New Labour leader tabled change of general secretary on day he was elected – and still hopes to have former party director implicated in leaked Labour report in now-vacant post
Labour leader Keir Starmer raised Jennie Formby’s departure on the day of his election – and still hopes to have former staffer Emilie Oldknow as her replacement, according to Labour insiders.
Formby announced her resignation today, but most commentators have written off Oldknow’s prospects because of her prominence in the leaked internal party report that alleges that a group of right-wing then-HQ staff undermined Labour’s election campaigns, diverted campaign funds, obstructed disciplinary processes and made a string of abusive comments toward fellow staff who supported or cooperated with then-leader Jeremy Corbyn.
A Labour source told the SKWAWKBOX:
Keir knew he wanted Jennie gone and raised it with her the night he won the election. There was an agreement weeks ago for her to resign and he wanted her gone before the NEC elections for fear the left might unite and win the slate, making it harder to install his choice – which is still Emilie Oldknow.
Another said:
The committee set up to investigate Labour Leaks is full of people friendly to Emilie and has been ordered to report by July. The plan is for them to clear her then and install her while the right still has a majority. They voted [Jewish peer] Alf [Dubs] off a panel whose investigation will include handling of antisemitism complaints, so they think if they can get that through, anything’s possible.
But if the committee doesn’t clear Emilie then Lisa [Johnson] is his first reserve.
However, Starmer must also deal with the fact that GMB official Johnson was named in the ‘MeTooGMB’ allegations about the union’s now-former general secretary, leading some to speculate that Anneliese Midgley – one of those Formby beat to the job in 2018 and very close to figures on the Labour right – might be a third option.
Keir Starmer’s office declined to comment.
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sickening
Meanwhile – Stoma will fail to ask why THOUSANDS of patients were denied care despite NHS capacity. Keir Stoma will fail to ask why the 4,000 bed “Nightingale” field hospital TURNED away THOUSANDS more patients than it ever admitted.
The London Nightingale admitted the grand total of 51 patients. FIFTY ONE patients. 20 are still there and will be transferred to normal hospitals. johnson’s hospital will be closed by the end of this week.
Johnson’s Birmingham hospital has not allowed a single patient in. Most likely NONE of the other hospitals, except London, has accepted a single admission either.
Despite that, THOUSANDS of DESPERATELY ILL people were DENIED admission and LEFT to die. Those mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers and friends may have been still alive today, if they were admitted and treated.
This government and Starmer’s spineless “Opposition” allowed nearly THIRTY THOUSAND people to die in hospital. Many more thousands, some without any underlying conditions were condemned to die an horrific death in their own homes. More thousands of elderly were left in care homes to die in the same dreadful manner. Others in hospital were discharged UNTESTED to die in care homes. That is the story of Dominic Cummings, johnson, hancock, duncan-smith Tory callous government and their pom pom cheerleaders Dire Kier Starmer and Jonnie Ashworth. As a wise person, The Toffee said, they are as useful as a hand-break on a Camel. As much vision as a glass eye. As much substance as encrusted soiled solid wet-wipes.
Many here have the foresight to know that Kier Starmer IS bad news. Check his disreputable record. ZERO good came of Starmer in the past. Why would any come of him now???
Starmer, is tightly entangled with nasty intent to the many. He is only one of too many soiled filthy stoma jellied wet-wipes entangled in the filthy political fat-berg stuck up the filthy right wing Tory sewer. The filth was allowed into the shadow cabinet. Why? It did not force itself in. It was allowed in. Why? It joined the choreographed coup. It was not dismissed. Why. It contradicted Jeremy re Brexit. It was allowed to get away with it. Why??? Having no power is completely different to failing to use it. Don’t blame “the system” if after 44 years, you fail to learn. Nothing good will come of failing to observe, failing to learn, failing to act. failing to change but forever blaming “the system”. Nothing good will cone of those failures either. We must learn to change. We must learn to win and keep winning🌹🌹🌹
18:14 Talkradio – Jonnie Arseworth – turd worm of Dire Stoma Starmer are as one with the Tory govt. Jonnie is thus very minute cheerleading for Cummings callous direction of johnson. Cummings now needs neither front bench, back middle nor any other bench as he has little jonnie Arseworthless. Over the last several minutes ON AIR, the little jonnie has praised and recommended the dangerous sinister APP. The little jonnie has praised the Nightingale fiasco. Everything cummings , the arseworthless has cheered.
