LONDON: An MP has withdrawn from the new left-wing political movement in the UK called Your Party over “infighting” and “veiled prejudice” against Muslim men.
Adnan Hussain, an MP from Blackburn in northern England, made the announcement less than two weeks ahead of the party’s founding conference in Liverpool, amid internal fights over finance and its leadership.
Hussain said he was drawn to Your Party, headed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Coventry MP Zarah Sultana, to build “a political home with mass appeal” and “a force capable of challenging the rise of far-right rhetoric.”
But, posting a statement on X, he said he was disappointed by the party’s “persistent infighting, factional competition, and a struggle for power, position and influence rather than a shared commitment to the common good.”
Hussain said he was “deeply troubled” by the way “certain figures,” including male Muslims, had been treated.
“At times, the rhetoric used has been disturbingly similar to the very political forces the left claims to oppose,” he said.
“I witnessed insinuations about capability, dismissive attitudes and language that carried, at the very least, veiled prejudice.”
Your Party was founded with six MPs, with the other three being Independent Alliance MPs Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed.
However, allegations of a power struggle between Corbyn and Sultana have soured relations between key figures, and the party was recently engulfed in a scandal after Sultana promoted an “unauthorised” online membership portal that collected hundreds of thousands of pounds in fees.
The Independent Alliance cohort said it was trying to recover the funds for Your Party from Sultana, and while some had been transferred, they were demanding “the immediate transfer of all the money that was donated by supporters to get a new party off the ground.”
Hussain added on X that he “did not anticipate becoming drawn into very serious and damaging internal disputes on matters relating to organisational conduct and governance.”
He wished “those who continue to work on this endeavour the very best of luck and hope their hard work achieves the results they desire,” adding that he remains a “dedicated member of the Independent Alliance.”
