Yves here. Americans who have become disillusioned about the prospects for national candidates like Sanders who advocate for concrete material benefits for ordinary voters, aka socialism, might understandably be inclined to dismiss Corbyn’s efforts to seek leadership via a new party as quixotic. But things have changed since his last big. First, with Gaza genocide becoming even more visibly horrific, it’s much harder to make “pro Palestine = anti-semitic” stick. Second, as rise of Zohran Mamdani, and even more tellingly, the difficulty Team Dem and plutocrats are having in sinking his campaign, even in hard-core, heavily propagandized America, capitalism has resulted in such severe inequality and visible looting that voters are tossing the old guard over the side. The same impulse that produced Trump should if anything even more favor a bona fide socialist.
Early UK voter reactions indicate that Corbyn will be a force to be reckoned with, as in even if he does not become PM, he could come to command a big enough block of seats so as to lead a coalition essential to forming a government and hence influence policy. From Council Estate Media in New Corbyn party already bigger than Tories and Reform as 250,000 sign up in one day:
The new party founded by @jeremycorbyn and @zarahsultana might not have a name, but it already has over 250,000 sign ups. To put that in perspective, Reform has around 230,000 members and the Tories have 120,000. The evidence could not be clearer: people are desperate for change
In 24 hours, sign-ups to ‘Your Party’ have hit 250,000 and climbing. With your help, we’re on track to become the largest political party in the UK.Keep it going 👇👇✊https://t.co/YqifXtLDVL
Edit: Now at 250k! The numbers are rising faster than we can keep up with them. pic.twitter.com/CeuozLUamc
— Collective (@wearecollectiv_) July 25, 2025
At Labour’s peak under Corbyn, the party had a membership of nearly 600,000 which has plummeted to 300,000 under Starmer. Most of the people who left Labour in disgust have jumped into the arms of the new party. Expect that trend to continue until the new party is the biggest in the UK.
I’m not sure if Starmer realises that constantly kicking his party’s members in the bollocks was a suicidal move, but he soon will. Remember when Angela Rayner said she would suspend thousands and thousands of members until everyone fell in line? Well, Corbyn sends his thanks!
To unpack this development a bit, in the UK voters can become party members, which requires them to pay annual dues and also allows them to vote in leadership contests. Recall it was Tory members who chose Boris Johnson to replace Theresa May in 2019, as opposed to UK voters at large. That outcome was widely criticized as undemocratic (although Johnson cemented his status as Prime Minister after a later general election).
Readers will not doubt offer additional observations on the new-found appeal of socialism in the Anglosphere, but a fresh article in the Financial Times provides a clue. From Why are young adults in the English-speaking world so unhappy?:
One of the most striking but under-discussed insights from this year’s World Happiness Report was that the marked worsening in young adult mental health over the past decade is primarily, if not exclusively, an Anglosphere phenomenon.
The share of young adults regularly experiencing stress and anger has risen sharply over the past 15 years in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. But it has been largely stable elsewhere in the west, according to detailed data from the Gallup World Poll used in the report….
I want to throw another factor into the mix: housing.
While dozens of countries are dealing with deteriorating housing affordability, the issue is especially acute in the Anglosphere.
Keep in mind that the British are underhoused compared to Americans, in terms of living space per person. so rental housing is almost certain to be more cramped than here.
By Carla Abreu, openDemocracy’s Audience Engagement Manager, journalist. She tweets @carlasabreu_. Originally published at openDemocracy
Welcome to openDemocracy’s weekly reader comments round-up. This is an opportunity for us to showcase some of the many carefully considered messages we receive on a range of topics.
These comments are edited for clarity, accuracy and length and don’t necessarily reflect openDemocracy’s editorial position.
