Jeremy Corbyn has issued his strongest signal yet that he will establish a political party positioned to the left of Labour.
The former Labour leader vowed that there would be an “alternative” in place by the time of the next general election.
Corbyn, who led the Labour Party into two general elections as leader from 2015-2020, hinted heavily at the formation of a “left independent party of socialist view[s]”.
Asked if he would establish a “formal party” that could “contest the next election” on ITV’s Peston programme, Corbyn appeared to indicate he would.
Corbyn was elected as the MP for Islington North, the constituency he has represented since 1983, as an independent at the last election.
It came after Corbyn was forbidden from standing as a Labour parliamentary candidate by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC). After announcing in May 2024 that he would stand as an independent candidate, he was fully expelled from the Labour Party.
Corbyn was comfortably re-elected against the Labour candidate, Praful Nargund, with a majority of 7,247.
In parliament, he went on to establish the Independent Alliance of MPs. The group currently has five members, including Corbyn, all of whom were elected as independents in 2024 on progressive, pro-Palestinian platforms.
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Corbyn told ITV’s Peston: “The [Independent] Alliance group of MPs has worked very hard and very well together over the past year in parliament, and we’re coming up to our first anniversary.”
He added: “There’s a lot of people all around the country in different independent groups. Look in Birmingham, look in Liverpool, look in Southport and so on.
“There is a thirst for an alternative view to be put — I’m working with all of those people. That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative view, and there will be an alternative put there, which is about a society that deals with poverty, inequality and a foreign policy that’s based on peace rather than war.”
Asked if he would like to lead the group, Corbyn responded: “I’m here to work — I’m here to serve the people in the way I’ve always tried to do.”
At present, Corbyn is the most senior member of the Independent Alliance. The group is also composed of Shockat Adam, the MP for Leicester South, Adnan Hussain, the MP for Blackburn, Ayoub Khan, the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, and Iqbal Mohamed, the MP for Dewsbury and Batley.
In a joint statement, published upon the formation of the Independent Alliance grouping last September, the collective vowed “to provide hope in a parliament of despair”.
They added: “Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war — and their voices deserve to be heard. As individuals we were voted by our constituents to represent their concerns in parliament on these matters, and more, and we believe that as a collective group we can carry on doing this with greater effect.”
Josh Self is editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here and X here.
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