Cummings and johnson can drink Champagne and be fed strawberries and cream all day and night, now they have the cream-pied turd worm – Jonathan Arseworthless.
In the space of ONE post signpost says the following:
“… dull dim dire starmer six faced mould of slimy jell”
“FEEL the WORTHLESSNESS of the slime ball.”
“1 second extra, is too much gratitude for the slime ball starmer.”
“FEEL the dishonesty of the slime”
And THAT was just in the first part of his post! How old are you signpost, cos you come across as a demented eleven year-old! He then says – and acknowledges as such – that had it been Jeremy or Diane the MSM would have been relentlessly all over it, BUT then goes on to spout his usual diatribe as in “We must realise the necessity to combat the rightwing narratives lies and myths”, and does so knowing full well that there IS no way to ‘combat’ the lies and fabrications and smears of the corporate MSM, because they are hardy going to give space to anyone exposing the very lies and falsehoods that THEY have conspired in disseminating. I mean what further proof does anyone need other than the way the MSM spun the leaked report so as to reflect negatively on Jeremy and Jennie Formby and the staff who put it all together. Oh, and HERE’s a selection from a signpost post a few days ago:
‘turd worm of Dire Stoma Starmer’
‘jonnie Arseworthless’
‘slime ball’
‘…. now they have the cream-pied turd worm – Jonathan Arseworthless’
I mean REALLY signpost, how old are you?!
More sickening Tim, the makeshift Nightingale makeshift hospital in Birmingham, has not had a single patient. But their makeshift morgues have had over 100 bodies. Another makeshift morgue of refrigerated units IN A CARPARK to cope with EXCESS deaths, has EIGHTEEN BODIES.
You see, politicians can lie, spin and deceive, but we can easily find truths and facts. We should not sit on those truths and facts. The MSM already does that. Years ago, I heard an ex political editor of an MSM paper admit with not the slightest hint of shame, but with MUCH confidence, that he DID know of the appalling abuses by the MPs of their expenses. But he the slime ball said if he had revealed the crimes, then the politicians would not tell them anything else. THAT is the morality of the MSM and their MP chums.
And yet, those with over 44 years experience of the political MSM cesspit, failed to realise that the system has to be CRUSHED as with a ROD OF IRON. The rest of us must learn from their UNFORCED errors and change. We know that pathetic subservience, compliance, appeasement and inconsistent kindness failed. We KNOW it. If we don’t, then we are on the road to another 44 years of failure.
Sounds harsh? Yes. Sounds true? We all know that too. Never again must we indulge those who refuse to learn. We don’t need anymore damp useless protests and talk of grassroots movements. What use an army of grassroots movements only to sit on their willing hopes and kick thousands in the teeth for their hopefulness and tell them to work around bastards. What use saying things without the conviction and instinct to defend whats said and drive it home??? No use running a race half way. No use expecting people to fill in blanks. People repeat what is said repeatedly. Telepathy is yet to be perfected. Were it otherwise, then the MSM would use it.
We must learn and change and win. 🌹🌹🌹
‘And yet, those with over 44 years experience of the political MSM cesspit, failed to realise that the system has to be CRUSHED as with a ROD OF IRON.’
My God signpost, you do spout such complete and utter bollocks! Never-mind all the totally infantile stuff – eg ‘turd worm of Dire Stoma Starmer’ and ‘jonnie Arseworthless’ and ‘slime ball’. I can only assume that the average age of those giving you Likes is about eight! If THAT! And come to think of it, how old are YOU to come out with such unbelievable childish and immature stuff?
And what possible reason could you have for not naming this ex political editor of a newspaper?
Why would anyone want to stay in the party now? The showing destruction of the left’s influence in the party. This is beginning to look like Blair 2.0. This is just sickening.
Because anything else is certainly pointless if you’re really serious. Not because staying is going to be easy.
Piddling about on the forgotten sidelines of politics isn’t going to solve anything – and certainly it’s not much of a testimonial to radical resolve, let alone organisational ability.
Keep skin in the game.
I’m teetering on the brink, trying to decide between stay/leave. If Oldknow gets the job, that may be what pushes me over the edge.
Firstly, nice change Skwawkie. Feel a bit like Garth (we fear change), but I’m warming to it already.
And to business. Well, well, well. Jenny gone, as I predicted. Not only the Corbyn experiment dead, but the last tiny chance of hope too.
