After boycotting the first day of the conference, the rebellious Zara Sultane refused to be “expelled” from your party by accusing people within the organization of creating a “toxic culture” and invoking a “witch hunt”.
In a dramatic clash at the party’s inaugural rally, Ms Sultana said she would not be entering Liverpool’s main conference center on Saturday after one of her supporters, Kingston councilor James Giles, was denied entry. Other members were expelled on Friday for being members of the Socialist Workers Party.
The criticism came just hours after Jeremy Corbyn promised the leaders of the embattled party would be united.
“Zara met members outside the conference and condemned the recent expulsions. This witch hunt is indefensible. We must build a party that welcomes all socialists. She will not enter the conference hall today,” said Ms. Sultane’s spokesperson.
But your party has responded by rejecting claims of a “purge” of members, saying those expelled had broken “clearly stated membership rules”.
A spokesman for your party said: “These allegations are false. Members of another national political party registered with your party in breach of clearly stated membership rules – and those rules were enforced.”
Mrs. Sultane expressed her disappointment at the expulsion of people from your party on the eve of its founding conference.
“I was disappointed to see on the morning of our founding conference that people who had traveled from all over the country, spent a lot of money on train fares, hotels, to attend this conference, saying they were fired,” he said.
He continued: “It’s a culture reminiscent of Labour, how there was a witch hunt in the run-up to the conference, how members were treated with contempt. We are here to build a democratic party that unites all leftists, all socialists, so that they can find their political home in your party. “So what we saw this morning was disappointing and should be reversed.”
But he insisted the party could work together, even as he accused unnamed individuals of seeking to set up a “top-down” organisation.
“We absolutely have to work together,” he said. “But what we have to get rid of is the toxic culture of leaks to the right-wing press, legal threats, bullying, intimidation and sabotage…
All of this is indicative of a group of people who operate with paranoia and a control obsession, and what I am here to do is defend the members’ democracy.
The latest row came just hours after Mr Corbyn claimed infighting in his party was over as he told members he was proud of his fellow leader and sent a message of “support and solidarity” to a rally he held on Friday night.
Addressing party members in Liverpool on Saturday, he said: “As a party we need to come together and be united because division and division do not serve the interests of the people we are trying to represent. So that is the basis on which we are now running the party.”
The new commitment to the alliance came shortly after Mr Corbyn refused to call Ms Sultana a friend when asked in an interview. Sky News. Instead, he said the two were “parliamentary colleagues and we obviously have a relationship and so on”.
Despite voicing her problems with the “witch hunt” she claimed was going on in her party, Ms Sultana said she would support Mr Corbyn if elected party leader “despite his support for collective leadership”.
“I am a Democrat, I will support whatever decision the members want,” he said. “I supported a shared leadership structure. Unfortunately, a faceless bureaucrat decided that members would not even be allowed to vote on that option.
“Interestingly, I also supported ‘Party of the Left’ as one of the names of the party I supported, and that too was not listed as an option for members, which is indeed an undemocratic move.”
It follows a chaotic first few months for the party, which were marred by divisions, which saw Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana clash over a failed membership drive.
Ms Sultane complained that she had been subjected to a “sexist boys’ club” after inviting supporters to officially register and sponsor the party. But Mr Corbyn described the move as an “unauthorised email” and hours later warned members not to sign up via the link in a statement posted on social media.
Two MPs who helped launch the outfit have also since resigned. Last week, Iqbal Mohammad said in a statement that he had decided to leave your party and continue to serve as an independent MP in his Dewsbury and Batley constituency.
And earlier this month, MP Adnan Hussain said he was withdrawing from the “party leadership process”, citing concerns about factionalism and “hidden prejudice” against Muslims.
Later in his speech, Mr Corbyn used the supposed new unity of your party to criticize the structure and “bureaucracy” of the Labor Party.
The former Labor leader said: “I’ve had enough of parties from top to bottom. I’ve spent a lifetime in Labor and mostly fought the Labor bureaucracy. I don’t want to repeat that in your party. I don’t want to repeat that experience.”
He took the opportunity to urge members to fight “forever more” for “true socialism”.
“We’re here in Liverpool and we’ve got a huge responsibility on us to kick it off this weekend, to set up branches, to start campaigns and to take part in the next election,” he said at the end of his opening speech at the party’s founding conference.
This is our opportunity and time.
We will seize it with both hands, build that party, build that society, and forever fight for real socialism and real social justice.”
During the conference, members will be able to vote on the party’s new name after months of indecision and confusion. These options are your party, our party, popular alliance and for many the chosen name will be announced on Sunday.
