Setback for Jeremy Corbyn as Your Party opts for collective leadership

Mr Corbyn, the former Labour leader, had previously said he backed the “sole leader” model and would stand for the position.

The collective model had been supported by Mr Corbyn’s rival, former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, after her preferred “co-leadership” plan had been blocked from consideration by members.

Welcoming the vote, Ms Sultana said she had “fought for maximum member democracy since day one” and described the decision as “exciting”.

She said: “Together, we’re building a new socialist party – radically democratic and powered by a mass movement.

“This party will be led by its members, not MPs.”

The model, supported by 51.6% of the more than 9,000 members who voted on the proposals, will see the party led by a committee of party members that MPs will be barred from standing for.

A party spokesperson said the vote “shows that we really are doing politics differently: from the bottom up, not the top down”.

In a separate vote, almost 70% backed a proposal to allow members of other parties to join when Your Party’s executive found they “aligned with the party’s values”.

‘Witch hunt’

The vote comes after the first day of the founding conference was marred by a dispute over the expulsion of a number of members said to also belong to the Socialist Workers Party.

Ms Sultana called for the members to be reinstated, describing the expulsions as a “witch hunt” and boycotting the first day of the conference in protest.

Earlier in the day, Mr Corbyn had appealed for “unity” after the party’s foundation had been marked by infighting and threats of legal action.

Ms Sultana addressed the conference as scheduled on Sunday, beginning her speech with an attack on unnamed figures “at the top” of the new party.

Describing the expulsion of members as “unacceptable” and “an attack on members and this movement”, she also criticised the ejection of a Muslim woman from the conference hall, saying it should “shame any party that claims to stand for equality and justice”.

Hiccups

She said: “These actions come straight out of the Labour right’s handbook, the same playbook we have all lived through for years – the witch hunts, the smears, the intimidation, the bullying, the legal threats and the leaks to the Murdoch press.

“Let me be absolutely clear, the members will not stand for this, the movement will not stand for this and I will not stand for this.”

But she also apologised for “hiccups” in the process of founding the new party, accepting responsibility for some of the problems and urging members to “get better at working with each other”.

She went on to call for the abolition of the monarchy, the nationalisation of utilities such as water and energy and the severing of ties with Israel over the conflict in Gaza.

Ms Sultana argued that if the left did not win a “global fight”, the world would “give way to fascism and people who look like me will be imprisoned in tents and deported to war zones”.

Mr Corbyn will close the conference by announcing the result of a ballot on the new party’s formal name, with members choosing between Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many.