Sultana, the Coventry South MP stripped of the Labour whip last year for backing a move to scrap the two-child benefit cap, said the new party would be formed with other independent MPs and activists, aiming to challenge a "broken" Westminster system. Corbyn has been contacted but has not confirmed his involvement to the BBC.

Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Zarah Sultana for her "principled decision" to quit the Labour Party. An MP who was ousted from the Labour Party announced she is setting up a new political party with Jeremy Corbyn - but he has said in a statement that "discussions are ongoing".

The same political concern animates the reluctance of the Corbyn camp and the Sultana camp’s efforts to bounce him into action: a desire not to let mass social opposition in the working-class and youth burst the banks of Labourite politics.