Lewisham East Chair, Labour First tactical trainer and die-hard right-winger Ian McKenzie was suspended last month after the revelation of misogynist social media posts that included tweets about the gang-rape and beheading of Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry. He also resigned from a position as political adviser to Newham’s mayor:
The complaints those messages engendered are among a number now under investigation by Labour General Secretary Jennie Formby’s team. If they recommend that further action is warranted, the final decision on whether McKenzie remains in the party as his right-wing defenders want, or is expelled from it, will rest with a three-person panel of the NCC, Labour’s National Constitutional Committee.
The NCC is the party’s most senior disciplinary body, deciding cases the NEC (National Executive Committee) ‘disputes panel’ refers to it after investigation. Its adjudications frequently result in expulsion from the party.
There is no appeal against its decisions within Labour Party processes.
Although some member-representatives are elected to the NCC – most recently left-wingers Anna Dyer and Emine Ibrahim – others are appointed to it to represent unions affiliated to the party.
One such is Douglas Fairbairn, who represents the small, right-wing union Community union (not to be confused with Unite’s ‘Community’ section). Fairbairn is said to be a close ally of Maggie Cosin, the Labour First-backed NCC chair whom Momentum founder and NEC member Jon Lansman has described as a ‘witchfinder general’.
Little more is known about Fairbairn, who goes by the handle @Community100 on social media but has locked down his account, but he has shown himself to be an opponent of the party’s leader:
Fairbairn, as a member of the NCC, can sit on panels to decide the fate of Labour members accused of some wrongdoing, Left-wing members have expressed concerns that a 3-person NCC panel consisting of two right-winger and another NCC member may result in automatic expulsions for left-wing members.
But a disturbing, pre-lockdown social media history has emerged that makes Fairbairn’s presence on any Labour body extremely problematic.
Fairbairn has posted a number of tweets about women, at least some of which might be expected to result in serious sanction if tweeted by an ordinary Labour member:
Fairbairn’s unpleasant Twitter contributions have not been not exclusively toward women, however:
The SKWAWKBOX has been unable to reach Mr Fairbairn to ask about his social media traffic or his fitness to sit on the NCC.
Comment:
Right-winger Ian McKenzie has been suspended for misogynist tweets.
Right-wing figures have felt no compunction about defending McKenzie, so there can be little doubt that if his case is referred to the NCC, right-wingers on the committee will be looking to get onto the three-person panel to decide his fate.
Based on recent precedent, one of those will be NCC Chair, the right-winger Maggie Cosin – and alongside her is likely to be her close ally Douglas Fairbairn.
Can there be there any justification for someone with Fairbairn’s social media history sitting on Labour’s most senior disciplinary body – let alone the sub-group that will potentially decide whether to expel McKenzie or others found to have exhibited similar behaviour?
Or for that matter to be holding any position of influence at all?
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Couldn’t help but notice that it spells ‘lust’. So anyway, that’s one more sociopath!
And I just came across this a bit earlier – ie the latest instalment of anti-Putin/Russia black propaganda (no doubt they’re already working on the next instalment!):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/03/britain-faces-full-spectrum-russian-threat-years-come-mps-report/
Gotta keep the masses emotionalised, what with the World Cup Football kicking off in ten days. I mean the last thing we want is for people to get absorbed in THAT and forget that Putin and Russia are our arch enemy and out to destroy us.
Allan, very well put, especially your reference to emotionalisation of the masses. This is also exactly the same reason we have this awful mess over Brexit – facts went straight out of the window.
Yes, and as I’ve said before Jack, you can be absolutely certain that the vast majority of people who voted Brexit read the right-wing propaganda rags such as the Sun and the Mail and Express – who have been vilifying and demonising the EU for the past twenty years or more (and evoking a negative attitude in their readers towards the EU) – and if a survey was done it would undoutedly confirm that THAT is the case.
And another perfect example of ’emotionalising’ the masses is the Skripal saga, whereby they used hysteria so as to prevent the masses from thinking rationally and coherently and to drum up animosity towards Vladimir Putin and Russia, and THAT is why those that wrote the script decided to incude his daughter AND an oh-so brave and heroic cop who went to their rescue AND for it to be done with a chemical nerve agent, which was “only manufactured in Russia” of course.
As regards the last point in my post about May and Co telling us that Novichok was only manufactured in Russia (which it wasn’t), I just happened to come across the following article/assessment of the Litvinenko case in the last day or two in which it says:
‘Part of the media disinformation at the time following Litvinenko’s death was that polonium was exceedingly rare and produced only in Russia. This is simply untrue.’
https://off-guardian.org/2018/03/17/litvinenko-and-the-demise-of-british-justice/comment-page-1/
It seems inconceivable to me that in this court . which is what the NCC is , that any conflict of interest ( no matter how remote ) is entertained , however, as this is still clearly a Kangaroo court then thats to be expected .
