Formby Joins Greens, Boosting Left's Momentum

0:00On April 22nd, Jenny Formby, Labor's former General Secretary from 2018 to 2020 just announced she's joined the Green Party. As a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn, she quit her role right after Keir Starmer took over and now says Labor's too tied to corporate backers. She's been a green voter since 2022, signed up as a member four months back, and plans to campaign hard for them ahead of May's local elections. This move fits a bigger trend, with other Corbyn supporters jumping ship to the greens under Zach Polanski. Folks like former Labor Advisor James Meadway, ex-North of Tine Mayor Jamie Driscoll, and momentum organizers Michael Chessam and Joe Todd have all, defected recently. Meanwhile, Corbyn's pushing his own new left-wing party as an alternative. Formby's fed up with Starmer, claiming he ditched promises on day one and lacks real principles. He also left labor over its handling of MPs pushing for peace in Ukraine that balances both sides' concerns.

1:01A labor insider fired back, saying the greens block housing and clean energy while ignoring working people's real issues. The greens are thriving from this influx, gaining policy muscle and organization they didn't have before. Polanski's shifted focus from GDP, to mental health, social ties, and community well-being, even calling for billions to shield households from energy. Bikes tied to the Iran conflict. Memberships exploded from 68,500 last September to 220,000 now. Poles jump from 10 percent to 16 percent, and they snatched a old labor seat in Gorton and Denton. Looks like the greens are building real momentum on the left.