Labour in Exile Network (LIEN) or (Lying)

 

A few weeks back a group of hard left supporters had this wheeze to set a "Constituency Labour Party" for all those expelled or suspended from the party. Whilst this project fell flat on it's face they have managed to set up yet another organisation. The Morning Star reports:

PURGED Labour Party members have set up a campaign opposing the suspensions of local party officials for allowing motions supporting Jeremy Corbyn.

The Labour In Exile Network (LIEN) aims to bring “true democracy” to the Labour Party through its Plan for Change campaign.

One of their supporters, former Chair of South Thanet CLP Norman Thomas told the Communist Party newspaper:

“The current leadership has launched a kind of ‘reign of terror’ in the party, ordering people not to even talk about these issues at their local meetings and suspending anyone who dares to fight back. This cannot go on,” he said.

The irony that he's saying this to the mouthpiece of a party and political tendency that purged and murdered millions seems lost on him. There's me thinking only Zionists didn't understand "British irony as his mentor Comrade Corbyn once told his disciples....

Their delusions of grandeur seem to have no end as we are told that:

The group will hold an Alternative Labour Party Conference in 2021, at which its plan will be debated and put to a vote.

However all is not well since another group has appeared calling itself The Real Labour In Exile has appeared. Their founder one Rachel Lily Rose muses:

The other group is called Labour in Exile Network i joined it got called a troll a cultist Corbynista etc and left then i saw some people online they had the same experience so they had also left the group. It sounded good but i think it's a stitch up to try and convince people the right faction of Labours version of events is real! Basically, we have to scapegoat Jeremy Corbyn and blame him for everything or we are living in denial and have learned nothing if we don't believe every word written in the right-wing media.

Confused? I think she is but then again aren't they all?

One contributor to the thread this comment appears on a John Porter shows how "Real Labour" he is whn he writes:

I'm not sure about Scotland. Why would you need to vote Labour when there is a solid left alternative?

Not Labour at all methinks not that any of these people really are.

Meanwhile two other groups are running on-line conferences on the 23rd and 30th January. I'm sure there will be more as the comrades contemplate their ideological navels.

The hard left just love setting up all these campaigns to make themselves feel important and show the rest of us how self indulgent they are. Considering they are supposedly "socialists" their inability to co-operate is astounding since that's the basis of their creed as I understand it.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A very Merry Christmas to everyone on this special holiday that can be enjoyed regardless of of religion or none and wherever you may be today!

The following song is a bit rude but the sentiment, well I'm sure it will both strike a chord and hopefully amuse!

Ghosts of Politics Bizarre

Photo: By Source, Fair use

With Christmas only a couple of days off most political activists myself included have taken time off to prepare for the holiday and relax though stuff's still happening I thought if anything between now and the New Year if I posted anything other than holiday greetings it would be about international issues. However people never fail to amaze me.

It all began with the old Militant Tendency trying to push Magic Grandpa back into the political limelight by suggesting:

A Corbyn mayoral candidacy, however - backed by a slate of trade unionists, socialists, and community campaigners on an anti-cuts platform - could have a dramatic effect on combating Starmer, inspiring and rallying all those previously enthused by Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party.

At least those that did could be easily expelled and the rest of the party get on with the real job of being elected.  Pity old Compo will never agree to the idea...perhaps he should be encouraged?

Meanwhile not to be left out Chris Williamson still tries to attract attention. This time he's tweeting in support of Gaddafi:

The fact that most people knew little or nothing about the incredible social policies in Libya under Gaddafi is an indictment of the corporate media hacks. They perpetually fail to tell the truth about non-Western countries and lap up imperialist propaganda instead.

Of course his imprisonment, torture and murder of dissidents both inside and outside the country was probably just propaganda on our part too. Not sure why Williamson wants to promote a long dead dictator.

The people who did in this country were the now deceased rapist leader of the old Workers revolutionary Party Gerry Healy who got managed to get a colour printing press out of the connection. Gaddafi's other fan was one Nick Griffin. These men didn't like Jews Zionists either. Good ideological company for the new Lord Voldemort who wants to escalate the push for a new "peoples party".

And then to top it all the British Board of Censors Film Classification have decided to put a warning on the eighties classic Flash Gordon:

'Flash's arch-nemesis, Ming the Merciless, is coded as an east Asian character due to his hair and make-up, but he's played by the Swedish actor Max von Sydow, which I don't think is something that would happen if this were a modern production and is something we're also aware that viewers may find dubious, if not outright offensive.

Erm no. Ming is an alien trying to wipe out mankind. he's not even bloody human and everybody who has seen and knows the movie knows this. Just because a bunch of navel gazing woke-influenced folk have suddenly decided otherwise is ludicrous. 

You know racism does exist in society. I've been a victim of it. Many friends of mine Black, Asian and White have been victims of racism. Trying to deal with it is difficult enough without some trendy tosser coming out with such turgid nonsense no one will take seriously.

Next someone will be saying men have periods...oh wait. I despair. Tampax gave in to that one as well!

I blame the lock-down...it's driving people potty I tell ye.....

Hawkwind 50th Anniversary LIve Album (Cherry Red Records)

Hot on the heels of their last studio album Carnivorous which is well worth picking up comes this Live double CD from their 50th anniversary tour last year. 

There's plenty to interest and entertain Hawkwind fans of all generations. I saw them live once in the seventies and one more time in the nineties. Of particular interest to me was the collection of tracks on the second CD which certainly brought back my particular memories including  The Watcher, Silver machine, Hurry On Sundown and Master of The Universe.

This must have been a great concert to attend and the production values are high as you would expect from this collection of professional musicians. Something to add to your Christmas stocking from Santa.

Here's a taste!

Jewish Labour Movement: Statement on Labour's EHRC Action Plan

The Labour Party has finally published the long awaited action plan to eradicate antisemitism, it's enablers and deniers from their ranks. Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner made it quite clear in their introduction that:

The Equality and Human Rights Commission report on antisemitism in the Labour Party is incredibly difficult reading for everyone who loves our Party and wants it to be a force for good. But its findings were clear and stark: the Labour Party breached the Equality Act 2010 in terms of unlawful harassment and indirect discrimination towards our Jewish members. 

We failed the Jewish community, our members, our supporters and the country. That is why we must act to drive antisemitism out of our Party and change the processes, structures and the culture of the Party to ensure Jewish people feel safe to return to their political home. 

That requires more than just words. It requires action. The Action Plan for Driving out Antisemitism from the Labour Party published today sets out concrete steps and a timetable to do this.

