Jeremy Corbyn’s newly launched hard-left political party has claimed to surpass Reform UK’s membership numbers within 24 hours of its official formation, with co-leader Zarah Sultana announcing that Your Party has reached 230,000 sign-ups.
The former Labour leader, who commanded 532,000 paid-up members at his peak in 2019, unveiled the new political venture on Thursday alongside Coventry South MP Sultana, though critics have dismissed the milestone as merely a “glorified mailing list” since supporters can join without paying membership fees.
“We’ve reached 230,000 sign ups. That’s more than Reform’s membership,” Sultana declared on social media platform X, adding provocatively: “Your boys are taking one hell of a beating. Labour, you’re next.”
Free Sign-ups Spark Controversy
Unlike Britain’s major political parties, which charge membership fees ranging from £15 to £70 annually, Corbyn’s supporters can sign up to Your Party without payment. There is a separate donation option ahead of an inaugural conference later this year, leading critics to question whether the numbers represent genuine political support.
Reform UK, which charges £25 for standard membership, has seen its own numbers fluctuate recently. After reaching a peak of around 237,000 members in June, the party’s membership tracker showed approximately 227,592 members as of July, representing a drop of nearly 10,000 in a month according to Left Foot Forward.
The temporary name “Your Party” has already caused confusion, with Sultana forced to clarify hours after launch that it was merely an interim title. “It’s not called Your Party!” she posted repeatedly on X, as the party’s official name will be decided by vote at its first conference.
Polling Suggests Electoral Threat
A Find Out Now opinion poll has suggested that a Corbyn-Sultana party could match Labour’s support at 15 per cent nationally, potentially drawing six percentage points each from both Labour and the Green Party. Among 18-29 year olds, support reaches 33 per cent, ahead of both Reform UK (24 per cent) and Labour (18 per cent).
Ex-Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf expressed confidence that the new party would “munch” into Labour’s support base. Reform registered its largest ever poll lead today, with almost as much support as Labour and the Tories combined. And Corbyn’s Labour munching party hasn’t even launched properly yet. Let that sink in,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reform UK would command 34 per cent of the vote according to the same poll, leaving the Conservatives in second place on 17 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on nine per cent.
Labour Membership in Decline
The emergence of Corbyn’s party comes as Labour faces its own membership crisis. Party numbers have fallen from 392,000 under Keir Starmer to approximately 309,000 as of February 2025, representing a decline of more than 80,000 members.
Labour officials have reportedly stopped sharing membership data with the party’s national executive committee following reports of falling numbers. Youth membership has particularly collapsed, dropping from over 100,000 five years ago to just 30,000 currently.
A Labour source dismissed the threat posed by Corbyn’s new venture, stating: “The electorate has twice given its verdict on a Jeremy Corbyn led party.”
Platform and Policies
The new party has outlined five key policies: taxing the wealthy, redistributing wealth and power, stopping NHS privatisation, renationalising energy, water, rail and mail services, investing in council house building, and confronting fossil fuel companies.
Corbyn launched a fierce attack on Reform UK, saying: “Reform only offer a message of division and blame. All they do is say that every social issue in our society is, somehow or other, the fault of extremely vulnerable minorities. They are a dangerously divisive force in our society.”
He added that Your Party offers an alternative to the “control freaks” in Labour’s headquarters, later accusing Starmer of “empty words” and “complicity in genocide” regarding the Prime Minister’s stance on Gaza.
Historical Context
Corbyn led Labour from 2015 to 2020 before being suspended following a report into antisemitism within the party. He was expelled in 2024 and successfully contested the summer election as an independent candidate, winning Islington North with a majority of 7,247.
Despite leading Labour to its worst election result since 1935 in 2019, Corbyn mobilised significant grassroots support during his leadership, taking party membership from 200,000 in 2010 to over half a million by 2019.
Political historian Jeremy Nuttall noted that Starmer has created a “deliberate and explicit distance” between himself and the left, suggesting the new party emerges from “the particularly difficult economic situation constraining public spending commitments… as well as the particular silence of the Gaza issue.”
Electoral Challenges Ahead
The UK’s first-past-the-post electoral system presents significant challenges for new parties. Political scientist Peter Dorey estimated the new party might win five to seven seats, particularly where Gaza remains a prominent local issue.
YouGov polling found that 18 per cent of Britons would consider voting for a Corbyn-led party, with the greatest support among younger voters and 2024 Green Party voters, 58 per cent of whom said they were open to backing the project.
As Westminster watches this latest political realignment, the question remains whether Corbyn’s movement can translate online sign-ups into genuine electoral success, or whether it will fragment the left-wing vote further in an already divided political landscape.
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