By Ruth Mosalski

Copyright walesonline

Former Labour MP Beth Winter, a senior figure involved in Your Party, the new political party involving Jeremy Corbyn, has said she is “exasperated” by a row between him and Zarah Sultana. The new political party does not yet have an official name but is being called “Your Party” in campaign material, Ms Winter is involved in a company linked to the party called MOU Operations Ltd. The latest row between the two former Labour figures – Ms Sultana and Mr Corbyn – comes after an email went out to supporters inviting people to sign up for full membership for £5 a month or £55 a year. Ms Sultana had posted online asking people to join as paid-up members and claimed more than 20,000 people had signed up. In a statement on Thursday, Ms Sultana said she had launched a membership portal to allow supporters to “continue to engage and organise”. She insisted it was “in line with the road map set out to members” and was “a safe, secure, legitimate portal for the party”. She also said membership funds were being held by a company set up by the party to safeguard money until its founding conference in November. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here But in a statement, Corbyn said the emails were “unauthorised” and should be ignored, while any direct debits set up should be “immediately cancelled”. On Sunday Ms Sultana said she was “determined to reconcile” and acknowledged people felt “demoralised” following the row. The party was launched in July and is due to hold its founding conference in November, local meetings are also taking place and an all-Wales meeting is being planned in October. Former Labour Cynon Valley MP Beth Winter is one of the three directors of MoU Operations, which processes donations for the party. On the Your Party website, it says: “For donation processing, MoU Operations Ltd (Company number 16359847) acts as the data controller. MoU Operations Ltd is responsible for collecting and processing personal data associated with donations made via this website and any related financial transactions.” In a letter she has published on Facebook , signed jointly by fellow MOU Operations directors Jamie Driscoll and Andrew Feinstein saying the trio are “incredibly disappointed” at the latest row and said they are “as exasperated as you are”. “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.” The party has said more than 750,000 people have signed up to get involved since its launch.