The Jewish Labour Movement response:

Today the Labour Party has published their Action Plan based on the EHRC's report into antisemitism in the Party. This significant document that lays out how the Labour Party is going to implement the EHRC's recommendations. It includes an independent complaints process for antisemitism and discrimination based on all protected characteristics, education and training and monitoring the progress the Party. You can read the full Action Plan here. 

Formal Statement:

Jewish Labour members want to see Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner continue to set out clear and decisive actions in tackling anti-Jewish racism within our Party.

Many of the steps set out in this Action Plan are those that JLM has been asking the Party to implement for years. We are disappointed that it took the intervention of the EHRC to secure them, but pleased that we now have a new leadership committed to act.

As the centenary year of our affiliation to the Labour Party draws to an end, we will continue to play our part in being a loyal but critical friend to the Labour Party in resolving these challenges. Our expectations will be however, as they always have been, for strong actions to follow positive words.

Whilst we welcome the reform of processes, by itself it is not enough. Recent events have shown a toxic culture persists in many parts of the Party. Solving this is as essential as introducing an independent disciplinary process.

________________

Further information: jewishlabour.uk

Iranian Atheist assassinated in Turkey: Condemn Iran's state terrorism!

Iran continues to export it's intolerant form of fundamentalism first seen when the Clerics deliberately provoked the Rushdie affair in the UK. Since then Iran's Clerics along with their proxies like Hezbollah have continued to expand their reign of terror as part of Iran's desire to establish an end to any internal opposition both political and religious and gain hegemony across the Muslim world.

Iranian dissidents and British MP's only narrowly escaped an Iranian bombing operation as the BBC reported in late November this year:

An Iranian diplomat and a Belgian couple are due to go on trial in Belgium on Friday in connection with an alleged plot to bomb a rally held by an exiled Iranian opposition group in France.

On 28 June 2018, two Belgian nationals of Iranian origin - a husband and wife identified as Amir S and Nasimeh N - drove from the Belgian city of Antwerp to Luxembourg, for what appeared to be a holiday, according to Belgian police.

At a Pizza Hut restaurant in an old part of Luxembourg City, they are said to have met an Iranian man in his late 40s who allegedly gave them a small package. Afterwards, they left the city.

What none of them realised was that their every move was being watched by European intelligence agencies.

Where the Iranians failed in France they succeeded in Turkey. 

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) issued the following press release:

Iranian atheist activist Arsalan Rezaei was stabbed by two assailants at his home in Turkey where he had fled as a refugee. He died in hospital the next day on 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

Rezaei was a well-known admin of “Khorafatkadeh” (In Persian, “the home of superstitions”) on Instagram, Telegram and YouTube, which has anti-religion contents. He sent a message for last year’s International Atheist Day, organised by the International Ex-Muslim Coalition.

His assassination was announced on IRGC’s (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) official Telegram channel. In the Telegram post, it stated: “apostates get what they deserve.” It also mentioned that Arsalan was anti-Islam and blasphemous.

Whilst the investigation into his murder is ongoing, it is highly probable that it was the work of the Islamic regime in Iran, which has stepped up kidnappings and the murder of dissidents. (Ruhollah Zam, a journalist living in exile in France was abducted by Iran’s security forces after being lured to Iraq and was executed on 12 December.)

The International Ex-Muslim Coalition unequivocally condemns the assassination and calls on the international community to hold the Islamic regime of Iran accountable for its heinous murder of atheists, freethinkers and dissidents. We also call on them to investigate the role of the Turkish government in collaborating with the Islamic regime in these assassinations and in other instances that put refugees at risk. For example, the plan to deport women’s rights activist Nasibeh Shemsai facing 12 year prison sentence for opposing compulsory veiling laws in Iran or the deportation of activists Saeed Tamjidi and Mohammad Rajabi now on death row in Iran.

Moreover, the Coalition is extremely concerned about the many other atheists and blasphemers currently in Turkey who are at serious risk. We call on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and EU, US, Canadian and Australian governments to immediately resettle them in a safe third country.

Needless to say, assassinating and executing people for their thoughts and expression are abhorrent and serious violations of human rights, including of freedom of expression, conscience and thought.

Video Player

Peace & Justice: Appeasement Soviet Style?

The launch of Corbyn's new vanity project Project for Peace and Justice is reminiscent of the old Cold War style British-Soviet Friendship Societies and their like. Even the one sided Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was dominated by Stalinists and their allies who like Corbyn saw the Western democracies as the enemy either excusing or totally ignoring atrocities and human rights violations by the Communist Party.

There were similar bodies set up to defend several of the Eastern bloc or other Communist regimes of old. There still exists a "Friends of Korea" run by the likes of the New Communist Party and others (1) who support the brutal North Korean regime which has developed the world's first hereditory Communist dictatorship.

There are parallels with these groups and Corbyn's so-called "anti-imperialism". Last year Jeremy Corbyn and Yasmin Dar (a Labour Party NEC member) appeared at a rally to support and praise the Iranian "Revolution "and defend it from "imperialist" attacks.

Corbyn and many of his supporters have and continue to appear of the now banned in the UK Press TV, a propaganda channel run by the clerical dictatorship and notorious for interviewing a political prisoner under the supervision of his torturers (2).

The leaders of the Stop the War Coalition Lyndsey German and John Rees still get paid work for this bogus news channel, You won't see any criticism of Iran from them. Of course their idea of "peace and justice" is similar to Corbyn's and only condemn Western intervention ignoring the indiscriminate bombing of the Russians and barrel bombing by the Assad government.

In fact Corbyn's whole approach to peace has always been one sided. His supporters have defended his links with the IRA Sinn Fein saying this was to "assist the peace process". Yet Corbyn along with his former sidekick John McDonnell were notorious for supporting the armed struggle. 

The Corbynistas often point out that Thatchers Government amongst others had meetings with these people but ignore the simple fact governments met both sides something Corbyn never did. His peace simply meant total victory for the republicans regardless of the consequences for the protestant population.

It's the same with the Middle East conflict. Corbyn and his supporters claim that meeting and supporting Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah (all his "friends" even though these groups all hate each other) is for peace but once again Corbyn has never met with the Israeli's and disgustingly when the disputes over antisemitism arose under his leadership refused to go to the Holocaust Museum in Israel when invited by Labour's sister organisation.

Corbyn had no excuse. He's managed to find time for Hamas and their ilk. He just isn't interested in peace and for the Corbynistas that means "from the river to the sea" a genocidal threat to the millions of Jews living in Israel.

