National Momentum – or rather the officer subset of Momentum’s ‘NCG’ (National Coordinating Group) – made the widely-condemned decision yesterday to withdraw support from left-slate member Peter Willsman in the vital National Executive Committee elections, over antisemitism claims that do not stand up to scrutiny.
The decision sparked a major online backlash, with large numbers announcing they had ended their membership.
But others are staying within the organisation yet still making clear that the NCG has not spoken for them.
Momentum West Wales issued the following statement this morning:
The committee of Momentum West Wales are concerned that Momentum National Officers have withdrawn their support for Pete Willsman for the NEC elections.
As a grassroots organisation, we would urge our members to continue to support Pete as no substantive or proven allegations have been made against him.
Furthermore, any examination of the transcript of the recorded conversation show no reason for objection.
We are disappointed in this failure to stand up for and stand with a comrade of many years’ service- and we urge supporters not to divide the Left support in the middle of the election process.
Wirral Momentum has also come out firmly in favour of the whole #JC9 slate – including Willsman and Momentum founder Jon Lansman:
Brighton and Hove tweeted:
Misquoted and misrepresented – NEC’s Pete Willsman https://t.co/V4uNyiY6rX via @jvoicelabour
— Brighton & Hove Momentum (@MomentumBH) August 1, 2018
Waltham Forest:
Momentum Waltham Forest Coordinating Group reconfirm support for the #JC9. If you want an NEC committed to a member-led Party delivering the Democracy Review then please vote for ALL NINE members of the agreed slate! pic.twitter.com/Xv9snvFfIU
— MOMENTUM WF (@MomentumWF) August 2, 2018
Caerphilly:
From these statements and the huge online backlash, it seems clear Momentum’s NCG officers – a tiny subset of Momentum’s membership and not even the whole NCG – have failed their members on this occasion. They need to be big enough to put it right.
If you know of other local Momentum groups coming out in support of Peter Willsman, put links in the comments.
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Let us hope they listen and act accordingly.
John Evans: This is the email I received from Welsh Labour Grassroots/Momentum in other words Momentum Wales.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1520769521311321/permalink/1824914120896858/
The Welsh Labour Grassroots (WLG) Steering Committee has discussed this and agreed that the decision of the Momentum officers is a mistake, which WLG does not support
Momentum Wales is utterly opposed to this action and FULLY supports #JC9! Wilsman is very welcome in Wales!
Everybody who votes needs to bear this in mind:
Ian McKenzie, who was chairman of Lewisham East Labour Party, wrote on Twitter that “the antisemitism, Brexit and Salisbury stuff is cutting through like the IRA/Iran stuff didn’t. We have a real chance of winning back NEC seats.”
This must not be allowed to happen.
Also, what a great character Walter Wolfgang is!
I have just voted for the full slate of 9!
Jon Lansman virtually acted on his own over the Wilsman issue and seems to put Zionism above everything and everyone and RULE Momentum. I’m seriously unhappy with this.
Dare I ask but where is the evidence that he acted on his own ( no I am not a Lansman fan ) , from what I’ve heard it was also a small grp on the NCG . I don’t know who they are but if anyone does pse inform us .
There isn’t any evidence that Lansman was behind this – and probably more panic than strategic decision.
If this decision was made as a result of panic then the person(s) making it are clearly not up-to the job and should be replaced by people that carefully consider their decisions and there wider impact instead of panicking.
WHOEVER was behind the decision, not only should they NOT have withdrawn support for Pete Willsman, but they should have been crying FOUL and giving him their every support and, via their local groups, distributing leaflets in the tens of thousands that expose this smear – and those behind it and complicit in it – for what it is. I mean, COME ON!, Momentum SHOULD have been doing precisely THAT from the outset of this black propaganda op! And I have no doubt that the vast majority of their members (and former members) would agree!
Rob – this is from Jacquie Walker herself on Facebook – Lansman just rang around to let people know what he intended doing about Willsman.
Just had the e-mail from Welsh Labour G.R. supporting Pete Willsman. I will not however rejoin until Lansman is gone.
All this has told me that Lansman is nowhere near as astute as I had assumed him to be …
He’s not half as clever as he thinks
I have voted for the JC9 I voted for Pete Willsman. I do not believe he has done anything wrong.
I appeal to everyone to remember the civil war. The parliamentary forces were frequently divided, usually by the manoeuvrings of the king and his supporters, often making difficult decisions. But the more united we are, the more we will succeed. These are difficult times. Don’t fail us! Stay together. Stay on in momentum. The opposition wants to divide us.
I have no doubt that the ‘opposition’ want to divide us, but how could ANYONE in senior positions at Momentum have concluded that Pete Willsman said/did anything to warrant withdrawing their support for him! Do they read the Sun and the Mail etc and take it all as gospel and, as such, base their decisions on them!
And isn’t it odd how just about everyone on the Left knows that the vast majority of allegations of A/S against the Left during the past three years or so are phoney and false and contrived, and yet we’re expected to believe that Lansman and Co DON’T! Of course they DO! But what was Lansman’s response to the Ken Livingstone demolition job:
‘A period of silence from Ken Livingstone is overdue, especially on antisemitism racism & Zionism. It’s time he left politics altogether’
When I first joined Momentum just over a couple of years ago, I did so precisely because they supported JC, and I had no idea about the inner-workings AND who was at the helm etc (yes, I only came across the Lansman ‘dismissal’ of Ken about six or seven months ago), but as time went on I started wondering about the leadership, and WHY, when JC and the Left are under constant attack they – Momentum – aren’t doing anything to expose the lies and fabrications and smears, and it’s not as if they themselves haven’t been smeared by the Establishment’s propaganda machine and their shills on numerous occasions! And then Lansman standing for GS of the NEC so as to “encourage more women to apply”! He might be on the JC9 slate, but I don’t trust him one miniscule bit! He is NOT the real deal!!
And just to be clear, if JC and other MPs on the Left try to speak out about the false allegations, the Establishment’s propaganda machine et al would really go to town on them……. in other words, there’s no point in them doing so because they know what would happen. BUT, Momentum could have been compiling leaflets to expose the lies way, way back, and distributing them in their hundreds of thousands. But they didn’t.
Just came across this a short while ago:
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2018/08/momentum-dump-peter-willsman-their-nec-slate-direct-defiance-jeremy-corbyn
Who are on the NCG committee as they should be accountable?. I hope Lansman has not been part of this is unrepresentative decision.
The Guardian is reporting that Corbyn is going to make a speech about anti-Semitism next week. Hope he’s not going to cave in, like Lansman’s Momentum leadership did. Surely he wouldn’t desert the Palestinian cause by accepting the IHRA examples which outlaw many legitimate criticisms of Israel?
Questions still need answering regarding who recorded meeting and what was said immediately preceeding and after the 51 second clip. And who made editorial decision on what would be leaked?
Momentum True Colours! Unaccountable, no questions asked.
The consensus on Twitter has brought it down to 3 suspects who dialled into the meeting and worked out it could only be one of them .. Izzard. He was roasted by thousands the other night and hasn’t denied it… all supposition of course 😉😉😉
Last night Liverpool Riverside Labour Left unanimously passed the following motion: Liverpool Riverside Labour Left urges all members to vote for the full pro-Corbyn slate of 9 in the NEC elections, including Peter Willsman. Any other choice opens the door to an opponent of Corbyn being elected.