Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has confirmed her resignation from the party and announced plans to co-lead the formation of a new political party alongside ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The Coventry South MP, who had the Labour whip suspended last year, declared her departure in a statement shared on social media, framing the move as part of a broader initiative involving independent MPs, campaigners, and grassroots activists nationwide, The Independent reported.
Sultana's decision follows a prolonged period of tension with Labour leadership, particularly after she voted to abolish the two-child benefit cap—a move that led to her suspension along with six other MPs.
While four of those MPs were later reinstated, Sultana remained outside the parliamentary Labour fold, and her continued defiance of party lines appears to have deepened the rift. Her public criticism of the party's policy positions on welfare, poverty, and support for vulnerable groups underscored her growing disillusionment with Labour under Sir Keir Starmer.
Her announcement comes at a moment when she has become increasingly vocal in parliamentary debates, having recently used a House of Commons intervention to contrast Starmer’s past legal career defending anti-war activists with his current stance as prime minister.
In that intervention, she recalled his role as a barrister in a case involving RAF Fairford, which she described as a turning point in the legal recognition of nonviolent protest against war, and juxtaposed that legacy with contemporary efforts to label certain activist movements as terror threats.
The timing of her statement coincided with a vote in Parliament to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, a decision that followed the group’s targeting of military and defence-related sites in the UK.
The new political party, which she will help to lead alongside Corbyn, aims to challenge what its proponents see as the failure of the current two-party system to address systemic inequalities and social injustice. While no formal launch date has been announced, the initiative is expected to bring together figures disillusioned with mainstream politics and committed to pushing for more radical reforms from outside the Labour establishment.