Glasgow councillors and Scottish Greens MSP candidate defect to Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party

Three Glasgow councillors and one of the Scottish Greens top candidates have defected to Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new left-wing political party.

Councillors Seonad Hoy, Dan Hutchison, and Leòdhas Massie announced they will form a group on the city council after joining Your Party on Friday.

They are joined by Ellie Gomersall, who was selected second on the Scottish Greens regional list for Glasgow as a lead candidate for next May’s Holyrood elections.

Gomersall failed to unseat former co-leader Patrick Harvie on the list, and has previously been outspoken about her issues with the leadership of the Scottish Greens.

Cllr Hutchison, who previously headed up the party’s campaigns in Glasgow and has been a councillor since 2022, accused the Scottish Greens party of “voting to cut budget year after year”.

“I’ve spent the last ten years fighting to get the Greens to be the left-wing force they think they are,” he said.

“But their MSPs have their heads deep in the sand, voting to cut budgets year after year and enabling the largest sell off of public land to the private sector.”

“I’m proud to be joining a truly socialist party who will not accept the status quo, will actually involve ordinary people in the politics that impacts their lives, and won’t be accepting brutal cuts in exchange for scraps off the table.”

Gomersall added: “Where every single one of the existing Holyrood parties is complicit in passing on brutal cuts to public services, it’s clear to me that only Your Party can be taken seriously to stand firm against austerity and work to materially improve the lives of the working class.”

The defections comes as Sultana prepares to hold a Your Party rally in Glasgow on Friday evening.

As well as councillors, Your Party said more than a dozen prominent Scottish Greens activists and candidates have left the party, including those who had won places on the party’s Holyrood 2026 lists and a number of organisers across Glasgow.

Holyrood candidates Ellie Gomersall, Seonad Hoy, Malena Roche from Glasgow defected to Your Party alongside Louise Andersen, Athol Bond, and Charley O’Hear from the west of Scotland.

A Scottish Greens spokesperson said the party is “disappointed” to hear that three Glasgow councillors have decided to leave the party.

“Scottish Greens have always stood up for people and the planet in Glasgow and beyond, whether protecting public services from cuts or fighting to improve our public transport,” a party spokesperson said.

“Our councillors will continue to lead the fight for their communities and against the billionaire profiteers who exploit Scottish workers and pollute our planet.

“We’ve seen a huge surge in support for the Scottish Greens, with record polling and over 1,200 people joining us in recent months. We look forward to electing even more eco-socialists in Glasgow next May.”