for a Reform government – than see the Labour Party in its current form take power once more.
This is without acknowledging the biggest problem Corbyn is yet to face – the lack of a party machine.
The issue Reform UK had at the last general election was the lack of an organised, established and professional central operation.
This meant that they ended up fielding candidates who either had extreme views that the party did not align with or who were simply not cut out for the task, which slowed down Reform’s momentum and gave them a lot of bad press.
There is no doubt that a party headed by Corbyn and Sultana will run into the same issue, except on the opposite end of the political spectrum, with in- depth candidate vetting most probably going amiss.
Personnel isn’t the only issue you run into not having an established party machine, with campaign strategy also being a factor.
Let’s not forget that Corbyn failed to win two elections with one of the most established party machines backing him – this is now no longer there to support him and will make the task even more tedious.
What you approach the electorate with on your manifesto is also of upmost importance.
When the time comes for actual policy substance, there is no doubt in my mind that it will ring hollow.
The biggest policy area from this new emerging party has been the conflict in Gaza.
The issue with running on this agenda is that it is finite – this conflict can (and most probably will before the next general election) be resolved.
After this policy appeal is out of the question the party will do more damage to the prospects of the Green Party as they put more focus on traditional far- left policy.
Let us not forget why Corbyn has been outcast to the independent benches. The state of the Labour Party under his leadership and the abhorrent antisemitism within the Labour ranks has no place in British politics.
You can say what you want about Keir Starmer and his choices as Prime Minister, but expelling Corbyn was the only tangible way to get the Labour Party in a position where it could be taken seriously.
Sultana’s background is not entirely rosy itself, having recently shown support for proscribed group Palestine Action.
Having Corbyn – who in the past has regarded Hamas as “friends” – and Sultana – who is willing to support a group who is considered a threat to the state – at the helm of a political party is incredibly problematic.
The fear now, in the midst of allowing 16- and 17-year-olds the vote, would be that this will be a popular party to support within that age demographic.
This is just – if not more – problematic than the threat from the far right in this country, as there is a party emerging with its dangerous values.
The threat from Reform in this regard has been less severe as they have shifted more towards being a populist party with fairly left social policies.
The key difference between the link between Reform and the far- right and the new Corbyn party and the far- left is the idea brewing that it is okay to support a proscribed group under the Terrorism Act (as Sultana has posited), which is not a healthy political space for young adults to grow up in.
It is absolutely critical to call out this inadequate and evidently dangerous party which will cause Britain to shift towards ideologies which have no place in society, and we must urge the British people to see this party for exactly what it is.
Featured image via Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.
