It’s been a whirlwind few months for Britain’s newest left-wing political movement, provisionally dubbed “Your Party.” At the heart of the drama: Zarah Sultana, a former Labour MP, who has now taken sole control of over £800,000 in donations meant to fund the upstart party’s vision for a more just and socialist Britain. But behind the scenes, the journey to this point has been anything but straightforward, with resignations, legal threats, and public spats threatening to overshadow the party’s ambitious goals.
According to Sky News, the internal squabble reached its peak on October 30, 2025, when Sultana became the only director of MoU Operations Ltd—a company originally set up in April to hold donations and manage data for the new movement. The previous custodians of the funds—former Labour MP Beth Winter, former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll, and ex-South African politician Andrew Feinstein—resigned after weeks of mounting pressure and a draft legal action from party insiders desperate to access the money. The trio claimed, in a statement, that the responsibility for holding the donations was “thrust upon” them and that the company “had repeatedly been used without our agreement.”
Their resignation letter, as reported by The Telegraph, didn’t pull punches: “From the day of the launch, we have raised concerns about the lack of agreement and appropriate governance. We asked the Your Party leadership to meet with us to resolve it… Only one of their directors agreed.” They insisted that they had not benefited personally from the funds and had “behaved with integrity.”
But what exactly led to such a dramatic falling out? The trouble began with a botched membership launch on September 18, 2025. Sultana sent an email to supporters asking them to become paid members—£5 a month or £55 a year—using a portal managed by MoU. This move, apparently taken without co-founder Jeremy Corbyn’s approval, triggered a furious internal row. Corbyn, the former Labour leader, called the emails “unauthorised” and urged supporters to cancel their direct debits. The confusion was compounded by a second, “official” membership portal launched days later. Meanwhile, the original portal had already collected fees from around 20,000 people.
As BBC reported, the dispute quickly escalated into legal threats and accusations of a “sexist boys’ club,” with Sultana saying she felt targeted by the party’s male leadership. The episode laid bare a deep rift at the top of the fledgling movement, one that was only partially healed in the weeks that followed. “We’ve had some fraught days in the last week, as you will no doubt be very aware. And to be honest, we haven’t covered ourselves in glory,” Corbyn admitted in a video message to supporters, adding, “But what is most important is this: We all agree about the plans for the conference and the road map to get to it.”
While the party’s leadership scrambled to resolve the internal chaos, the issue of who controlled the donations and the data of new members became a legal and regulatory headache. The Information Commissioner’s Office is now investigating the unauthorised membership launch after concerns were raised about data protection and privacy. The money collected from the initial portal is not expected to be transferred to Your Party, as those who paid are entitled to refunds—a process Sultana must now oversee. To complicate matters, Your Party still does not have access to the emails of the 20,000 people who signed up, leaving them unable to contact a significant chunk of their supporter base.
Despite the turmoil, Sultana has assured co-leader Jeremy Corbyn and party insiders that the £800,000-plus in donations will be transferred to the official party account “as soon as practically possible.” A source close to Sultana told Sky News there’s “no deliberate delay,” and that she was willing to take on the risks associated with MoU to get the matter settled before the party’s founding conference, scheduled for November 2025 in Liverpool. “Thank you for your patience – this brings the chapter to a close and these resources will now be used for Your Party, as was always intended,” Sultana posted on social media.
But not everyone is convinced. Some party figures, speaking anonymously, have described the situation as “an insane mess” and “totally undemocratic.” One insider told Sky News, “Imagine if this was the Labour Party and one MP had control of the funds. It’s totally undemocratic.” Others, however, are eager to move on. “We’ll be able to do so as soon as Zarah transfers the money to Your Party’s bank account, as she has promised, then we can focus on the founding conference,” a party source told The Telegraph.
Meanwhile, Sultana is looking to the future. In multiple interviews, including with the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, she’s made it clear that the party’s ambitions go far beyond protest. “I’m in politics because of a desire to change people’s lives for the better, and that means winning state power, that means actually running government. We’re building a party of the left that can win power and deliver justice,” she said. She described the project as a “10, 20, 30-year” effort, and, in another interview, even as a “40-year project.”
The party’s official name remains unresolved. Sultana is pushing for “The Left” or “The Left Party,” but says she will support whatever members decide at the founding conference. Corbyn, for his part, has hinted that “Your Party” could stick, at least for now. The membership will vote on the name and constitution in Liverpool, where leadership arrangements will also be decided. Sultana has expressed her hope to co-lead the party with Corbyn, but is willing to “throw her hat in the ring” if members opt for a single leader.
Policy-wise, Sultana envisions a “socialist, democratic and member-led” movement focused on nationalising key industries, building council homes, and providing secure jobs. She’s also not shying away from confrontation with political rivals. In her BBC interview, she accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of having “all the features of a fascist politician,” warning of the dangers a Farage-led government could pose to trade unionists and minority communities. A Reform UK spokesperson dismissed her remarks, saying she should “go back to school or buy herself a dictionary.”
Despite the party’s rocky start—marked by high-profile splits, governance squabbles, and ongoing investigations—it has managed to attract tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of sign-ups. Sultana and Corbyn both believe there’s a hunger for a new alternative on the left, especially as voters grow disillusioned with Labour’s direction. “Labour probably should have worried about that before it enabled genocide and passed through austerity. The Labour Party actually was quite content because it thought the left had nowhere else to go – and now the left has choices,” Sultana told the BBC.
With the founding conference just weeks away, all eyes are on Liverpool. Whether Your Party—whatever it’s ultimately called—can move past its internal divisions and deliver on its promise of a new left-wing force in British politics remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the battle for the soul of the British left is far from over.
