Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn is hoping to establish the alternative, pro-Palestine, anti-reform, pro-people left-wing party as Your Party hosts its first-ever conference this weekend amid allegations of a “witch hunt” and explicit rumours of internal rifts.
This weekend's inaugural conference will decide a number of things, including agreeing on the party’s name, its structures, its governance and its membership policy, as well as forming the foundation to allow Your Party to potentially run candidates in the May elections.
"I'm very excited about it," Jeremy Corbyn tells The New Arab, when asked about what he's hoping will come out of the conference. "We'll be a different voice, but above all, a democratic voice."
"[I am hoping that] we set up the party, we agree on the name, we set up the branch structures straight away, and we go out there campaigning for peace, campaigning for justice, campaigning for a sustainable world," Corbyn said.
Corbyn also told The New Arab that he wants the party to prove that people of all backgrounds can unite, form a coalition and make change.
"A group of people, many of whom have never met each other, some of whom were never involved in any political activity ever before, can come together with people who have spent their lifetime on causes, campaigns and political activity, and go forward together to build a sort of cultural coalition of people that want to achieve change in our world," he said.
Hosting in Liverpool this weekend, in a place that "breathes solidarity in so many ways", as Corbyn mentioned in his opening speech, the politician is hoping to set up the party "straight away".
As the crowd cheered upon his arrival, Corbyn addressed the over 1,000 supporters at the ACC arena, which has a history of hosting the biggest political parties, including the Labour Party, which he formerly led.
Palestine - a key issue
Along with critiquing the demonisation of refugees and migrants, the cost-of-living crisis and the importance of public ownership and democratic control, there was one issue that earned the politician a standing ovation - Palestine.
From condemning Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, which has since killed almost 70,000 Palestinians and the call to international action, Corbyn also critiqued the UK's role in supplying Israel with the very weapons that are being used during its war.
The MP noted Saturday as the International Day of Solidarity for the Palestinian people, causing the crowd to chant: "Free, Free Palestine."
"It's not war, it's genocide that we’ve been witnessing live on our screens," Corbyn said. "Our government is complicit in this," noting being "haunted" by the images of starving Palestinian children being gunned down by the Israeli army.
"We will not rest until there is justice," he said.
Local activist and trade unionist, Elizabeth Bailey, believes Palestine is a "key issue" for Your Party.
"I think Palestine is sort of a cornerstone of the current political climate, not just because of the ongoing genocide, but because it represents a turning point for British imperialism," Bailey tells The New Arab.
"It underlines what your actual values are. So, if people are getting backlash for speaking out against the genocide, and they choose not to speak out, clearly they’re prioritising their personal position over the Palestinian people."
The activist references the Labour Party, which is "clearly taking a position which they obviously know is wrong" but politically serves their interests in British arms and diplomatic ties.
"How can you trust someone who says they stand up for human rights, but they don’t stand up for the Palestinians?"
'Make or Break'
Issues from the moment the party was announced, including an unauthorised membership portal and disputes over how the party would be led, have clouded its policies and promises, leading many to wonder whether the Your Party conference would even happen.
"There's been so much nonsense going on, which has just been horrendous," one of the attendants, Michele, tells The New Arab. "Really, this weekend for me, it's make or break."
Michele, who travelled from Manchester, told The New Arab she was at the conference not only to give her deposition on the leading Labour Party and the current political establishment in Britain, but also to root for a new kind of politics that puts ordinary people first.
"I am hoping and praying that Zara Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn will make friends, and whoever the people are at the top, who are causing issues, just step back and take a back seat," she said.
"It seems quite exciting to be part of a new party," another attendant, Dominic from London, tells The New Arab. "I think there’s a realignment going on in British politics; we saw that in some of the results in the last general election and some of the polling now."
"I think it's important that the left come out and be there to make sure we're part of that, make sure that the left voice goes into the new realignment going on."
Dominic says right now, we need "maximum unity".
"I'm hoping this conference might be tricky, but I’m hoping we come to the end of it with an idea of what we are, what we're doing, where we're going."
Rise of the Greens
After the rifts within Your Party, another political force has gained ground under its new, forward-thinking, pro-Palestine leader, the Green Party.
Likened to New York’s newly elected Zohran Mamdani, Zack Polanski has been praised for his "eco-populist" style and his vocal stance on Gaza, with its membership reaching its highest ever figure of 100,000 since he took over.
After the fallout from the Your Party turmoil, many of its members have chosen to side with the established Greens instead.
When asking Michele about what would happen if the conference does not fulfil its promises, she didn't dismiss the possibility.
While Michele is in sharp favour of Sultana leading Your Party, she cannot help but admire Polanski's stance.
"I love that Polanski," Michele says. "I love his 'in your face' politics; he is fantastic at debating and rebutting criticism, which I don’t think Jeremy Corbyn was very good at."
While rumours circulated online that Polanski was attempting to recruit the co-founders into the Green fold, when asked whether he had considered defecting, Corbyn proudly asserted that he was "very happy where [he is]".
"I've got my membership card for Your Party."