Labour sources had raised concerns over anti-democratic comments and conflicts of interest – but David Evans appointed anyway
Keir Starmer, with the support of right-wing members of Labour’s National Executive Committee, have appointed Starmer’s favourite for the role, Blairite David Evans, as Labour’s new general secretary.
“representative democracy should as far as possible be abolished in the Party”
Labour figures had raised serious concerns about Mr Evans’s track record – concerns his supporters, including Keir Starmer, did not allow to deflect them from his appointment. The following was sent to Evans by email on Saturday:
I have received information from sources within the Labour Party concerned at the possibility of your appointment as general secretary of the party, which I intend to quote in an article… Please examine the information below and provide comment:
Trade union issues/leaked report conflict of interest
David Evans was Labour’s Regional Director in the North West and then assistant General Secretary advising Margaret McDonagh, working on Tony Blair’s 2001 election campaign.
Margaret McDonagh was then appointed General Secretary of the Party. The BBC says “her name became synonymous with the creation of New Labour”.
While McDonagh was General Secretary, and while David Evans was her right-hand man, trade unions were sidelined and their views generally disregarded.In addition, this closeness to Margaret Mcdonagh raises issues because her sister Siobhan Mcdonagh is very good friends with Greg Cook, who is named in the recently-leaked Labour report. How can a new general secretary with a personal connection to those accused by the report fairly oversee an investigation into those accusations?
‘Marginalising’ left-wing members and ‘abolishing’ democratic structures:
During this time, Evans wrote a report comparing constituency parties to Del Boy’s Trotters Independent Traders and advocating a “New Labour” solution to reform Labour at the local level that would isolate left-wing members and make local Labour parties more like Marks & Spencer.
His report said:
“We have a strong, positive branding at national level,” said the document. “But we are badly let down by a very poor high street presence. Indeed, the majority of local Labour parties are more like Trotters Independent Traders [from BBC TV’s Only Fools and Horses] than Marks & Spencer … We are a ramshackle confederation of market traders.“
The report, called ‘A New Labour Party’, argued for an overhaul of internal party structures to isolate left-wing members, described in the report as “Old Labour”. The report said “done correctly, it will empower modernising forces within the party and marginalise Old Labour.”
The report was seen by some grassroots members as an attack on democracy within the party as well as an attack on left-wing members.
The report stated that “representative democracy should as far as possible be abolished in the Party”. Evans proposed that General Committees in local Labour Parties be replaced with a ‘working Executive’. The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy described (http://home.freeuk.net/clpd/1999bullart2.htm) this as “a smaller, less inclusive body”, which would reduce the number of people actively involved in the Party. The Campaign said there would be no chain of accountability as presently exists, whereby GC delegates regularly report back to their branches” and that “the Executive – insulated from pressure from party branches – would have a blank cheque to run the CLP”.How can someone who called for the abolition of democracy in the party be considered as its general secretary?
CLPD described Evans’ proposal as “a bid to remove all intermediate structures in the Party so that we’re left with a passive, powerless membership and an all-powerful leadership” and said such reforms would only serve to “replicate at local level the current monopoly of power at the top of the Party, which has already led to the leadership getting out of touch and has produced electoral setbacks”.
Evans’ report provided examples of organisational arrangements adopted by various CLPs in which Blairites are dominant. This included Enfield Southgate, whose MP was Blairite Stephen Twigg. Evans’ plan has been implemented in Enfield Southgate and the traditional structure of the CLP completely dissolved. The GC had been abolished and the constituency party was run by a small Executive, which was elected once every twelve months and was not answerable or accountable to CLP members the rest of the year. Even branches had been wound up, except for selection meetings, and in their place were constituency-wide “issue groups”. This is the model which Evans’ report proposed imposing across the country. Stephen Twigg lost Enfield Southgate to the Conservatives in 2005, which undermines Evans’ argument in his report that these reforms to CLPs and the “abolition” of representative democracy would improve Labour’s electoral prospects. The seat was not regained by Labour until the 2017 general election.
Inquiry ordered into conflict of interest over Labour candidate selections
In 2002, the Times reported that General Secretary David Triesman ordered an inquiry into Aline Delawa’s undeclared conflict of interest in handling internal party selections while she was the secretary of David Evans’ company, which was campaigning for candidates in those internal party selections.
Aline Delawa, David Evans’ wife and Head of Labour’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Unit, oversaw the rules governing the selection of Labour candidates while she was Secretary of The Campaign Company, set up by David Evans.
