By Rachael Burford
Jeremy Corbyn is set to make a statement on the new independent left-wing party he has reportedly formed with ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana amid speculation he was blindsided by the announcement.
Ms Sultana, who had the Labour whip suspended last year, said on Thursday night that she would be co-founding the movement with the Islington North MP.
However, the ex-Labour leader is yet to comment and there have been reports he was surprised by the news because he had not yet agreed to join the new party.
Sources said that Mr Corbyn would be releasing a statement later on Friday that would 鈥渃lear up鈥 any speculation.
It comes as government whips are expected to object to Mr Corbyn鈥檚 Bill calling for an independent inquiry into the war in Gaza, which is due in the Commons on Friday.
Independent MPs Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Shockat Adam and Apsana Begum were among those who co-signed the Bill.
They argue that there are issues regarding the UK鈥檚 involvement in what they describe as a genocide by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Palestinian enclave that have not been properly aired in Westminster.
Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, has previously said the government does not agree there is a need for an inquiry and the role of UK military operations in relation to Gaza has already been set out.
Sources close to Mr Corbyn said further steps would be laid out next week and could include the launch of a privately funded inquiry.
On Friday morning, the Home Secretary declined to be drawn on whether she was concerned a new left-wing party could pose a threat to Labour.
Yvette Cooper told LBC: “People have always had different views, and I just disagree with the views and the approaches they’re taking.”
In her announcement, Ms Sultana accused the Labour Government of failing to improve people’s lives and claimed it “wants to make disabled people suffer” in reference to ministers’ proposals to reform welfare.
Ms Cooper rejected the accusation, telling Sky News: “I just strongly disagree with her.”
The Home Secretary pointed to falling waiting times in the NHS, the announcement of additional neighbourhood police officers, extending free school meals and strengthening renters’ rights as areas where the Government was acting.
She said: “These are real changes (that) have a real impact on people’s lives.”
Ms Sultana was one of seven MPs who had the Labour whip suspended last summer when they supported an amendment to the King’s Speech which related to the two-child benefit cap.
Four of the seven had the whip restored earlier this year but Ms Sultana was not among them.
John McDonnell, another of the suspended MPs who has not had the whip restored, posted on X that he was “dreadfully sorry” to see Ms Sultana quit the party.
“The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave,” he said.
Mr Corbyn led Labour from 2015 to April 2020, stepping down after the party’s loss at the 2019 general election.
He was suspended from Labour in 2020 and expelled in the spring of 2024 after announcing he would stand as an independent candidate in his Islington North constituency, which he won with a majority of more than 7,000 votes.
Last year, Mr Corbyn formed the Independent Alliance with other independent members of the Commons.
Asked on ITV’s Peston programme on Wednesday whether that group could turn into an official party, Mr Corbyn said that they have “worked very hard and very well together” over the last year in Parliament.
He added: “There is a thirst for an alternative view to be put.”
“That grouping will come together, there will be an alternative,” he later said.