9 hours ago
2
David Rhodes
BBC News, Yorkshire
A former Labour adviser claims she was subjected to "misogynistic" abuse after raising concerns the party was failing to declare thousands of pounds of annual income.
Prof Rebecca Boden said she was targeted after claiming the Labour party in Calderdale had not properly accounted for its ownership and rent earned from the Trades Club bar and music venue in Hebden Bridge.
She said she had endured a "year from hell" after stating the party had failed to declare the building and its annual rental income to the Electoral Commission.
A spokesperson for the Yorkshire and the Humber Labour Party said it was "not aware of any complaints made by Prof Boden regarding misogynistic behaviour", adding that "neither HMRC nor the Electoral Commission have opened an investigation".
The Trades Club is owned by the national Labour party, but responsibility for its management rests with the local party in Calder Valley.
A separate cooperative runs the music venue and pay £8,000 a year in rent to the local Labour party.
Prof Boden told the BBC she became aware in January 2024 that the party was failing to declare the £300,000 building and its annual rental income in its returns.
By law branches of political parties with an annual income of over £25,000 must submit their accounts to the Electoral Commission
Prof Boden said had the Trades Club been included in the accounts, the party in Calderdale would have reached that threshold.
She also claimed Labour had also not paid tax on the rental income generated by the property for the past twenty years, which she estimated was in excess of £100,000.
Prof Boden, who advised the national Labour party on how VAT could be implemented on private school fees, said the party had been "flying the whole enterprise under the radar".
"I can't go out there banging the drum about why private schools should pay VAT and at the same time know that my own party wasn't meeting its own tax liabilities," she said.
"I was sat in a branch meeting and I thought 'oh that's a huge error', and when I raised it I had men shouting at me telling me I was wrong.
"I was called a malign woman, and I felt quite frightened that people were behaving so aggressively."
As well as being used as a bar, club and music venue the Trades Club is also a registered election address for the Calder Valley MP, Josh Fenton-Glynn.
Prof Boden said she had raised the matter with Fenton-Glynn but he had "brushed the issue off and refused to deal with it".
She said she had then gone "right to the top of the national Labour party [but] I was just ignored".
Prof Boden also claims Fenton-Glynn did nothing to stop the abuse she received from other party members at a party meeting.
In an email sent to the leadership of the local branch in March 2024, a Labour party member wrote "last night I was witness to some quite distressing scenes of misogyny, aggression, gaslighting and very uncomradely behaviour towards Rebecca Boden".
Prof Boden resigned as treasurer of the local branch in May 2024, before leaving the party later the same year.
A spokesperson for the Labour party in Yorkshire & the Humber said Fenton-Glynn was not available for interview.
In a statement they said: "The party has investigated comments around conduct during constituency party meetings and any complaints have been referred to the party's complaints department.
"The party is liaising with the Electoral Commission, and the constituency party is seeking independent financial advice.
"Neither HMRC nor the Electoral Commission have opened an investigation in relation to this matter."
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