There has to be conversations about electoral alliances to stop Farage – Sultana

Zarah Sultana has said “there has to be conversations around electoral alliances” with the Green Party at the next election “to stop Nigel Farage from getting the keys to Downing Street”.

The Your Party MP said, however, that “fundamentally, we are different parties”.

It comes after the new movement decided to make the name Your Party permanent at the conclusion of its tense inaugural conference.

Members also voted narrowly against having a single elected leader, opting instead for a collective model that puts a committee of members in charge.

Jeremy Corbyn acknowledged there had been “frustrations” in the establishment of the outfit but said “we have come a long way” as he closed the gathering in Liverpool last weekend.

Ms Sultana has now said it “hasn’t been an easy process” to establish Your Party.

She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Neither me or Jeremy have ever set up a new party before. We’ve never designed its structures, and so this hasn’t been an easy process.”

She said the issues they have dealt with in the past have been about member democracy, adding: “Ultimately, the past few months have been really difficult, but we are moving forward.”

Asked what her message would be to voters who might look at the Green Party rather than “a party that is finding it quite hard to agree with itself” such as Your Party, the Coventry South MP told the programme: “I think it’s important that voters have a choice and that they are able to look at the left of politics, given the fact that the Labour Party has left the scene, and see multiple parties that are speaking to their interests.

“Obviously, the Green Party have a new leader who’s doing really well and I get on really well with Zack Polanski.”

Asked if she would work with him and would she defect, the former Labour MP said: “I think there has to be conversations around electoral alliances. We have to look at the next election where the goal has to be to stop Nigel Farage from getting the keys to Downing Street.

“But, fundamentally, we are different parties. We are a socialist party. We’re a party that is going to represent the working class, that isn’t shy about talking about material issues affecting workers.”

Ms Sultana also said there needs to be a referendum on the monarchy.

She told the programme: “Obviously, the party does not have policies yet but it’s important that we articulate a different vision of society and an economy, and actually that extends not just to corporations and businesses and our public services, it’s also questions around the monarchy.

“When you’ve got a royal family with a sovereign grant that will increase to £132 million next year, and you’ve got Prince Andrew who’s had £12 million of taxpayers’ money to fund his legal costs – a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein – we need to have a referendum on the monarchy and talk about democratising society as well.”

Asked if she would campaign to abolish the monarchy, the Your Party MP said: “Absolutely. I’m a republican.”