Your Party row erupts over hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations | Politics

The row between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana over the future of your left-wing Party has taken on another dimension as the two sides publicly squabbled over donations worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Sultana offered to transfer £600,000 from a company set up by the party’s founders earlier this year but was rejected by Corbyn’s allies, who accused him of playing “political games” with supporters’ money.

The latest row follows months of acrimony between two former Labor MPs vying to be puppets of what they hope will be a new force on the populist left. The struggle for power is expected to reach its climax in the new year, when the party holds an official leadership contest.

The latest row centers on hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of donations and fees received by MOU Operations Ltd, a company set up earlier this year when details of Your Party were revealed.

Your party officials are demanding around £800,000 from MOU Operations, even threatening to take legal action against the company over this.

But Sultana recently took sole control of Memorandum of Understanding Operations and on Monday offered to return the £600,000, arguing the remainder should be kept in case of future legal or administrative costs. However, this offer was immediately rejected by your Party officials.

A spokesperson for Sultana said: “Zarah is working to transfer to You all funds and data held by MOU Operations Ltd. As sole administrator, she is legally responsible for payment of the company’s costs, liabilities and expenses and this process may take some time.”

They added: “The first £200,000 is scheduled to be sent on November 12. Any remaining funds will be transferred once the company’s costs, expenses and liabilities have been paid in full.”

Your party declined to comment, but officials are understood to be in the process of rejecting Sultana’s offer. Corbyn’s spokesman also declined to comment.

Party officials argue Sultana should repay the full £850,000 they say was raised by Memorandum of Understanding Operations in the first weeks of the party’s founding. But they do not want the party to inherit a separate fund, believed to be around £500,000 raised after Sultana launched an unauthorized membership portal on September 18.

Some close to Corbyn believe Sultana is trying to raise money to help the leadership race over the next few months. But Sultana’s allies say some money should be held back in case those who donated in the movement’s early days want a refund.

The row comes as your Party’s advisers are planning their first national conference in Liverpool at the end of the month, where members will approve a draft constitution and elect a 21-member executive.

Sultana’s allies say he wants to ensure that some money is transferred to the party before the event so that it does not have to reduce some of the money due to lack of funds.

The dispute between the pair has been ongoing since Sultana announced in July that he was resigning from the Labor Party to form Your Party with Corbyn.

The announcement was met with anger from Corbyn supporters, who said the former Labor leader was the only person with the national profile who could lead the new vehicle.

But Sultana’s supporters point to her following among young leftists and her success in bringing her message to an online audience. For example, his TikTok following now stands at almost 490,000 compared to Corbyn’s 280,000.