Exclusive: Corbyn and Sultana’s Your Party UK Ltd to be deleted
Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party is set to be wiped off an official register, Morning Wire can reveal.
The two former Labour politicians, who are both listed as directors of the party on Companies House, have tussled for control while the launch of the party last year has been dogged by questions over the legalities of fundraising.
It can now be revealed that Your Party UK Ltd is set to be deleted after an application for the organisation to be struck off Companies House was filed on Wednesday afternoon.
The party will now transition into an unincorporated association, the same setup as the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.
A Your Party spokesperson said: “This is a planned step in our democratic founding process. Your Party will now be an unincorporated association governed in line with our democratic, member-approved constitution, registered and regulated by the Electoral Commission.”
Jeremy Corbyn, Zarah Sultana and other leaders have been contacted for comment.
Under UK rules, the Electoral Commission, the regulator for political parties, should be informed of any changes to its financial setup. Party officials said it told the regulator about the temporary setup of the limited company when the organisation was set up.
The Electoral Commission is assessing changes made to the party’s structure.
Your Party’s scandalous start
Sultana’s unauthorised launch in September was recently flagged for the risk of “serious criminal activity” by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as first revealed by the New Statesman.
The ordeal began with Sultana’s email to 800,000 people on a mailing list urging them to pay £55.
The former Labour backbencher told her followers on social media the site was “safe and secure” but Corbyn then posted with a message to warn people from accessing the “unauthorised” site.
After referring the issue to the ICO, Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project was told to report the matter to Action Fraud, with police investigations taking precedence over independent reviews on the potential data breach.
Independent MPs including Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed, who had previously joined the new group, left it, complaining about smear campaigns and factionalism.
Corbyn and Sultana have said the organisation provided an alternative to left-wing Britons disillusioned with the Labour Party’s stance on everything from foreign affairs to public ownership of services.
The pair have sparred against each other in briefing wars, with each starting different slates in a competition for dominance over strategy.
Sultana also hit out at Corbyn over issues including the naming of the party. She briefly boycotted the party’s first conference last year over an alleged “witch hunt” as members were expelled.