1.2.3 – Minor political parties
It was announced on Thursday that Jeremy Corbyn’s faction had won a majority of seats on Your Party’s ruling central executive committee (CEC). Corbyn’s slate of candidates, known as ‘The Many’, had said they would install Corbyn as leader of the parliamentary party if they won a majority on the CEC. Zarah Sultana’s faction, known as ‘Grassroots Left’, came a distant second.
Corbyn, who at present isn’t even listed as a member of Your Party on the UK Parliament website (Sultana is their only listed MP), will benefit only marginally from this role in the Commons chamber given the relatively small size of the grouping.
The party voted at its inaugural conference not to have a single party leader (as was Corbyn’s preference), instead opting for a collective leadership. Both Corbyn and Sultana are members of the CEC, along with their factional allies.
The tensions that accompanied the early months of the party have shown little signs of abating, and it is yet to be seen what impact Corbyn’s elevation to de facto leader in the eyes of many in Parliament will have on his relationship with Sultana.
The fact that a relatively small party held internal elections on factional lines suggests that tensions are likely to persist in the near future, and could lead to serious questions as to the party’s long term viability.