The Rise of Left-Wing Populism in the UK: necessity or driver of division?

Image - Nomadic Julien

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The recent rise and influence of right-wing populism on UK politics has been a well-documented phenomenon. However, a promising start for ‘your-party’, the new left-wing political party set up by former Labour-turned-independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, has begged questions about public thirst for a kind of left-wing populism in the UK.

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The new party, set up in July 2025 following Sultana’s defection from the Labour party, came amidst a growing anger from the left concerning the current Labour party’s shift to the right under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s premiership.

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‘Your party’: a populist party

Though new, the party is already showing signs of the classic populist narrative which has begun to dominate politics around the globe. Populism, a style of politics which claims to represent the interests of the common people against the establishment, often operates in a political climate of tension and disillusionment. A recent YouGov poll has placed faith in mainstream UK politics extremely low, with just 13% of the population approving of the government’s record to date, creating the perfect conditions for populism to take hold.

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Sultana’s own announcement tweet of her defection from the Labour Party finished with the statement that ‘the choice is stark: socialism or barbarism’, echoing a simplistic predicament so core to the populist narrative. Indeed, the website established for ‘your party’ simply promises to ‘build a new kind of political party- one that belongs to you.’ This rhetoric promises a fresh kind of democracy, profiteering from the apparent corrupt elitist labour government to call for mass mobilisation of the population.

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Zach Polanski and ‘eco-populism’

And it’s not just ‘your party’ who seem to be spearheading this emerging left-wing populist movement. Deputy leader of the Green party and London assembly member Zach Polanski, who is also currently bidding to become the Party’s new leader, has echoed in his anti-elite appeals, calling for the necessity of a fresh era in UK politics, or as he puts it, a radical new ‘eco-populism.’

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So, what exactly are the implications for the rapid emergence of left-wing populism in the UK?

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Combatant for right-wing populism?

There is some suggestion that left-wing populism, or the apparent thirst amongst the general population for a new era of radical politics, may provide some balance and contrast to the concerning narrative of many right-wing populists.

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The influence of Nigel Farage and Reform UK on British politics cannot and should not be understated, with the party gaining significant ground in local elections, winning the largest total number of seats of any party in the 2025 local election. However, the party’s extremist stance on issues such as immigration, as well as an array of scandals concerning anything from climate change scepticism to Islamophobic content, have led to serious allegations that the party is spreading misinformation and inciting hate speech. Indeed, the biggest counter-extremism campaign group in the UK, Hope not Hate, have repeatedly accused Reform of dangerous far-right activity.

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And it seems as though self-proclaimed eco-populist Zach Polanski is embracing the opportunity to take on Farage and Reform’s alleged far-right populism. In fact, Polanski acknowledged Nigel Farage’s recognition of the British population’s anger about immigration, but instead chose to highlight how Reform profiteers off the back of the long-term effect of austerity, to incite hatred. In an interview with the New Statesman, he stated that ‘there aren’t enough homes. People can’t get a GP appointment. But these problems are not the problems of migration, they are the problem of austerity.’

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As the Argentine political theorist Ernesto Laclau argued, it is certainly valid that left-wing populism does have the potential to be a positive force for ‘emancipatory social change’. But with the Green party leadership elections still ongoing, we are yet to see how Polanski’s views would take shape in party policy.

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Public desire for left-wing populism?

It seems that Sultana and Corbyn’s party too has been gaining significant grounds amongst the general population. In just 24 hours, sign-ups to the party hit 250,000, and have continued to climb since, signalling the level of interest for what the website dubs ‘a new kind of party’.

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However, it is important to approach the seemingly high level of will for left-wing populism in the UK, with cautiousness. For instance, the number of ‘sign-ups’ of potential interest in ‘your party’ is not to be equated with fully-fledged membership statistics. The party has so far not been registered with the electoral commission, and is yet to announce any concrete policies, which makes it impossible to determine their real popularity.

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A divisive effect?

Additionally, there is also something to be said for left-wing populism having an effect adverse to its aims. Populist rhetoric prides itself on its ability to create homogenic and antagonistic groups, most notably a united people against the establishment. But with several different left-wing populist politicians emerging, each coming from different backgrounds, groups and parties, valid concerns have been raised about its potentially polarising and divisive effect.

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Zach Polanski has already expressed his openness to working with other left-wing politicians, including the new Corbyn and Sultana party. But this could be more difficult in practicality: the Greens already hold a significant base of voters following on from previous policies, whereas Sultana and Corbyn’s party is aiming to establish something totally new. A split in the left-vote could actually aid established parties who left-wing populists are trying to work against, because they tend to benefit from the UK’s first past the post electoral system, which has traditionally inflated the number of votes for widespread political parties.

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There is no doubt that left-wing populism has the potential to profiteer from the limitations of right-wing populism and create a formidable force against the supposed ‘corrupt elite’. At the moment though, it is too early to say how popular policies advocated on a left-wing populist platform will be with the general public.

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Additionally, in order to stand a chance at changing the UK political scene, these left-wing politicians are going to have to think very carefully about the type of influence they want to have on politics, and how best they can mobilise the population in the face of a system which largely disfavours them.