If Corbyn was genuinely interested in peace he would meet both sides, attempt negotiation and compromise along with reconciliation and understanding but neither he nor his supporters are either capable of or interested in such things. Only bringing down "Western imperialism" is their concern.

Abuses of the Palestinians by Hamas and Fatah oppression of minorities and imprisonment of trade unionists and the torture of political prisoners including rape of women in Iran is ignored. Every Iranian sponsored "Al-Quds day Corbyn and his allies will be seen ignoring all this on a march and event paid for by Iranian blood money. 

The hypocrisy of Corbyn and his movement is endless. They condemn foreign intervention in conflict only if it comes from the West. The Russians and Iranians involvement in places like Syria and Yemen is ignored.

Examining the bland platitudes of the "mission statement" written for the Project for Peace and Justice we can expect more of the same. Like the old British-Soviet Friendships of old Corbyn will only see the world  as it suits his ideology and desire to follow the latest trends and slogans that his followers decide is the priority of the day.

As for peace and justice neither Corbyn or his movement will ever achieve anything except appropriate other peoples conflicts to massage their ideological mores.

________________________-

Notes:

(1) New Communist Party a breakaway from the official CPGB in the seventies led by Sid French who opposed Eurocommunism and was a hard-line Stalinist. Current General Secretary is Andy Brookes. The other group involved is the Revolutionary Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) a Maoist sect.

(2) "The broadcaster was fined £100,000 after the channel aired an interview with Maziar Bahari, an imprisoned Newsweek journalist, that had been conducted under duress." (Guardian 20/12/2012)

Labour Against the Witch Hunt attacks everyone......

 

It seems there is no love lost between the supporters of the far-left and wrongly named Labour Against the Witch Hunt group as they issue statements attacking their rivals. The following statement appears on LAW's Facebook page and attacks not just us rabid right-wingers and Zionists but also lays into Momentum as they respond to the recent Labour Party NEC meeting:

According to today’s Times and Labour List, the Labour Party’s NEC yesterday voted “unanimously” in favour of implementing the demand by the EHRC (and, of course the Board of Deputies) to outsource the disciplinary process for antisemitism complaints. That means that the five ‘left wingers’ on the CLGA slate voted to have a non-Labour agency (who???) decide the fate of all of those who get reported for antisemitism. Starmer is already planning to make the whole disciplinary process “independent” – and the ‘left’ will probably support him in that too.

While we don’t know yet who that agency will be, it is clearly entirely absurd to let people who are potential opponents (not to say enemies) of the Labour movement decide, in the last analysis, who should and who shouldn’t be a member of OUR party! This is beyond shocking.

The EHRC and the Board of Deputies have no business meddling in our affairs. "Independent" will mean just one thing: Independent of ANY democratic oversight by the membership. The current disciplinary system was unfair and has been exploited by the right - but outsourcing it will make matters much, much worse. That is of course why Starmer is doing it. 

Where is the left opposition? What on earth are the 'new' Momentum, CLPD and now also the Labour Representation Committee (whose member Nadia Jama sits on the NEC) are doing?

The hypocrisy of the author  (Tina Werkmann) is astounding. Labour Against the Witch Hunt is a product of the intervention of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Weekly Worker) group. Werkman (who apparently "works" for LAW) was am member of the CPGB when she joined the Labour Party along with a number of others but left earlier this year after some ideological infighting within the party.

In other words Werkman was in clear breach of the rules when she joined Labour whilst still a member of another rival political party.  The CPGB may be small but by it's decision to use antisemitism as a weapon has caused much trouble by supporting miscreants such as Tony Greenstein & Jackie Walker now expelled from the Labour Party.

The connections and loyalties of the supporters of LAW are questionable. Roger Day in supporting this statement from LAW chooses to link to two articles from guess what.. the Weekly Worker! What a surprise! Another fan Geoffrey Turner decides an article from yet another rival group Counterfire (a breakaway from the SWP led by the leaders of the misnamed Stop the War Coalition) is "good advice.

Some of the comments are very disturbing:

Ray Hicks writes: 
Shekel Starmer is a zionist stooge. Time for all socialist to leave the Labour Party before they are the last socialist in the Labour Party. You can't support Israel and be a socialist.

David Bullock muses:

Full of 5th columnist snakes like Streeting, Ashworth and Hodge who are either very heavily influenced by the Israel lobby or worse still, indirectly financially incentivised by them.

Cindy Bryant forthrightly tells her comrades:

It will be the JLM or LFI as the so called independent disciplinary body. You wait!

Everything is a "Zionist" conspiracy. It's Zionist money, Zionist paymasters. They sound just like the National Socialists and Tsarist secret police. Just old fashioned antisemitic tropes. 

Labour is a parliamentary party and has an obligation to obey the law including the legal requirements as outlined by the ECHR. The comrades do not understand this or even see themselves as subject to the rule of law. They are beyond and above it and one would hate to see these followers of Lenin in any form of power & influence.

Momentum can defend itself (I'm not going to) but one thing is for sure Labour Against the Witch Hunt is beyond the realms of reason and respectability. It should be proscribed and it's supporters suspended and hopefully expelled. 

The forgotten Jewish Refugees

The continuing conflict in the Middle East continues to be dominated by a very one sided narrative which focuses on the Palestinian Naqba but ignores the plight of the Jewish refugees from Arab countries at the time.

As a result of persecution whole communities have disappeared. Where are the Jews of Algeria or Libya? This story needs to widely told as a necessary part of any attempt at reconciliation which will eventually form the necessary peace process needed in the region.

This year a number of Arab countries have taken steps to both recognise and normalise relations with the state of Israel. This process can only benefit both Jewish and Palestinian people seeking to lead peaceful lives. 

A campaign has been launched to draw peoples attention to the forgotten Jewish Refugees from Arab countries. This short video gives an introduction to the history and issues involved. Infformation on how you can help follows:

Take Action!

Luke Akehurst writes:

With our partners at Israel Britain Alliance (IBA) we have launched a new petition calling for the UK government to ensure that the public understand the full history of the Middle East and designate 30 November as a national day of awareness where we remember and commemorate the plight of Jewish refugees, 850,000 of whom, who had lived for generations in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen were forced to leave their homes and their property to flee persecution after 1948.

Please sign the petition here: https://www.israelbritain.org.uk/wb/ and share it with your friends and family via email, Facebook and Twitter.

______________________________________

For further information please visit: harif.org

Labour's hard left lies, hides and denies

 

It must be the cold weather as Labour's far left continues to decline into farce as first up NEC member and Unite representative tweeted that:

My NEC report for Unite will record being denied access to submissions to the EHRC; denied a debate on suspensions; denied debate on the importance of protecting lawful freedom of speech. And no debate on wealth taxes paying for the crisis. A single agenda NEC Keir Starmer?

