Zarah Sultana says she and Jeremy
Corbyn have resolved tensions in their new leftwing party, comparing their
fiery dynamic to the Gallagher brothers.
Speaking alongside Corbyn at The World Transformed political festival in Manchester, the Gallaghers’ home city, Sultana insisted they could cooperate over the organisation still only known, unofficially, as Your Party.
“Obviously you’ve all seen what’s happened over the past few weeks but I’m here to tell you the show is back on the road,”
said Sultana, the Coventry South MP who was elected on a Labour ticket but now sits as an independent.
“I know that I’m in Manchester, so I have to reference Liam and Noel Gallagher. If they can do it, of course me and Jeremy can.
The only difference between us is that Jeremy still thinks Arsenal are still going to win the Premier League, and we know that they will always come second place with a second-place trophy.”
Following a sour disagreement over the party's structure between Sultana and Corbyn, the former Labour leader who was re-elected as an independent MP last year, the new party's status—also touted as a grassroots membership organization—has been in question for weeks.
This hit its lowest point last month when Sultana claimed to have sought advice from defamation attorneys following a highly public dispute with Corbyn over her choice to institute a paid party membership system.
The payment website was put up without permission, according to Corbyn, who called it a "false membership system" that collected funds and information without permission. He claimed to have forwarded the case to the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Sultana said that a "sexist boys' club" made up of Corbyn and four independent MPs who supported Gaza had barred her from joining the new party.
Sultana quickly withdrew the threat of legal action, claiming that she was in communication with Corbyn and wished to make amends.
The video only briefly included Sultana, and Corbyn apologized for the incident in a later video message to the mailing list of 750,000 people who had expressed interest in the party.
Previously held concurrently with the Labour conference, the left-wing World Transformed event is now held this year following the conclusion of Labour's gathering in Liverpool.
What does the reconciliation mean for the party's November conference?
The rapprochement between Zarah
Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn is significant for the party's November conference
because it stabilizes the leadership, allowing them to present a unified
position and concentrate on effectively launching the political movement.
The restored relationship will allow political leaders to suppress disputes and division that previously threatened to derail the party's creation.
The reconciliation reduces disagreements, so joint leadership can coordinate strategy, communication, and organizational work more seamlessly.
If it can be demonstrated that the party's leaders can put differences behind them, it may build credibility and confidence among supporters and potential members.