Group claiming to ‘renew’ Momentum set up and run by ‘fixers’ heavily involved in swinging north-west selections and extremely close to founder Jon Lansman, according to Labour sources
Many within Momentum’s structures have been promoting ‘Momentum Renewal’ (MR), which claims that its aim is the ‘fundamental reform’ of the organisation in the wake of the decision of Momentum founder Jon Lansman not to stand in the elections to the group’s National Coordinating Group (NCG).
However, the SKWAWKBOX was told just before the launch of MR earlier this month that the group was being set up by a group of Lansman’s supporters in response to the perceived threat of a slate of candidates being proposed by Forward Momentum, a group of left-wing activists not aligned with Lansman or the existing power-brokers – and that Lansman’s agreement to ‘stand down’ was offered in return for ‘Renewal’s continued support for his re-election to Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
MR’s website includes a page about ‘who we are and how we make decisions’ that lists nine members of its ‘Strategy Panel’, that it says has:
a remit to reach out to people across the Labour Left to try and reach the greatest possible degree of unity and consensus before deciding on candidates or policies
However, according to Labour and Momentum insiders there are several names missing from the ‘who we are’ list – a group of names that coincides exactly with a set of ‘fixers’ very close to Jon Lansman who were accused by much of the north-west left of stacking an array of selections in the region in favour of their preferred candidates and blocking often highly-regarded local candidates.
Momentum has often been accused of sham or absent democracy in its decisions and selections, for instance in the decision to present members with a ‘yes/no’ choice on only one candidate for each of the leader/deputy contests, as well as in its choice of NCG candidates and the prospective parliamentary applicants it has supported.
If reports of involvement of the so-called ‘fixers’ are correct, then ‘Momentum Renewal’ seems set to simply pick up where the old Momentum left off – especially as that involvement is so far undeclared.
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In all honesty is anyone surprised at this subterfuge. Lansman was one of the more prominent reasons why RLB didn’t get my vote
No in response to Steve H. Also the reason why I why have joined Forward Momentum.. .
It’s going to get a bit like ‘the Coke/Pepsi Challenge’.
Me, I’ll support, maybe even join, any Momentum that is Lansman-free, and which has plenty of members that acknowledge May 17 (NAKBA) as a day of Israeli shame when 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were evicted from their homes and over 400 villages were cleared for the founding of a new state that made them refugees.
Forward Momentum is definitely Lansman free.
Ooops, 15 May is nakba day, not 17 May, foggy brain here
Who is being misled
Ian Lavery, Sam Tarry and the others who launched it
Who are the fixers
Confused.com
Watching the repeat of Question Time and they’re discussing whether people should be wearing face masks or ‘coverings” in public.
Seriously? There still aren’t enough for the NHS and care homes and afaik there are NONE in the shops that I’ve seen.
This Tory government is way beyond incompetent – that there should still be shortages after so many months of bullshit is criminally negligent.
There should be piles of the damn things in supermarket foyers being handed out for free after this length of time.
Unbefuckinglievable.
It is notable that other governments have manifestly handled the provision of PPE far better than the UK.
The working classes can kiss our asses we own Labor now ………..Friends of fiends of Israel
OK lets get this straight , Forward Momentum GOOD , Lansman free and trying to re make Momentum into a grass roots run democratic organisation as it once was ,,,,,,,,anything else Momentum bad
Monty Python or Citizen Smith
Who do we vote for
Neither ,,, if you’re a member of Momentum I’d suggest you’d vote for the Forward Momentum 24 slate .They are all grassroots non Lansman people
I left Momentum Vanilla* because of Lansman,I dont trust the man one iota that he’d simply walk away after furiously empire building for 3 or 4 years is unbelieveable,I had very high hopes for Momentum when it started ie.Before Lansmans coup and Jaquie Walker was expelled
*everyone else is making up Momentum splinter groups
Sadly, although the cynicism of the liars and posers behind the ‘continuation Lansmanism’ crew behind ‘Momentum Renewal, should be obvious to all – the politics of the supposed ‘democratic reformers’ of Forward Momentum is still the same old sad Left Liberal middle class pro EU, anti feminist, Israel-obsessed, pro global Freedom of Movement, losers who helped to force the Corbyn Circle to adopt that electorally suicidal Remain and 2nd Referendum policy that lost us the Labour Heartland voters forever .
Neither of the two factions battling over the now , ever-smaller membership, rotting corpse of the always politically corrupt Momentum , politics-less canvassing force and vehicle for sundry opportunist career ‘Leftie’ politicos, have anything to offer the mass of working class voters we have lost. And neither faction have any chance, with their actually fundamentally identical Left Liberal politics, of ‘winning back Labour for the Left’. That ship has sailed. The mere fact that that surely now fully exposed old Left faker, John McDonnell , is a supporter of Momentum Forward, says it all. McDonnell’s betrayal of Jeremy in 2019 , going on the People’s Vote March , and forgetting his entire long political anti EU past, to embrace the EU, to force the adoption of Remain and Second Referendum (along with Diane Abbott) was just as terminal for our 2019 electoral chances as Kier Starmer’s very similar role.
All this dead-end focus on ‘re-winning Momentum for the Left’ and hence wasting more time in trying to ‘win Labour back for the Left’, actually does is waste a number of genuine socialist activists time in helping the career ambitions of the middle class Left Liberal who , in both factions, are just building their own personal power bases to further their own political ambitions. This conclusion might seem very cynical – but a cold, hard, look at the middle class luvvies who ran, and still run, Momentum, and the actual crap politics of the supposedly ‘radical democrat’ Forward Momentum challenger faction, should lead anyone with a working brain to the conclusion that Momentum, AND LABOUR, are now a lost cause for socialist advance.
Bad Penny
Dont care what they call themselves, as long as they work together on single slate, honour manifesto and JC legacy and go out and recruit more like minded members
It’s not rocket science
No time for snowflakes outside the tent
You have said it all in one great post. Labour is not a socialist party. I kind of went with the JC burst but I wasn’t convinced. The state will never allow a radical socialist party to be elected. I have no real answers to that little poser, back to reading and community work for me. Keep safe during this conrover scam. ☮️
I totally agree. I have lots of doubts with Momentum of anything.