Beckett of course is telling porkies though it is possible he is to stupid to read the NEC Standing Orders for such meetings which explicitly reject any other business being discussed. If he was so anxious to get his points of view across perhaps he and his playmates shouldn't have had walked out of the last NEC when they didn't get their way.

Mind you Beckett doesn't exactly believe in democracy. He failed to get the United Left's nomination for general Secretary (I can see why) so decided to run anyway. Beckett is hardly a party loyalist and made a contribution to an event held by the rival Socialist Party attacking Labour hardly behaviour one would expect from any member let alone someone on the NEC. A breach of party rules that is certain and a complaint has been duly made.

The there's Apsana Begum the Corbynite MP for Poplar & Limehouse who appeared in Court today facing charges of Housing Fraud. The East London Advertiser reports:

Apsana Begum, 30, applied to go on Tower Hamlets Council’s social housing register on July 22, 2011 because she was living in “overcrowded accommodation”, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday, December 8.

The Labour politician is accused of failing to notify the housing service during three periods between January 18, 2013 and March 31, 2016 after she moved address.

The council, which is bringing the prosecution, allege the cost to the authority was £63,928 because someone else on the housing list had to be given accommodation elsewhere.

Ms Begum, who won her seat in the general election last December, denied each of the three charges when they were read in court.

Then comes the conspiratorial rub:

Raj Chada, defending, told the judge there are heightened security concerns since the death of MP Jo Cox, and there had been a “campaign of harassment” against Ms Begum over issues with “a member of the Labour Party and his supporters”.

Begum now goes to full trial and becomes the third left-wing MP to have the Labour Whip removed as she joins Claudia Webbe (facing harassment charges) and Jeremy Corbyn on the rear benches.

Finally joining this line-up today is John McDonell who has offered to act as a character witness to the vile JVL leader Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi hardly surprising but shows how shallow his public statements were under the Corbyn leadership about  wanting to "deal" with antisemitism.

A full and comprehensive expose of the JVL can be found here:

Go To: JVL: a vehicle to normalise antisemitism

Worth taking the time to read.

The left are clearly in disarray. The cronyism of the old Corbyn regime of allowing these cranks to thrive under their leadership has shows once again how shallow their claims to either creating a "kinder, gentler form of politics" or a better world for all" really was.

These cranks, fools and charlatans should never be allowed near the reigns of power again. Time for the party to make Labour a place of reason and show these fakes the door.

Labour: CLP's & guidance on the Non-competent business ruling

The hard/far left have been running a campaign to pass resolutions attacking the ECHR report and Corbyn's suspension culminating in motions of no-confidence the leader of the Labour Party. These actions by hard core activists do not seem to have involved consultation with the full membership of their branches (and they complain about democracy.

It needs to be pointed out that it was the previous incumbent, Corbyn's placement Jenny Formby who introduced the guidance on debating disciplinary procedures. The comrades not only have short memories but continue to compound the problems that were highlighted by the report through their actions.

• Non-competent business ruling

The latest guidance sent by Labour Party General Secretary David Evans to CLPs and branches reads as follows, and speaks for itself:

“Following the publication of the EHRC report into antisemitism in the Labour Party on 29 October, I provided some guidance to CLPs on what were and were not appropriate topics of discussion for branches and CLPs. The situation has clearly moved on since then, so I wanted to provide you with some updated guidance.

It remains the case that motions which seek to repudiate the findings of the EHRC or question its competency to conduct the investigation remain not competent business for branches or CLPs. Motions relating to ongoing disciplinary cases are also not in order, in line with the instructions of my predecessor.

I am aware that other motions (including expressions of solidarity, and matters relating to the internal processes of the PLP) are providing a flashpoint for the expression of views that undermine the Labour Party’s ability to provide a safe and welcoming space for all members, in particular our Jewish members. Therefore, all motions which touch on these issues will also be ruled out of order.

A number of CLPs have asked for further information on the basis on which myself and the NEC are able to rule on what can and cannot be discussed by local parties, and I am very happy to provide that explanation.

The Labour Party’s ‘Code of Conduct: Antisemitism and other forms of racism’ rightly states that “the Labour Party will ensure the party is a welcoming home to members of all communities, with no place for any prejudice or discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.” The NEC has the power to uphold the rules and standing orders of the Labour Party and to take any action it deems necessary for such purposes. The Rule Book is also clear that such powers can be delegated to, amongst others, the General Secretary. For the avoidance of doubt my previous rulings on these matters have all been properly reported to the NEC, which is supportive of my approach.

The Labour Party is committed to implementing the EHRC report in full, and part of that is to accept our previous failure to deal with antisemitism and adopt a genuinely zero tolerance approach which will ensure all members, and in particular our Jewish members, feel safe and welcome within the Labour Party. Please rest assured that when I took up post as General Secretary, I had no desire at all to hamper discussion by our local parties, but until we can improve our culture such restrictions may be required to stay in place.”

The hard left get a taste of their own machinations....

 

You may have seen the far/had-left protesting about their comrades accounts being closed by Twitter yesterday. Some remain suspended but the left's outcry about free speech is somewhat hypocritical both now and historically.

When I first opened a Twitter account (to replace the now defunct Google Plus function I relied on as a blogger) I managed to clash with a couple of hard left activists within days one of whom Abby Hoffman a rather unpleasant JVL activist said that "they should report my staus" which was supported by someone (no longer on Twitter) that used a false a name. Nothing came of it as I doubt Twitter could find anything that even remotely broke their rules. 

However the intent was there. This was all part and parcel of what was happening in the Labour Party at the time. Anyone who didn't agree with the "Dear Leader" was roundly denounced, told to go jin the Tories etc. You all know the drift by now, especially if like me you were a Zionist Jew.

The rise of the Corbynite and Identity politics left has led to a massive increase in to attacks on the right to free speech. It began in universities as arguments arose over gender vs sex-based (women's) rights those that dared challenge the new orthodoxy found themselves bullied, harassed, attacked, banned," no-platformed" and even sacked just because they wanted to present an alternative point of view. 

Most of the victims (but far from all) were women. To see life long feminists and champions of women's rights banned from speaking just because she doesn't believe in the modern mantra that trans-women are actually women and women like JK Rowling threatened with vile tweets from trans-activists telling her to "suck their lady-dicks along with rape threats from err.."trans-women" and their "allies " was an absolute disgrace.

