PoliticsJOE Podcast How to save Your Party from itself | Oliver Eagleton interview
Nov 16, 2025
Oliver Eagleton, a journalist and author of 'Your Party: The Return Of The Left', delves into the challenges facing the new left-wing party in the UK. He highlights how recent events in Gaza have spurred grassroots activism and the search for alternatives to Labour. Oliver discusses the campaign strategies of figures like Leanne Mohamed and the tensions between grassroots organizing and broader electoral appeal. He also explores the structural debates within the party regarding federated versus unitary models, leading to his predictions about the future of this political movement.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Gaza As The Catalysing Issue
- Gaza acted as the moral trigger that convinced many leftists Labour is no longer their home.
- Oliver Eagleton argues Gaza exposed Labour's active complicity and accelerated a mass upsurge outside the party.
Leanne Mohamed's Community Campaign
- Leanne Mohamed ran a community-powered campaign and nearly unseated Wes Streeting by ~500 votes.
- Oliver Eagleton highlights her blend of local campaigning and internationalist politics as a model for the new left.
Movement Versus Mass-Party Tension
- The new left faces a tension between grassroots movement control and a mass-party approach.
- Eagleton explains this split partly underpins the public disputes between Zahra Sultana and Corbyn's circle.
