Jeremy Corbyn wins Your Party leadership committee race after battle with Zarah Sultana
Mr Corbyn is now likely to be named as the party’s parliamentary leader as it seeks to move on from the infighting that has plagued its foundation.
Jeremy Corbyn has won control of his new party’s leadership committee following a contest with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana.
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Supporters of the former Labour leader won 14 of the 24 seats on Your Party’s central executive committee (CEC), double the seven seats won by Ms Sultana’s backers.
Your Party’s adoption of a collective leadership model last year had been seen as a victory for Ms Sultana, with Mr Corbyn preferring a single leader.
But Thursday’s results mean Mr Corbyn is now likely to be named as the party’s parliamentary leader as it seeks to move on from the infighting that has plagued its foundation.
Mr Corbyn said party members had backed “a mass, socialist party that takes the fight to Starmer and Farage”.
In a statement after the results, he said: “Now, the real work begins.
“We have a precious opportunity to unite our movement around a bold vision for this country – one that creates a more caring, equal and peaceful world for all.
“I look forward to working with all members to make this vision a reality.”
Some 25,347 of Your Party’s 40,985 verified members voted in the election that saw both Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana elected to the CEC.
Former Labour MP Laura Smith, who served on Mr Corbyn’s shadow front bench in 2018, was also elected, but Independent Alliance MPs Shockat Adam and Ayoub Khan missed out.
Three candidates that had not been endorsed by either Mr Corbyn’s “The Many” group or Ms Sultana’s “Grassroots Left” slate were also elected.
Mr Corbyn's win comes after a chaotic period of infighting that saw him publicy fall out with Ms Sultana over the spat.
At the end of September, the feud between Ms Sultana and the other Your Party MPs came to a head after an email was sent by her to supporters asking for financial contributions and membership interest.
A row erupted over their opposing positions on funding and membership agreements, with Ms Sultana decrying what had become a “sexist boys club”.
On the back of this, Mr Corbyn tweeted: “Legal advice is being taken. That email should be ignored by all supporters. If direct debits have been set up, they should immediately be cancelled.”
Ms Sultana then started legal proceedings but decided to call it off and acknowledged that people felt “demoralised”.
“For the sake of the party, and as an act of good faith, I will not be pursuing legal proceedings despite the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against me,” she wrote in a statement posted on X.