The right to challenge ideas about transitioning (especially when those demanding rights infringe on the rights of others) along with whether children should be given puberty blockers or beginning the process before adjusting to their actual bodies as an adult like everyone else has resulted in attacks on Lesbians in particular.

I have always been disturbed by the trans-notion of the "cotton ceiling" where men identifying as "women" but retain male genitalia call lesbians "transphobic" because they won't sleep with them is male entitlement's equivalent to rape as it demands women's submission to them.

The Government has withdrawn the proposed legislation that allows for "self-identification" and there remains a very complex debate to be had though the hard left and their allies have mostly aligned themselves with the inquisitors of the trans-activist movement.

That aside the hard left has no history of actually being democratic or allowing free speech. Most of these activists are influenced to one degree or another by the politics of Marxism, in particular those of of Lenin &Trotsky. They claim this "tradition" is anti-Stalinist when in fact so many of the methods used  by Uncle Joe to suppress opposition were in fact developed by old Trotsky himself.

During Kropotkin's funeral the Bolsheviks went around smashing the Anarchists printing presses. All non Bolshevik (later Communist Party) socialist opposition was banned, let alone the rest. Trotsjy even moved against internal party opposition groups such as The Trade Union Opposition and others all of whom were systematically suppressed.

Even the Gulags were opened by Trotsky and don't mention Kronstadt. In fact nowhere any form of Marxism took hold democracy was never on the agenda. From Cuba to Venezuela, China and North Korea dissent is not allowed. The party is always right. the line is always held. 

The comrades always claim that these countries were either "deformed workers states" or not socialist at all. In fact many say that their socialism has not been tried and it will be different. Really? If that were the case why is all these far left group continually split asunder because their leaderships cannot tolerate dissent. 

Older readers may remember that the far-left was once likened to Heinz's "57 varieties" but that advertising campaign has been defunct for many years. The divisions within the far-left to dissidence let alone outsiders remains violently hostile. Free speech for these people is only for them.

"Sitting in nowhere land making nowhere plans for nobody"

 

When I saw the notice (see above) for an organisation that was supposed to be a "Constituency Labour Party" for members expelled from the Labour Party I was astonished, fascinated and horrified all at the same time. The far-left love setting up new "front" or "campaign" organisations but this one well was one of the strangest efforts they have undertaken in a very long time.

First of all some background to the individual who seems to be one of the major driving forces behind this project, one Tina Werkman a communist from Germany.  Werkman entered the labour Party via the Labour Party Marxists ( a front for the Communist Party of Great Britain/Weekly Worker) during the rise of Corbynism. 

The CPGB along with the LPM established  Labour Against the Witch Hunt which is responsible for organising the defence of those expelled for mostly antisemitism and is associated with figures like Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson. One of the other projects this group threw themselves behind was the "Labour Left Alliance" which manages to unite many of the worst that the far left have to offer.

However Werkman (along with fellow CPGB member Lee Rock) went seemingly "native" in the Labour Party following an obscure "split" inside the Communist group they belonged to. Currently she works for Labour Left Alliance according to her Facebook profile.

Werkman invites former Labour members to join this formation:

We are sick and tired of being silenced, sidelined and slandered. If you too have been suspended or expelled from the Labour Party as part of the witch-hunt against the left, come and join us in setting up an unofficial CLP, where we can discuss issues around the Labour Party. This is the first planning meeting. Please come with ideas on how to organise! Please forward to other comrades who you think might be interested. Time to fight back!

At the time of writing around 19 people have said they re "going" and a further 100 are interested. It will be interesting to see not how many but who actually turns up because there is another campaign for "free speech" being launched by the various sects which has a platform of the real hard core haters. They have just added Kerry-Anne Mendoza (recently banned for hate speech on Twitter) to their lineup.

It's worth reading a selection of comments of some of their supporters to see why these people not only don't belong in the Labour Party you wouldn't want them in decent company either:

Maggie writes:

This is what Starmer s Labour looks like! I left, as soon as he became Leader, funded by Trevor Chinn,a wealthy prozionist, as, I knew what this would mean for Labour!

Labour Friends of Israel, plotted against JC from day one, with support from the BBC and our sad media and its even worse now, with a rabidly proIsrael Leader. Starmer vowed, to his funders, that “ I will stand with zionism whatever happens” and the job was his! So, if Israel bombs and completely destroys Gaza, that will be ok with Starmer! If Israel demolishes, all Palestinian homes, in West Bank...thats ok with Starmer and indeed, anything, Israel does, is ok with Starmer, sadly!

While Eamon tells us firmly:

...the Israeli lobby has clearly infiltrated the Party from top to bottom.

Pass the tin foil please...

Corbyn's supporters breakaway in Lancaster

Photo: By Robin Madge

Keir Starmer has committed his leadership to ridding the Labour Party of antisemitism which frankly given how deeply this pernicious form of racism embedded itself under Jeremy Corbyn isn't going to be an easy task and will cause ructions, resignations and expulsions. Angela Rayner has made clear the latter is more than just an option.

In the current climate the former supporters of the Corbyn tendency are having quite an apoplectic fit  about their failures. A huge number of these people came into the Labour Party to purge those they did not agree with. Mark Serwotka the vainglorious General Secretary of the PCS union made it quite clear that he joined to "help deselect" MPs. 

Then there were all the attacks on "Red Tories", Blue labour" "Centrists" and of course Zionists all lumped together as the "right-wing". Bullying, intimidation misogyny and of course antisemitism. As far as the latter goes there were always a handful of these types in Labour's ranks along with the same in other political parties.

However the influx of the self proclaimed anti-imperialists brought with them a very toxic form of "anti-Zionism that has morphed into clear antisemitism which the hard core don't even care about and campaign to claim these are false interpretations of their bigotry which would never be aimed at any other ethnic minority. Jews simply don't count in their blinkered world view.

That takes us to Lancashire where lancs.live reports

A Rossendale councillor expelled by Labour earlier this year claimed this week she was the victim of 'a smear campaign' after she was named in a human rights report into antisemitism in the party.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report found that Whitewell ward councillor Pam Bromley ‘used antisemitic tropes’ in social media posts, which amounted to unlawful harassment.

It comes as no surprise that the Corbynistas continue their departure. Five Councillors in Lancaster have declared that:

 "Humanity faces a future of spiralling inequality and climate catastrophe. The world needs strong socialist movements to fundamentally challenge the capitalist system that is destroying our planet.

"For a brief time, a ‘moment’, the Labour Party offered hope to millions, to the many not the few. Today under Starmer, it is offering a return to ‘business as usual’. The country and the world doesn’t have time for this. The climate extinction clock is ticking. So, we cannot in good conscience remain as representatives of this Labour Party with which we now hold so little in common.”

