Neil Kinnock said any breakaway movement would ‘only be of assistance to the enemies of Labour, of the working class’ as Jeremy Corbyn vowed a new political party was coming
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has branded Jeremy Corbyn’s planned left-wing party the “Farage assistance group”.
Lord Kinnock said a breakaway movement would “only be of assistance to the enemies of Labour, of the working class”. He also took aim at Nigel Farage, saying he was either “deliberately lying” or “extremely stupid” for suggesting coal mines should be reopened to provide fuel for blast furnaces.
It comes after former Labour MP Zarah Sultana said she was quitting the party to “co-lead” a new group with Mr Corbyn. The Coventry South MP had been sitting as an independent after losing the whip for voting against the government over the two-child benefit limit last year.
But the former Labour leader appeared to be caught off guard by her claims. Mr Corbyn later welcomed her “principled decision” to quit Labour, adding: “I am delighted that she will help us build a real alternative.”
READ MORE: Jeremy Corbyn says new party is coming – but stops short of Zarah Sultana’s claim
Asked how much of a threat he thought any new party could be, Lord Kinnock told Sky News’s Trevor Phillips: “I understand they’re, having a bit of difficulty over thinking of a name. In a comradely way, I’d suggest one. It would be the Farage assistance group.”
Lord Kinnock, who led Labour from 1983 to 1992, said: “The reality is, and everybody knows it, a division in the anti-conservative – capital C or small c – anti-right wing vote can only assist the parties of the right, the Conservatives especially now, and that is bad enough, and Farage’s Reform party.
“The splintering, fragmentation offered by a new party of the left they say – I’ve got my doubts about that – of the left can only be of assistance to the enemies of Labour of the working class, people who have no means to sustain themselves, other than the sale of labour, by hand and by brain.
“It can be of benefit to the egos of those running the central party – and they haven’t decide who should do that yet either.”
He said Keir Starmer didn’t need to “worry himself too much” about Corbyn or Nigel Farage. “He’s the prime minister, he would be punching down,” he said. “But there are other people throughout the party who should be taking Corbyn and Reform very seriously.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “I think when it comes to the formation of a new party, some of those involved, I think (…) checked out the Labour Party quite a long time ago. Now it’s for them to forge their way forward.
“But what will determine the next election is whether people really see in their lives, in their families, in their communities, the difference a Labour Government has brought.”
Ms Sultana, who has repeatedly criticised the Government, cited a long list of reasons for her exit, including cuts to the winter fuel payments for pensioners, disability benefit cuts and the two-child benefit cap as well as the UK government being an “active participant” in genocide.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, she said: “Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives.”
Mr Corbyn said on Friday: “The democratic foundations of a new kind of political party will soon take shape. Discussions are ongoing – and I am excited to work alongside all communities to fight for the future people deserve.
“Together, we can create something that is desperately missing from our broken political system: hope.”
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