Jeremy Corbyn(left) and Zarah Sultana(right)
Zarah Sultana, independent Member of Parliament, has publicly accused Jeremy Corbyn of leading a “sexist boys’ club” in dealings with their new political project. She says she has been excluded from decisions and sidelined by male colleagues in the leadership structure of the new party she co-founded with Corbyn.
The dispute came after Sultana sent an email inviting people to join a membership portal for the party, asking for fees. Corbyn then urged supporters to ignore the email, calling it unauthorised and warning that people should cancel any direct payments they may have made. He said that the membership system had not been approved by all founding leaders.
In response, Sultana said she was acting because she had been frozen out of official accounts and decision making. She said her goal was to protect grassroots participation, to allow regular supporters to engage directly rather than having all control held by a small group. She also said she had not agreed to the emails being sent and that the agreement was that decisions about membership and finances would be shared among all founding MPs, including her.
Sultana’s claims include that male MPs signed off on a second email without including her, and that this act is part of a pattern she sees inside the party: male dominance in leadership, lack of transparency, and disregard for her input. She said she has been treated “appallingly and excluded completely.”
Corbyn’s side has countered that Sultana was never formally shut out of leadership talks and that there is a process agreed by all involved that aims to be democratic. Corbyn said the membership portal in question was not approved and that the party had referred the case to legal or regulatory advisors. He asked supporters not to proceed with payments until the situation is clarified.