How they think five councillors sitting now under the name of an Eco-Socialist" group isolated from mainstream politics will achieve anything is a mystery. They'll just end up like the Socialist Workers party and their ilk becoming an irrelevance to all and everyone around them. 

One wonders what they had in common with the Labour Party in the first place.....

Join the Global Flag Raising for West Papua on 1st December!

 

On the 59th anniversary of the first raising of West Papua’s symbol of independence, the Morning Star Flag, we invite you to take part in this year’s Global Flag Raising action to show your solidarity for West Papua’s freedom and right to self-determination.

To help show the growing worldwide support for West Papua, each year we ask supporters to send in photos of themselves raising the West Papuan flag in their area. When people publicly display the Morning Star, they not only show their solidarity with the West Papuan people, but also acknowledge their rightful path to freedom; a process that was interrupted by Indonesian occupation.

We encourage as many groups and individuals to take part on this day by themselves if they would like to, but there are also a number of events which are being officially already organised by solidarity groups worldwide.

Spokesperson for the Free West Papua Campaign, Raki Ap, explains;

“The land of West Papua will always be remembered as the birth place of the Morning Star, which is the last glimpse of night as the sun rises. The Morning Star has guided seafarers to West Papua’s shores for thousands of years, and so too it will also guide us to freedom. The Morning Star is the symbol of our home, and represents our dream to live independently and in peace. This is why we will keep calling on our friends around the world to participate in raising the Morning Star flag alongside us, and continue asking then to show Indonesia they affirm our path to freedom and right to self-determination.”

Please join us today:

• Take a photo of you and/or your group raising the Morning Star Flag
• Tag us with your photos @freewestpapua and by using the hashtags #GlobalFlagRaising #FreeWestPapua and #LetWestPapuaVote

More information: freewestpapua.org

A visit to Nadia Whittome MP's Facebook Page

 

"Labour antisemitism must be confronted – with 

nuance, clarity and empathy "

Nadia Whittome

Following the decision of Nadia Whittome MP to defend the EHRC and look after the welfar of a clearly upset Jewish member of the Labour after what she even as someone from the left of the party described as a "hostile atmosphere" I decided to look at her page. Nadia has published an article on Labourlist in which she considers Corbyn's remarks "ill-considered" (an understatement in the circumstances) but wants the man reinstated. She then goes writes:

......I am concerned that many Jewish members feel unwelcome – and, yes, unsafe – as a result of the way that debates relating to antisemitism are often conducted and handled at CLP level. We have a duty to protect the wellbeing of all Jewish members and ensure they feel welcome and included in everything we do in our local parties. After all, how democratic can a debate or discussion be said to be if many Jewish members do not feel able or safe to attend in the first place?

Tackling antisemitism and implementing the EHRC recommendations must be at the forefront of our minds and form a bare minimum in terms of the basis for any further or related discussions. The position of our ‘side’ of the party, or short-term accumulation of political capital, should not come into it.

This was far too much for the "Corbynistas who launched tirades of abuse against her both on Facebook and Twitter including much that that would be considered antisemitic itself nd certainly were in serious denial of the problem. For theis left-wing MP attempting in her own way for a solution was just sheer betrayal to them.

I chose to congragulate her on her brave stand which it is even if I disagree with her over Corbyn and probably other issues. Labour should be broad enough to allow differing points of view but experience has shown us that this political current around Corbyn has a very narrow vision that even other leftists fall foul of (There are a couple of frankly unecessary references to the Alliance For Workers Liberty (AWL) who almost alone of the organised left actually recognise left-wing antisemtism exists.

I decided to reply to a small number of respondents even though I knew it would be a pointless exercise. One comrade told me that Israel was a European colonial settler state and refused not just to recognise Jews but even described me as white wiping out half my personal heritage as only my mother was Jewish hence the surname. Imagine doing that to any other member of an ethnic group.

However what really summed up the problem for me was an exchange with someone called Debashis De. He demanded I respond to the following point:

....he Netanyahu- Gantz issue is about mistreatment of the Palestinians and the continuation of the Nakba where they are annexing and making homeless INNOCENT palestinians, this is not happening the other way around. Before talking about Iran will you answer whether you think that is right or not?

I duly responded and expanded my response to allow for debate to reach some kind of common ground:

I oppose Naetanyahu & the settlements policy. Disagreeing with Israeli GOVERNMENT policy has never been considered antisemtic. I oppose the demolishing of Palestinian homes, the firing of missiles from Gaza and the knife attacks promoted by Fatah through pension payments. I want a peaceful and two state solution. Labour delegates singing "From the River to the Sea" is a genocidal slogan and unacceptable.

By the way you mention the Naqba are you aware that more Jews were displaced and thrown out of Arab countries during that conflict than Palestinians. Where are all the Jews in Algeria these days etc .....? The conflict caused more than the displacement of Arabs.

What I dislike about the left is the singling out of Israel and the refusal to face up to other human rights abuses which you have rightly condemned. So why are two supposedly left-wing Labour MP's (Corbyn & Dar) allowed to praise a revolution that has led to Iran becoming one of the worst human rights abusers in the world. A question you need to address to them.

This was the reply:

Zionist extremists, like other far-right extremists (like nazi's and neo-nazi's) and Islamist extremists have caused hurt and continuing unhappiness, and division. This has been backed by Hegemonic powers who exert influence through their military industrial complex. The International Left in Labour and outside Labour have always opposed this and will always continue to do so. Jeremy Corbyn has dared to speak out hence an establishment based on power and privelige want to silence him. But as with Palestine, injustice and oppression can never be looked the other way or trying to demonise others. Free Palestine, without Fear or Favour....

Absolutely no attempt to address the points raised and consists of just ideological tropes and slogans. A clear inability by the individual to be able to engage in serious dialogue. These people only care about the line and like their mentor Corbyn are unable or unwilling to actually resolve anything because it is actually beyond their ability to cope. Protest and ideology is all they know.

It will never be possible to achieve any kind of unity in the party with these types of individuals. It will always be their way or the rest of us are just Tories/Traitors/Zionists/other. (Take your pick)
 

Kerry-Anne Mendoza's Twitter account suspended (Updated)

 

It seems that the provocative attention seeking editor of The Canary (no link, considered a hate site) has had her Twitter account suspended. This foul woman who left the Labour Party before she was expelled for antisemitsm has continually issued Tweets that deliberately target the Jewish community.

There's a meme that says "Every time you click on The Canary the truth dies" which is an accurate way of describing her website renowned as a "false news" and frankly hate filled place. 