A year after David Evans’ role as Assistant General Secretary ended, the new General Secretary David Triesman announced that there would be an inquiry into the conflict of interest.
According to The Times [Triesman] said he was “surprised” at the disclosure and ordered an inquiry into the affair and he also admitted that if Delawa worked in a government department instead of the Labour party, it would not be allowed as it might be seen to be a conflict of interest.
Triesman said he would never have put Aline Delawa in a position where she might have been compromised, such as handling a dispute over ballot papers or a very close result.
The Campaign Company’s website boasts that it can help “elected representatives, candidates, organisations and issue-based groups who now need a more professional approach to successfully campaign to get their message across”. When asked why his wife had been made company secretary when he founded the company, David Evans said “I can’t remember.”
Croydon Council conflict of interest
Deputy Leader of Croydon Council Alison Butler has close family ties to David Evans and has been involved in decisions to award contracts to his firm, The Campaign Company, without declaring a conflict of interest.
Inside Croydon has reported that contracts worth almost £200,000 were awarded in the space of four years to The Campaign Company.
David Evans is the father of Alison Butler’s daughter from a relationship in the 1990s and Alison Butler’s son from another relationship is also employed by The Campaign Company.
Ms Butler was criticised for failing to declare this conflict of interest and the quality of the work conducted by The Campaign Company has been called into question.
The Campaign Company also conducted a review of Derbyshire County Council which reportedly led to the in-house press officers being made redundant and replaced with Julian Ellerby, who did not have previous experience in local government, running Derbyshire Council’s communications from Brixton Town Hall. Julian Ellerby was Labour’s Director of London Region while David Evans was Labour’s Assistant General Secretary and the two were former colleagues.
I intend to highlight these issues in an article this weekend, but would prefer to include your comment on them when published. I will therefore delay publication for 24 hours from now to allow you time to comment – please provide your response no later than 4.15pm tomorrow, Sunday 24 May if you wish to go on the record.
He did not respond. Aline Delawa was also contacted but did not reply.
In normal circumstances, Evans’s appointment would need to be approved by a vote at Labour’s annual conference. The cancellation of this year’s conference will mean members will be denied a say on Starmer’s choice until at least autumn 2021, unless a special conference is called once large gatherings are permitted, or the party’s rules are bypassed to confirm the appointment without a conference vote.
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The labour party DOES NOT stand for left wing policies. It DOES NOT represent the poorest, most marginalised, and disenfranchised in society and has NO INTENTION of doing so.
The sooner the penny drops for people, the sooner they can do what has to be done to reinstate a VIABLE, REALISTIC alternative to the one(conservative)party politics this country has endured since 1979.
‘Stay and fight’ they plead… ‘Change from within’ they petition…
…Well, they said that about the (beloved by kincock, bliar, mandelson & starmer; coincidence?) EU, and there was NO change. Far from it. They signed us up to allsorts without our go-ahead.
When we asked for change, or at least a little recompense we were laughed at.
So the people got pissed off and decided enough was enough. But it wasn’t even any labour politician gave us the choice; that was a major reason the ‘edballs couple’ lost labour the election in 2015.
And instead of going full on with the brave decision, the shithouses bottled it, conspired against the leader and policies they claimed to support and backslid to their devious shithouse avaricious ways.
And they’ll bottle it AGAIN if YOU stay and fight the fight THEY don’t want and WON’T support.
What makes anyone believe that shower of shite are conducive to any sort of change escapes me.
Fuck ’em.
The Rightwing always do what the “Left” call “impossible”, “not allowed”, etc etc etc. Rightwing breaks all the rules. “Left” asks for inquiries instead of DISMISSALS and PROSECUTIONS. The poor, the many have comparatively swift prosecutions and imprisonment for petty crimes. Eg those jailed for stealing a bottle of water.
The “Left”, despite generations of evidence to date, call for inquires for the most HORRENDOUS state crimes. And Cummings crimes. People have been fined for less egregious Covid-19 imposed laws compared to Cummings, yet instead of demanding he be dismissed and prosecuted like everyone else,
even sensible people struggle to see that. 🌹🌹🌹
So Starmer’s appointment is unsurprising. Starmer did “the impossible”.
Cummings MUST GO‼️‼️‼️ and be prosecuted like anyone else. Not any bloody inquiries. Dismissal and Prosecution as for the 99%
Ask Hillsborough victims. Ask Grenfel Victims. Ask the Lawrence Family. Ask any victim of state and police crimes in this country and police crimes in the USA.
