On Friday, the day before 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, attended a group meeting at Paul’s Place, a nonprofit set up to support people bereaved by suicide.
Corbyn, now 76, has always valued grassroots and community action over national politics. After the meeting, attendees were encouraged to pick from plates of cheese and crackers. Three individuals, all Your Party members, described Corbyn as the best prime minister they “never had.”
In the ACC, others appeared more skeptical. Conference attendees were handed leaflets 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 address everything from Grenfell tower murders to climate change, whatever it is. And people have to get together and organize.”
As debates continued in the main hall and energy levels waned, chairs sometimes struggled to maintain 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 settled at Your Party’s conference was a proper name for the outfit, although it has a distinctly familiar ring.
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