Gaza Independent MP Backs Co-Leader Model For New Left-Wing Party
6 min read
A pro-Gaza Independent MP has said he is “fully behind” Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn co-leading a new left-wing party.
Iqbal Mohamed, the MP for Dewsbury and Batley, told PoliticsHome that both Corbyn and Sultana would be electoral assets to a new party on the left, describing the latter as someone who can represent the "youth of this nation".
Sultana quit the Labour Party this month, announcing that she would co-lead a new political outfit with Corbyn, and that Independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the UK would join them.
Sultana was elected the Labour MP for Coventry South in 2019. However, the left-wing MP quickly developed a difficult relationship with leader Keir Starmer, with whom she disagreed on a range of issues. She was one of seven MPs to have the Labour whip removed shortly after the July general election for defying the government on a vote on the two-child benefit cap, and has also been a strong critic of the Labour government's response to the war in Gaza.
Former Labour leader Corbyn, who lost the party whip before the general election, congratulated Sultana on her “principled decision”. However, he did not confirm who would head the planned new left-wing party, describing discussions as ongoing.
A source close to Corbyn confirmed to PoliticsHome that no decision had been made on whether a new party would have one leader or a co-leadership model.
In an interview with PoliticsHome, Mohamed said he is "fully behind" co-leadership.
“Jeremy, since I watched him on TV when he became leader, I didn’t really know him before then. I monitored and watched what happened, how he was treated, and how he’s always misquoted and stuff. And having worked with him for a year, he's one of the most sincere people I've ever met, genuinely."
He added: “There are benefits with Zarah...
"It just shows inclusivity, [we’re] progressive and the youth of this nation and around the world, who are bearing the brunt of the decisions of our politicians over the last 20 years... It will give them some confidence that their voice is represented.”
Mohamed was one of four Gaza-focused, Independent candidates who won a seat at the general election off the back of growing dissatisfaction with Labour’s stance on the Middle East.
He won his seat alongside staunchly pro-Palestinian Independent politicians, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan and Adnan Hussain.
They have since formed an Independent Alliance with Corbyn, who won his seat as an independent candidate in Islington North.
Mohamed, once a Labour member, quit the party after Starmer told LBC in October 2023 that Israel had the right to cut off electricity and water to the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas.
“He wasn’t in government, he didn’t have direct control over what support the UK gave to Israel," Mohamed said.
“But the language, the correct way of making sure we didn't get sucked into or do something, that was really not right, against international law, against our own national laws, just general humanity."
He continued: “After I'd resigned, I didn't know how I was going to become a public servant in this place.
“Every day, five times a day, at least, I'm praying for the war, the killing to stop, for people to live in peace, for an enduring ceasefire, for a long-term, peaceful settlement solution.”
Mohamed was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, and has five other siblings. His father was a mechanical fitter, while his mother stayed at home to look after his brothers.
He said he became more political after the country voted to leave the European Union in 2016, telling PoliticsHome that he cried on the sofa for 20 minutes until his wife and mother found him there.
he [Corbyn] is one of the most sincere people I've ever met, genuinely
He insisted that his victory over Labour candidate Heather Iqbal, who is now a special adviser to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, was not just down to Gaza. He pointed to poverty, crime and the local council being asked to "do more with less", describing the area as "run down and neglected".
"Austerity was having a huge impact on our towns...
“So there was that, and then there was the genocide.”
Since being elected, Mohamed has made headlines through his opposition to banning first-cousin marriage in the UK. He has spoken out against a Ten Minute Rule Bill brought forward by Conservative MP Richard Holden, which seeks to update the law so that it prohibits marriage between first cousins, as well as to a sibling, parent or child.
“I approach things in a very logical sort of way," he told PoliticsHome.
"What's the impact on real people? As a politician, as a parliamentarian, the people we represent, what we say matters...
“I didn't get up to defend the Royal Family, but this law has been in existence since, as Richard [Holden] says, Henry VIII's times. Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, and if I got my history right, it might have been familial."
He continued: “It's a downward trend. I wasn't promoting or encouraging people.
"What I was saying is you can't criminalise something that's been in a part of society for over 500 years, where we have couples who are first cousins, they've been happily married, who have children, who, if this law were enacted, suddenly become the product of incest.
“What fault is it of those children to have been born to a mother and a father who followed the law of the land?"
Before Mohamed became an MP, a religious studies teacher in his constituency was forced into hiding after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad during a class.
An independent review – led by Dame Sara Khan – found that the teacher at Batley Grammar School had faced an online and offline "campaign of intimidation and abuse". The threats had left him feeling "incredibly distressed, suicidal and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder".
Reflecting on the 2021 case, Mohamed said he was reassured that the teacher was “not in any trouble”.
“They’re not unsafe,” he told PoliticsHome.
“I'm not going to name names of who told me this, because then it will link back to people. And I don't want to say anything that would threaten their safety.
He added: “I don't know if where they live is meant to be secret, but I'm sure it's not on the electoral register. They know where I am, my contact details, and where my office is. I've got an email, a mobile, and I'm on the socials.
“I'm pretty confident that if that person had something to say to me or needed my help, they know how to get hold of me.”