I keep thinking about Oldknow. Her faceache banner from a couple of years ago read something along the lines of “It takes a nasty woman to get things done”
This from an MPs wife.
Good luck comrades, and stay safe. Whatever you’re looking for, the Labour party clearly isn’t the answer.
They’re certainly doing their best to provoke us to leave.
Don’t give in!
That’s exactly what they are doing. What total bar stewards. What’s happened to Angela? I thought she was okay, but saying Corbyn didn’t command respect was the last straw when I heard her say that I knew she’d gone over to the dark side. . Shameless the lot of them.
We need to stay at least until the NEC’s elections are over, to give a chance to the left in the NEC to retain influence. It we fail, then I agree it is time to leave.
Maria and do what? It’s to infested with the right wing like a cancer it has taken over all party functions even if you win a complete left wing slate they have no power to change anything only react and censor that’s it. Did you not see the report they have lied for years, Deceived and even committed fraud and false representation and still NOTHING is done! Sorry I was a labour member been one my whole life but I will not even vote for these scum I refuse to endorse a party that is allowed to be controlled by a small right wing rump we barley see lurking in the shadows. How do you fight that? You can’t remove one or 2 and there just quietly replaced by another of the ‘Right’ people. Until real left wing people work out there is no point and seriously we need to start again with a true Labour party built up via the working class and proper protections in place for the party machinery that is prevented by being taken over by lairs and other right wing scum. I hate to say this Labour is dead all you see is the rotting corpse being thought over, time to start again and get it right!
Then do what Maria, spend the next five years financing their return to Blairism Mk2 ?
I agree. We need to see what happens. Then is still ample time to act.
I am astounded that anyone would want Emily Oldknow as GS of our party following the leaking of the Report into Antisemitism. The report exposed her lack of professionalism highlighting her infantile name calling and all round nastiness and her disloyalty to the party by working for our defeat in a General Election. Keir Starmer must realise the financial consequences of appointing this individual GS – if she’s in many of us will be out, taking our subs with us.
Am currently watching the legal claim against Labour, due to fraud via subscriptions. Will be joining it if it’s successful.
They don’t care about our subs.. there are plenty of anti Left donors who will fill the gap. Look at Starmer’s donations, the Blair foundation and ‘Labour Tomorrow’ vehicle which was set up to hide corporate donations aimed at removing Corbyn.
@syzygysue
It’s actually not that simple. During the Brexit campaign, Labour spent party money to campaign. Labour finances were dire before this.
Ironically, Corbyn rescued Labour coffers due to the increase in subs and voting dues (£25 in my case). The war cheat they now have doesn’t belong to them.
Let their donors fund them.
How VERY dare you, smartboy…It’s emiLIE not emilY. Mustn’t offend the ‘bollinger bolsheviks’ , now!
Ashworth’s tart, which explains a fair bit. I wonder if he’s not gonna go for a drink with HER ever again?
https://youtu.be/bYfBvhoN9SI?t=25
Cringeworthy, fat-tongued, whiny-voiced scheming little twunt. Should still be wearing short trousers, the imbecile. This is what classes as her maj’s opposition, these days.
Jesus wept.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Starmer cares about the subs. His is doing the job his friends at the Tripartite Commission wanted him for: make it easy for Johnson.
If the left fail to re-elect socialist at the NEC summer elections, then it isn’t any point staying. We will need to consider founding another Party and persuade the Socialist Campaign group of MPs to front it.
Jeremy Corbyn is unique, he is the ONLY person who could have brought the various left wing groups together in unity and at the same time won the confidence of large numbers of the public. The Left is fragmented by groups who believe they are more left wing than others and these narrow minded squabbles will prevent any one of them gaining wide support and being able to challenge the Labour Party for government.
Even if some groups join together, it is delusional to think that by being outside the Party, no matter how many members leave, splits in the left will not cause disruption, just as they did over Brexit. The truth is, there are fanatics on the right and the on the left. Do not be fooled by right wingers posing as leftists urging members on the left to leave the Party.
After giving it some time for the dust to settle, I have come to the conclusion that because the right wing do not own the Labour Party the left must stay and organise and fight to have their voices heard to demand a fair share of the resources to which we’ve contributed. It is very tempting and understandable to want to give Starmer and the right a good kicking but how can you do that by leaving? There are many right wing groups, particularly in the unions, who will fund the Labour Party in return for ‘favours’ as we saw during the Blair years and beyond.
