Sultana said 20,000 people had joined Your Party as members, but Corbyn says the membership email should be ignored as it was unauthorised
An email was sent to those who had signed up as Your Party supporters this morning, stating that memberships applications had opened.
Zarah Sultana, who announced herself as co-founder of the party with Jeremy Corbyn in July, has been posting on social media throughout the morning, encouraging people to sign up and sharing updates on the number of new members.
However, Corbyn has since shared a letter on X, co-signed by all Independent Alliance MPs apart from Sultana, stating that the email to members was ‘unauthorised’ and that legal advice is being taken.
Corbyn wrote that if any direct debits have been set up, they should be cancelled.
Just an hour ago, Sultana revealed on X that 20,000 people had joined as paying members of the temporarily named Your Party within a few hours.
In an “urgent message” to Your Party supporters, Corbyn wrote: “The agreed process was announced on 1 August: the Independent Alliance Group of MPs – Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana, Iqbal Mohamed, Adnan Hussain, Shockat Adam and Ayoub Khan – are stewarding and accountable for the foundation process for the new party, leading to an inaugural democratic conference in the Autumn.
“Earlier this week, we shared new details about the roadmap to the launch, including our plans for mass regional assemblies and our founding conference. Soon, you will be able to turn your support into membership at yourparty.uk, and shape the future of our party and our country.”
Politics Home has reported that sources close to Sultana have said Corbyn allies published the ‘roadmap’ earlier this week despite Sultana not consenting to it going out.
The Coventry South MP reportedly objected to the conference arrangements committee not being gender-balanced, but said that the other Independent Alliance MPs would not correct it.
And now, she has launched the membership system without the consent of Corbyn and his allies.
Some social media users had already questioned the link shared in the membership email, noting it is hosted on a different website from the party’s official page.
Responding to Sultana’s posts on X, left-wing news website Evolve Politics responded: “The membership portal is hosted on a different website entirely. And the membership email was sent via a third party address.”
The account suggested that this, alongside the fact that Corbyn hasn’t commented on the launch, made it “look like one faction has launched something without the other side’s approval”.
In a post on X, Sultana rejected these claims, stating: “Right-wing bad faith actors are desperate to claim this link is fake. It isn’t. It’s safe and secure!”.
In her response to Corbyn’s statement, Sultana said she had been sidelined by the other Independent Alliance MPs and “frozen out of the official accounts”.
As a result, Sultana said she launched the membership portal “so members could continue to engage and organise”.
She stressed that “this was in line with the roadmap set out to members on Monday and is a safe, secure, legitimate portal for the party”.
Sultana said she had been subjected “to what can only be described as a sexist boys’ club”, adding “I have been treated appallingly and excluded completely”.
She said that the other Independent Alliance MPs had refused to allow any other women with voting rights on the working group, blocking the formation of a gender-balanced committee.
Sultana said she is now “calling on Jeremy to meet with me and agree to make public all agreed structures, processes and decision-making protocols”. She also indicated that the founding conference will still go ahead in November.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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