Wallasey Constituency Labour Party (CLP) held its Annual General Meeting tonight. The “Wallasey for Corbyn” group won all of the 6 voting officer posts plus the two trade union executive committee positions. This grouping had already won 5 of the 6 Branch Secretary posts, resulting in thirteen of fourteen voting positions on the CLP’s ‘exec’. The group also won all of the 6 non-voting officer posts.
A CLP spokesperson told the SKWAWKBOX:
Wallasey CLP has been suspended for 15 months. The CLP AGM in June 2016 backed Jeremy Corbyn as the attempted coup by the right wing of the Parliamentary Labour Party was unfolding. Wallasey MP Angela Eagle then put herself forward as the challenger to Jeremy. Accusations of homophobia were made, allowing Labour’s HQ to close the CLP down.
This prevented the CLP from nominating Jeremy, which would have further undermined Angela’s challenge. All allegations collapsed months ago. No-one in the CLP is now accused by Labour of homophobia or any other unacceptable behaviour at the 2016 AGM.
Re-elected Chair Kathy Runswick and re-elected Secretary Kathy Miller have issued the following joint statement:
“We are delighted that Wallasey Labour Party is now back up and running and that we have been re-elected as Chair and Secretary. We look forward to working with our MP and our local Councillors for a socialist Labour Government with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister, and a socialist Labour Council that defends our community against cuts and privatisation.”
The CLP now needs to move forward and campaign on the many issues that affect our community. But there are lessons to be learned, and some steps to be taken, to help that happen. The CLP Vice Chair Paul Davies was suspended from Party membership months ago. There is still no date for a hearing, and so he was unable to stand for office this year.
Paul was prominent in defending the CLP in the media, and is unjustly accused of “bullying” – for inviting two Party members to accompany him to a lie detector test. Labour’s definition of “bullying” includes “gossip, spreading malicious rumours and slander”. Yet no action has been taken against the Party members alleged to have made up the stories about homophobia at the 2016 AGM and peddled them in the media.
To help the CLP move forward, it is vital that the charges against Paul are dropped.
A radical reform of Labour’s disciplinary and administrative processes is needed. We believe the suspension of the CLP was a political act, to prevent the CLP from further undermining Angela Eagle’s challenge to Jeremy.
Wallasey Labour Left activists are grateful for the support that Jeremy Corbyn and some other left wing NEC members has given them over the last 16 months. But others on the NEC voted to continue the suspension even after the facts became clear, and voted for disciplinary action against Paul.
The current NEC must defend democracy in the Party. Labour should now readmit the many left-wingers excluded for being the “wrong kind of socialist”, or for their previous activity in the Green Party or left wing groups outside the Party. Just over the Mersey in Liverpool Riverside socialists have faced false accusations for criticising the Israeli government. Labour must defend free speech on Israel and the right to call for protest and peaceful direct action in support of the Palestinian people.
The Labour Left in Wallasey are grateful to Skwawkbox for the support given over this difficult 15 months.
Together we can transform Labour into a campaigning socialist party and bring about real change in the lives of those we represent.
The SKWAWKBOX congratulates Wallasey CLP on its reinstatement after a too-long suspension that was first promised to be lifted at the beginning of this year. The CLP can now hopefully move forward and work to help bring about the end of the woeful Tory government, but the issue of the treatment of CLPs by regional and national party employees – and the behaviour of some councillors and other personnel within CLPs – must be addressed as part of Corbyn’s recently-started ‘democracy review‘ to prevent such unsatisfactory situations recurring in future.
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This is brilliant, cheering news.
I have followed this saga ( and similar in different areas of the country) like a thriller addict desperate for the next instalment.
I am particularly grateful to Skwakbox and Wirralinitogether for monitoring every possible information source on our behalf.
I could understand if the re- elected Wallasey CLP officials have had enough of conflict, but I do hope they explore all of the powers their positions represent, to examine and report on all the mendacious behaviours some Wallasey members have indulged in.
No retribution suggested, but there is no reason individual actions should not be reported as publicly as the initial allegations behind this saga were.
Paul Davies has emerged as a very admirable; honourable; and tenacious figure. I hope Wallasey members are also given the chance to consider who would be their best possible representative in Parliament
Well said Kathy Runswick and Kathy Miller.
Another push out of the door for Blairite McNicol, his exit can’t come soon enough.
The ‘socialist Labour council’ bit may take some time….there’s a few members of the council who seem to have forgotten that the Labour party is socialist.
A strong BAME officer elected tonight in Ursula Cardin.
Great news when it’s recently become clear that more than one senior Wirral Labour Party member – the deputy leader of the council, George Davies, AND former council leader and Mayor, Steve Foulkes’ wife Elaine – have involved themselves in ugly alleged #Racism in two separate incidents.
Meanwhile, their colleagues, the remainder of Labour councillors are very strong on selected Public Relations wheezes…
e.g. waving “Show Racism The Red Card” banners around in front of press cameras, but quickly choosing to lie down prostrate rather than get busy and cut out the cancer spreading around them.
The disgusting, hard right Labour council also once boasted an admirer of far right group “Britain First” in former councillor and former chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee, Jim Crabtree.
This criminal was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence last January for making a death threat to a former fellow Corbyn-supporting Labour councillor.
I noticed on one of the twitter comments someone referred to those on the right as ‘centrists’. They are anything but; they are right wing wreckers.
Great news! I once wrote a poem aimed at a Right Winger who wanted to be Labour leader (the hawk) against the members (the canary):
THE HAWK ON THE CANARY LANDED.
PLAYING THE CHAMEIION’S PART.
AND WHISPERED ‘I COME TO HEAL YOU’
BUT FAILED TO REMOVE THE HEARtT.
AND THEN THE CANARY TURNED BACK INTO A LION.
Congratulations go to brothers and sisters in Wallasey CLP. Much has been put right but there is much left to do. Onwards and upwards.
So pleased to hear this news. Fantastic and about time. However to know that Paul is still suspended is disgraceful. I bet they move it on now the elections have happened!!! What terrible deceitful party we have become to make false allegations about Paul and others by those who want to keep Labour Right Wing. Even police have said that there is no case to be answered by Paul and others! Therefore a clearing out of the NEC and especially the NEC “Thought police!”
Cheery-Bye, ‘Ange’ 🙂
Take your councillors with you when you go…
NOT BEFORE TIME.
FINALLY, JUSTICE AS BEEN SERVED!
FOR THOSE WRONGLY ACCUSED!
THE LEFT, HAVE BEEN PROVED AS HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY!
UNLIKE THOSE WHO WOULD LIE AND SPREAD MALICIOUS ROUMERS AND GOSSIP TO GAIN POWER, IN OUR SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY!
THEY, TALK OF A BROAD CHURCH, WE TALK OF UNITY!
THEY DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN, TOO DISRUPT IN ANYWAY THEY CAN, TOO TRY AND BRING US INTO DISREPUTE, TO HELP THEIR DISHONOURABLE CAUSE!
WE ON THE LEFT WILL NOT LET THIS INJUSTICE REST!
NOT UNTIL WE GET JUSTICE AGAINST THOSE WHO DO THE ABOVE!
JUSTICE FOR PAUL DAVIES!
Fantastic news and an opportunity to move forward. Personally I will never forgive Angela Eagle for her allegations or for her stand against Jeremy Corbyn. As for the Israel/Palestine issue I demand that common sense prevails and my right to criticise a brutal, repressive and apartheid promoting regime is upheld.
To all those who voted for a left wing CLP in Wallasey I salute you. Respect.