Lead
Jeremy Corbyn’s nascent left-wing movement is locked in a dispute over roughly £800,000 raised through an unauthorised membership drive launched by co-founder Zarah Sultana. The funds were collected when Sultana opened a membership portal using a party email account and took payments and data from an estimated 20,000 people. Senior figures say the money is being withheld by MoU Operations Ltd, a company established in April to hold donations, even after public assurances that the sum would be transferred. The delay risks disrupting the movement’s founding conference in Liverpool on 29 November, with organisers warning of reduced delegate numbers if access is not resolved.
Key takeaways
- Approximately £800,000 remains held by MoU Operations Ltd after an unauthorised membership scheme was opened by Zarah Sultana.
- The membership portal is said to have taken payment and data from an alleged 20,000 supporters before being replaced.
- MoU was set up in April to hold donations; its founding board resigned last week, leaving Sultana as sole director.
- The plan was to transfer funds and data after Your Party registered with the Electoral Commission on 30 September, but the transfer has not occurred.
- Your Party officials say multiple proposals to move funds were sent to MoU and were ignored; MoU directors counter that governance and liability questions were unanswered.
- Party insiders warn the cash shortfall could force a reduction in delegate numbers at the 29 November founding conference in Liverpool.
- Corbyn called the initial emails ‘unauthorised’ and urged supporters to cancel direct debits; the membership portal was later replaced and tensions escalated into legal threats.
Background
The group operating as Your Party emerged as an attempt to build a new left-of-centre organisation around Jeremy Corbyn and like-minded figures. In April, MoU Operations Ltd was established as an entity intended to accept donations and hold funds while the movement organised itself. The intention documented internally was to wind up MoU and transfer its assets to the registered party once the Electoral Commission recorded Your Party on 30 September.
Tensions surfaced when Zarah Sultana, a co-director, used an official email account to launch a membership sign-up portal. That portal collected payments and personal data from an estimated 20,000 individuals before being altered. Corbyn publicly described the initial emails as unauthorised and asked supporters to cancel payments, widening the rift and prompting heated exchanges among senior organisers.
Main event
The immediate dispute centers on control of funds held by MoU. According to multiple party insiders, senior figures expected MoU to transfer roughly £800,000 to Your Party to bankroll the founding conference and early organising. MoU’s founding board, which included Jamie Driscoll, resigned en masse last week, and the company now lists Sultana as sole director.
MoU’s departing directors said they supported transferring the money but raised outstanding questions about governance and potential legal liabilities that they wanted answered before surrendering control. Your Party officials have dismissed those objections as irrelevant and accuse MoU of changing demands, saying they sent several proposals to move the funds that were not acted upon.
Party organisers say the delay is producing concrete operational pressures, with one internal source warning the conference may have to reduce delegate allocations. A Your Party spokesperson said organisers remain determined to hold the founding meeting and to press ahead despite the retained funds, arguing the movement is needed to represent working-class voters.
Sultana’s spokesperson says she is in the process of transferring funds and data but is carrying out due diligence before completing the handover. The membership portal was replaced during the dispute; legal threats and sharp rhetoric briefly dominated coverage, though Corbyn and Sultana later reconciled publicly.
Analysis & implications
The funding deadlock exposes fragility in early-stage political organisations when informal fundraising mixes with nascent governance. MoU was created as a holding vehicle, but the absence of clear, pre-agreed transfer mechanisms between the company and the party left room for disagreement on timing and conditions. That gap has immediate operational consequences: founding events, vendor payments and legal preparations typically rely on predictable cashflow.
Politically, the row risks damaging public confidence at a vulnerable point for the movement. Tens of thousands have reportedly signed up as supporters; visible internal disputes over money and leadership can sap momentum, deter potential donors and feed media narratives of disorder. Opponents may exploit the dispute to question the group’s competence and readiness to contest elections.
Procedurally, the episode highlights the importance of transparent governance and clear fiduciary duties when third-party vehicles are used to hold funds for political projects. Regulators and the Electoral Commission require proper reporting and accountability once an organisation registers, but interim arrangements can remain legally and reputationally risky if not tightly controlled.
Looking ahead, the most immediate test will be whether funds and membership data are transferred before the Liverpool conference on 29 November. If not, practical compromises — fewer delegates, scaled-back logistics or emergency fundraising — are likely. A protracted legal standoff would escalate uncertainty, potentially delaying formal registration activity and damaging internal cohesion.
Comparison & data
| Metric | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Estimated supporters who paid | 20,000 |
| Funds held by MoU | Approximately £800,000 |
| MoU established | April (year current) |
| Your Party registered | 30 September |
| Founding conference | 29 November, Liverpool |
The table summarises the key numerical facts reported so far. The estimated 20,000 paying supporters and the roughly £800,000 in funds provide scale: average contribution sizes implied by those figures suggest typical payments in the tens of pounds, consistent with mass online membership drives. The temporal data show a compressed timetable between MoU’s creation in April, official registration on 30 September and the planned conference in late November, limiting time for exhaustive governance arrangements.
Reactions & quotes
Officials and spokespeople have framed the dispute very differently. Your Party spokespeople emphasise readiness to proceed with the conference and characterise MoU’s retention of funds as the main obstacle.
We are focused on delivering a successful founding conference for our members; while this task is made considerably harder by the continued retention of Your Party funds by MOU Operations Ltd, we will not allow anything or anyone to stop this party from going ahead.
Your Party spokesperson (media statement)
MoU’s departing directors said they sought clarity on governance and liability before transferring large sums and membership data.
We want the funds transferred but questions about governance and legal liabilities remain unanswered, and we could not continue in those circumstances.
Former MoU director (joint resignation statement)
Sultana’s office framed the delay as a routine and necessary check.
Zarah is in the process of transferring all funds and data to Your Party; she is conducting essential due diligence as part of that process.
Sultana spokesperson (media comment)
Unconfirmed
- The precise total currently held by MoU is reported as around £800,000 but has not been independently audited in public reporting.
- The exact number of paying supporters is described as about 20,000; individual-level payment records have not been publicly released for verification.
- Specific legal claims or threatened litigations have been reported in general terms but no court filings have been confirmed in public sources at this time.
Bottom line
The dispute over funds and data between MoU and Your Party underscores the operational vulnerabilities of rapid political launches. At stake are not only the £800,000 and membership records but also the movement’s ability to hold a credible founding conference on 29 November in Liverpool. How quickly the parties resolve governance and transfer questions will shape immediate logistics and longer-term perceptions of competence.
If the transfer proceeds promptly, organisers can likely proceed with the planned conference and work to consolidate governance arrangements. If the standoff continues or moves into legal proceedings, the movement faces immediate practical constraints and a potential erosion of public confidence during a formative period.
Sources
- BBC News — national media report summarising the dispute and official statements (media)