WHEN WILL WE LEARN❓❓❓
NEC elections come back to bite us, we knew this would happen,
Every effort needs to be on unity of the left, recruit and vote,
The margins are fine but it’s winner takes all
A majority of one dictates policy
Recruit and vote
How are you proposing to sell Labour membership to potential recruits, Doug?
“We’d like you to become a member of the Labour Party that’s trying to destroy people like us?”
“We’d like you to pay the right wing’s bills today so that in twenty years or so, if we’re lucky, we can nudge it to the left a bit.”
“Yes, it’s exactly like the Tory party but all we need is another Corbyn to fix that. You don’t happen to know where we can find another Corbyn do you?”
Or do you plan to lie to them?
Or recruit more Blairites?
Seriously?
I don’t know why I’m laughing, I was ‘angry crying’ when I found this out today, now I’m just laughing manically, I think this last four years of hope and fighting has finally pushed me over the edge.
u r not alone Teresa Steele. Horrors from all sides. It’s not the doings of the Rightwing that makes sink. Everyone who cares to know, knows Starmer was and will remain bad news. Thats a given. I don’t well up when Arsetair Campbellend does what Campbellends do. Teresa, tears came when the very evening aft his expulsion, Shami Chakerabati turned up on radio to say he could be welcomed back later.
Read the FM letter, same weak background. To think the Right do not beed to hide their views. Yet u always get the distinct impression the “Left” really hope they will “reform” the most despicable people. Tories and Right commit crimes and people suggest asking for an inquiry instead of prosecution. And claim that all sort of basic stuff is “impossible” or “won’t be allowed”. Why bother then??? For crumbs??? Crumbs forever??? That is what crushes me. Yesterday the car crash Prince Andrew like Cummings interview, did make my hairs stand on end. But it was not anger or sadness. More the shock of his claims eg driving to test sight. That sort of stuff no one could expect.
But Teresa, i recovered from that shock. The heart sinkers are from our side. People thinking someone who begged we dump the ridiculous remainiac plot to sink Jeremy, supports People’s vote. Another flying into a crazed rage about Universal Income. This morning, invitations to join an online course on Marx. But worst of all – defeatism and defeatist illogical language. “impossible” “won’t be ALLOWED”.”inquiries” as if they have not noticed how they have always failed. We don’t need more reading about Marx. we need basic focus on what has just happened re Grenfel for eg. Not one govt has been troubled by an inquiry.
If even new methods MAY fail, we KNOW the old ones which have been failing forever. Which should we choose, the known failed methods and attitudes or mew ones???
Need to reassess my own methods. Need to find a new approach… have run out of ideas for now. Won’t give up though. Giving up and sticking to what failed before, is not my style but I need a break.🌹🌹🌹
No wonder you need a break signpost, you’ve been posting comments ALL day long, many of them just going on and on forever!
Signpost posted his first – and pretty long – comment at 7.17am this morning (the 26th, that is), and is STILL posting at 10.25pm. That’s FIFTEEN hours, and about THIRTY posts (there were 25 when I counted them up over four hours ago).
Anyway, in a post a couple of days ago you said the following signpost:
‘i’m no fan of the potter woman as she did not support jeremy. she had the means and great ability but declined. anyway, she is providing lots of money to help the excellent marvellous glorious Mr Lees to pursue legal case against cummings. this is the sort of ACTION we needed and need. ROBUST ACTION. Clear robust thought. ZERO APPEASEMENT. It has never worked. It has not worked. It will never work.’
Could you elaborate. I assume that “the excellent marvellous glorious Mr Lees” you speak of is Robin Lees, the guy who spotted Cummings in Barnard Castle. So what’s this about him pursuing a legal case against Cummings? I just did a search a bit earlier and couldn’t find a dickybird about it. Why is he suing Cummings? What for?
Cheers
PS Has anyone else heard about this?
Dear AH, Mr Lees is not suing Cummings. No one ever said that. The admirable Lees reported Cummings to the police. The police have since interviewed him in GREAT detail. We await the results. We must INSIST that the POLICE interview Dominic Cummings, in at least similar painstaking detail. If the police FAIL to interview Cummings, his wife, Johnson, Gove, Hancock in similar detail we must ask WHY NOT and CAMPAIGN that they do so NOW. Not bloody establishment inquiries like Hillsborough, Butler, Grenfel… the list is ENDLESS. They produce ZERO prosecution of establishment CRIMINALS.
