Corbyn in talks to form new independent MPs group

Jeremy Corbyn is in talks with four other independent MPs to form a new group, potentially boosting their influence in Parliament.

Six independent MPs were elected at the 2024 general election - the most in modern history – including the former Labour leader.

The potential grouping of five independents – who all campaigned on a pro-Palestinian platform - would equal the number of Reform UK MPs and outnumber the Greens.

While nothing has been formalised, Shockat Adam - who unseated Labour's Jonathan Ashworth to become MP for Leicester South - told the BBC the group was "looking at options that would give us more access to the levers of power".

Alex Easton, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the Northern Ireland Assembly who was elected as independent MP for North Down, is not part of the discussions, the BBC understands.

Mr Corbyn and Mr Adam have been talking to fellow independents Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed to explore options on how they can impact policy more effectively.

All five beat Labour candidates in July's election with their pro-Palestine stance in Labour-supporting constituencies with large Muslim populations.

If the five independents became an official group in Parliament, they would increase their chances of taking part in debates and committees, which are usually decided proportional to party size.

Established parties of five MPs have previously been eligible for as much as £129,000 in "short money" - public funds given to opposition parties to support research.

However, Parliament's rules currently appear to prevent these funds going to new groups formed between general elections.

But by collaborating the independents could secure more funds for their campaign work by sharing resources and hosting joint fundraisers.

Given Labour's huge majority it is unclear how effective a force the independents will be in parliament.

But the loose coalition has already worked together to try to influence policy and together with Green MPs tabled a series of amendments to the Kings Speech.

One of their first actions was to reach out to the seven Labour MPs - all former allies of Mr Corbyn including his former shadow chancellor John McDonnell - who were suspended from the party for six months after voting in favour of a rebel amendment to scrap the two-child benefit.

So far, there has been no formal coordination between independent MPs and suspended Labour MPs, the BBC understands.

Mr Corbyn said: "I was elected by my constituents to speak out against the genocide in Gaza, against child poverty and against the demonisation of migrants and refugees.

"I am proud to work alongside my fellow independent colleagues to make sure our constituents’ voices are heard.

"This country is demanding real change - and the more MPs who are prepared to stand up for international law, defend refugees and oppose the far-right, the better."

Mr Corbyn retained the Islington North seat he has represented for more than 40 years in July's general election, defeating the Labour candidate by 7,000 votes.

Labour's ruling body blocked Mr Corbyn from standing as the party's candidate in March 2023. He had previously been suspended from Labour over his response to a report into antisemitism in the party during his time as leader.

Mr Adam was part of one of the big shocks of election night when he won his seat by 979 votes from former Labour shadow minister Mr Ashworth, who had a majority of more than 20,000.

The optometrist, who ran for office for the first time in 2024, said that whatever happens in the future he does not want to lose his independence as he believes many MPs have been "hamstrung" by parties.

He said he ran as an independent to "show you can do it without the political parties" and that "normal people can win an election".

Mr Adam is calling on parliament to improve the standing of independent MPs, as current rules favour larger parties in setting debates and senior committee roles.

He predicts there will be more independent MPs in the future "as more people are going to look at ways to be the representation and the change they want to see".

"We will be a test case," Mr Adam said.