Jeremy Corbyn’s fledgling left-wing party descended into extraordinary public warfare on Wednesday as co-founder Zarah Sultana accused the former Labour leader of overseeing a “sexist boys’ club” that has frozen her out of key decisions and blocked women from voting positions.
The explosive row erupted after Your Party supporters received an email offering £55 annual memberships, which Sultana championed as raising over £1 million from 20,000 sign-ups in hours, only for Corbyn to dismiss it as “unauthorised” and warn supporters to cancel any payments whilst seeking legal advice.
In a blistering statement, the Coventry South MP accused Corbyn ally Karie Murphy of seizing “sole financial control” over members’ money and alleged she had been “treated appallingly and excluded completely” from the party she co-founded just two months ago.
Morning Triumph Turns to Afternoon Crisis
The drama began at 10:13am when Your Party emailed its 750,000-strong supporter base announcing the membership portal was open. “Today is the day,” the message declared, offering memberships at £5 monthly or £55 annually, with concessions at half price.
Sultana immediately took to social media platform X to celebrate, posting: “We said this was your party – and we meant it. We have just launched our membership.” Within an hour, she claimed 10,000 had joined as paid-up members.
By noon, the former Labour MP was triumphant, announcing: “We’ve hit 20,000 members! Right-wing bad faith actors are desperate to claim this link is fake. It isn’t. It’s safe and secure!”
The celebration was short-lived. At 2:07pm, Corbyn published an “urgent message” signed by himself and Independent Alliance MPs Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam. Sultana’s name was conspicuously absent.
“This morning, an unauthorised email was sent to all yourparty.uk supporters with details of a supposed membership portal hosted in a new domain name,” Corbyn’s statement read. “Legal advice is being taken. That email should be ignored by all supporters.”
‘Sexist Boys’ Club’ Allegations Rock Party
Sultana’s response at 2:44pm was explosive. She accused the male MPs of systematically excluding her from decision-making despite an agreement that she and Corbyn would jointly authorise key steps.
“Unfortunately, I have been subjected to what can only be described as a sexist boys’ club,” she declared. “I have been treated appallingly and excluded completely. They have refused to allow any other women with voting rights on the Working Group, blocking the gender-balanced committee that both Jeremy and I signed up to.”
The Coventry South MP defended launching the membership portal as being “in line with the roadmap” after being “sidelined” and “effectively frozen out of the official accounts.”
Most damaging were her allegations against Karie Murphy, Corbyn’s former chief of staff during his Labour leadership. Sultana claimed Murphy and her associates had been granted “sole financial control of members’ money and sole constitutional control over our conference,” undermining democratic principles.
“This, to be clear, is members’ money – and our members must decide how it is spent,” Sultana stated, revealing that funds were being held by MOU Operations Ltd, a company stewarded by former Newcastle mayor Jamie Driscoll, ex-Labour MP Beth Winter, and former Walthamstow candidate Andrew Feinstein.
History of Tensions and Control Battles
The public split represents the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes tensions. Sources close to the situation told Politics Home that Sultana had not consented to a party roadmap published earlier this week, objecting to the conference arrangements committee lacking gender balance.
The Canary reported that activists had raised concerns about Murphy’s control, noting her decision that “all of the names and contact details of the 700,000 people who have said they want to join YOUR PARTY will continue to be held exclusively in a London office.”
David Miller, an academic and activist, posted on X about Murphy “personally removing Andrew Feinstein and Salma Yaqoob” from positions, whilst political commentator Ammar Kazmi suggested “Corbyn’s team, especially Karie Murphy, had no interest in creating a real democratic party.”
Murphy, who served as executive director of Corbyn’s office from 2016 to 2020, has long been a controversial figure. In 2020, HuffPost UK reported she faced bullying allegations from Labour staff, claims she denied. Her attempted peerage was blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission the same year.
Pattern of Launch Difficulties
Wednesday’s chaos is not the first time Sultana and Corbyn have clashed over Your Party’s direction. In July, Sultana surprised many – reportedly including Corbyn himself – by announcing she was leaving Labour to co-found the new party before the former Labour leader was ready to confirm.
According to The Times, Corbyn had not agreed to Sultana’s initial statement and had “implored her to delete it” after posting. The announcement reportedly “frustrated” him, with sources suggesting he wanted to wait until a founding conference to vote on leadership structures.
The party has also faced internal divisions over social issues, particularly after Independent Alliance member Adnan Hussain suggested trans women are “encroaching” on women’s spaces, comments that reportedly deepened existing factional divides.
Financial Stakes and Democratic Principles
The membership drive’s financial implications are significant. With Sultana claiming 20,000 sign-ups at £55 each, the party could have raised £1.1 million in a single morning. Even at the concessionary rate of £25, this represents substantial funding for a political startup.
Sultana insisted the portal was “safe, secure, legitimate” and that funds would be safeguarded until November’s founding conference. She called for complete transparency, demanding Corbyn “make public all agreed structures, processes and decision-making protocols.”
“This party is more important than any one person,” she declared, “and we all owe it to the movement to deliver a truly democratic and socialist party.”
The New Statesman described the situation as Sultana attempting “to bounce her co-founder into opening the party’s registration,” noting this was the second time she had forced Corbyn’s hand after her surprise July announcement.
Conference Plans Amid Chaos
Despite the public warfare, both camps confirmed the founding conference will proceed in November, following regional assemblies in October. An online vote on the party’s permanent name is scheduled for next month, with “Your Party” serving as a placeholder.
The party claims over 600,000 supporters have signed up since its July launch, with several Labour councillors defecting to join. In Hastings alone, six borough councillors resigned from Labour to join Your Party, with similar defections in Coventry, Cambridge, Preston, and Islington.
UnHerd noted that rather than announcing her departure from the party, Sultana called for Corbyn to meet with her to resolve the crisis. “Doing this will restore hope for our members, and ensure nothing like this can ever happen again,” she stated.
Legal Threats and Supporter Confusion
Corbyn’s threat of legal action has created confusion among supporters, with many expressing frustration on social media. One supporter posted: “What the hell is going on? Don’t waste the opportunity to change the way politics is done.”
Messages in Your Party group chats warned members the morning email wasn’t legitimate, though one insider told the New Statesman it “uses exactly the same email and payment systems and is linked to the same bank account as all previous Your Party communications.”
At the time of writing, the membership website remained live despite Corbyn’s warnings, with supporters divided between those cancelling direct debits and others continuing to sign up at Sultana’s urging.
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether Corbyn and Sultana can reconcile their differences before permanent damage is done to their nascent political movement. Sultana has called for a face-to-face meeting to establish transparent structures and restore member confidence.
The broader implications for the British left are significant. Your Party was intended to unite various socialist groups, trade unions, and community organisations disillusioned with Labour under Keir Starmer. Instead, it has exposed deep divisions over control, gender representation, and democratic governance.
With the founding conference still scheduled for November, both camps must decide whether to prioritise unity or principle. The involvement of controversial figures like Murphy, combined with allegations of sexism and financial control, threatens to undermine the party before it formally launches.
As GB News noted, just shy of three months since Corbyn announced the launch, the temporarily named party has hit its biggest bump yet – one that could prove fatal to its ambitions of challenging Labour from the left.
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