Your Party keeps name as tense first conference concludes

Jeremy Corbyn’s new left-wing movement decided to make the name Your Party permanent at the conclusion of its tense inaugural conference.

The former Labour leader announced the interim name will be kept as he wrapped up the weekend which also saw his preferred leadership set-up rejected.

Members voted for the name Your Party over the alternatives Our Party, Popular Alliance and For The Many.

They also voted narrowly against having a single elected leader, opting instead for a collective model favoured by his rival Zarah Sultana that puts a committee of members in charge.

Mr Corbyn acknowledged there had been “frustrations” in the establishment of the outfit but said “we have come a long way” as he closed the gathering in Liverpool on Sunday.

The first day of the founding conference was marred by a dispute over the expulsion of a number of members said to also belong to the Socialist Workers Party.

Ms Sultana boycotted the first day of the conference in protest at what she described as a “witch hunt”.

She reignited tensions on Sunday with an attack on unnamed figures “at the top” of the new party.

Describing the expulsion of members as “unacceptable” and “an attack on members and this movement”, she said: “These actions come straight out of the Labour right’s handbook, the same playbook we have all lived through for years – the witch hunts, the smears, the intimidation, the bullying, the legal threats and the leaks to the Murdoch press.

“Let me be absolutely clear, the members will not stand for this, the movement will not stand for this and I will not stand for this.”

She also apologised for “hiccups” in the process of founding the new party, accepting responsibility for some of the problems and urging members to “get better at working with each other”.

The former Labour MP welcomed members’ endorsement of a collective leadership model on Sunday, after her preferred “co-leadership” plan had been blocked from consideration by members.

Ms Sultana said she had “fought for maximum member democracy since day one” and described the decision as “exciting”.

She said: “Together, we’re building a new socialist party – radically democratic and powered by a mass movement.

“This party will be led by its members, not MPs.”

The model, supported by 51.6% of the more than 9,000 members who voted on the proposals, will see the party led by a committee of party members that MPs will be barred from standing for.

Mr Corbyn previously said he backed the “sole leader” model and would stand for the position.

A party spokesperson said the vote “shows that we really are doing politics differently: from the bottom up, not the top down”.

They also said: “Our permanent name reflects what our party and our conference is all about: a radically democratic movement seeking a radical transfer of wealth and power from the few to the many. This weekend was a festival of democracy, breaking with the Westminster mould of top-down politics.”

In a separate vote, almost 70% backed a proposal to allow members of other parties to join when Your Party’s executive found they “aligned with the party’s values”.

In his closing speech, Mr Corbyn thanked volunteers who helped put the party’s conference together, adding: “It wasn’t easy.

“There were a lot of struggles on the way, getting a venue, getting the papers written, and all the rest of it.

“I understand all the frustrations about the statements, the rules, the constitution and the drafts and so on.

“As I said earlier, and Zara said in her speech, there is no handbook on how to set up a political party but we have come a long way and learnt a lot along the way.”

The party’s founding was overshadowed by internal conflict between the former Labour leader and Ms Sultana, involving a botched membership launch and threats of legal action.