Is this the fastest-growing political force in Britain?

To the consternation of their many critics, the new party launched by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana claims it has already signed up some 500,000 supporters.

- SEAN O'GRADY

This makes them bigger and faster-growing than any other UK political grouping – and recalls the heady days of a decade ago when a surge of new members made Corbyn the most improbable leader of the Labour Party in its history. Even so, success is still far from assured.

What's the latest?

Well, the recruitment is cracking along and polling for the embryonic party is also encouraging; one in six British voters, according to YouGov, say they are likely to consider voting for a new left-wing party led by Corbyn. After all, he did manage to score 40 per cent at the 2017 general election, more than any Labour leader since Tony Blair (albeit deflating to 32 per cent in 2019).

Sultana, the self-declared co-leader (some say that Corbyn seems uncomfortable with the title), has given an interview to Novara explaining her reasons for leaving Labour, which include, she says, its “austerity” policies and support for Israel over the war in Gaza. She declared it a “dead” party, morally and electorally. The hostility between her and the Labour leadership is palpable, if not surprising: “Keir Starmer said, ‘Well, if you don’t like it, leave’. So I did, and Jeremy and I - along with millions of others are going to build something new and different. And they are rattled.”

Has the new party got a name yet?