In order to build credibility and trust the panel needs a bigger pool to choose from to make it up. The 3 person size is OK but it needs to be TOTALLY impartial .
I just hope somehow that this gets sorted by the Democracy review or by our new Gen Sec.
Hmmm… Make of this what you will
https://medium.com/@TonyGreenstein/labours-expulsion-of-cyril-chilson-a-child-of-holocaust-survivors-says-everything-you-need-to-b0cb4d6c0a1d
I make of it that there are people on the NEC,and related bodies that should not be there.
Thanks for the link Toffee. We know of course that the people involved in the disiplinary hearings are undoubtedly fascists, but it’s very enlightening to actually read an account of a hearing. I mean a fascist is a fascist, but these people are really hard core fascists, and would have felt completely at home in Nazi Germany.
the people CONDUCTING the hearings I should have said
The NCC already has problems getting panels convened because of the diary difficulties of the members, one hears. The cases are often spread over several sessions, and coordinating diaries means the cases drag on. Because of these factors the number of cases they can hear per year is limited too. The fact there is only a couple of left winger members means they will only hear a minority of cases. Does the whole NCC role and activities need reform? Agreed that the democracy review must address this, but it’s up to members to take part in the review for that to happen.
Is it any wonder there is so much dissatisfaction in the LP with its disciplinary procedures when the right wing appears to be so deeply embedded? It seems McNicol was just the tip of the iceberg.
In fairness to fairbairn some of those tweets are entirely correct..
Especially the ones to the utterly repulsive hopkins, the gratingly puerile brand and the one about the x factor.
Although we can gather he must watch dumbed-down, vacuous shabbite on the Tv to even bother to tweet most of that stuff as they’re mainly tweets to or about ‘slebs’.
Personally speaking, anyone with that sort of ‘hello’ magazine mentality shouldn’t be allowed anwhere near politics, nevermind on a disciplinary panel…I mean, if I was up before him I’d take along sooty & sweep puppets and put on a show to distract him. I’d soon be cleared.
McKenzie, Fairbairn you have them bang to rights. But watch your own commentary. To repeat Jon Lansman’s quote about “Witchfinder General” about rightweinger Maggie Cosin might be perceived as misogynistic.
I’d have thought the job description of ‘Witchfinder General’ came under equal opportunities, meself…I suppose cosin would have the screamin’ abdabs about ‘misogyny’ if she was stripped such a grandiose(?) handle.
Damned if ya do…
The man who called himself “Witchfinder General” was Matthew Hopkins around the time of the English Civil War.
Where’s the misogyny?
The Witchfinder General was a man, though
Very disturbing information.
Dougie Fairbairn’s social media comments bring the Labour Party into disrepute and appear to breach rule 2.1.8 of the Labour Party rules.
He should be permanently recused from the committee as he is clearly not a fit and proper person to sit on the NCC.
I despair, I really do. It’s this sort of factionalist bullshit that caused my resignation from the Labour Party when Gaitskell became leader. I rejoined because I thought Corbyn would be able to ensure a root and branch reform that put the membership in equitable control. Instead of which we are in a tussle with the right wing for the levers of power to control the same old corrupt system.
I was five in ’55 so thanks for making me feel like a young Turk again 🙂
For three years Jeremy’s been the prime target of Tories, MSM, Israel, neoliberals everywhere and a parasitic ‘Labour’ right wing that’s had decades to bury itself in the flesh of the party and lock its slimy Blairite tendrils around the levers.
He’s still kicking, change is happening, our young people OWN the internet and we’re moving forward.
I see no reason for despair 🙂
We need to get this through to continue with the root and branch reform:
http://www.openselection.org/
Given the importance of the NCC’s function and the impossibility of satisfying everyone as to its political impartiality – isn’t it something that would be better chaired by a retired judge or judges bound (if possible) by contract to political and factional impartiality?
A panel of judges hearing cases concurrently would clear the outstanding ones sooner.
No anonymity for accuser or accused, each allowed representation.
We obviously need to put the process itself above factionalism.
A few expulsions for false accusations should stop the rot.
Excellent this is whats required exactly!!
An NCC panel of three should be out of the question. Despite the aspect of availability, there should be at least six members to prevent undue influence from any one member.
‘ … through conversations with Labour activists present during Wadsworth’s expulsion hearing in April, The Electronic Intifada can name three of its members: Maggie Cosin, Douglas Fairbairn and Kate Osborne.’
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/who-labour-partys-witchfinder-general
Kate Osborne is a NCC delegate for Unite which is pro-Corbyn
Yes. Seems she was outvoted 2-1