Corbyn accused of undemocratic behaviour over ‘backroom deal’

The Canary has received reports of an alleged backroom deal between Jeremy Corbyn, The Many, and Redbridge Independents. In January 2025, Corbyn announced his endorsement of the Redbridge Independents, declaring:

we are the alternative, we are the community.

However, this excited endorsement has been challenged by anonymous insiders. And, this revelation comes just as The Many accused Grassroots Left of undermining member decisions at the fledgling party’s inaugural conference.

But, the Canary have received a report from a source that was present in a meeting between Corbyn, Redbridge Independents, and candidate on The Many slate on Tuesday 26 January — one day before Corbyn declared his public support for Redbridge Independents. The source alleges that Corbyn traded his public endorsement for a commitment from Redbridge Independents to deliver votes for The Many.

If accurate, this would represent a clear attempt to exert political influence behind closed doors.

Corbyn pushes The Many

As Your Party gears up for its Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections that will determine leadership of the party, internal rifts are evident. Whilst Corbyn endorsed The Many, Zarah Sultana has endorsed the Grassroots Left slate.

An anonymous source told the Canary that Noor Begum and Tahir Mirza, two candidates on The Many slate, were present at the alleged meeting with Corbyn and Redbridge Independents. If Corbyn has indeed traded public endorsement for assurances of support for The Many, there must be serious questions over the erosion of democratic principles during the course of these elections.

Furthermore, according to our source, Begum confessed she had been told by Laura Alvarez, Corbyn’s wife, that it was imperative that both candidates be elected in the London region. If not, Corbyn and his allies would not have ultimate control of the CEC. As a result, they would not control the party itself.

These are hardly the actions of people committed to member-led democracy. Instead, they are the actions of a group of people clinging to shady Westminster-style backroom politics where what matters is who you know.

Accusations against Grassroots Left

As we mentioned earlier, these revelations come as The Many accuse Grassroots Left of undermining the principle of one member, one vote:

For months, Corbyn and his allies have briefed against Zarah Sultana and those in her team. Namely, the allegation is that Sultana is attempting to take control of the party. As these allegations swirl, it is clear that Your Party is far from guaranteeing member-led democracy.

A party divided: democracy undermined from within

In February 2026, members of Your Party will vote nationwide to elect candidates to its Central Executive Committee (CEC), the body responsible for carrying forward the membership’s will through democratic debate and decision-making. Since the party’s inception, both sides have accused each other of attempting to seize ultimate control. Furthermore, Zarah Sultana claimed she was pushed out of the process. She denounced it as a “sexist boys club” dominated by unelected bureaucrats.

Reports suggest these struggles for control have been present from the very beginning. Corbyn’s team reportedly opposed Sultana’s involvement and resisted the proposed co-leader model. However, the announcement of that model inspired hundreds of thousands of people across the country to take notice.

Members should have put this divide to rest in November, when Your Party’s inaugural conference overwhelmingly backed dual membership and collective leadership. Yet the back and forth accusations suggest that the democratic mandate from members is not being treated as such.

We have already reported how candidates aligned with Jeremy Corbyn have allegedly had to commit to overturning conference decisions regarding leadership model and dual membership. We even exposed the controversial reality that Corbyn’s aide, Karie Murphy, chose to block a sortition member once becoming aware of their socialist credentials. Nevertheless, the group appear willing to sink to ever greater depths of shadiness.

‘Reminiscent of old-style Labour party’

Michael Lavalette, Independent councilor in Preston and candidate for a CEC public office seat, was unimpressed by reports of yet more factional scheming within Your Party. In response to the alleged backroom deals, Lavalette told the Canary:

This is a symptom of the factional fight going on inside Your Party. Groups are trying to make deals to get their slate over the line.

But we should be against backroom deals, this is so reminiscent of old-style Labour party and trade union politics that Your Party was meant to break from.

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We need Your Party to be broad and inclusive. We know in many parts of the country there are independent groups and Your Party proto-branches in the same space. We need to find ways for them to work together for the benefit of YP as a whole, to work together and gradually evolve into a unified political presence on our communities. We certainly shouldn’t be looking at a ‘franchise model’ of establishing recognised groupings.

Your Party must be a big tent, a broad left of Labour party, insurgent, based in our communities, social movements and trade unions.

With a vision of establishing a better world for the millions, not the millionaires.

As Lavalette astutely points out, these toxic tactics with each camp vying for control, has meant constituencies have opposing groups organising for the same political party. Had member decisions been respected and implemented without fear or favour, this conflict would never have emerged. As a result, we can see candidates on The Many slate resorting to behaviour that can only be called dishonest and manipulative.

Top-down ‘feudal’ politics or member-led democracy

The elephant in the room is now impossible to ignore. The two slates, The Many and Grassroots Left, are drastically different in model and vision. However, the party will only endure if its leaders commit to enforcing member-led decisions. They must put personal gain and power aside.

The recent actions of Corbyn and The Many suggest they are deeply unhappy with the collective leadership model where members set the course and ‘steer the ship’. They are seemingly intent on assuming control of the CEC to row back member-led decisions to permit dual membership. Given the alleged reports of calls for Corbyn to be sole leader, it appears even the leadership model might be under threat. This is especially true if The Many assume control.

Regardless of where you sit in this debate, one principle should unite us all. Vital decisions must rest with Your Party members, made democratically, transparently, and collectively. Not MPs wielding their popularity to decide who gets a voice and who is shut out.

This new party must be about ‘how’ we show up, not which ‘team’ we show up with.

Your Party and The Many had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Featured image via the Canary