The potter woman is not funding Lees to my knowledge. She has generously offered to pay the Legend – The Civil Service brilliant tweeter, a years salary.
AH, you have on several occasion deliberately invented quotes … like boris johnson, and placed your inventions between the words of others. He, johnson needs help. You do too.
Skwawkbox readers can find my accurate words. No decent nor “well balanced” person would slander as you do. You do EXACTLY as the slanderers of Jeremy did. They are not unwell in the mind. They know what they do. While they were forever crying theatrically and saying with more amateur dramatics, how frightened they were etc, you appear in need of professional help. Seek it.
The waiting lists are very long, but phone your GP. They will call back and put you in the right direction. Be honest with them. There is no shame in finding these four years crushing. Plus I get the impression you may have been in the political battle for many decades.
But please seek help – WHILE STILL FREE. Other phone services Mind and Sane can be helpful. Accept you need help AH, and many will try to help, even during Covid-19 Tory horrors 🌹🌹🌹
Join the Labour Party so that if enough of us in a branch outnumber the incumbent Cllrs that are selling us down the river, we can see them off, and you or somebody we trust could be our candidates and be the next Labour Cllrs. Unless you join the Party and trigger them, the choice would be between Tories an rotten Labour Cllrs. The possibility to change is in your hand,. you can be the next Cllr.
Signpost, I copied and pasted EXACTLY what you said, and you said that Lees is pursuing legal action against Cummings, and NOW you claim that you DIDN’T say that, and that I am deliberately misquoting you. Yep, you’re a rotten little devious and despicable shill alright, and I realised THAT within a month or two after you first started posting on here.
So perhaps you’d like to copy and paste what you said and include it in a response to me. No, thought not, you lying little black propaganda shill!
Here’s a link to the comment in which signpost said what I quoted him as saying, which he NOW denies saying, and not only THAT, but accuses me of fabricating, and then finishes by saying I need professional help etc:
https://skwawkbox.org/2020/05/24/video-cummings-heckled-by-own-neighbours-over-disregard-for-lock-down-rules/#comment-147121
I hope that next year in May 2021 we refuse to vote for Labour candidates that aren’t better than Tories. We don’t need to vote for Tories either; we just need to abstain and see Labour majorities tumble down without our votes.
Let’s see if without our help canvassing and campaigning David Evans can work his “magic” and win extra seats for Labour in Hollyrood for example.
Let’s prepare ourselves for a repeat of 2016 but in reverse, this time it would be the left challenging Starmer and winning the leadership.
Not much use winning the leadership Maria, if the Blairites still control the party machine.
Labour can’t be held responsible for corruption outside the party while in opposition but if it can’t defeat corruption within itself how can it possibly deserve to be in government?
I’m not even convinced Labour’s worth resuscitating.
I think a change to the employment rights of staff in political parties is needed.
Got to find a way to ditch staff or elected officials on the spot who work against the elected leader or the manifesto, gerrymander the membership or deliberately bugger the party’s election chances.
Seems unethical for the party of the workers to reduce employment rights but keeping Tory moles out of the only party that speaks for the many is by far the greater good.
The first step has to be retaking the 9 CLP positions available in the NEC. The second step is to retain our majorities in the Regional Boards.
Then is a question of running capability procedures on all the employees that don’t follow the instructions of the NEC and the Regional Boards.
It can be done, by following the rules of the labour party and employment law. The question is as to whatever our left representatives have the stomach for the fight to reclaim our Party or no.
The right of the PSOE tried to retake the Party, they even changed the keys of access to HQ in Madrid and forced Pedro Sanchez to resign. The rank and file membership fought back and now against the wishes of the PSOE’s machine and grandees the membership forced a coalition between PSOE and Podemos.
Perhaps, the Brits need to forget the stiff upper lip and develop what we have: a stiff neck and stiff knees, we don’t bow down and we don’t kneel.
Yes Maria, absolutely correct. If members only campaigned and canvassed for candidates they believed in. I strongly suspect the political profile of the PLP would improve considerably, and, eventually, its electability.
In my area, for example, incumbents like Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper would find it very difficult if Left members didn’t work hard on their campaigns. We need to be as ruthless and strategic as those who fear (and despise?) us were against Corbyn in 2019.
Yes, it might cost us a majority or two, but we’d de-infest our party and reconnect it with its communities and causes.
totally agree qwertboi. Seems obvious for ages. And am desperate we sharpen positive attitudes. So people don’t cave in. We have nothing to lose.
