New Corbyn party to hold founding conference in November

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s new political party will hold its founding conference in November, with delegates chosen by lottery.

In an email to supporters, the party said it would open membership applications by the end of September, ahead of the conference two months later.

But it did not give precise dates for the conference, saying only that it would see “thousands” of delegates “chosen by lottery to ensure a fair balance of gender, region and background”.

Ahead of that conference, the party said it would hold “regional assemblies” where members can “listen to each other, break bread and debate” founding documents.

It will also hold a vote on the party’s name in October, replacing its current temporary title of “Your Party”.

Confused launch

The announcement represents a step forward in what has been at times a confused launch for Mr Corbyn’s latest movement.

The launch of a new party was originally announced by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana, who announced in July she was quitting the Labour Party to co-found the new venture with Mr Corbyn.

But Mr Corbyn appeared unready for the announcement, making no public statement on the launch until the next day.

Since then, according to Ms Sultana, 750,000 people have expressed an interest in the new party.

Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana will appear at The World Transformed in Manchester on October 10 to discuss their new party.

The event previously took place alongside the annual Labour Party conference, but has now moved to place discussion of the new party “centre-stage”.

New “eco-populist” Green Party leader Zack Polanski will also attend.

Disillusionment

A spokesperson for the event said: “Many of the attendees at The World Transformed will be former Labour voters, now bitterly disillusioned with the direction of the party.

“That is why having Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn, as well as Zack Polanski speaking is so important.

“Stopping a Reform victory at the next general election must be a central priority for the UK left, and it’s why we are delighted to be hosting these discussions to shape the debate about electoral alternatives.”