Your Party's Membership Launch

Who doesn't like moments of collective joy? Here's one I was looking forward to: the launch of the membership of Your Party. Seeing the numbers shoot skyward like a SpaceX rocket, what we didn't want was an unscheduled rapid disassembly. But that is exactly what we got with last week's farce. And now, after things have settled a little bit and some calm has prevailed, YP is back on the pad and has blasted off again. Jeremy Corbyn took to the socials on Monday lunch time to launch his political moonshot. Yet instead of excitement, the buzz online has been downbeat, cynical, and gives off going-through-the-motions vibes. What a contrast to how things were a couple of months ago, and what could have been.

Matters weren't helped by the manner of this launch. Though the video accompanying Corbyn's announcement featured library footage of Zarah Sultana, featuring her as well might have undone some of the damage. Making matters murkier is the small print on the party website, which says the membership is operated by Your Party UK Ltd, in turn owned by the Peace and Justice project. Where is MOU Operations Ltd, the outfit that has the mailing list and recruited 20k members last week? What happened to the prior agreement between the two legal entities? We don't know and will have to wait for the memoirs, because it's all hush-hush: the very antithesis of an open and democratic way of proceeding.

Another unasked for feature of the recruitment is the barring of other parties. The sign-up page says that "you cannot be a member of another political party". I'm sorry, that is a decision for the party to make and not for friends-of-Jeremy to decide. Neither is it clear what parties are considered "political parties" here. Obviously the Greens, who do allow for dual membership, are out owing to their being registered as such. But what about the SWP, whose branches have variously organised YP meetings up and down the country? Or the Socialist Party? The YP project has made generous use of Dave Nellist's time in convening and chairing gatherings. Are they allowed? And if their comrades ignore the bar, are Karie Murphy and Pamela Fitzpatrick going to deck themselves out in witch-hunter garb? This is both an unserious approach to political differences and an unwelcome power grab that, I hope, the membership will undo at the first opportunity. And that's before we get on to the involvement of the other Independent Alliance MPs. No problems collaborating on an issue-by-issue basis, but giving them leading roles in this project, even if they are only "facilitating", is a dubious decision at best.

Yes, this should be something to celebrate. An episode of a new political movement rising to prominence, while making its opponents and enemies shake as masses and masses of people take on membership. Instead, the secrecy and petty power plays have tarnished its leading figure and, for many, whipped the rug from under them. Unfortunately, the ranks of reluctant Corbynism have swelled because of recent disappointments. And nearly all of them will head over to the membership portal and sign up out of duty, not enthusiasm.

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