The Mail has run fake – and ridiculous – news that Labour’s membership has fallen to just 385,000, claiming that it represents a fall of 150,000 in just a year.
In fact, it would represent a fall of almost 150,000 in just a three weeks, since Labour’s membership figure in December was 533,000 – as the SKWAWKBOX reported. The Mail also claimed that Labour’s ‘coffers’ had taken a hit of around £6m as a result.
Labour’s general secretary Jennie Formby has put the record straight:
The Mail article forms part of a continual propaganda campaign by Labour’s opponents – including so-called ‘centrists’ pushing for a new referendum – claiming that Labour is ‘haemorrhaging’ members and supporters angry over the party’s Brexit strategy.
This is wholesale fake news.
As Formby pointed out, more people continue to join the party than leave, while both Labour voters and Labour members approve of Jeremy Corbyn’s approach to the issue, in spite of ‘MSM’ claims to the contrary – and yesterday a pro-referendum group was forced to admit that backing another referendum would damage Labour electorally.
But that’s not all. While centrists and the media spent last week – a week of utter chaos and disgrace for the government – trying to blame Labour for the current Brexit shambles, one of the most reliable indicators showed clearly that voters saw through the Establishment ruse.
As the media shamed itself with a skewed and often nonsensical interpretation of events and a sneering dismissal of Labour’s push for a new general election for the sake of the country, members of the party and of the public were digging deep in their pockets to donate to Labour – to an unprecedented extent.
Jennie Formby tweeted the news this morning:
SKWAWKBOX comment:
It suits the purposes both of the right-wing Establishment and of ’empty vessel’ centrists trying to exploit Brexit to try to regain their relevance in the Labour Party, to claim that Labour’s position on Brexit under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership is driving away support.
But the latest polls – including a poll by a pro-referendum organisation – show that to be fake news. And now in the most concrete way people are demonstrating, by donating their scarce income to the party, how solidly they are behind not just Corbyn’s vision for Labour and society, but also his approach to the most contentious political issue in play at the moment.
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Must be all those times JC’s called for a 2nd referendum, eh?
It worries me to think about what’d happen within the party if he did…
This is more evidence that a General Election is on the way and Jeremy has been absolutely right in his statements. We’ve got them on the run and they’re scared stiff!
‘The Mail has run fake – and ridiculous – news that Labour’s membership has fallen to just 385,000, claiming that it represents a fall of 150,000 in just a year.’
If they (Tories and their friends in the MSM – and to a certain extent, our “Centrists”) are so confident of Labour’s impending demise and its negative polling numbers, why are they so afraid to go for an GE? Maybe they know that it’s not true.
VIf you’re not part of the solution – you’re part of the problem’ and if Labour politicians are not supporting Corbyn then they are by default passively supporting the Tories which means they have the blood of 120,000 vulnerable UK citizens dripping from their treacherous hands.
Centrist = anti-socialist.
The daily fail is running Comrade Corbyn articles. Suggesting how to protect your wealth. Get ready for a snap election. Wouldn’t be surprised if we get something this week or immediately after the vote on 29th January!
And so the pressure and lies from the establishment and their lackeys grows by the hour . So be it comrades , unity now more than ever , batten the hatches man the guns and FUCK them ALL !!
Could he Mail’s figure be explained by Frances Barber, Tracy Oberman, Rachel Riley and Lord Sugar each saying 37,500 times on Twitter they are leaving the Labour Party over the last 12 months?
Or perhaps it’s an innocent typo on the part of the Mail’s editorial team. You know, the kind of mistake anyone can do, at some point or another. Like, you accidentally type “Labour” when what you really wanted to type was “Conservative”…
Re Christopher Fox and “Get ready for a snap election”:
If we are to get ready, then no one more so than Keir Starmer with his proposals for Brexit. Over the last year, I have posted re my persistent concern about a customs alliance solution for Brexit and it goes like this:
Apart from the obvious (and not necessarily even desirable) nonsense of “the exact same benefits” there is only one precedent for a customs union that I know of, this being Turkey. In the event of a GE, unless the LP is able to negotiate a WA that offers the potential for something radically more generous than the deal Turkey has, we risk being saddled with none of the advantages of leaving and some quantifiable disadvantages. We talk a lot about how giving in to the PV will do damage in the Labour heartlands, but I wonder how many in the heartlands would respond to a Starmer deal that looks as if it could be exposed as Brexit in name only?
