Corbyn Party may decide in October whether to run candidates in the Senedd election

Martin Shipton

The new left-wing party founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana may decide on October 25 whether to field candidates in next May’s Senedd election.

Provisionally named Your Party, it’s being fronted in Wales by former Cynon Valley Labour MP Beth Winter and Mark Serwotka, who until last year was general secretary of the PCS trade union.

Update

In an update sent to those who have expressed an interest in the party, the pair state: “It is clear that support for Your Party has been overwhelming, with 23,000 plus signed up in Wales alone and over 800,000 across the UK. This is a different kind of politics, outward facing, community orientated and rooted in grassroots movements, and we are pleased to say that this is exactly what is happening here in Wales.

“We are keen to move things forward in Wales and have just completed the initial mapping exercise, looking at engagement with Your Party at a local level. The results are very encouraging and show that people are getting together and meeting across Wales from Ynys Mon to Cardiff, from Ceredigion to Clwyd and from Rhondda Cynon Taf to Swansea, to name some of the 12 groups we have so far identified.

“We are now beginning to work to co-ordinate the existing groups and develop new ones. We are conscious of the need to keep those who have expressed an interest in our new party, as well informed as possible. In the coming weeks, we will do our utmost to attend as many local group meetings as we can to keep people informed, if not in person, then Zoom video calls are always an option.

“We remain committed to ensuring we have the kind of autonomy and self-determination that reflects our needs and demands here in Wales. We are also conscious of the upcoming Senate election next year, which will require decisions by all of us. To that end, please mark October 25th 2025 in your diaries for the first all-Wales meeting to discuss the way forward for us here in Wales. Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have been invited to attend. The venue details will follow in the near future.

“We thank you for your patience as we continue to pull together, gather and share information in order to find and agree the best ways forward for us here in Wales. In the meantime, please continue with your local organising and activities, being active in our communities, working at a grassroots level alongside local people and groups to build a real alternative for the people of Wales. That is the bedrock of our new proposed party. We will go forward together.”

Concerns

There are concerns within both Labour and Plaid Cymru that if Your Party – whose definitive name is the subject of an ongoing consultation among those who have expressed a potential interest in joining up – puts forward candidates for the 2026 Senedd election, it would split the left-wing vote, with Reform UK as the only beneficiary.

A Labour strategist who didn’t want to be named told Nation.Cymru: “If it stands candidates, it will certainly take votes from Labour and Plaid Cymru, but it would be unlikely to get enough votes to win seats. In doing so, it would hand more seats to Reform.”

Jeff Jones, the former Labour leader of Bridgend council, said: “Clearly they will have lists in May. They will take votes off Plaid and Labour and make it difficult for Plaid to get the left protest vote.”

But a Plaid Cymru source said: “It’s not giving them much time to register as a political party, vet potential candidates and select them. And if they stand and don’t do very well, it could damage their credibility at the next general election.”

Social media posts also pointed out that 23,000 out of 800,000 was lower than a proportionate share of supporters across Britain – a factor that would make it more difficult for Your Party to win Senedd seats in large “super constituencies”.