On Friday, the eve of the conference, the former Labour leader — suspended from the party by current Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his response to a damning report on antisemitism — sat in a group meeting at Paul’s Place, a not-for-profit set up to support people bereaved by suicide.
Corbyn, now 76, has long prized grassroots and community action over the glare of national politics. After the meeting, with attendees encouraged to pick from plates of cheese and crackers, three people, all Your Party members, described Corbyn as the best prime minister we “never had.”
In the ACC, others seemed more skeptical. Leaflets were thrust into the hands of conference attendees describing Corbyn’s politics as an “old, cowardly, rotten left-social democratic alliance.”
“I’m not interested in Jeremy Corbyn or Zarah Sultana,” said attendee Julian. “I’m interested in how policy is made, how legislation is developed to deal with everything from Grenfell tower murders to climate change, whatever it is. And people have to get together and organize.”
As debates in the main hall continued and energy levels sapped, chairs at times struggled to keep the peace. Debate chair Aghileh Djafari-Marbini was booed when she tried to instill order. “I’m not scared of you,” she said to those trying to shout her down. “As a child, I used to visit my father in the notorious Evin Prison. I am not scared of you. You do not scare me.”
What’s in a name?
One thing that at least was settled at Your Party’s conference was a proper name for the outfit — although it’s got a distinctly familiar ring.