Describing the Jewish Labour Movement as "white supremacists" is a disgrace and shows that even Jews who oppose the current Israeli governments policies in the "occupied territories" are subject to abuse. the conference also held sessions on anti-Traveller prejudice and highlighted the oppression of the Muslim Uyghurs.

Mendoza has appeared on Richie Allen's radio show, a man who not only works for conspiracy theorist David Icke but hosts Holocaust deniers on a regular basis. It is an extreme right wing platform that she has used and exposes her politics as clearly racist in intent.

Mendoza is no friend of the Palestinians she only Tweets to spread hate and stir conflict. She is nothing but a fraudulent and quite malevolent schmuck.

Update:

Since publishing this post Mendoza has attempted to set up at least two further accounts both of which have been suspended.

Fight antisemitism. Fight Racism!

Nadia Whittome MP Statement on Constituency Suspension

Photo: By David Woolfall

 
Rumours of problems in Nottingham East Constituency Party were confirmed in a BBC report yesterday:

The chair of a Labour group has been suspended after a motion at an online meeting described as "clearly out of order" by the area's MP was passed.

The Nottingham East CLP broke party rules with a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to Jeremy Corbyn, the BBC understands.

One Jewish party member said he felt the atmosphere was so "hostile" he had to leave.

The Labour Party said it took "all complaints seriously".

The local and left-wing MP Nadia Whittome issued the following and very welcome statement on Twitter in support of the party implementing the EHRC report and promising to assist in making the affected member was safeguarded at party events.

Keir Starmer will be speaking at the Jewish Labour Movement Conference later today.

Labour Representation Committee joins the attack on Keir Starmer

One of the larger hard left organisations inside the Labour Party (though not an affiliate) is the Labour representation Committee currently led by John McDonnell MP (President) and Matt Wrack (Chair).  This conglomeration of factions has been around for a couple of decades but it has continually moved leftwards  especially in the run up to and the tenure of Jeremy Corbyn as labour leader.

Unlike even Momentum the LRC allows members of other political parties to join it's ranks o the proviso that they do not stand candidates against Labour. It's led to presence of the now publicly split Socialist Fight whose leader Gerry Downing was kicked out of the Labour Party and his rival Ian Donovan who thinks that there is "an international Jewish bourgeoisie" echoing the false Protocols of Zion the tsarists forgery which influenced amongst others the Nazi's. 

Ironically Donovan was a former member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (Weekly Worker) expelled for antisemitism..... of course ironically or hypocritically depending on how cynical one wishes to to be then set up Labour Against the Witch Hunt to defend those expelled or disciplined for antisemitism. 

Also present in the ranks of the LRC are the ultra Stalinist New Communist party who back the the most oppressive regime in the world, North Korea. Just some samples of the flotsam and jetsam of the far-left that exist on the fringes allowed into an organisation led by someone who was no less than Deputy leader of the party under Corbyn. 

It should come as no surprise that the LRC are joining the current left offensive against Keir Starmer. Commenting on the walkout of the far left from the NEC, the LRC laughably quoted the following:

"We have decided not to remain in the NEC meeting today in order to show very clearly how factional the decisions of the current Labour leader have become. We will be returning to future NEC meetings to be the legitimate voice of the membership and to continue to demand that the party unite and reject the current factional approach of the leader."

The call for "unity" something they didn't want when they were in power preferring to drive out their opponents by any means necessary. No one will ever forgive or forget the intolerance, bullying and racism that destroyed the old broad church Labour used to be. An example comes from one of their supporters who writes:

....starmer and his 5th column who should not be even in the labour party point-blank never mind leading it.

Another who writes under the LRC's defence of Steve Bell's antisemitic cartoon about Keir Starmer being in the pocket of "Zionists" that The Guardian refused to publish says:

Since the new Editor was imposed on the Guardian by the deep state, a few years back, it has lost its Liberal values and now does what is told

It's no wonder that the far left so easily share conspiracy theories and worse with attitudes like this. Perhaps they should ask their New Communist Party comrades for a holiday under North Korean observation. That'll show them a true "deep state". Interestingly such garbage is also believed by the far right who don't like Jews Zionists either.

Still McDonnell and friends have begun their contribution to the restoration of the failed fabled messiah with the following meme on their website.  Democracy? These people don't even believe in it. Ask one whichever one of the hereditary Communist dictators in Pyongyang is still alive what that means and pray you don't get carted off to one of their gulags....

The far-left's real agenda: Not unity, No Compromise but civil war

 

Since the election of Keir Starmer, the publication of the EHCR Report and the subsequent suspension of Jeremy Corbyn we've heard a lot of talk from the far-left about the "need for unity" yet these are the same people who told those of us who dared disagree with the former "Dear leader " that we should "go join the Tories". They were not interested in "unity" then so why should they be now?

First of all it's worth having a look at Anne Black's note from "that" National Executive Committee meeting held the other day. She is hardly a "right-winger" by any standard being very much part of Labour's albeit more traditional left:

When Margaret was nominated as chair, some members announced that they were leaving because of Keir Starmer’s factional approach. Their tirades went way beyond anything I ever heard NEC members direct towards Jeremy Corbyn or any previous leader, though some said this had been a pattern of increasingly discourteous behaviour since April.*

I could gently point out that factionalism is not new. I was replaced as chair of the disputes panel the day after three new Momentum members were elected to the NEC, and Keith Birch was removed as chair of the equalities committee a few months before the end of his final NEC term. But that’s democracy. I was neither surprised nor upset, and it certainly never occurred to me to walk out immediately after being elected on a platform of representing members.

(You can find her full report here: annblack.co.uk/nec-report)

Meanwhile two of the hard left groups have made their intentions clear. The Labour Left Alliance publishes this comment (and related article) from the entryist ex-Militant Tendency group Socialist Appeal on it's Facebook Page:

The right wing are not ‘comrades’; they are agents of capitalism within the workers’ movement. They are the ‘enemy within’. They are big business infiltrators, whose job it is to keep the party safe for capitalism. This is what guides their actions, nothing more.

How can we have any kind of unity with people who think like this? This attitude is not new. Lee Rock one of the LLA's members told a friend of mine in the PCS union some years ago that I was not to be trusted as I was an MI5 agent. 

It's amazing how these people view the world. It's all about conspiracies. About "them", the "establishment" and don't forget the "Zionists" control the media and the banks is a view widely held on the far left these days. 

No wonder these people don't think about how their actions can so easily be not just perceived as but become actual antisemitism. The far-left like Corbyn because it's all about slogans and constant protest without responsibility.

