Independent Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Founders | |
| Founded | 2 September 2024 |
| House of Commons | 5 / 650 |
The Independent Alliance is a parliamentary faction in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom comprising five members of Parliament (MPs) who were elected as independents. [1] [2] [3] The group is not a political party, but a technical group within Parliament.
The Independent Alliance was formed on 2 September 2024 by Jeremy Corbyn, formerly leader of the Labour Party, alongside Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed. All five members were elected as independent MPs in the 2024 United Kingdom general election. The formation was in part to gain more time to speak in parliament. [1] [2] [4]
Upon its formation, the Independent Alliance became the joint fifth-largest grouping in the House of Commons, ahead of the Green Party of England and Wales and Plaid Cymru with four MPs each, and tied with Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist Party with five MPs each. [1] [2] [3]
In the Independent Alliance's first statement, the group stated their opposition to austerity, the two-child benefit cap, the sale of arms to Israel and the abolition of the winter fuel allowance for most pensioners. [1] [2] The Independent Alliance's MPs said they would welcome other MPs to join the group, [1] [2] in reference to seven MPs who were suspended from the Labour Party in July 2024. [1] [2] [5] The Independent Alliance currently has five members.
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party won a landslide victory, but a record six independent candidates were also elected. [5]
Three of the new independents—Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Shockat Adam—defeated the Labour incumbent MPs. Iqbal Mohamed was elected to the new constituency of Dewsbury and Batley, the predecessor of which elected a Labour MP in 2019. The results were suggested to be, in part, a push-back against Labour's stance on the Israel–Hamas war, the Gaza humanitarian crisis, and issues regarding Islamophobia in the Labour Party. [6] [7]
Several more seats won by Labour in 2019 came close to being won by independent candidates—Ilford North, Bradford West and Bethnal Green and Stepney all saw Labour come within 5% of losing. [8] [9]
In Islington North, incumbent MP Jeremy Corbyn had been forbidden from standing as a Labour parliamentary candidate by the Labour Party NEC despite "unanimous support" from his Constituency Labour Party (CLP). [10] After announcing on 24 May 2024 that he would stand as an independent candidate, he was fully expelled from the Labour Party. [11] Corbyn was comfortably re-elected against the Labour candidate with a majority of 7,247. [12] [13]
On 23 July 2024, the Scottish National Party (SNP) tabled an amendment to the King's speech to scrap the two child benefit cap. Labour whipped its MPs to vote against the SNP amendment, resulting in the amendment being rejected by 363 no votes to 103 ayes. Despite the whip, seven Labour MPs rebelled by voting to abolish the cap and were suspended from the party for at least six months. [14] [15] The seven Labour MPs suspended were John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana. [14] [15]
Shortly after, Shockat Adam, Jeremy Corbyn, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohamed produced a joint letter decrying the two major parties and stated the need for a caring alternative. [16] Corbyn also stated that he was disappointed with Labour's actions, but dismissed the idea of forming a new political party as being premature. [17] Instead, Corbyn and Adam said they would continue working with Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed. [16] [17] [18] The five informally worked together with the Greens in tabling motions, and reached out to cooperate with the seven suspended Labour MPs. [16] [18] [19]
On 2 September 2024, Shockat Adam, Jeremy Corbyn, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed announced the formation of the Independent Alliance. [1] The MPs stated they had formed the group so that they would be allocated parliamentary time to ask questions and speak in debates. [1] While the seven suspended Labour MPs were not founding members, the Independent Alliance's MPs said they would welcome other MPs who share their principles. [1]
During the launch of her campaign to become leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch alleged the MPs had been elected due to "sectarian Islamist politics", and said the group was more worrying than the rise of the right-wing Reform UK. [20] [21] In a joint statement, the five MPs of the alliance condemned the comments as dangerous and Islamophobic, particularly in the aftermath of the 2024 UK riots. [20] [21] Ayoub Khan attributed death threats and harassment targeted at him to Badenoch's comments. [21]
In October, Shockat Adam introduced a private members bill seeking official UK recognition of the State of Palestine, with the bill being sponsored by the four other members of the Independent Alliance, as well as Siân Berry of the Green Party, Stephen Gethins and Brendan O'Hara of the SNP, Liz Saville-Roberts of Plaid Cymru, the suspended Labour member Ian Byrne and the sitting Labour member Kim Johnson. [22] [23]
The creation of the Independent Alliance raised questions on the status of Independent Members of Parliament and in December, the Procedure Committee of the House of Commons launched an inquiry on Independent MPs. [24] Although the inquiry will mostly deal with the status of parliamentary groupings by Independent MPs, it will consider the status of the whip suspended MPs too. [24]
Also in December, The Spectator claimed that the Independent Alliance is likely to form a political party in 2025. [25] According to The Spectator, Adam, Khan and Hussain are in favour of the creation of a political party to build a momentum but Corbyn is more hesitant. [25]
In their first statement, the MPs of the Independent Alliance declared:
Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war – and their voices deserve to be heard. As individuals we were voted by our constituents to represent their concerns in parliament on these matters, and more, and we believe that as a collective group we can carry on doing this with greater effect. [26]
The group's MPs call for an end to austerity policies as well as the two child benefit cap. [1] [2] The group's MPs also advocated against the abolition of the winter fuel allowance. [1] [2]
In regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict and the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the MPs of the group call for a total arms embargo on Israel, an end to Israeli settlements, and immediate recognition of the State of Palestine. [20]
As of its formation in September 2024, the Independent Alliance's members are:
| Name | Portrait | Constituency | First elected | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shockat Adam |  | Leicester South | 4 July 2024 | 2 September 2024 |
| Jeremy Corbyn |  | Islington North | 9 June 1983 | |
| Adnan Hussain |  | Blackburn | 4 July 2024 | |
| Iqbal Mohamed |  | Dewsbury and Batley | 4 July 2024 | |
| Ayoub Khan |  | Birmingham Perry Barr | 4 July 2024 |
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