🌹🌹🌹
Love your optimism Maria but it’s not going to happen. Corbyn on the ballot paper was a mistake that will not be allowed to happen again under the present set up.
Under the present rules: 10% of the PLP can select a challenger, second conditions either 3 Trade Unions with 5% of the membership or 33 CLPs need to endorse and them is OMOV.
We have the necessary 10% in the PLP and perhaps enough Trade Unions we lose big in 2021 could be persuaded to support a challenger, perhaps even 33 CLPs.
Hence, it Labour loses are big enough it could happen.
Maria – I doubt it will happen, an easy enough mistake to make but the 10% only applies when there is a vacancy. As per the last election. (2019 Rule Book)
If there is an incumbent (a hostile bid to replace a current leader) it requires 20% of the PLP to make the challenge. That’s quite a high hurdle to overcome and I guess that’s what kept Tom Watson in office for so long.
I guess that’s what kept Tom Watson in office for so long
No. YOU kept Watson in for so long by your acquiescence over his EU shithousery while you gave the impression you were unhappy about his antisemitism shitstirring as a cover
YOU and your 70% who were bent on keeping the party in the european union – whatever the cost.
Even if it meant losing an election and reverting to bliarism.
And you’re even playing the same card now, with your pretend mitigating plea for voting starmer. You had NO intention of voting for anybody else, but try to kid in that he was best of a bad bunch, hoping we’re all the gullible thickos you and your 70% have us down as.
The Toffee (597) at 7:26 am
Are you incapable of anything else but ranting.
Calling you out isn’t ‘ranting’. That’s the default tactic of every weasel: ”Don’t listen to him/her, they’re mad…MAD I TELLS YA!”
Ok then, we’ll play it your way… What part of the ‘rant’ isn’t true, stevey?
Oh, and do be sure to go into detail why. (If you can)
SteveH, when Corbyn was challenged in 2016 it wasn’t a vacancy, was it? So your boy Starmer can be challenged, it is only a question:
1-how big labour lost next year all over including in London. So much for Sadiq demanding the People’s Vote for Corbyn and now accepts the conditions of Boris regarding free travel for children under 18 years of age and restrictions to travel on Freedom pass holders.
2- the members of the socialist campaign group have the appetite to challenge Starmer.
I am no going to vote Tory or any other Party for that matter, but I will only vote Labour if I trust the candidate. Otherwise, staying home and abstaining.
Maria – I was quite polite by intimating that you’d made a mistake rather than just pointing out that you obviously didn’t know what you were talking about. Why would you just ignore the ref I made to the Rule Book. It is disappointing that you couldn’t exhibit a similar level of courtesy.
page 21 Labour Party rule Book 2019
Chapter 4
Elections of national officers of the Party and national committees
Clause II.
Procedural rules for elections for national officers of the Party
2. Election of leader and deputy leader
B. Nomination
i. In the case of a vacancy for leader or deputy leader, each nomination must be supported by 10 per cent of the ombined
Commons members of the PLP and members of the EPLP and either:
a) 5 per cent of CLPs; or
b) At least 3 affiliates (at least 2 of which
shall be trade union affiliates)
compromising 5 per cent of affiliated
membership
Nominations not attaining the thresholds
under either a or b above shall be null and void.
ii. Where there is no vacancy, nominations may be sought by potential challengers each year prior to the annual session of Party conference. In this case any nomination must be supported by 20 per cent of the combined Commons members of the PLP and members of the EPLP. Nominations not attaining this threshold shall be null and void. The sitting Leader or Deputy Leader shall not be required to seek nominations in the event of a challenge under this rule.
iii. CLP nominations under 2.B.i.a above………
Maria, there’s a bit more to it than londinium. Slimy starmer’s got a whole country to convince; and those that don’t bother with mainstream media fawning over starmer’s alleged ‘forensics’ are far from convinced by him.
Sure, the toerags are haemorrhaging support, but starmer’s not gaining any impetus and nobody I’ve spoken to is convinced by him, nor are they likely to be.
As it is, starmer’s already ensuring he’ll be ‘in situ’ until the next general election (And probably after when he loses it, using Corbyn’s run in two GEs as an excuse to cling to the throne) by filling high profile, high-ranking posts with his cronies and eliminating any trace of democracy and socialism that remains, therefore it’s highly unlikely anyone will challenge him in future as we know how the right have previously manoeuvered to stitch the gaff up in their favour. Well that part’s complete, starmer’s proved as much.
