Who is Zarah Sultana and will her new party succeed?

By William Mata

Zarah Sultana went into politics fuelled by a hatred of David Cameron but has now struck out against Labour because of her antipathy towards Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

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The Coventry South MP announced on Friday that she had resigned from the party she joined 14 years ago to lead a new outfit alongside fellow Labour exile Jeremy Corbyn.

Ms Sultana was one of seven Labour MPs to be suspended from the party almost as soon as they were elected last July when they voted against scrapping the two-child benefit.

But leaving the party on her own terms represents a seismic and potentially emotional change for the politician who had been a member since she was a teenager.

“Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country,” she said in her resignation.

In her motivation for her resignation, she cited reasons such as the government scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners, cuts for disabled people, and the two-child benefit cap.

She also accused the government of being an "active participant" in genocide and hit out at the controversial “island of strangers” speech given by Sir Keir.

"We are not going to take this anymore. We're not an island of strangers; we're an island that's suffering," she said. "Billionaires already have three parties fighting for them. It's time the rest of us had one."

It capped a tricky week for Labour, which saw chancellor Rachel Reeves shed tears over a “personal matter” in the Commons, which overshadowed its 10-year plan for the NHS.

The party responded to Ms Sultana’s announcement by stating that it had boosted wages, introduced breakfast clubs and delivered four million NHS appointments in the past year.

Who is Zarah Sultana and what are her policies?

Just how much of a threat Ms Sultana will pose remains to be seen.

The 31-year-old has never held a ministerial post and has held little sway within Labour HQ, being one of only a small number of MPs to have rebelled over issues such as child benefit cap.

On the other hand, Ms Sultana has a growing personal brand on social media and has personal support from an array of unions. She is well-liked and respected on the left of the party and for five years, until February, served as chairperson of the Socialist Campaign Group. She also holds the, perhaps slightly uncompetitive, honour of being the most followed MP on TikTok with 465,000 followers and 8.8 million likes. The New Statesman placed her in its Left Power List and said that she is one of a few figures with a “generally viral” following.

Few details had been announced at the time of writing and a link shared by Ms Sultana on her Twitter links to a form where supporters can sign up for updates.

Born in Birmingham to parents of Pakistani ancestry, Ms Sultana is a practising Muslim and has become known for her pro-Palestine views in Parliament. What drew her to politics in the first place, however, was her opposition to David Cameron’s government - which tripled university tuition fees in 2012, when she began her studies. A Guardian profile adds that her views on Israel were shaped by having visited the region as a 17-year-old.

She has had strong views on the government's action, or lack thereof, on Palestine - stating it has been an “active participant in genocide”. She has also voted against ruling Palestine Action as a terror organisation, championed green causes,

What are her chances of success?

The lack of news might be owing to Mr Corbyn having not yet officially endorsed the movement he is said to be a part of. The former Labour leader and now independent MP for Islington North has been an ally of Ms Sultana since her election in 2019 but the pair are yet to formally unite for this next phase.

She has also not been immediately joined by other Labour refugees, Apsana Begum and Rebecca Long-Bailey being two leftist defectors who have not come on board. Key to Ms Sultana’s chances will be whether she can secure the backing of major unions and splinter groups such as Momentum.

Labour List has said the party could drag voters away, with Sir Keir’s government set to lose three points, but the Greens could also lose their appeal. This is hypothetical, however, and the party would need to find 575 candidates if it were to run in every seat in 2029.

Should a new political party form, it would bring another left wing challenge to Labour in Parliament beyond the four Green MPs elected last year. It would also mean Ms Sultana, an MP with a 10,000 majority, would need to take on her former party at the ballot box if she is to hold onto Coventry South in 2029.

"In 2029, the choice will be stark: socialism or barbarism,” she said. "A year ago, I was suspended by the Labour Party for voting to abolish the two-child benefit cap and lift 400,000 children out of poverty. I'd do it again. I voted against scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners. I'd do it again.

"Now, the government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can't decide how much.

"Meanwhile, a billionaire-backed grifter is leading the polls, because Labour has completely failed to improve people's lives. And across the political establishment, from Farage to Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.

"But the truth is clear: this government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.

"We are not going to take this anymore. We're not an island of strangers; we're an island that's suffering.”