Like other councillors across the country who resigned from the Labour Party to become independent, we’re excited to see the launch of Your Party. We are grateful to Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn for taking the initiative – both are torchbearers for a new approach to left politics. We, along with hundreds of thousands of other people, are committed to working with them to build a socialist movement that can win power and make our world work in the interests of the 99%.

From the conversations we’ve had in Hackney, traditionally a Labour stronghold, we know that residents feel let down by Labour. Over and over again, they tell us that they voted Labour and expected their lives to get better, yet most are still struggling to pay their bills and to have safe and secure housing. Any new party must both address people’s material needs and rebuild their trust in the political process.

Hackney has seen some of the most vociferous protests in solidarity with Palestine, including a 2-month camp outside the Town Hall. For many, our Labour government and Labour council’s complicity with Israel’s genocide has made the demand for a new politics more urgent.

There are now hundreds of independent left councillors, many of whom, like us, have set up local parties or collectives. Through the Hackney Independent Socialist Collective, we hope to build a politics of collaboration and solidarity. We work alongside trade unionists and local campaigners, including the Hackney Greens, to make changes happen.

We’ve learned so much in the process of becoming independent – and we are still learning. We look forward to sharing the understandings and knowledge we’ve gained with the new left party, and of being part of a democratic transformative grassroots.