Share this post:

Remember back in July, when Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana stood together to launch what was supposed to be the great new hope of the UK’s socialist movement?

They promised a mass-membership party, built from the grassroots up, democratic, transparent, and unafraid to challenge the rich and powerful.

More than 750,000 people signed up to hear more.

Supporters dreamed of a credible alternative to Labour under Keir Starmer.

Now, just two months later, those same supporters are watching the whole project descend into acrimony.

What happened?

On Thursday morning (September 18), supporters of the still-unnamed “Your Party” received an email inviting them to become full members by paying £55. The message linked to a website where they could join.

That email had been sent out by Zarah Sultana, who said she was following the roadmap agreed by party officials.

She later claimed that more than 20,000 people signed up that morning – potentially raising more than £1 million.

But Jeremy Corbyn and four other independent MPs immediately denounced the email as “unauthorised”.

They warned supporters not to use the website, told them to cancel any direct debits, and reported the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – which investigates suspected misuse of people’s personal data.

The result was chaos.

The fallout

Sultana hit back, saying she had been excluded from the party’s working group and subjected to what she called a “sexist boys’ club”.

She accused Corbyn’s allies – especially Karie Murphy, a long-time associate – of taking sole control of the party’s finances and conference arrangements.

Corbyn responded by publicly defending Murphy at his Peace and Justice Project conference, calling attacks on her “appalling” and insisting she was a trusted campaigner.

Meanwhile, Sultana said she had suffered “baseless attacks” on her character, and has now instructed defamation lawyers to pursue those responsible.

Consequences so far

Because of Sultana’s email, many supporters joined up – only to be told by Corbyn that they should not have done so.

That has left thousands confused about whether they are real members or not, and angry at the public row.

Because Corbyn and other MPs reported the email to the ICO, the party now faces an official investigation which could lead to fines or even a referral to police if wrongdoing is found.

Because Sultana raised the issue of sexism and exclusion, the promise of gender-balanced leadership – once a key selling point – is now being openly questioned.

And because both sides are digging in with legal threats, instead of resolving differences privately, the row is being played out in full public view.

Wider implications

The result of all this is that Your Party’s credibility has taken a huge hit before it has even held its founding conference (due in November).

What was meant to be a show of socialist unity is now seen by many as a fight over money, power, and personal control.

Guardian columnist Owen Jones has warned that the longer the dispute drags on, the more likely supporters are to give up and switch their hopes to the Green Party.

On social media, other left-wing activists are voicing their disgust – saying the movement they hoped would unite them is breaking apart before it has even begun.

MOU Operations Ltd, the company set up to hold Your Party’s donations, has tried to calm nerves by assuring members that all money is safe and that refunds will be issued if requested.

But the company has also admitted that it has been trying to mediate between Corbyn and Sultana for weeks – raising concerns about “the breakdown of trust, poor communication, inadequate governance and a lack of transparency”.

A lost opportunity?

This entire mess flows from a single event: the launch of a membership portal by Sultana and the rejection of it by Corbyn and his allies.

But the fact that this disagreement has escalated so quickly – into sexism accusations, legal threats, and rival claims about financial control – exposes much deeper problems in the way the party has been organised.

The movement promised openness and democracy. What supporters have seen instead is confusion, mistrust, and public infighting.

For now, the socialist dream of a new party “of the people” still exists – at least on paper.

But unless these egos are set aside and the promised transparency is delivered, Your Party risks being remembered not as the start of something new, but as yet another left-wing project that was strangled in its cradle – by its parents.

Share this post: