Stand-off over £800,000 Your Party funds held by Zarah Sultana

Jeremy Corbyn’s new left-wing party is in a stand-off over £800,000 held by Zarah Sultana, who is meant to be founding the party with him.

The funds are from the initial wave of donations when the movement, currently operating under the name Your Party, was announced in July.

While Your Party was being formally registered, the money was collected by MoU Operations Ltd – which is now run by Sultana.

Senior figures have accused her of withholding the funds despite publicly agreeing to transfer the money.

A spokesperson for Sultana said she “is in the process of transferring all funds and data” but was conducting “essential due diligence as part of this process”.

But the delay has sparked anger among Your Party insiders, who say the funds are essential for its founding conference later this month. A source in the party said it would likely be “forced to reduce delegate numbers” at the event.

The schism stems from the founding of the party, as the group launched without a legal structure and before Electoral Commission registration.

To handle the surge of donations from thousands of supporters eager to back the project, MoU Operations Ltd was set up in April as a temporary holding company to bridge the gap until the party was formally founded.

The plan had been to transfer all the money and data from MoU to Your Party after it was registered with the Electoral Commission on 30 September, then wind up the company.

But the money, believed to be around £800,000, has not yet been transferred.

Last week, the founding board of MoU, which included former Labour mayor of North of Tyne Combined Authority Jamie Driscoll, resigned en masse – making Sultana the sole director.

In a joint resignation statement, the three directors insisted they wanted to transfer the funds but Your Party officials had ignored questions about governance and legal liabilities.

Your Party officials have dismissed MoU’s complaints as irrelevant and accused it of shifting the goalposts. Officials claimed they sent multiple proposals to move the funds, but were ignored by MoU.

A Your Party spokesman said “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.

“Working-class people need a party which stands up for them.”

A spokesman for Sultana said: “Zarah is in the process of transferring all funds and data to Your Party, as she has already made clear publicly.

“Obviously, she has a duty to conduct essential due diligence as part of this process.”

The row is the latest twist in a turbulent start for the party, which has attracted tens of thousands of members but been dogged by internal disputes over leadership and even the party’s name.

Sultana has pushed for the party to be called The Left Party, while Corbyn hinted the name Your Party could stay.

Members will vote on the official name at a founding conference in Liverpool on 29 November.

In September, Sultana launched a membership portal through the Your Party official email account, taking payment and data from an alleged 20,000 people.

Corbyn branded the emails “unauthorised” and urged supporters to cancel direct debits.

The membership portal was later replaced, but not before the dispute escalated into legal threats.

The pair have since reconciled.

Your Party is not seeking to recoup the money or data from the unauthorised membership scheme, following legal advice.

Despite high-profile clashes, Sultana told the BBC the party was a “40-year project” aimed at “running” the government.

Sultana said she hopes to co-lead the new party with Corbyn, but will “throw her hat in the ring” if members opt for a single leader when the party constitution is agreed at conference.