Corbyn addresses meeting on forming Collective, new leftwing party
3 Min Read
A source close to Corbyn has clarified that his attendance was not an official endorsement but it was to “listen to and share a variety of views about the way forward for the left.”
-
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses an eve of poll rally in London on December 11, 2019. (AP)
Jeremy Corbyn has addressed a gathering of the new left-wing political party Collective, which was attended by former Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey and other past independent candidates.
Key figures in the group hope the party will be a "breeding ground for future leaders" who could succeed Corbyn and run in the next general election. During the Sunday meeting, where Corbyn gave the inaugural speech, the founders announced they would start developing democratic structures for the new party.
A source close to Corbyn clarified to The Guardian that his attendance was not an official endorsement, rather it was to “listen to and share a variety of views about the way forward for the left.” Organizers anticipate that the new party will attract supporters and “hopefully be a meaningful counterweight to Reform and the rightwing drift of the Labour party.”
Pamela Fitzpatrick, the director of Corbyn's Peace and Justice initiative who will lead the campaign, stated that "now is the time" to build a party.
“We have seen the rise of the far right and already people are feeling politically homeless because they were so desperate for change but support for Labour is dropping so quickly. We need a real movement that can fill that gap,” she stated.
The movement, which started earlier this year, delivered a strategy briefing with attendees on Sunday, recommending a mass membership drive and an attempt to affiliate trade unions.
Fiona Lali, the Revolutionary Communist candidate in Stratford and Bow, and Sean Halsall, an independent candidate in Southport, were among those who attended Sunday's gathering.
Senior members of the organization claimed the moment had come to start organizing a new political party now that it was evident Corbyn and many of his followers would have no future in the Labour Party.
Organizers feel that the time is ideal for starting the new party. Starmer's Labour Party confronts a difficult winter, including widespread criticism of measures to reduce winter heating payments for all but the poorest seniors and halt NHS and infrastructure projects. A subsequent meeting is scheduled in six weeks.
Last week, Corbyn declared that he would establish a parliamentary partnership with four independent MPs who had campaigned on a pro-Gaza platform, albeit the group has also emphasized problems of poverty.
Corbyn wrote in an article for The Guardian earlier this year that he planned to support a grassroots movement "capable of challenging the stale two-party system" and that it will "eventually run in elections."
