Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana on Thursday accused Jeremy Corbyn of overseeing a sexist boys' club that has sidelined women from key steps in the founding of a new left-wing party. The comments come as the group navigates internal turbulence ahead of a formal launch and a still unnamed organisation seeking to recruit members.
Sultana said she had been sidelined by other members of the party's working group, despite an agreement that she and Corbyn would jointly authorise key steps. In a social media statement, she asserted that she had been treated “appallingly and excluded completely” and that the arrangement to share voting rights and decision-making had been undermined by a gender-imbalanced leadership slate. She said: “They have refused to allow any other women with voting rights on the Working Group, blocking the gender-balanced committee that both Jeremy and I signed up to.”
The controversy followed an email sent on Tuesday to supporters of Your Party offering £55 memberships, a promotion Corbyn later described as “unauthorised” and said he was seeking legal advice on. Sultana said she had launched the party’s membership website “in line with the road map” laid out by officials and had been encouraging sign-ups as part of building grassroots momentum.
Before her statement, Sultana had been posting on social media to promote the £55 full membership tier, and she claimed more than 20,000 people had signed up in a single morning, a figure that would have generated more than £1 million in potential funding for the nascent project. The claim underscored the scale of the drive and the stakes for members who see the effort as central to sustaining a new left-wing force.
In her statement, Sultana reiterated her stated goal of safeguarding grassroots involvement essential to the party’s development. She said: “My sole motivation has been to safeguard the grassroots involvement that is essential to building this party.” She added that she had been excluded from decision-making despite the shared commitment to a gender-balanced leadership.
Earlier, Corbyn issued a conflicting statement alongside Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam — all members of the Independent Alliance of MPs who form part of the party’s founding group. Sultana’s name was conspicuously missing from that communique, prompting questions about who is driving the messaging and how decisions are being communicated to supporters.
The clash marks the latest intra-group dispute within the still-unbuilt party, which has not yet announced its name or scheduled an annual conference. The leadership tensions come as the movement seeks to convert online interest and signups into an organised political entity with governance structures and a clear platform.
The background here is notable: Sultana had previously signaled she would resign from the group and reportedly planned to help form a new party with Corbyn, a move that surprised some of the party’s backers and stakeholders in July. That development has framed the current friction as part of a broader rearrangement within a project still searching for legitimacy and momentum. While some supporters have cheered the push for a mass grassroots base, others have urged caution about inclusivity and the process used to recruit members and allocate leadership roles.
As the situation unfolds, observers say the inside politics of the new movement may have significant cultural implications for how it is perceived by potential supporters and by broader left-wing circles. The outcome could influence whether the party can project a united front on gender balance, governance, and strategy as it moves toward a formal launch and attempts to translate online enthusiasm into tangible political traction.
The parties and individuals involved did not provide additional comment beyond the statements already issued, and no additional timetable for party activities or a conference has been announced. What remains clear is that in the most visible clash to date over governance, membership, and representation, the nascent party’s ability to reconcile competing visions will be a pivotal factor in how it is perceived by the public and potential voters within the broader left.