He said he wanted to do it and now he has: Jeremy Corbyn and allies have formed a new Independent MP group.

The Independent Alliance says it will use its new platform as the joint fifth-biggest (alongside Reform UK) group of MPs in the House of Commons to campaign for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap and against arms sales to Israel.

(One might suggest that the group has already scored a small victory on the latter count, as the Labour government has scrapped some arms sales to Israel already, on the grounds that they may be misused.)

Alongside Mr Corbyn, the group’s members are Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed, and it has also reached out to seven MPs whose membership of the Parliamentary Labour Party was suspended after they voted to abolish the child benefit cap – including Mr Corbyn’s former Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell.

In a joint statement, the Independent Alliance said: “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.”

This Writer has already suggested that the establishment of the new group can only improve democracy.

I stated: “They won’t be eligible for around £129,000 in “short money” – public funds given to Opposition parties to support research – because Parliamentary rules don’t allow this cash to go to new groups formed between general elections.

“But forming a group will increase their chances of taking part in debates and on committees, which are usually decided according to party size.

“And they could build up more funds for campaign work by sharing resources and hosting joint fundraisers.

“This would all improve democracy because with Labour’s huge majority, the more voices that are able to be heard in Parliament, offering alternatives on the Left of politics, the better.”

I stand by those words. Labour might have a huge majority in the House of Commons, but public opinion can be swayed by only a few voices – and every UK government does all it can to keep itself from upsetting the voters.

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