Stand-off over £800,000 Your Party funds

Zarah Sultana's new left-wing party, which is supposed to be founding the party with him, is locked in a contest for £800,000. 000 by Jeremy Corbyn. The funds came from the first wave of donations when the campaign, now known as Your Party, was announced in July. The money was collected by MoU Operations Ltd, which now operates by Sultana, as Your Party was officially registered. Despite publicly promising to move the funds, senior figures have accused her of concealing the funds.

I am in the process of transferring all funds and information,

However, the delay has sparked outrage among Your Party insiders, who claim that the funds are essential for its founding conference later this month. According to a party spokesperson, it will most likely be forced to reduce delegate numbers at the party. The split result resulted from the party's founding, as the group was launched without a legal structure and before the Electoral Commission registration was published. MoU Operations Ltd was established in April as a temporary holding company to bridge the party's rising tide of support from thousands of people eager to support the campaign before it was officially established.

Since being registered with the Electoral Commission on September 30th, MoU's goal had been to move all the funds and records from MoU to Your Party. The plan was to wind up the organization. However, the money, which is estimated to be around £800,000, has not been released yet. Last week, the founding board of MoU, which included former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll of North of Tyne Combined Authority, resigned en masse, leaving Sultana as the sole director. The three founders argued in a joint resignation statement that they wanted to move the funds, but Your Party leaders dismissed concerns regarding governance and legal problems. MoU's allegations were dismissed as irrelevant, and it was accused of moving the goalposts by your Party leaders. Officials said they had received multiple bids to move the funds, but MoU denied them.

We are concentrating on delivering a fruitful founding conference for our members,

While this task is made much more difficult by MOU Operations Ltd's continued holding of Your Party funds, we will not allow any one to prevent this group from going forward.

Zarah is in the process of transferring all funds and information to Your Party,

The row is the latest in a series of events in the party's turbulent start, which has attracted tens of thousands of supporters but has been dogged by internal controversies over leadership and even the party’s name. Sultana has called for the party to be named The Left Party, while Corbyn suggested that Your Party will remain unchanged. On November 29, members will vote on the official name at a founding conference in Liverpool. Sultana launched a membership portal in September on the Your Party official email account, collecting payment and personal information from an estimated 20,000 people. Corbyn branded the emails unauthorised and advised supporters to avoid direct debits. The membership portal was updated later, but not before the controversy escalated into legal issues. The pair have since reconciled. Following legal advice, your party is not attempting to recover the funds or information from the unapproved membership program. Despite high-profile clashes, Sultana told the BBC that the party was a 40-year initiative aimed at running the government. Sultana said she wants to co-lead the new party with Corbyn but she would throw her hat in the ring if members opt for a single leader after the party's constitution is agreed at conference. Correction 7th, 2025 - An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that the £800,000 was raised through a membership program launched by Zarah Sultana in September. The funds were instead collected via initial donations handled by MoU Operations Ltd before Your Party was registered as a legal entity.

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