Unfortunately, our voices aren’t going to be heard even if we managed to keep a strong presence in the NEC. The only reason for a strong presence in the NEC is to show Starmer that the left can stay united and at any moment, from the lines of the Socialist Campaign Group a challenge could be mounted against his leadership, if he straits too far to the right and the challenger could win.
“The Left is fragmented by groups who believe they are more left wing than others and these narrow minded squabbles will prevent any one of them gaining wide support and being able to challenge the Labour Party for government.
As clearly illustrated by Hodge retaining her seat because of some petty factionalist dispute a group ‘on the left’ refused to turn out for the OMOV ballot to remove her from office.
Please tell us more,
I thought it was because only those who turn up to meetings can vote
Need to allow every Labour member in the area to vote
The idea we hand over party to Cockwombles is fuckwittery of the first order
How about we start to think who will replace Keir if he betrays the manifesto
Doug – I got this info in a reply from another regular commentator on this site a few weeks ago. It may take me a while to search it out but I’ll post a link to the comment later on. Or if the person who posted the info recognises this please feel free to save me the hassle of finding the original.
One thought. Surely CV-19 ought to make online voting for branch business the obvious solution?
I think if the moves to deselect MPs had been voted for online they’d be gone now.
If online voting is introduced I’ll rejoin Labour – I think the right will fight it to the death because it would circumvent their local power structures and empower members – but how will they fight it and pretend they believe in democratic participation?
Are there moves afoot to put it to Conference? Seems to me there should be.
David – I agree wholeheartedly with the concept online voting, besides anything else it is blatant discrimination for only those who are able to attend branch or CLP meeting to have a vote. Equality doesn’t have any half way houses.
I would also like to see online voting for conference decisions or failing that why can’t the Labour party simply hire a conference electronic voting system so we don’t have a repeat of the ridiculous fiasco of the 2019 conference. In this day and age every vote at conference should be a ‘card’ vote. This hanging on to the so called tradition of sticking your hand up is just daft. The very idea that one person gets to reject calls for a card vote is quite simply undemocratic.
Whilst we are at it I also can’t see any reason whatsoever why how NEC members have voted at meetings shouldn’t be published, they are either accountable or not. There is no in-between.
All the secrecy we have around decision making that we have at the moment only serves the inner clique, a lack of any meaningful transparency doesn’t serve the membership.
David,
I reckon by Conference-time Starmer will be feeling the heat of membership discontent over the leaked report and could very well cancel it on Covid-19 grounds!
timfrom – An ideal opportunity to introduce all members electronic voting.
Unless or until the party embraces technology and gets rid of its archaic infrastructure those opposed to left wing politics will prevail. It should not beyond any CLP to run a Facebook live event with membership only attendees, voting could be carried out using a number of different apps or services. That we have the same people attending meetings shows how insular some CLP’s have become. In my CLP we have around 1,000 members, my branch meeting was attended by about 20 people our CLP meeting for the leadership was roughly 70 or so. It was unfortunate to say the least that they voted for the Starmer/Rayner ticket. I said at the time we should vote for a woman to be leader RLB is the person I wanted as leader, only to hear women at the meeting saying “Now is not the time for a woman leader” I mean what’s going on in these peoples heads? A lot of my branch are full of professional people not many of us ordinary folk, some of them just can’t relate to the plight of the most vulnerable in our society and are away with the fairies in their thinking, or not!
To overcome Starmer and his crew, there needs to be some strong messages sent to the leadership at conference and for the unions and membership to combine and ensure policies that Jeremy and his team created and that are still relevant now are not consigned to rubbish bin. The Starmer crew want everything to be as it was in 2010 when we lost to Cameron, they’re not interested in power, only privilege. As an executive officer of our CLP at the moment I’m wavering. should I stay or should I go? (Clash, most appropriate at the moment). Those unions who are for the left of the party need to standup and be counted! We need a new dynamic in how we get our message across and this should be done by supporting new media outlets such as this and Novaramedia, Canary etc. We need a new national newspaper that will challenge the MSM and not be afraid to tell things as it is, one owned by the people for the people.
When Corbyn was leader, I often advocated for a National newspaper to be set up, funded by the increased membership subs, but no one high up in the party echoed it in the media. Maybe it just wasn’t feasible for some reason, but it’s a necessary move we will need to make, sooner or later. Perhaps a hook-up between a Corbyn breakaway party and the Morning Star is worth looking into?
