By Sophie Perry

Copyright thepinknews

Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn’s left wing party Your Party vowed to be a “new kind of political party” but a public split between the two founders has left prospective members and voters wondering where it stands, especially on key social issues like LGBTQ+ rights.

Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn, both former Labour MPs who now sit in the House of Commons as independents, launched the new political group back in July.

The party, which does not have a permanent name as yet but has become known as Your Party, described itself as a “new kind of political party… one that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements, one that builds power in all regions and nations. One that belongs to you”.

The new party was met with a tremendous reception when it launched, with more than 800,000 people believed to have signed up to its mailing list by the end of August.

Sultana and Corbyn are two of the six MPs who make up the independent alliance, which also includes independent MPs and Your Party supporters Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam.

In recent months, fractures have seemingly appeared in the party’s leadership and Sultana and Corbyn have been criticised by members of the LGBTQ+ community for not publicly stating what the party’s trans policies are, with some theorising that their silence was an effort to attract gender-critical members in order to bolster wider political appeal.

Further criticism was lodged when fellow ex-Labour MP and Independent Alliance founder member Adnan Hussain posted online that trans women are “not biologically women”.

“Sexist boys’ club”

The growing rift between Corbyn and Sultana only deepened on Thursday (18 September) when the Islington North MP accused his co-leader of sending out unauthorised emails encouraging paid membership. In turn, she alleged she had been “sidelined” by a “sexist boys club”.

On Thursday, those who had signed up to Your Party’s mailing list received an email which offered £55 memberships to the party.

Corbyn subsequently shared a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which he said an “unauthorised email” with “details of a supposed membership portal hosted in a new domain name” had been send to Your Party supporters and he urged people to ignore it and cancel any direct debits set up.

“Legal advice is being taken,” Corbyn also said in the statement, which was signed by himself, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam but, notably, did not include Sultana’s name.

Urgent message to all https://t.co/4acVYPvSDi supporters pic.twitter.com/vtyGbJB0yO— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) September 18, 2025

In response, Sultana said in a statement that she had been “effectively frozen out of the official accounts” of the group and “took the step of launching a membership portal that supporters could continue to engage and organise”, adding the sign-up area is in line with the party’s roadmap and a “safe, secure, legitimate portal”.

“My sole motivation has been to safeguard the grassroots involvement that is essential to building this party,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, I have been subjected to what can only be described as a sexist boys’ club: I have been treated appallingly and excluded completely.

“They have refused to allow any other women with voting rights on the Working Group, blocking the gender-balanced committee that both Jeremy and I signed up to.”

What are the Your Party leaders stance on LGBTQ+ rights?

Zarah Sultana

Your Party’s Zarah Sultana, who has been the MP for Coventry South since 2019, has frequently spoken out in support of LGBTQ+ rights, including trans rights.

Earlier in September, when asked about Your Party’s trans policies, Sultana confirmed to The Canary that a commitment to trans rights was a key part of the party and there is “no space for transphobia”.

“It’s really important that, from the outset, we are loud and proud about the values we have,” she said. “What’s the point if we’re not proudly saying we’re anti-racist, we’re supportive and pro-LGBT, there is no space for transphobia, we will stand in complete defence of migrants’ rights and fight fascists, we are internationalists, we’re pro-workers’ rights?

“Those are our values when we say we are socialists, when we are fighting for left-wing politics, and therefore there shouldn’t be any denying that.

“Trans people have the worst outcomes when it comes to housing, when it comes to health, when we look at suicide rates. If we are going to change society for everyone, we have to centre the most-marginalised people.

“There can’t be any questions about our position on trans rights and we need to make sure that everyone feels safe, everyone feels welcome in shaping this party.”

After the interview, Sultana posted on social media: “Trans rights are human rights. Your Party will defend them. No ifs, no buts, and I won’t let anyone get in the way of this fight.”

She subsequently told the Pod Save the UK podcast on Tuesday: “If people don’t have pro-trans, pro-migrant, anti-racist values, there are plenty of other political spaces you can enter but not this one.

“Because we have to have our values, we have to let people know what we stand for. We have to defend the rights, life and dignity of everyone, and that means centring the most marginalised.

“There is no room for socially conservative views in a left-wing party, period.”

Last July, after Labour health secretary Wes Streeting made the ban on privately prescribed puberty blockers permanent, Sultana spoke out.

“Young people – cis and trans – must have access to healthcare they need. I’ll always stand with the trans community,” she said.

Back in January 2023, Sultana was one of just 11 Labour MPs who voted against the UK government blocking Scotland’s landmark gender reforms using a section 35 order.

“The Tories’ decision to block the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill is disgraceful,” Sultana wrote on social media at the time.

“This unprecedented step treats trans people as a political football, targeting one of the most marginalised groups in the country.

“Everyone who believes in LGBTQ+ rights must oppose it.”

In 2022, at the PinkNews Awards, she vowed to “always stand up for our trans siblings and for the whole LGBTQ+ community”.

“It’s not just trans rights that are under attack, hate crimes against the whole LGBTQ+ community are on the rise across the globe and we see that basic freedoms are at threat,” Sultana said, adding she would “always fight any attempt to divide our marginalised communities because it’s solidarity that wins all the time.”

Jeremy Corbyn

Corbyn, who has been an MP since 1983, has a long history of voting for LGBTQ+ rights and speaking in favour of the community.

Indeed, all the way back in 1983 he spoke on a “no socialism without gay liberation” platform.

During his career, Corbyn has voted in favour of equalising the age of consent and legalising same-sex marriage, as well as extending equal marriage to members of the armed forces and Northern Ireland.

