Four Muslim MPs and Jeremy Corbyn, elected on a pro-Palestinian platform in July, have formed the ‘Independent Alliance’ parliamentary group.

The group includes the former Labour leader and the newly elected Muslim MPs: Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, and Iqbal Mohamed.

The alliance means the group has the same parliamentary strength as Reform UK and the DUP, and more than the Green Party and Plaid Cymru.

The group promises to fight austerity and campaign on issues such as the winter fuel allowance, the two-child benefit limit, and arms sales to Israel. They also invited other MPs to join, potentially referring to the seven Labour MPs suspended for voting against the two-child benefit cap.

The five MPs issued a joint statement on Monday:  “We were elected by our constituents to provide hope in a parliament of despair. Already, this government has scrapped the winter fuel allowance for around 10 million pensioners, voted to keep the two-child benefits cap, and ignored calls to end arms sales to Israel.

“Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war – and their voices deserve to be heard. As individuals we were voted by our constituents to represent their concerns in parliament on these matters, and more, and we believe that as a collective group we can carry on doing this with greater effect.

“The more MPs who are prepared to stand up for these principles, the better. Our door is always open to other MPs who believe in a more equal and peaceful world.”

Even before this development, the five MPs had already started collaborating as a parliamentary group, jointly signing letters to the government and issuing statements together.

While not a political party, the Independent Alliance aims to secure more parliamentary time for questions and debates, functioning similarly to a party without a formal leader.

Independent Alliance calls out Badenoch’s “Islamophobia”

Adnan Hussain said on Twitter: “I am very pleased to announce that I, alongside my four other Independent MP colleagues; Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Iqbal Mohamed and Ayoub Khan has formed a Parliamentary group ‘Independent Alliance’.”

The newly formed group has already responded strongly to Conservative leader hopeful Kemi Badenoch’s “Islamophobia.”

Badenoch, seemingly clamouring for the votes of the extreme right-wing of the Tory party members, said she was more concerned over the five MPs than the rise of Farage’s Reform party. “I was far more worried about the five new MPs elected on the back of sectarian Islamist politics; alien ideas that have no place here. The sort of politics we need to defeat and defeat quickly.”

In a statement, the group said: “Kemi Badenoch’s outrageous slur is an attack on democracy.

“By describing these demands as ‘sectarian Islamist politics’, Badenoch maligns thousands of voters and peace campaigners. Her smear should be called out for what it is: Islamophobia.”

The bloc warned that such remarks could escalate tensions in the country, particularly following August’s far-right riots.

They added that Badenoch’s “reckless comments add fuel to the fire” and she should retract them. 

Despite Badonech’s reluctance to criticise Farage and instead attack the five independent MPs, a poll showed that majority of Brits hold people like the Reform UK Party leader responsible for the recent unrest in the country.

On Tuesday, the alliance called for an immediate and total arms embargo on Israel. The statement came after the UK suspended 30 arms export licences to Israel after a review found a ‘clear risk’ they may be used in violation of humanitarian law.

“This announcement must be the first step in ending all arms to Israel,” said the group.