One of the main Facebook groups for Labour members who are behind the direction of the party under Jeremy Corbyn, with a membership almost double that of Momentum, has come out behind Unite’s Jennie Formby for the position of Labour Party General Secretary.
The We Support Jeremy Corbyn (WSJC) group, which has almost seventy thousand supporters, polled its members for their opinion – and around ninety percent of those voting were behind Formby.
This is especially significant when Momentum, as of January, had 35,000 members – many of whom will also be members of WSJC.
The group’s official statement on its support reads:
Following a poll of our members we are proud to announce our support for Jennie Formby to become Labour’s next #JenSec. Representing nearly 70,000 grassroots members on Labour’s biggest online forum we believe Jennie commands great and widespread support across the wider party membership, and is the choice of the grassroots.
Jennie is unashamedly a life-long socialist rooted in the best traditions of our party. Her work as a Unite Regional Secretary, Labour NEC Vice Chair, and Labour NPF Co-Convenor demonstrates an unmatched track record as an exemplary organiser in all parts of our great movement. We believe such a combination of management experience, visionary leadership and loyalty to the leadership make her the decisive choice of the grassroots. As our party finds itself on the cusp of power, there can be no better person to serve as its General Secretary.
We also believe it is incredibly important to have strong female representation at the top of our party. Labour has led the way for gender equality with the Equal Pay Act, Sex Discrimination Act, and All-Women Shortlists. None of these achievements would have been possible without the advocacy of formidable Labour women who have fought throughout our history against the forces of patriarchy and conservatism. Our NEC must make its decision on both the basis of merit and socialist principles. In doing so, it cannot forget the makeup of our party’s structures—or that socialism is impossible without women’s voices.
A group insider told the SKWAWKBOX:
We can debate about ideas and policy but when it comes to strategy, we have to be onboard with the leadership. If Jeremy’s backing her and so do the members with the groundswell of grassroots support across social media, then it’s time for all of us to get behind her.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your support. This blog is provided free of charge but depends on the generosity of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal. Thanks for your solidarity so this blog can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to reblog this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.