I have tried to persuade myself that KS had got at least some of this covered. maybe he has. I also acknowledge that a customs union offers a solution, of sorts, over the Irish border problem.
Just a week or so ago, though, KS commented that a customs alliance similar to the deal that Turkey has would not be a good way forward. Hmm, well, that’s a start.
Then, just today, Starmer suggested on the AM show that any kind of deal will probably have to involve some kind of backstop … In fairness, it’s not his mess; it’s very late in the day and I believe he argues that a customs union would make the backstop acceptably low risk – which currently it isn’t. However, I still just wish I had a tentative glimmer of what economic, strategic, political advantages a Starmer customs alliance might offer, other than maintaining frictionless trade and resolving that border problem. (We can do both of these by remaining)
As far as my limited understanding and reading goes, a technical solution AKA Max. Fac. with Canada plus, or a loose EFTA seems greatly preferable to a customs union that, to put it bluntly, risks merely making us second class members of the EU, with a very questionable chance of implementing key elements of the manifesto. (BTW, even some key proposals in the Tory white paper on a future industrial strategy for the UK come up against EU competition rules).
It seems to me that Barnier, whose brief has been at least partly to use the UK as an example to the remaining 27 (and what an opportunity Ireland has been), was perhaps a little less than considered and objective in rejecting the Max Fac. Option: No technical solution – in this day and age – really?
Perhaps May’s and Starmer’s ears are made of the same material, but I am sure that over the last few days I have heard Junker, with his usual comic timing, make tentative reference to the re-visiting of a technical solution. I would have snatched his arm off! Again, maybe Starmer is on to this – it would be so good to know!
So, where does that leave me (apart from confused) as a loyal member of the LP who voted to remain?
Opposed to a 2nd referendum and the machinations of the PV, for all the blindingly obvious, practical and principled and political reasons that are helpfully summarised in the excellent link provided by Danny in the preceding thread and pretty much opposed to an appeasement Brexit, or Brexit in name only.
I don’t think May’s government has the wherewithal to deliver anything other than a “no deal” Brexit, but even if they do deliver a deal, it’s about what kind of deal and who does what with it, afterwards, that really counts and that of course means we need a Labour Government in place. So, roll on a GE but, before that happens, KS needs to start convincing people, myself, others, the heartlands, that his solution has the potential to deliver in more than just name only.
Interesting points and I have concerns about a customs union if it means accepting Neo-Liberal rules with no say?
An ideal would be a deal where our small businesses and large companies could trade tariff free trade with EC countries but Govt collectively pays a fee which would be billions – I guess £10b a year but something perhaps for Labour researchers to explore.
This could also eliminate the Eire/N Ireland border issue – just trying to think outside of the box.
Also if there is a GE perhaps we can learn from Nye Bevan.
Nye said the working class (we would now say working people) hated the thought that they were being had.
And with austerity we working people have been had.
The first thing the Tories did (with the Lib Dems) was to give tax cuts to millionaires and big corporations thus protecting THEM from Austerity whilst imposing it on US!
We should hit working people with this reality!
The Tories and Lib Dems also changed local govt funding rules to be based on population size only (cutting extra money for need) resulting in cuts for Nothern Labour Councils of £6.9b but gains for Tory Southern Councils of £3.5b (the only Tory Councils not to gain were those Neo-Liberal Zealots who outsourced everything).
And Education spending cut by £7b.
The evidence is there on the Tories Barbarianism.
Daily Mail just a little confused, they’re referring to their circulation figures.
Interesting contribution on the subject here:
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2019/01/have-150000-people-really-left-labour-party-over-brexit