Independent left-wing MP Zarah Sultana has accused the co-leader of her new political party, Jeremy Corbyn, of presiding over a “sexist boys club,” in a scathing statement posted on X.
Her comments come after a confusing series of emails sent on Thursday to those who had subscribed to the Your Party mailing list.
In a message sent at 11:11am on Thursday morning, subscribers were told the Your Party membership portal, “is now open,” with a link encouraging them to sign up for a £5 monthly subscription or a £55 annual payment.
“For too long, Britain’s politics has been run in the interests of the rich and powerful,” the email read.
“From Ayr to Aberystwyth, our new party is about changing that – taking power back for working people, communities and future generations.
“Joining isn’t just about signing up. It means taking part in a founding process that is genuinely democratic and member-led.
“This is your chance to help build something new. A party that belongs to its members, not the establishment.”
The email concluded by signing off with, “in solidarity, Your Party.”
This email was followed up at 2:45pm by a second “urgent” message to supporters claiming the initial correspondence was, “an unauthorised email,” with “details of a supposed membership portal hosted in a new domain name.”
The message went on to claim “legal advice is being taken,” and supporters should disregard the previous message and that, “if any direct debits have been set up, they should be immediately cancelled.”
The message promised members would soon be able to sign up for real and that the roadmap to the party’s official launch had been published earlier this week in collaboration with all founding MPs.
The email was signed, “in solidarity, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Ayoub Khan MP, Adnan Hussain MP, Iqbal Mohamed MP, Shockat Adam MP,” notably absent of Zarah Sultana’s name.
Addressing the confusion Sultana posted a statement on X claiming: “Neither of this week’s emails had the dual authorisation of both myself and Jeremy – which was the agreement made at the start of this process.”
She went on to claim she had been sidelined by the male MPs who signed the second email, “and effectively frozen out of the official accounts”.
She claimed this led her to launch a membership portal in an effort to ensure “supporters could continue to engage and organise”.
“My sole motivation has been to safeguard the grassroots involvement that is essential to building this party,” Sultana added.
She went on to accuse the male MPs of subjecting her to “what can only be described as a sexist boys’ club,” alleging she had been “treated appallingly and excluded completely”.
The Coventry South MP called on Corbyn to meet with her and make public “all agreed structures, processes and decision-making protocols.
“This party is more important than any one person,” she wrote, adding: “We all owe it to the movement to deliver a truly democratic and socialist party.”
It is not the first time the insurgent left-wing political party has been labelled disorganised.
When the party was first announced by Sultana, Corbyn appeared to downplay her assertions he would co-lead the group.
Confirming his involvement, the creation of Your Party was announced, only for the pair to then claim Your Party was a temporary name, with a new one to be voted on by party members at their first conference.
Speaking at the time, Corbyn denied the party’s launch had been chaotic, saying: “It’s not messy at all, it’s a totally coherent approach. It’s democratic, it’s grassroots, and it’s open.”
Where the apparent rift leaves members either hoping to sign up, or having already done so is unclear.
In her statement posted to X, Sultana encourages members to continue purchasing memberships, although the link included in the first Your Party email appears to no longer work.
Her co-leader, along with the party’s other declared MPs are instead urging members to cancel any direct debits and sit tight for the real membership details to be shared at a later date.
With the schism among the party’s leaders playing out publicly, prospective members might not be blamed for asking whose party it really is?
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