Money makes the world go around, so they say. So, how come those who already have a shed load of it always seem to get more, while those living pay cheque to pay cheque never do? Also, it’s past time to put a stop to political donations from bankers and businesses. They are only giving money to politicians to increase their own wealth. Or do they expect us to believe they are just being philanthropic? Give me a break! –Vee
They’ve clearly forgotten Gordon Brown’s ‘light-touch regulation’. That was a Mansion House speech, too. It ultimately led to disaster in 2008/9. Which in turn led to George Osborne’s perma-austerity, which led to Brexit and the rise of Farage. –Judith
I switched my vote from Labour to the Greens many years ago. Yes, I know it’s a lot easier to make promises in opposition than it is to deliver policies when in power. But the Green Party’s policies are much closer to ‘traditional Labour values’ than those of the current Labour Party. –Steve
Ethan Shone makes the case that Rachel Reeves and the Labour Party are now a wholly owned subsidiary of the financial services industry and are focused on a corporate-privileging agenda. While this may or may not be exaggerated (after all, we might point to some non-corporate favouring actions this year), as an overall trend, it doesexplain Reeves’s position-taking. –Christopher
I was wondering how the current situation is different from under the Tories. Not in a ‘they’re all the same’ way, but whether finance correctly spotted a chance to get more radical (and profitable) changes pushed through because Labour is so vacuous and easily manipulated, while senior Tories who know better how the city works might pushback. –Bash
Do you not think that your question is simplistic? Socialism in one country, just like that? What world do you think we live in? You do risk sounding like entitled young things who expect to get everything they want without understanding the context at all. Working for socialism is harder than that, as your own research surely tells you! –Jennifer
I do think a socialist government is possible for the UK. Just look at what happened in 1945. There was a longing for a kinder, fairer, healthier world, with its shoots appearing even during the war.
Now we are approaching a tipping point, where the general public has had enough of both Big C and Small C conservative governments. Inequality is so clear to see, yet it’s getting worse. Old Labour principles have been thrown out in favour of ‘growth’ and cosying up to Big Business. Our services and local government are underfunded, reducing our quality of life, while the distortion of the housing market is increasing homelessness, and the government won’t meaningfully commit to ditching fossil fuels. The British people feel they deserve better, and it is possible they will demand it soon. –Susan
A socialist government is electable in the UK, especially if the left pulls together. However, it would need the support of other socialist governments to counter the corporate efforts that would undermine it, specifically deals that include investor/state dispute clauses, corporate arbitration and exemptions from national laws, as well as so-called free trade zones. –Lesley G
Of course it is possible! We’ve had socialist-led governments in this country in the past, though not really since Harold Wilson’s. It was with Tony Blair’s premiership that the rot set in within Labour; he was no socialist, and it all went downhill from his first day in office. Now, we’ve got middle-class, lawyerly Keir Starmer, whose bourgeois ways and colleagues, as well as his habit of ousting anyone whose ideology isn’t in lockstep with his own, make socialism an impossibility under what passes for a Labour Party today.
But there’s hope! Jeremy Corbyn has already had a very uneasy five years as the Labour leader before all those right-wing Blair hangovers managed to oust him. Now he seems to be planning to launch a new socialist party with the fresh and enthusiastic young MP, Zarah Sultana. There’s certainly a hunger in the electorate for a socialist party to represent them, even just to listen to them with left-wing ears, so to speak, and then move on from there with fresh ideas and additional active support.
I’ll do everything I can to help, little though that is. I’m rooting for them, and I know I’m not the only one. So yes, of course we can have a socialist-led government in England – even in the UK – just as we’ve had (too rarely) in the past. Live in hope, hope for the best but plan for the worst, all that kind of thing. –Val
Yes, in my country, Scotland, if it manages to gain its independence. I believe that English votes will bring the UK a Reform-led government at the next general election, and Scotland, just as happened when it voted to remain in the EU, will find itself outvoted – and governed by that right-wing bunch of charlatans.
Reform Ltd will not need a single vote from Scotland to achieve its goal of forming the next government, although it will get some with the money it is currently pouring into winning Scottish votes. But polling suggests that most people in Scotland intend to vote for the centre-left SNP which already runs the UK’s best performing, better paid and only strike-free health service, NHS Scotland; operates the internationally acclaimed Scottish Child Payment, lifting more Scots kids out of poverty than any other part of the UK; offers free bus travel for young and old; free prescriptions and tuition; more and better paid police with lower crime rates across all metrics; more teachers and GPs per head of population; better building standards – I could go on. In other words, it is a far more socialist government and is currently politically left of Labour. –Lesley M
I hope a socialist-led government is possible; it’s the only way to save our miserable species (though it may be best for all other species if we don’t survive). But until left-wing radicals can come together in a convincing way, I can’t see it happening. –Amanda
The prospect of a new party involving Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana appears immensely popular but would face tremendous opposition from the establishment and right-wing media. So, yes, it’s possible, but only if brutal opposition can be overcome. –Barrie
The more I learn about the world, the more I doubt that socialism is possible, and this is coming from someone who likes socialism. – CAT via Mastodon
Read the story that inspired this poll here.