Because I wanted to be certain of my ground II have just spent the last few minutes scanning through the leaked report and I find it difficult to see how Emilie Oldknow could possibly immerge from the enquiry without being admonished. She appears to have been a central figure throughout.
The thing that really struck me is how pathetically immature she is. Her WhatsApp posts are what you might expect from a rather unpleasant and insecure adolescent girl and unfortunately she appears to have never matured into an adult.. I’m left asking myself, was she part of a gang of bullies at school who boosted their own low self esteem by belittling others. It is difficult to see how someone who self evidently lacks maturity and was so involved in promoting factionalism and discord can be qualified to be the administrative leader of the largest political party in Europe.
In the light of the clear evidence in the leaked document I just can’t see bow Emilie Oldknow could now be even considered suitable for the post of General Secretary of our party.
This is what I have said from the beginning, racism and bullying aside, they are all just such mediocre people.
For the record, when she made those whatsapp posts, she was an exec director of labour earning, circa £70,000 a year.
The recruitment policy isn’t fit for a corner shop never mind the largest political party in Europe.
MAB – It is more than a little ironic that the HQ of the party that purports to stand for equality is riven with the Tory traits of cronyism and nepotism.
But the inquiry is into the leaking, not the report, It’ll be a show trial!
Which is a good reason for members on the left to line up behind the moves over such issues as misappropriation of funds, etc. They have the potential to create worrying levels of bad publicity for the right.
It was the NEC that decided on the terms of reference, not one individual.
I would like to reclaim my subs too and donations too. They’ve sold themselves to the devil; I’m out in July when subs come for renewal. Where can I follow the progress of the legal claim? I know many who feel the same. Instead this money is earmarked for those who oppose this now poisoned chalice.
Yep, the writing is surely there on the wall for all but the most incurably optimistic socialist, or even radical Left Liberal (ie, most of today’s self-identifying ‘Left’), that the Labour Party under the woodentop ex DPP, and Trilateral Commission’s man, Starmer, is heading straight into long term electoral oblivion. It’s only real political function now is to support the Tories as they cause tens of thousands of unnecessary coronavirus deaths (only squeaking out a few apologetic mild detail ‘criticisms’ now and againfor appearances sake), and also, totally predictably, standing back passively after the plague has passed whilst the Tories implement a new wave of Austerity that totally dwarfs the severity of the Austerity of 2010 to 2019. In other words, under the man from the Deep State, Starmer, the Labour Party will revert fully to being ‘The Reserve Party of UK Capitalism and the privatising neoliberal status quo’.
Those naïve bods on here suggesting the crushed Labour Left can now focus on winning the utterly corrupt, undemocratic, top-down, Momentum, for the Left , and THEN, after that battle, using it to fight yet again, for the hundredth futile time, to ‘shift the Party Leftwards’, are exhibiting clear signs of obsessive insanity , not just wishful thinking ! The Left needs to re-group OUTSIDE the rotten hulk of Labour. And, yes, of course if Jeremy and his tiny circle would leave too and form the Leadership of such a new Party it could be a 100,000 strong movement overnight. But of course Jeremy and his little crew of 40 year career PLP Lefties never will. The endless , personally highly remunerating, but politically futile, game the Labour Party PLP Left play simply doesn’t include ever splitting the Party – unlike the Right, who will split it and ensure it loses two General Elections without a second thought. Read again, I suggest , Ralph Miliband’s seminal over 50 year old analysis of the constant bankruptcy of the Labour Left in his excellent ‘Parliamentary Socialism’ , and wake up and smell the coffee – the only route to mass radical Left action has to be via a new radical Left party – no matter how long that takes or how crushingly difficult it is to achieve. Because Labour is kaput as not only a vehicle for reformist radicalism, but even as an electorally successful vehicle for the now re-captured politically bankrupt neo-Blairite, Starmer led Labour Party !
