As the SKWAWKBOX published exclusively on Sunday, members of Enfield North CLP (constituency Labour party) tabled a motion of no confidence in their MP, Joan Ryan, accusing her of making false accusations of antisemitism and bringing the party into disrepute.
Ms Ryan publicly dismissed the motion, which was to be debated at tomorrow’s CLP meeting, but behind the scenes was emailing members a plea for their support.
Members then informed the blog yesterday of a “ploy” to pull the item from the meeting’s agenda, with a claim the decision was supported by Labour’s London regional office.
In an email to all members about the agenda – ironically with a header calling for “Labour Democracy NOW!”, the chair communicated the decision and his reasons:
The ruling referred to in the second paragraph was a message to members from the party’s general secretary, saying that motions on disciplinary decisions by the NEC/NCC were not in order – specifically about the case of black activist Marc Wadsworth some months ago.
It places no restriction on CLPs debating a motion of censure on their MP – and the motion is not about any past decision on any disciplinary against Joan Ryan.
At short notice, outraged members sent an email last night to general secretary Jennie Formby’s team:
We are members of Enfield North CLP and are writing to you to complain about the undemocratic practises that are currently taking place to try and remove a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP, from the agenda of our AMM Thursday 6th September 2018.
Please see the motion attached.
The Chair of Enfield North, Siddo Dwyer, has today sent an email to all members ruling the motion out of order on what we believe to be spurious grounds. He has misused Jennie Formby’s letter on ruling out motions on disciplinary matters applied to NCC decisions on formal complaints against a CLP motion of censure on our MP.
We members consider this outrageous and an affront to our democracy. The motion is not about a past disciplinary decision regarding Joan Ryan. It is regarding her behaviour and the motion asserts that she has brought, not only our CLP but, the whole Labour Party into disrepute.
We ask that you urgently intervene in this matter so that we can inform the members of our CLP that we are a democratic socialist party, we do not shy away from debate, we respect the wishes of our membership and that the motion is back on the agenda for the AMM 6th September 2018.
Today Ms Ryan has sent a further email to members, advising them that the motion is now back on the agenda and asking them to turn up to support her – even if they then leave immediately afterward:
Members familiar with the bullying and vindictiveness routine among some members of the Labour right – and the treatment of Corbyn by MPs who ‘tried to break him as a man’ in 2016 and have persistently tried to undermine him since, will react with wry amusement to Ms Ryan’s closing paragraph.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
Enfield North Labour members from the broad coalition across the spectrum of the local party who want Ms Ryan to face some kind of consequence for her lack of solidarity with them are encouraged to turn out and have their say.
But whatever the result of the vote, Ms Ryan’s reaction to the tabling of the motion and the attempts by her supporters to prevent it even being voted on have been a display of considerable weakness.
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