Following on from the recent controversy, I’ve created a follow up post regarding the fallout between Zarah and Jeremys respective sides of Your Party. All in all a very disappointing start to what was intended to be a joyous occasion;
https://feddit.uk/post/36527176.
I’m not going to remove any of the below, as I’m not a fan of whitewashing events, nor am I seeking a refund on the money paid into the membership, as quite frankly I’m curious as to what happens next. We may not get a truly democratic party out of this, but at least I’ve got a front row seat for the fireworks. Sigh
Membership has opened for Your Party, with two tiers available; regular and concessionary.
There isn’t much information around the difference between standard and concessionary membership other than the difference in price, and whether all tiers will be eligible for votes or not, so I’m enlisting the aid of my partner who will follow the path of concessionary, whilst I do the same with standard.
I feel it’s right to mention that some people have raised concerns around the legitimacy of the statements that this is a truly democratic 1 person 1 vote as alluded to and not another autocratic party in nature. So I will look to provide an overview of the process from now until the end of the current roadmap highlighted in my previous post.
As for the membership fees themselves. The regular tier is set at £5 per month, or £55 per year. Whereas the concessionary is exactly half, set to £2.50 per month, or £25 per year. There seems to be no restrictions on who can sign up as concessionary or standard..
Membership link removed due to subsequent updates (full update here).
I should point out that I’m not a journalist, or political expert in any sense. I’m just your run of the mill middle aged British socialist with arguably too much time on his hands. Prior to paying the initial membership fee, I wasn’t affiliated with the party in any regard, nor is any of this paid advertising.
Finally, if you see this flamingo’s, I’m sorry about the egregious spacing after the first line; it’s their API, not me! :p .
The paid‑for “membership portal” appears not to be a democratically ratified decision but a unilateral move by Zarah Sultana, imposed on a movement that promised collective ownership of its direction. By turning entry into a £5‑a‑month subscription, the party treated political belonging as a commodity, reproducing the market logic it claims to oppose and alienating volunteers who expect free, universal access to a socialist organisation. This top‑down imposition sidestepped the pre‑figurative principle of participatory decision‑making and reinforced a Westminster‑style habit of fundraising through mandatory fees rather than genuine solidarity.
A more socialist approach would replace the subscription with a voluntary‑donation model built on transparency and collective control: open‑ended contributions, tiered solidarity pledges tied to specific grassroots projects, and worker‑run funding circles that let supporters decide how money is allocated. By treating money as a means of sustaining collective activity, not as a gate‑keeping ticket, the party could align its finances with democratic planning, reinforce accountability, and turn fundraising itself into a concrete expression of socialist solidarity.
Yes, even the concessionary membership was £2.50 a month. If Your Party wants support from the poorest then they need to make it voluntary as you say. Even the old Labour Party charged on £1 for unemployed members.