Zarah Sultana has said she will not pursue legal action after a public dispute with Jeremy Corbyn over the fledgling party they were to co-lead. The Coventry South MP acknowledged that many people felt “demoralised” following the quarrel over her push for members to sign up to Your Party, the political outfit she established with the former Labour leader.
Sultana wrote in a statement on X that she was “determined to reconcile” and was engaged in discussions with Corbyn, for whom she has “nothing but respect”. She added: “For the sake of the party, and as an act of good faith, I will not be pursuing legal proceedings despite the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against me.”
On Friday, Sultana said she had instructed “specialist defamation lawyers” after what she described as false and defamatory statements regarding the launch of a paid membership system. She claimed she had been “sidelined” and “effectively frozen out” by Corbyn and fellow independent MPs, and had been subjected to a “sexist boys’ club”.
The row escalated after Corbyn disowned a message encouraging supporters to sign up, calling it an “unauthorised email”. He urged people not to use the “supposed membership portal” and said legal advice was being taken. This is the latest in a series of disagreements between the two over the party’s direction, which has yet to hold an annual conference or decide on an official name.
Sultana announced the party’s launch in July, claiming more than 750,000 supporters had signed up. She quit Labour that same month after being suspended for voting to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
