Last week, on the same night that Enfield North MP Joan Ryan lost a vote of no confidence by local members, the CLP (constituency Labour party) of Luton South’s Gavin Shuker passed a no-confidence vote in him by a ratio of almost seven to one.
Shuker attempted to dismiss the importance of the vote, claiming ill-advisedly that nothing had changed.
But a Facebook post by Momentum Luton has called on the MP to resign and trigger a by-election, to allow Labour to select a candidate around whom “all elements of the Labour family can unite” and for the good of Luton’s people:
The General Committee of the Luton South CLP has passed a vote of no confidence in Gavin Shuker with almost unanimous support.
Unfortunately, Gavin has become a divisive figure on the hard right of the party. He has also failed to respond to communications from senior officers in the local party. There were a number of serious and specific concerns about Gavin’s behaviour raised at the May meeting of the General Committee of the constituency party. The GC decided to defer any vote of no confidence until Gavin had been given a chance to answer these concerns. He chose to neither answer the questions asked of him nor attend the September meeting of the General Committee. It is now essential that the Luton South Labour Party has a representative from the mainstream of the party around which all elements of the Labour family can unite.
If Gavin believes that the result of the last election was a personal endorsement, rather than an affirmation of the 2017 Labour Party Manifesto, this now needs to be put to the test.
We urge Gavin to resign as the Labour and Co Operative MP for Luton South and call a by-election, for the good of the Party, but more importantly, for the good of the people of Luton.
Gavin Shuker has not responded to a request for comment on the no-confidence motion.
SKWAWKBOX comment:
Labour MPs losing the confidence of their local members, as do their supporters, often hide behind the claim that they were elected by their whole constituency rather than to Labour members.
If they genuinely believe they were elected personally and not because they wore a Labour rosette, then they should trigger by-elections and test that belief. The fact that only around 6% of Labour voters say the identity of their Labour MP is a significant role in their decision suggests such confidence is in most cases misplaced.
Like Frank Field, Joan Ryan and Chris Leslie, who all lost similar votes and have failed to ‘do the honourable thing’, Shuker should resign his seat and put his mandate to the test.
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If he’s not responding to communications, isn’t that an issue in itself?
2 weeks and counting down then BOOM you’re OUT !!!
Labour was founded by Socialists for Socialism ! Over the years that principle has been sidetracked for the opportunity to take power. Only when the Atlee , and to a great extent, the Wilson Governments were in control , did workers benefit decisively !
There was some good done under Blair but countermanded by the Iraq tragedy. Therein Blair met his hubris and shall go down in History as a warmonger !
The remnants of Blair linger still amongst the ranks of the PLP , but like sour grapes their time has come for replacement !
Now, with Jeremy , let’s get on and build Socialism in Britain !
The Right-Wingers all seem so rude towards the membership as if Neoliberalism is all about discounting the electorate – just like the Tories damaging ALL public Sector run services, including the NHS – so awful we have some truly awful politicians.
Cue more cries of ‘ call off the dogs ‘
woof woof
If they don’t go voluntarily, there should be a ‘rogues gallery’ at the conference entrance.
Up here in Scouseland we’re planning some ‘special’ events for the LP Conference in the City of Liverpool.
Labour Co-op? Were they not the faction within the PLP who were plotting a coup? I think the relationship with the co-op candidates needs to be understood better. I feel they are essentially a party within a party, and Labour members campaign to get them elected, and then they go AWOL.
Hmmm…
Gary Gibbon’s take on the Labour MP’s conflab in the HoC (going on now) doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Apparently, Corbyn had briefed some that he was gonna tell the dissenters that: ‘It wasn’t for him to interfere with the democracy of CLP’s ‘ on the deselection matter.
When quizzed by weaselly screeching about ‘calling off the dogs’ , apparently Corbyn didn’t say what he’d been briefing…
As the Right ‘adults’ treat us like children.
Then with dark arts of the media’s choice.
But the passion of the socialists.
Is finding it’s real true voice.
Take the power comrades, take the power!
You always had it in your hands and brains!
JC4PM
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