JEREMY CORBYN launched Your Party with a barnstorming pledge to put “real socialism, real social justice” at the heart of the party’s aims as its founding conference in Liverpool got under way.

Seeking to put a troubled few months for the new party behind it, Mr Corbyn said it would offer “a radical socialist alternative” to the “fake populism of Reform.”

He also urged the two thousand-plus delegates to unite behind its agenda.  “We have to come together and be united – division and disunity do not serve the people we need to represent.”

“This is our opportunity, this is our time,” he said.

Mr Corbyn sent a message of support to the Palestine demonstration taking place in London, noting that the conference was convening on the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

He was greeted with a standing ovation and chants of “free, free Palestine” as he pledged Your Party’s “solidarity with the Palestinian people.

“It is not war, it is genocide we have been witnessing” in Gaza, he said “and our government is complicit in this.”

Mr Corbyn struck themes familiar from his time as leader of the Labour Party, calling for a massive programme of council house building, an end to homelessness, environmental sustainability and the nationalisation of the water industry.

Ridiculing Labour ministers who said the water industry’s problems could be solved by the private sector, he said “there is one answer to the water industry’s problems – public, democratic ownership of it.”

Alluding to the challenges the infant party has faced, Mr Corbyn said there was no book guiding how to create a new party and pledged “to learn from our problems, learn from our mistakes.”

He praised the rally held on Friday night by Zarah Sultana, the party’s other co-founder, and thanked her for reading out a message from him at that event.

Conference was opened with a passionate speech by Liverpool independent councillor Lucy Williams, who told delegates “we are building on decades of struggle.

“The party will be working-class, feminist, internationalist and Scouse enough to challenge the establishment,” she said.

The first session of the conference proceeded in a largely positive spirit, but the party’s problems were not entirely absent.

Controversy had been caused before conference opened by the expulsion of a number of leading members of the Socialist Workers Party. 

Your Party does not allow joint membership of other parties, and there had been further fears of organised disruption of the conference.

That did not happen, but speakers from the floor who opposed exclusions from the party appeared to enjoy a significant degree of delegate support.

Several speakers identified themselves as also members of the Socialist Party or the SWP, indicating that the exclusions had been less than comprehensive.

Organisers also withdrew credentials from Lancashire councillor Michael Lavalette and denied entry to parliamentary aide James Giles, though Mr Lavalette’s pass was later restored.

Ms Sultana arrived at conference pledging to fight for the widest possible member democracy, including challenging the ban on dual membership.  She is to address delegates tomorrow — but addressed a rally outside the conference declaring solidarity with those excluded, and then announced she would boycott day one of the conference because of the row.

The conference is to choose between electing a single leader or a collective leadership.  Ms Sultana’s preference, co-leadership, is not being put to delegates, to her irritation.

She said: “I’ve publicly supported a co-leadership model. The fact it hasn’t been given to members as an option to vote on is regrettable, and the fact that has been decided by a faceless, nameless bureaucrat is quite concerning.”

She has expressed a preference for a collective leadership out of the options available, but if delegates back the single-leader model, Mr Corbyn’s preference, she may well contest the post.

“Should the members choose sole leadership, I would consider throwing my hat in the ring. I will then respect whatever the members decide and completely ride in behind that,” she said.

Mr Corbyn said that he was “very happy to serve the party in whatever capacity they decide they want me to serve.”

Delegates debated the party’s founding political declaration, including amendments designed to remove the definition of Your Party as a socialist organisation and the priority role assigned to the working class.

Votes, including those cast by members online, will not be announced until after the weekend.

Members will also vote on whether to retain Your Party as the name, or change to one of Our Party, Popular Alliance and For the Many.