Unfortunately , currently the potential immediate predictable initial membership of such a new radical party would be saturated with often crazy self-obsessed identity politics, and would still be in love with the neoliberal EU, still completely obsessed with Israel and ‘zionism’ , and inevitably infiltrated by those tiny quasi religious ultraleft sects obsessed with the minutia of the Russian Revolution and posturing ultraleft demands such as ‘establishing a workers militia’, or even worshipping the totalitarian gangster dictatorship of the thankfully defunct Soviet empire (yep, I’m talking about the mad ‘what we stand for’ list of Galloway’s new Workers Party there). And of course the overwhelming professional middle class potential members of a new party would also be obsessed with that totally non-socialist , liberal shibboleth , ie,’total freedom of movement’ – regardless that this core requirement of globalised capitalism has nothing to do with socialism – and needs to be counterposed with a socialist programme which places comprehensive democratic economic PLANNING at the heart of socialist transformation – within which labour supply planning has to be a component part. All of which political bankruptcy by the middle class Left will guarantee that no ordinary working class person will come within a mile of it ! In other words, a successful new socialist Party cannot be built from the declassee wreckage of the existing middle class , really just Left Liberal, or simply outright bonkers, usual suspects ‘Left’.
Quite a political conundrum indeed for anyone not wanting to go down the futile Respect or Left Unity dead end ‘ new radical Left party’ routes for the umpteenth disastrous time ! Which is why, across Europe, it is the more ideologically flexible, unscrupulous, scapegoating, radical populist Far Right that is stepping so successfully into the political void left by the collapse of social democracy, to capture the allegiance of the working classes feeling deserted and betrayed not only by the now neoliberal old social democratic parties, but by the entirely middle class, inward-looking, identity-politics infused radical ‘Left’ too.
Yes, I’m sure this new party of the left you envisage would get heaps of support from the corporate MSM and the semi-corporate BBC!
Or perhaps the opposite (if they don’t just completely ignore it altogether)!!
Allan – You have to bear in mind that jpenney left the Labour party approx 30 years ago and then spent the next few decades trying to find a home for his own weird brand of socialist/zionism ideology.
Despite frequently criticising Jeremy on various other forums he decided to rejoin the Labour party after JC won the leadership. I presume with the intention of trying to piggyback on JC’s success. There is considerable doubt as to whether jpenney ever actually left ‘Left Unity’ but it is a verifiable fact that he continued to comment on the Left Unity website with very disparaging remarks about not just Jeremy’s policies but also personal attacks after he rejoined the party. He has also openly despised fellow members of the labour party and momentum in print whilst a member of the Labour Party.
jpenney is no friend of Labour, Corbyn or his policies and appears to be a member of the party just to foster his own rather weird agenda.
Says the fella what voted for starmer…The best of a bad bunch, but the ‘democratic choice’
Fuck my life that this nation has to suffer this shit.
.
I don’t need explain just who that last post was directed at, neither.
jpenney steps in again to misdirect “still completely obsessed with Israel and ‘zionism’ ” No jpenney, it was the other way around, the apologists for Zionism such as yourself, were obsessed with defeating Jeremy Corbyn, which is why they resurected the long dormant Zionist JLM to campaign against him. Mike Katz if you remember, chair of the JLM, said they would not support any MP who supported Jeremy Corbyn. This is a group who were and still are, affiliated to the Labour Party, these are the people who need to go, not Jewish comrades who supported Corbyn.
Not wishing to be associated with dirty scum like these trash merchants, I have resigned from the Labour Party today.
I wonder if Piers Morgan would like to lead the LP?
Very glad not to have voted for him.
As if you wanted any more reasons to ditch labour…
Stoma must be screwing her or something. He is hell bent on consigning his party to oblivion.
I am very afraid Starmer is trying to reserect the bad old days of new labour or should I say old tory
So why has Jenny not implemented suspensions
I’m from a working class background and was in Labour for 40 years but as a left wing democratic socialist I resigned whenTrilateral Commision Member Neo-Liberal Mr bourgeois nonentity S was elected as Labour Leader (the rich & powerful must have popped the champagne corks)!
I was brought up to believe there were 3 wings in the Labour Movement – Labour Party, trade unions, Coop Party so was a member of all 3 (my Coop Party is pretty left wing) but tonight via the Coop I had a general e mail from Mr S saying he wanted us to work together, I replied if I got another communication from Mr S I would leave the Coop Party – it’s time to stop taking shit from these right wing shits!
I am a child of poverty and on our council estate when coming home from school aged 11 I found my mother (4 kids, dad buggered off) with her head in the gas oven but me & my younger sister saved her & she later was there when I got my degree & Masters Degree but you see from such experiences we are precious of socialism and wary of top down groups who want to deliver FOR US and perhaps it should come first from us and not top down from personalities like CW and GG as JP says?
