Between Monday and Wednesday this week, more than 180,000 people paid a £25 fee to become registered supporters of the Labour party, enabling them to vote in its leadership election in September. Here, new members explain what led them to join.

Anthony Johnson, 23, London: I joined to back Corbyn – I want to see a new Labour party

I joined to keep Jeremy Corbyn as leader, because I want a move away from new Labour and the politics that people such as Owen Smith represent. I am voting for Corbyn and a Labour party that believes in public services and wants to improve our NHS because it’s good for the economy. I want a leader who isn’t focused on just making profits.

I approach this topic as a student nurse and I can see the impact of Blair. There are lots of policies New Labour implemented that were bad for our economy in the long run, and I don’t want the same Labour party in again. If we have Smith as leader then we won’t see new politics – just the same old neoliberal line.

The MPs’ vote of no confidence in Corbyn doesn’t make me nervous because those politicians have never represented me. They have always been ineffective and Corbyn does a much better job of explaining what he believes in than them. If the parliamentary Labour party got behind Corbyn, then he would be able to provide an effective opposition. They are choosing to go against the will of their party, which they would not do if they really believed in democracy.

Megan Mason, 71, north of England: I am supporting Jeremy Corbyn – his policies and socialist views are what we need



I paid £25 to ensure that I got a vote in the leadership election. I am supporting Jeremy Corbyn, whose policies and socialist views move the party to the left, which is the right direction. Having lost 40 seats in Scotland, Labour is going to have to regain these seats to even draw level with the Conservatives. They need real leftwing policies to do this. Owen Smith is hedging his bets and going for middle-of-the-road policies. He hasn’t really given a good reason why he doesn’t support Corbyn – no one has. The definition of leadership is a wide one, and for the parliamentary Labour party to say Corbyn is not a good leader is unfair.

Roger Cowell, 65, west Yorkshire: Anything I can do to weaken or replace Jeremy Corbyn is worth a try



Why did I pay the £25 fee? My answer is simple: it is the only way I can have a direct say. I think Jeremy Corbyn is a disastrous leader of the opposition. Anything I can do to weaken his hold on the post, or even better, replace him with a more electable person, has to be worth a try.

Corbyn doesn’t seem to care if he opposes effectively or not, or if he is considered a credible leader, or if Labour is seen by the general public as a government in waiting. Whether in prime minister’s questions, or in debates, or press appearances, he seems unprepared and rarely gives a coherent, organised response to questions. He is also only content to talk to dedicated supporters, not the swing voters he needs. He has no narrative for modern British society and where Labour can influence that narrative.

I am not sure about Owen Smith – it’s too soon to know, but in the absence of any alternative in the contest, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Personally I would have preferred Angela Eagle, or any one of numerous other Labour figures. I think Smith is a very cautious and uninspired choice, but I hope he can beat Corbyn, or at least weaken his grip for another challenge in the near future.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘I think Smith is a very cautious and uninspired choice, but I hope he can beat Corbyn.’ Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

It’s likely the Momentum machine will see Corbyn hang on to the leadership, though possibly not decisively. Whether he wins or loses, Labour will continue to struggle to get a coherent story to the media and the electorate, and the prospects of an alternative to a long Tory period in government will fade further.

Will Vigar, 52, Southampton: I had to make sure my voice was heard, even if that means living off rice for a week.

When Jeremy Corbyn came along, it genuinely looked like the party I had loved was making a comeback. I registered to join for £3 and feel proud to have been one of the people who voted him in as leader.

Corbyn has promised a fairer society. Given his history of fighting for social justice and the rights of people, I believe him. So many people with low (or no) incomes or disabilities or mental illnesses have the chance of being given back their dignity. I can’t not be part of supporting that.

I experience agoraphobia. Under successive rightwing governments – including Tony Blair’s – aid for mental health issues has plummeted. After three years on the waiting list, I finally got an appointment with a psychologist who told me I would need at least a year of therapy to gets to grips with my agoraphobia, but the government cut would only allow me 12 weekly sessions.

I have had a lifetime of paying into the system through taxes and national insurance, only to discover that despite all promises I will not be looked after in my time of need. I am unable to sign on for jobseeker’s allowance or employment and support allowance (ESA) as I can’t make it into the office, although I am looking for work that I can do from home. I haven’t had money of my own for four years, so I rely on friends and family.

The behaviour of the Labour party has disgusted me. The unwillingness to embrace their history and their raison d’etre, prove that the parliamentary Labour party and the national executive committee are Tory, self-serving charlatans. They care nothing for the people, just their careers.

It was essential that I made my feelings known by paying the £25 – although this fee is a travesty of democracy. I do not want the Labour party to remain self-serving and this payment is designed to keep the poor and disenfranchised from voting away the self-serving careerists.

I had to make sure that my voice was taken into account, even though it may mean living off nothing but rice for a week.

Stephen Jones, 47, Salford: On Monday I paid my money, in September I will make my choice. It will be for Owen Smith

Why did I pay £25 to vote in the leadership contest?

On 24 June I awoke to discover that Britain had voted for Brexit. Over the following days, as I read reports of racist attacks and heard some of my colleagues’ own experiences, the initial shock gave way to fear. A fear that this country – a country that has recently legalised gay marriage and had seemed to be gradually becoming a more liberal and accepting place – was sliding to the right.

I began to believe that the remain vote had been lost partly due to Labour’s failure to speak to its traditional working-class base; its failure to clearly explain the financial consequences to those on low wages; and its failure to tackle people’s genuine and understandable concerns about immigration. I saw Jeremy Corbyn’s obvious lack of commitment to remain as the main cause of these failures.It’s because of this that I joined Labour as a full member – I felt it was time to stop criticising from the sidelines and do something from the inside.

When Labour’s national executive committee voted to exclude those who’ve been members for less than six months from voting in the leadership election] I was slightly disappointed, but understood. I was also sceptical about the £25 fee. At first I decided against registering, but then I read Thangam Debbonaire and Lilian Greenwood’s pieces on why they resigned from the shadow cabinet and saw the extent of Corbyn’s lack of leadership. I decided that I had to have my say, even if, from the very vocal support for Corbyn among potential supporters, it seemed pointless. On Monday I paid my money, in September I will make my choice. It will be for Owen Smith.

Laura Muir, 38, London: I would have paid more to improve the chances of Labour returning to power in the near future

I am a lifelong Labour supporter and believe in redistribution of wealth so that all people have access to the basics of a free society, including freedom of speech, health care and education.

To deliver this we need a united and effective opposition capable of taking government and running the country. The current Labour leadership cannot deliver this.

I don’t feel Jeremy Corbyn takes the Conservatives to task enough on key issues such as cuts to income and disability support, public sector cuts and teachers’ pay. He and his team totally misjudged Brexit, the outcome of which will hit the poorest hardest. Instead, they focused on scrapping Trident, which ironically takes on greater relevance as we forge an independent path outside the European Union.

I’m not hugely in favour of Smith and would have voted for Angela Eagle. However, I think Smith will be able to garner the support of the party and build the strongest team around him. May’s cabinet is actually quite intellectually weak and the big hitters on the left, if rehabilitated, would trounce them, reinvigorating mass public support because they could see that there was a clear choice again.

I don’t resent the £25 charge. I would have paid more to improve the chances of Labour returning to power in the near future.