Barking MP was ‘triggered’ by local members, but some now uneasy after CLP secretary photographed campaigning for Hodge to be retained
As the SKWAWKBOX exclusively reported last month, Barking MP Margaret Hodge was ‘triggered‘ by the local CLP (constituency Labour party) – primarily involving the party’s right – forcing a full selection contest for Labour’s candidacy in the next parliamentary election.
Hodge is standing to be reselected – but one set of pictures from her campaign has raised concerns among the local membership.
Last weekend, Hodge supporter Mollik Shakur Wadud posted pictures to his Facebook profile of Margaret Hodge’s visit to the house of a local community leader to promote her reselection campaign:
But immediately to the right of Hodge and the only other woman in the picture is local councillor Saima Ashraf – who is also Barking CLP secretary:
As CLP secretary, Cllr Ashraf will be responsible for arrangements concerning the all-member selection vote later this month – but she is also the person who will receive all postal votes cast in the vote:
The photographs have raised concerns among members about the impartiality of the process.
Cllr Ashraf was contacted for comment. Asked about the members’ concerns about her closeness to Hodge, she replied:
I would contest that. I don’t need to talk to you.
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https://labourlist.org/2016/08/500-labour-councillors-why-we-are-backing-owen-smith-to-continue-the-fight-against-austerity/
there she is on this too – promoting the ice cream man
Thanks Tim. So, cllr Salma Ashraf not only campaigns for a Margaret HodgeMP that Friend of Likudist far-right land-grabbing apartheid, and she also supported Owen Smith MP at the end of the chicken coup? And as Barking CLP secretary she’s expected to be impartial and trustworthy and honestly count and log the postal votes in the upcoming selection vote?
Doesn’t feel right.
No wonder the rightist reprobates in Labour actually STARTED the trigger against Hodge. They think they’ve got control of the whole process and will be able to save the blessed Margaret and then blame the loony/Stalinist/Trotskyist left for the entire thing,- knowing their friends in the MSM will use it to dissuade decent people from voting for JC’s Labour in the up-coming GE. The MSM will make sure we know that ‘moderate Labour’ (i.e. Until progress Ltd and the Friends of Israel) saves the day.
Dirty Is as Dirty Does.
‘…and then blame the loony/Stalinist/Trotskyist left for the entire thing’
They already DID!:
Jewish Chronicle:
‘Shameful’ moment for Labour as Margaret Hodge faces re-selection battle
Labour branches trigger vote on booting out stalwart fighter against Jew-hate
Veteran anti-racism campaigner and Jewish MP Dame Margaret Hodge is to face a vote on deselection, a move attacked as “shameful” by Jewish Labour Movement chair Mike Katz.
Dame Margaret, MP for Barking in east London since 1994, has been a stalwart campaigner against the far-right and strong critic of antisemitism in the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.
JLM chair Mike Katz said: “Margaret Hodge has been a steadfast campaigner against racism, fascism and intolerance throughout her political life.
“She saw off the BNP in Barking and has over the last few years been determined in her opposition to antisemitism within the Labour party. This is a shameful moment for a party which claims to embody the values of equality and diversity.
“She has been the target of vicious smears, derision and antisemitism, because she has been resolute in her opposition to anti-Jewish racism.”
______________
Evening Standard ditto, with the same quotes from Mike Katz and Harriet Harman:
Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman said she was “dismayed more than I can say” by the vote.
She tweeted: “Margaret Hodge, scourge of tax avoiders, racists and anti-Semitism. Champion of progressive policies. Hyperactive local MP. Surely this cannot stand!”
________________
Guardian headline and sub-headline were:
Tom Watson: ‘hard left’ risking Labour’s election chances amid Hodge row
Deputy Labour leader criticises party for wasting time and effort on local selection battles
And then:
Tom Watson has accused a “hard-left faction” of jeopardising Labour’s electoral chances by forcing MPs to waste time and effort on local selection battles, after Margaret Hodge became the second MP to face reselection.
Included is the Mike Katz quote, but they DO include THIS from Jon Lansman:
Lansman insisted “the left” had had nothing to do with the trigger process in Barking, claiming it was driven by “members on the right”.
And although I haven’t checked them out, no doubt the Sun and the Mail and Express etc covered it in a similar fashion:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/29/tom-watson-accuses-hard-left-faction-over-margaret-hodge-reselection-effort
From an article in the Sun in August:
The party’s anti-Semitism scandal led to a record number of hate incidents in the first half of the year, a damning report has found.
Incidents included racist graffiti left at the home of Holocaust survivors, “Gas the Jews” written on a footbridge in Liverpool and 85 violent assaults.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9666695/rachel-riley-slams-labour-councillor-who-claimed-she-would-be-to-blame-for-another-jo-cox-murder-in-anti-semitism-row/
This is what we’re up against, just a constant daily bombardment of lies and falsehoods and smears and demonisation.
I am afraid she does need to answer it. She is the CLP Secretary and as such an officer of the constituency and who she is backing can be very influential.
”Asked about the members’ concerns about her closeness to Hodge, she replied:
‘I would contest that. I don’t need to talk to you.’ ”
Perhaps not.
But what if these ‘impartiality concerns’ and concerns about the postal voting were raised with the electoral commission?
In reality it is the Trigger Ballot system that is deeply flawed and badly thought through. It should come as no surprise to anyone that in most cases the CLP’s elected officials will support their incumbent MP.
The problem lies with the system not the individuals running the system dictated to them by the NEC.
The system as it stands is analogous to all the postal votes in a GE being addressed to the office manager of the sitting MP. It is surprising that the NEC didn’t anticipate this as potential problem, or maybe they did and thought they might get away with it.
Your a fucking anti semite and a racist
200 claims of AS, 192 vexatious,
Previous record of smearing innocent people, financial history questionable
On any other planet Pantomime Dame would be out on her ear
WTF
Previous record of smearing innocent people
Previous record of smearing (sexually abused because hodge’s wilful negligence enabled it to occur & reoccur) innocent people.
Fixed it for ya, Doug 👍