So where does the Labour Left Alliance see this all going? In a response to a question by Lee Rock who asks what concrete proposals Socialist Appeal make the answer given was clear:

Mass mobilisation & grassroots organisation, a campaign to stay and fight, not for unity (read as "more compromise") but to kick out the right wing saboteurs.*

That's clear then.

Oh and meanwhile the comrades have written to the rest of the far-left and the unions to fight Keir Starmer. 

_______________ 

Notes:

* My emphasis 

Labour NEC member promotes the Socialist Party (Militant)?

Photo: twitter.com/BeckettUnite

This week saw a walkout by the far-left on Labour's National Executive Committee. One of the individuals involved was none other than Howard Becket who is also Assistant General Secretary of Unite. Seems he's been busy promoting the Socialist Party at their annual bash albeit on-line due to the pandemic Socialism 2000.

The Socialist Party are one of the fragments of the old Militant Tendency that plagued the Labour Party back in the eighties and became infamous for sending out redundancy notices to Liverpool Council workers by taxi. That led to Neil Kinnock's famous speech. Militant remains a proscribed organisation no matter what name it takes and the Socialist Party still use the the  Militant logo. 

The Socialist Party are one of the two main organisations that form the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (the other being the RMT union). This organisation has stood candidates against the labour Party in both local and general elections.

According to The Socialist newspaper :

"..the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has set out the core policies TUSC candidates will be committed to fight for in next May's local council elections."

So one must ask what Beckett thinks he was doing (personal capacity or not) at this event undermining  Labour to a rival organisation that has announced it will be standing candidates against the party at the next election?

The Socialist newspaper also reports:

Howard Beckett, Unite assistant general secretary and Labour NEC member in a personal capacity

This week we have had an announcement that 5.5 million public sectors workers can expect a pay freeze. Again, workers told that they must pay for this crisis. And where is the voice of Labour? Where are our arguments that it is time to tackle the Tories and talk of nationalising those businesses?

We have a Labour leadership determined to trounce Corbynism. Determined to make a stamp that they are a new leadership and in doing so have created a civil war within the Labour Party that sees the attempt to exit Corbynism, and, in doing so, exit socialism itself from the Party.

As a Labour Party NEC member he is assisting a rival party and proscribed organisation by bringing the Labour Party into disrepute.  A matter for the General Secretary to consider I would have thought. 

Luke Akehurst reports back from *that* Labour National Executive Committee

 

The mass walkout of the now minority far/hard left led by the childish Laura "I've never kissed a Tory" Piddock was all over the news. Even Jon Lansman Corbyn's "fixer" in the constituencies retorted that they should stop whining and accept Margret Beckett.  Labour's necessary civil war continues.

Luke Akehurst writes:

Yesterday was my first NEC meeting after an eight-year gap.

I wanted to give you a quick report back so that you can be confident all of us elected on the Labour to Win ticket are doing the job of representing you that you would expect.

I think I ought to have anticipated a fraught start to the meeting when outgoing Chair Andi Fox congratulated a list of newly elected list of members and perhaps accidentally, perhaps on purpose, left out my name, and then had to be reminded to grudgingly add it.

Within minutes we were into an explosive row about who should be NEC Chair. This matters, it isn’t just about effective chairing of often contentious meetings, the Chair can rule out agenda items and only be overturned on this by a two thirds majority (which supporters of the leadership don’t have, we only have a simple majority), and the Chair and Vice-Chair sit on the extremely powerful NEC Officers group, which makes urgent decisions between NEC meetings. A hostile Chair using their role negatively could really damage Keir Starmer’s ability to lead Labour effectively.

The Hard Left argued that the outgoing NEC Vice-Chair Ian Murray (from the Fire Brigades Union, not the Scottish MP) was next in line to be chair.

We argued that the principle of seniority should be restored, which had been Labour’s custom and practice for four decades until broken by the Hard Left in 2017. This meant that we nominated Margaret Beckett for Chair as the longest-serving NEC member. She first joined the NEC in 1980, whereas Ian Murray has only been on the NEC about three years.

At this point Howard Beckett from Unite and Laura Pidcock attacked Keir and the General Secretary for “factionalism” and led a virtual walkout (it was a Zoom meeting) of 13 Hard Left NEC members.

In my first intervention I condemned this extraordinary behaviour. The disrespectful and personalised attacks on Keir and David Evans and the childish petulance of the walkout really shocked me, as when I had previously served on the NEC from 2010-2012 it had been a very comradely and collegiate body. Apparently this rude and aggressive behaviour only started in April when Keir became leader. The people who walked out failed their own supporters by leaving them voiceless in the rest of the meeting. This isn’t the serious approach to internal governance that a potential party of government needs to demonstrate, particularly when under scrutiny from the EHRC.

The rest of the eight-hour meeting was quorate, friendly, constructive, and brilliantly chaired by Margaret Beckett, who we went on to elect nem con once the kerfuffle from their stunt had died down. Alice Perry was also elected nem con as Vice-Chair. Congratulations to them both. They will bring much needed calm and experienced leadership to the NEC. Margaret is an iconic figure as Labour’s first woman Deputy Leader, Acting Leader and Foreign Secretary, who brings huge gravitas to the role of Chair.

During the formal part of the meeting we agreed a new NEC Code of Conduct (clearly behaviour of members needs to improve); a process for dealing with CLP motions sent to us; an important review of Safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults who participate in the Labour Party; and gave the go ahead for an online Labour Women’s Conference from 25-27 June 2021, which will elect the National Labour Party Women’s Committee.

In the afternoon we had our “Away Day” where staff presented to us and we brainstormed ideas around three themes; Elections 2021, Engaging our Membership under Covid, and Effective Governance. We learned that Labour now has 540,000 members, a historically very high total.

We heard reports from both Keir and Angela Rayner. Keir answered questions on the forthcoming Brexit deal vote, devolution, public sector pay, Islamophobia (the party is drawing up an action plan to tackle it), local government funding, and shop workers.

After an unnecessarily and wholly inappropriately disrupted start this felt like a good beginning for the new NEC with its new pro-leadership working majority. I’m honoured that your votes have allowed me to serve on the NEC and help with the big task of repairing the party.

Also see:

I also wanted to share my colleague Johanna Baxter’s video report: 

https://www.facebook.com/579428685/videos/10158947816908686/

and my colleague Gurinder Singh Josan’s report: 

https://www.gurindersinghjosan.co.uk/nec-away-day-quick-notes-report-24th-november-2020/

Website: labourtowin.org