Feinstein, Driscoll, Winter: ‘disappointment’ over Your Party feud but say donations are secure

Former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein, former MP Beth Winter and ex-Tyneside mayor Jamie Driscoll, the directors of MOU Operations Ltd – the firm set up to secure and manage donations to Your Party – have issued a statement expressing their ‘incredible’ disappointment in the ‘leadership fallout‘ at the top of the new (but not yet official) party – but assuring those who have donated to it that their money is secure and being handled safely and that refunds will be issued to those who want them.

Your Party: the chaos continues

The confusion – and dismay – arose after Zarah Sultana’s email inviting Your Party supporters to join as members, followed by a statement from Jeremy Corbyn and other independent MPs disowning it, telling supporters not to use the joining link and threatening legal action, a situation that has led to widespread disgust among the party’s left-wing base.

In a statement, Feinstein, Winter and Driscoll said they will not comment on the Corbyn-Sultana dispute, but said they have been trying to mediate in it and are not taking sides, but are ‘incredibly disappointed’ in the course of events:

We are incredibly disappointed to see the leadership fallout in Your Party. But we want to assure you that your donations are safe.

MOU Operations Ltd was set up before the launch of Your Party’s website went live on the 24th of July. It was approved by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana to be the custodian of the donations. All the donations encouraged by both Zarah and Jeremy, or anyone else, went into this bank account, with their approval. The recent email launching a membership system uses exactly the same payment system, and goes into the same bank account.

We will not comment on the dispute between Jeremy and Zarah about who should or should not send emails. That email system is not owned or controlled by MOU Operations Ltd. We will speak to Jeremy and Zarah and make sure the mechanism for any refunds is shared with you.

As the directors of MOU Operations Ltd, our duty and loyalty is to the members and supporters who have signed up and donated. We will not take sides between Jeremy and Zarah. We will act only in your interests, to deliver the project you signed up for. We want to see this project succeed; it is bigger than anyone involved. This is a fast moving situation, and we hope a resolution can be found.

We take our legal, moral and fiduciary duties extremely seriously. We want to assure you that we have taken no
payment of any kind. We have not been involved in running the project since its launch in July. We are simply custodians of the money. Neither Zarah nor Jeremy have received any money from MOU Operations Ltd, nor have they ever asked to.

In the spirit of openness, we have to disclose that we have tried to mediate between Jeremy and Zarah for some weeks now. We have raised concerns about the breakdown of trust, poor communication, inadequate governance and a lack of transparency. In blunt terms, we demanded a meeting to get it sorted. One side agreed, the other has not responded despite multiple attempts.

We are as exasperated as you are. We have been inundated with messages asking us to help find a solution, which we continue to do. Hundreds of thousands of people see the need for a new kind of politics. They want a party that will build from the grassroots up. One that is truly democratic in practice as well as in principle, and gives the hope for a better Britain and a better world. We share that hope.

Jamie Driscoll
Beth Winter
Andrew Feinstein
Directors of MOU Operations Ltd

Featured image via the Canary