I also think from a lifetime of experience I have discovered the secret of socialism – HONESTY and perhaps Right Wing Labour and the top down bourgeois Trot Vanguardist Left have together held back the cause of grassroots, bottom up, participatory, left wing, democratic socialism for a century?
Perhaps we could call such a new party for a laugh The Bolsheviks (the rich & powerful would shit themselves!) Left Wing Democratic Socialist Party would do but perhaps we should have one simple slogan ALL POWER TO DIVERSE WORKING PEOPLE!
The runners and riders for the job of GenSec. Follow the link at the below for further details of each potential candidate. It looks like Oldknow may have already been ruled out.
Anneliese Midgley
Lisa Johnson
Emilie Oldknow
Brian Roy
Johanna Baxter
Other?
Unlikely names being promoted include Laura Parker, former national coordinator of Momentum and previously a private secretary to Corbyn, and Alicia Kennedy, who was Tom Watson’s chief of staff. As one source pointed out, the latter is already a Labour peer, which means there would be no obvious appointment with which to barter when the time came for a change.
The new leader could try to bring in an outsider, perhaps a barrister. But that probably wouldn’t fly with trade union reps. Alternatively, Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, could pick a name out of left field – someone from local government or a third sector organisation. They would have a tough job convincing the NEC that they have the level of experience and depth of knowledge required, however.
https://labourlist.org/2020/05/labours-next-general-secretary-runners-and-riders/
A wild thought – Starmer could unify the left by putting forward Laura Pidcock, but I think he would have a hard time convincing the current NEC.
Look at those pigs in the sky.
Dire Stoma is already busy with his “wild thought” to “unify the” right. Heard him this AM on a radio prog i usually avoid.
He was unifying the right by “putting forward” full stench approval of his Tory chums. Dire Stoma “would have a hard time convincing the current” electorate that they should support a saboteur who collaborated with those like Peter Mandelson who said he worked “NIGHT & DAY” to destroy Jeremy.
Dire Stoma “would have a hard time convincing the” electorate that they should vote for a spineless dull tool of plotters. Dire Stoma is has no intention of “convincing the current NEC” of anything.
Stoma will do what the RIGHTWING have always done. They do as they please. Break any and every rule to achieve their aims. Support, promote and defend those who support and defend them, no matter what rules prevail. The right neutralises opponents rather than protect them.
No one needs 44 years of political experience to learn that. That could be observed first hand and by reading and listening. It could be learnt well within 4 months. Flexible alert receptive open minded people could reflect, make incisive analyses, decide on multifaceted strategies and implement within 44 days🌹🌹🌹
Steve, that was a wild one 🙂 why would Stuffy want to unify the left?
Laura Pidcock’s maiden speech earned her my undying respect – but would she even want to be a lone, voiceless lefty in a right-dominated NEC that took no notice of her?
I can think of few more thankless tasks.
The makeup of the NEC makes a complete nonsense of any idea that we are a members led party.
“Members of the NEC
The NEC is structured so as to represent all key stakeholders in the Party.
Chair: Andi Fox
Vice Chair: Ian Murray
Leader: Sir Keir Starmer MP
Deputy Leader: Angela Rayner MP
Treasurer: Diana Holland
Chair of Equalities: Ann Henderson
Shadow Frontbench: Jim McMahon MP
Shadow Frontbench: Jonathan Reynolds MP
Shadow Frontbench: Jo Stevens MP
Shadow Scottish Frontbench: Richard Leonard MSP
Welsh Labour Representative: Mick Antoniw AM
Young Labour: Lara McNeill
BAME Labour: Carole Sewell
Div. I – Trade Unions: Mark Ferguson (Unison)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Howard Beckett (Unite)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Andi Fox (TSSA)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Pauline McCarthy (Bakers)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Michael Wheeler (Usdaw)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Wendy Nichols (Unison)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Andy Kerr (CWU)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Tom Warnett (GMB)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Jayne Taylor (UNITE)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Kathy Abu-Bakir (GMB)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Ian Murray (FBU)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Mick Whelan (ASLEF)
Div. I – Trade Unions: Joanne Cairns (USDAW)
Div. II – Socialist Societies: James Asser
Div. III – CLPs: Johanna Baxter
Div. III – CLPs: Huda Elmi
Div. III – CLPs: Yasmin Dar
Div. III – CLPs: Rachel Garnham
Div. III – CLPs: Ann Henderson
Div. III – CLPs: Gurinder Singh Josan
Div. III – CLPs: Jon Lansman
Div. III – CLPs: Darren Williams
Div. III – CLPs: Pete Willsman (currently still suspended, I think)
Div. IV – Labour Councillors: Nick Forbes
Div. IV – Labour Councillors: Alice Perry
Div. V – PLP: Sir George Howarth MP
Div. V – PLP: Margaret Beckett MP
Div. V – PLP: Shabana Mahmood MP
In what parallel universe could Baxter’s name possibly appear on that list? This “comrade” carries a squeezer full of onion juice in her pocket; she is the very antithesis of “reason in revolt” and an arch exponent of “cant.”
