Jeremy Corbyn coming to Oldham to launch new party

Jeremy Corbyn is holding an event in Oldham to pitch his new political party to local constituents.

‘An evening with Jeremy Corbyn’ will see the former Labour leader visit Westwood next week to talk about ‘Your Party’, a new left-wing group he has formed with Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. The ticketed talk will take place at the Empire Suite on Westend Street on Thursday, August 28, according to Eventbrite. 

Event organisers Oldham Welcomes Corbyn said the event is ‘your chance to hear Jeremy Corbyn talk about YourParty in Oldham. An opportunity for you to shape the future.’ 

The £2 to £10 event will see the Islington North MP discussing the new party, which advocates for wealth distribution, public ownership utilities and a ‘demand to an end to all arms sales to Israel’. Sign-ups for the group, which is yet to be officially named, are alleged to have hit more than 700,000 in its first month.

In a joint statement on their website, Sultana and Corbyn wrote:  “The system is rigged. The system is rigged when 4.5 million children live in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world.

“The system is rigged when giant corporations make a fortune from rising bills. The system is rigged when this government says there is no money for the poor, but billions for war.” 

The talk comes after a local event took place this weekend where Oldham residents were invited to contribute ‘six local and six national policies’ to Your Party, which is inviting new members to ‘help shape’ the direction of the party. 

It is presumed by local political sources that Corbyn is visiting to rally support among Oldham constituency, where the Israel-Gaza conflict is said to have cost Labour MPs a significant vote share in the last general election, as well as causing the council administration to lose its overall majority in the local election in 2024.

Councillor Shoab Akhtar from the Oldham Group, an association of pro-Palestinian local independents, promoted Corbyn’s talk on social media. A source from the group stated they had ‘no affiliation with YourParty’ but ‘intended to see what the man has to say’.