Corbyn has supported self-ID for trans folks, which would allow people to change the gender markers on official documents without having to jump through medical and legal hurdles.

“Discrimination has gone on too long. The Gender Recognition Act does not allow trans people to self-identify their gender and forces them to undergo invasive medical tests. This is wrong,” he said at a reception hosted by PinkNews to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

“Labour recognised this in our manifesto, pledging to update the act. Theresa May told PinkNews that ‘changes need to be made’ but failed to include anything on this in the Conservative manifesto.

“So, I say to her today, Labour will help you keep your promise. Bring forward a bill to update the act and improve trans rights and Labour will back you. You can give your MPs and the DUP a free vote and Labour will make it law.”

in 2022, Corbyn shared support for the trans community during Trans Awareness Week, writing: “The resilience of trans people in the face of endless marginalisation is an inspiration to us all.

“This Trans Awareness Week, let’s empower trans communities in their struggle for justice, and celebrate their strength and joy.

“There is no debate: Trans rights are human rights.”

That same year, Corbyn also criticised trans and non-binary people being left out of a conversion therapy ban by the then-Conservative government which he said was “disappointing” and “clear discrimination”.

“The Government must immediately set out a clear plan to stop the practice of conversion therapy for all LGBTQ+ people,” he wrote in a blog post published on his website.

“The Government must make it illegal, without any loopholes and provide publicly funded specialist support for all people who have experienced conversion therapy.”

Following this, in 2024, he told the Council of Europe that there had to be an end to the “horrors of transgender discrimination”.

“The bravery with which many gay people have spoken out over many years, to try [to] gain recognition and support within their society… we have come a long way from [those] very brave people over a very long time and we should all glory in that,” Corbyn said during his speech at a parliamentary assembly.

“However, these gains are under threat all the time [from] populist right-wing politicians and much of our media. We have to stand strong, stand firm,” he added.

“A message from the Council of Europe in support of the plurality of our society, in support of sexual freedoms, in support of the recognition of LGBTI people and an end to the horrors of transgender discrimination, is very important.”

In April this year, in the wake of the controversial Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘sex’, Corbyn said he was “really saddened” by “the level of vitriol and hatred being directed toward the trans community”.

“We are losing our common humanity. How hard is it to treat people with kindness and respect? Trans people are human beings and they deserve to live in dignity,” he said.

Khan was elected as the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr in July 2024.

When asked if he supports LGBTQ+ rights he told PoliticsHome in June: “My personal opinion as a Muslim is well known. You only have to look at what other Muslims believe, what’s taught.”

Adnan Hussain

Hussain became MP of Blackburn in July 2024.

After pledging support to Your Party, Hussain was criticised for voicing trans exclusionary views.

Controversy erupted when Hussain reshared a post X saying he agreed that Your Party should not “parrot the same neoliberal idea of gender ideology”.

“I agree, women’s rights and safe spaces should not be encroached upon. Safe third spaces should be an alternative option,” he wrote.

In response to criticism by trans journalist India Willoughby, he replied: “There was no hatred expressed, India, it’s a conversation that needs to be had. Agreeing with women on their need for spaces exclusive to them is not an expression of hatred to any other community.

“I stated the need for safe spaces for trans people, that’s not hatred.”

Another person on X then asked Hussain if he believed trans women were women, in which he replied: “They’re not biologically women, hence trans women.”

He later told The Telegraph: “I think if Zarah tried to have the conversation, as Jeremy did, immediately she’d find I’m far from a transphobe or a bigot and believe in equal human rights for all.

“Granted that does include my belief in the upholding of the Supreme Court decision protecting women’s spaces.

“Holding this view does not at all undermine my belief that trans people should be granted all the tools required to create similar safe spaces, or that existing spaces should be modified to accommodate for the specific needs of both women and trans people.

“One group’s rights should not have to come at the cost of another’s. It’s disappointing that I’ve not been approached about this issue directly.”

Hussain has also posted on X: “It’s no secret that Muslims tend to be socially conservative. Is there space on the left to create a broad enough church to allow Muslims an authentic space, just as it does all other minority groups?” The statement prompted several users to ask if this is confirmation he is socially conservative.

Iqbal Mohamed

In July 2024, Mohamed was elected the MP for Dewsbury and Batley.

He has currently not made any publicly identifiable statements on LGBTQ+ issues PinkNews can identify.

Shockat Adam

Adam became the MP for Leicester South in July 2024.

In an interview with PoliticsHome in September 2024, Adam seemed vaguely in support of LGBTQ+ inclusive sex-education lessons in schools.

Adam said: “I mean, look, it’s the law of this land. “We have to teach our children all forms of relationships. I think the main thing is to take in the considerations of parents as well. As long as there’s engagement between parents and schools, it doesn’t cause any problems.”

In a separate interview he said: “This is a topic that I will hold my hands up high, and say I need to inform myself a little bit more,” he says. “I think we have to have a conversation between the parents and the schools.

“Sex education has to be taught at an adequate age at schools. As long as there’s constant communication with parents and families, and there is respect between the two, I generally find there’s not an issue.”

However, he was less transparent about his views on same-sex marriage. When he was asked how he would vote on the topic, if it ever came up in parliament, he said “with my constituents” because he believes in “consultative democracy”.

Speaking to The New Statesman, Adam addressed criticism that he and other independent Muslim MPs were not aligned the left on social issues.

“Whether you’re part of the LGBTQ community or whether you’re from a conservative background community, nobody should be discriminated against,” he said. “Everybody should be treated equally. These, I think, are conversations that, I genuinely believe, if they’re done in sincerity from both sides, can be resolved.”