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/johanna-baxter-tells-tears-turmoil-8625191
I have seriously considered leaving the Labour Party but…………I left when Blair became leader & then could do nothing to stop him. Thatcher’s legacy is still here, but I will not walk away again!
I am staying because I am a bloody-minded old hippie who suffers from ODD; Oppositional; Defiant; Disorder aka a refusal to stay on my knees as I continue to grow old disgracefully & rage into the night.
I intend to be as awkward & as difficult as I can & fight for what I believe in, in a political party that believes in Socialism. I intend to fight while I still have breath & there is still time to do so…….I walked away from a fight once B4 & look what’s happened!
Good for you. Constant bitching is OK for letting off steam – but it doesn’t solve anything.
Hard realities :
(1) Tories are riding higher than ever in the polls. I’ve heard individuals who are fairly sympathetic to the Labour Party in general saying ‘The government have done a good job’.
(2) The media is gripped firmly round the throat by right wing interests. This is the filter through which most information passes.
(3) Years of propaganda and media control have produced a massively pliant population.
(4) The Covid-19 panic has been manna from heaven for the right. Just as the fallacies of Tory policy (and the general crisis of neoliberalism) were becoming obvious, we have the perfect situation for another economic haircut aka ‘Austerity Mk II’. Just wait and see. The main ‘herd’ effect has nothing to do with immunity – look around and you see it in operation inducing yet more compliant mentality.
I don’t think I’ve seen a less propitious time politically in the short term – but I’m also sure that just leaving the field to boo on the sidelines achieves absolutely nothing.
SteveRichards
We can do much much more
Start at the end agree where we are now and join up the dots
What do we have to do to get us to where you want us to be
Regards
Doug, the key to everything is ORGANISE. Because of inter-group squabbles, the ‘left’ has rarely been good at organising.
“Inter-group squabbles” is one way of describing arguments over the minutiae of strongly-felt principles and means to achieve a largely common ideal. Only dedicated people have such arguments over points of principle – we don’t make that point often enough when we’re accused by our enemies of being divided.
The right, having no principles whatever and being united in the drive for personal advancement, power and privilege, avoid all such arguments and intellectual divisions.
They fight between themselves only for position and they do it with whispers behind backs instead of brotherly enmity and hatred.
strongly-felt principles = brotherly enmity and hatred. What’s not to like? 🙂
Jennie Formby’s successor will be appointed on May 19th. The whole process just taking just 2 weeks.
Below is the timetable and details that have been sent out to NEC members
◼Applications open 5th May 2020.
◼The application deadline is midnight on Thursday 14th May.
◼The NEC officers as the panel will be sent the applications and longlist matrix at 9am on Friday 15th May to review.
◼A meeting of the NEC panel will take place at 1.30pm on Friday 15th May to agree the longlist using the shortlisting criteria outlined on the longlisting matrix.
◼This will be via teleconference.
◼Candidates who are longlisted will be invited to interview on Monday 18th May via zoom.
◼Shortlisting will take place from 10.30am on Monday 18th May – via Zoom.
◼This will take the form of a five-minute presentation and 20-minute interview of each candidate. Interview packs and questions will be provided on the day one hour in advance.
◼NEC officers will then determine who goes forward on the shortlist to the NEC.
◼Final interviews will take place on the 19th May at the NEC meeting via Zoom.
◼Each candidate will have a maximum of 35 minutes for their interview. Five minutes for their presentation and 30 minutes for questions. All NEC members will need to be present on Zoom for these interviews. Interview packs and questions will be provided on the day.
◼NEC business will be conducted after the new GS has been appointed.
Conference will have to confirm the NEC’s recommendation.
It looks like the above has been designed to reach a pre-ordained conclusion.