Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party is no longer in operation in Scotland following the resignation of all 12 members of its interim Scottish Executive Committee on Monday, 13 April. The resignations followed the party’s failure to prepare properly for the coming Holyrood election, and reflect ongoing concerns among the Scottish membership about the attitudes of its UK leaders towards Scotland.
Following the resignations, the former committee members announced their intention to create a new party which would be active in Scotland only.
Scotland faced ‘denial of autonomy’, say former members
In a statement, the resigning members made clear that they had felt unable to carry out their democratic obligations to Scottish members because of decisions made at a UK level. “No serious attempt to unite the left can be done through purges of socialists or by disregarding entire nations and their representatives”, they said. “It is clear that these are fatal blows to the Your Party project from which it cannot recover.”
Niall Christie, who represented Scotland on Your Party’s Central Executive Committee, spoke out in March about the party’s treatment of its Scottish members, noting that it had rejected an amendment addressing Scottish members’ desire to move towards organisational independence, along with their need to be consulted and included in decision-making.
Your Party candidates miss out on the Scottish election
A major concern for Scottish members of Your Party was its failure to prepare for next month’s election, which meant that candidates were not able to register. Christie has attributed this directly to inaction on the part of the UK party. This included failure to circulate a proposal addressing the election at the Central Executive Committee in March.
“It has become clear the party has run out of road”, he said after the resignations, which included his own. “This is in no small part down to the consistent disrespect shown to Scotland and Scottish members, with decisions about us being made without our input, and on our behalf.”
Since the election debacle went public, the Scottish party has experienced a notable downturn in membership, with initially enthusiastic members looking for political homes elsewhere or giving up on political participation entirely. Many of those attracted to the party when it formed had previously felt disenfranchised. The resigning committee members made clear their intention to address this problem.
A new Scottish party of the left
According to Christie, last Sunday, 12 April, saw a gathering of nearly 200 Scottish Your Party members anxious to discuss the situation. The upshot was a plan to work together towards the formation of a new party of the left – one created in Scotland, by Scottish people, focused directly on Scottish concerns.
Speaking to Bylines Scotland, Christie described the country’s six major parties as “all centre left to far right”, and expressed confidence in the potential of the new project. “There’s clear space for a left-wing party to emerge there and seriously challenge in a way that hasn’t happened for decades”, he said. Addressing the large number of small left-wing parties already active in the country, he observed that they include “some excellent folk” and expressed a desire to see people work together.
It’s too early, Christie said, to start discussing policy areas, but once the project gets going, policy will be a primary importance. “Time was wasted in YP on little more than bureaucracy, and that was deliberate to stop positions being discussed and set. That can’t happen again.”
Bylines Scotland reached out to Your Party for comment but has yet to receive a response.
More from Jenny Kermode
Bylines Network Gazette is out!
The latest Bylines Network Gazette is out now. Become a Friend of Bylines Network or upgrade to a paid Substack subscription, and you will get access to a vital collection of citizen articles and stories.
Journalism by the people, for the people.
