Your Party’s Lambeth branch hits early turbulence as chair and vice-chair resign – but group still plans St Martin’s council election run

A fledgling branch of the new political movement Your Party in Lambeth appears to have run into internal turbulence even before it has properly taken to the electoral stage.

Minutes and resignation letters circulating among members reveal a local organisation riven by factional disputes and ideological rows, culminating in the resignation of both the branch Chair and Vice-Chair earlier this month following a heated debate over trans rights and internal governance.

Despite the turmoil, the group intends to field one candidate in the May 2026 Lambeth Council elections, in the St Martin’s ward.

However, the candidate will not appear on the ballot paper under the Your Party name.

Instead, prospective candidate Laura Graham has been adopted unanimously by the branch but will stand under the label “Lambeth Independent Socialists”, a new electoral vehicle currently being registered with the Electoral Commission. The candidate will be endorsed by Your Party rather than formally representing it.

Branch organisers told members that the structure was necessary for organisational and regulatory reasons. If the new electoral grouping is not approved in time, a fallback option discussed internally would be to stand under the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) banner.

The complicated arrangement reflects the broader situation facing Your Party nationally, which has been encouraging supporters to run as independent or allied candidates while the party finalises its internal structures.

But in Lambeth, the practical challenges of launching a new political organisation appear to have been compounded by internal conflict.

The immediate trigger for the resignations was a contentious branch meeting on 2 March, where members debated three motions relating to trans rights and the responsibilities of party officers.

One motion, titled “Branch Officers’ Duty to Uphold Core Party Values”, was passed after a close vote of 24 to 15. A subsequent motion expressing solidarity with trans liberation passed by 30 votes to five with five abstentions.

A separate motion proposed by Vice-Chair Valerie Coultas, calling for freedom of expression within the party and respectful debate on controversial issues, was defeated.

During the same meeting, members voted on a motion of no confidence in Coultas as Vice-Chair, which narrowly failed by 21 votes to 20, allowing her to remain in post — at least temporarily.

Within days, both the Chair and Vice-Chair had stepped down.

In his resignation letter, former branch Chair Stuart King said the outcome of the meeting raised concerns about internal democracy and the ability of members to disagree with party positions.

He argued that the resolutions passed at the meeting “threaten freedom of expression in YP and prevent officers disagreeing with party decisions and documents”.

King also suggested that organised factions from several established far-left groups had played a decisive role in the debate.

“The far left is so addicted to denunciation, purges and splits that it wants to bring these destructive practices into YP and reduce the party to just another narrow sect,” he wrote.

Despite resigning as Chair, King said he would remain active in the organisation and hoped a future formally constituted branch might attract a broader membership.

Vice-Chair Valerie Coultas stepped down shortly afterwards, describing what she characterised as a “hostile discussion” and a “witch hunt” over comments she made during an internal hustings event.

Coultas said her remarks had argued that socialists should seek to reconcile the rights and safety concerns of both women and trans people — a position she said had been misrepresented by critics.

“I had been called a ‘transphobe’ and a ‘liar’ on WhatsApp and was accused of being a ‘misogynist woman’ by one of the speakers in the meeting,” she wrote.

Coultas said she had pledged to resign if her motion supporting freedom of expression and respectful debate within the party was defeated.

“With decades of socialist activity behind me… I have never experienced such a vicious and unfair witch hunt,” she added.

Despite the internal disagreements, the Lambeth branch is pressing ahead with its plans to contest the upcoming council elections.

The candidate in St Martin’s ward will therefore appear not as a Your Party candidate but as part of the proposed Lambeth Independent Socialists slate — assuming the registration is approved.

For now, the fledgling organisation finds itself attempting to navigate the familiar challenges faced by many new political movements: building a party structure, agreeing internal rules — and managing ideological disputes — all while trying to establish an electoral presence.

Whether Lambeth voters will notice the candidate’s Your Party endorsement on the campaign trail, even if not on the ballot paper, remains to be seen.