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The leftwing Your Party, set up by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, is embroiled in another public row over donations to the party.
A statement from Corbyn along with Shockat Adam MP, Adnan Hussain MP, Ayoub Khan MP and Iqbal Mohamed MP states that hundreds of thousands of pounds were donated to the party “by supporters in good faith, but have since remained beyond its reach”, which they describe as being “extremely frustrating and disheartening”.
It added a “small portion” of the funds was transferred to the party on Thursday which they said was “insufficient” and they will continue to pursue the immediate transfer of all the money donated.
The statement posted on X by the independent alliance of MPs was not signed by Sultana and comes days after the Guardian reported on the former Labour MP and Corbyn’s quarrel over hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations.
Sultana offered to transfer £600,000 from a company the party’s founders set up earlier this year, only to be rebuffed by allies of the former Labour leader who accused her of playing “political games” with supporters’ money.
The statement on Thursday said: “Your Party’s founding purpose is to stand for the many against the few who hold the wealth and power in our country. Thousands of ordinary people have given their time and money to build a real alternative to endless cuts and endless war.
“A dedicated team of volunteers has been working on a shoestring budget to deliver a founding conference at the end of the month. Their efforts are heroic, but without funding Your Party’s capacity has been severely restricted. Hundreds of thousands of pounds were donated to the party by supporters in good faith, but have since remained beyond its reach. This has been extremely frustrating and disheartening.
“A small portion of these funds was today transferred to Your Party. This is insufficient. We will continue to pursue the immediate transfer of all the money that was donated by supporters to get a new party off the ground, alongside a resolution to outstanding legal issues.
“Building a democratic party from the ground up was never going to be smooth sailing. Some of the difficulties we have faced were inevitable, but others were deliberate acts.”
The political infighting on Monday centred on thousands of pounds’ worth of donations and fees received by MOU Operations Ltd, a company set up earlier this year.
Party officials were seeking a sum of about £800,000 from MOU Operations and had threatened to take legal action against the company.
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Sultana has recently taken sole control of MOU Operations and on Monday offered to return £600,000, arguing the rest should be retained in case of future legal or administrative expenses. However, the offer was rejected by Your Party officials.
A spokesperson for Sultana said on Monday: “Zarah is working to transfer all funds and data held by MOU Operations Ltd to Your Party. As sole director, she is legally responsible for ensuring the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses are settled, and this process may take some time.”
They added the first £200,000 was scheduled to be sent on 12 November and all remaining funds would be transferred “once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities are settled in full”.