Everything that was gained is now gone, including hope. Regardless of the size and scope of any losses made in ’21 , it’ll be academic due to the right’s stranglehold on that party. Herod has killed all the firstborns, the prophecy was wrong.
Forget it, Maria. It’s Chinatown for the democratic and socialist element within that party. Time to start anew.
Until the members realise that electing bought and paid for members of the establishment like Blair ( now a multi millionaire with the blood of millions on his hands), like Miliband who despite his mealy mouthed promises still pandered to the right wing string pullers and now the bought and paid for knight of the realm will only work to the tune of their masters in the establishment.
The members who voted for this cretin were warned over and over again what his agenda was, and it was nothing to do with maintaining the policies of the only socialist leader that represented the poor, the most vulnerable in society instead of paying lip service to it.
How times have you witnessed on this site the supporters of the puppet of Rockefeller trot out as many excuses as possible for him. As it was stated some time ago, he will cause the destruction of the democratic socialist Labour Party by a thousand cuts to transmute it back in another side of the same political coin similar to the two sides of the business party in the US which has governed it for over 40 years just like in the U.K.
If enough of us leave the Labour Party and start a new one, we might be getting somewhere
That’s a very big IF.
I don’t give much for your chances.
True TomL and I think the Forward Momentum initiative is a good starting point .
I suspect / hope that as the years progress then as more and more outrageous decisions will be taken by the RW bastards who now run the Party Admin that the trickle will become a flood to leave .
However , there must be in place first a viable alternative organisation , not one run by the likes George Galloway, well intentioned he is but just not credible , but one perhaps evolving out of Forward Momentum .
Pointless starting a new party whilst we have FPTP. It’ll never get enough votes to take constituencies. We’d end up like the Greens. In proper PR systems we could all quit Labour and establish a proper leftwing party and gain seats in parliament, there’s enough people nationwide who support proper left policies. My membership is hanging like a very thin thread until the result of ‘the enquiry’ in July, when I fully expect that thread to snap, and I’ll be out.
I’m alright it’s the others, said a very good friend to me in 1981
I really dont get not fighting for manifesto and JC legacy
I really dont get not lining up a challenge in 12 months if ‘the others on here’ are right
The indisputable fact is our ONLY chance is to organise, recruit and vote to seize back our party
Regards
Could not agree with u more on this Doug.🌹🌹🌹
Support the Forward Momentum initiative , make it a rallying point and home for the many disparate Left WIng groups and when strong enough break-out and leave the Labour Party to start a new more representative Democratic Socialist party that does really represent the Many and not the few .
It will take time but as one can see the wind of change is being utterly stalled within the Labour Party and this will continue apace now with the new Right Wing bastard as the GS ,, ffs appointed not voted for or approved at all by the membership , Evans has NO MANDATE whatsoever to govern or run the party NONE ! Not until every member has had an input and a voice he is an imposter and squatter in the GS chair .
However , imo the continued witch hunt just makes things easier to recruit more and more members to the folds of the Forward Momentum home, and the eventual split by the Left away from the hollow shell that the Corporate Spivs like Stoma and Tory wanabees like gobshite Phillips and slime ball Ashworth plus all the other usual suspects have turned a once workers party into … a hollow worthless … shell .
Surely even the most optimistic socialist should see the appointment of the apparently corrupt, definitely deeply cronyist, (from the evidence in this Skwawkbox article) Blairite creature, David Evans, to the key Party role of General Secretary – in charge of our entire Party machine – must recognise that the game is now up for any Left future in a party now firmly heading back to the bad old, Tory-litre, institutionally corrupt, neoliberal status quo-supporting days of Blair and Brown. Soon the billionaire money will replace the need for many ordinary members, and the Party will become a simulacrum of the utterly corrupt US Democratic Party.
Gawd – what a total scumbag this Evans character appears to undoubtedly be ! And the ideas-free Tory-lite woodentop creature of the Trilateral Commission, Starmer, as Leader – and a Shadow Cabinet now awash with neoliberal careerist dross . Anyone staying inside Labour now claiming to be seriously anticipating in our lifetime to be able to restore it to any of its brief Corbynist era policy agendas, is either delusional, or , like too many of those in both competing wings of the current Momentum internal power battle, just two variants of self-serving Left Liberal careerist opportunist – hoping to pose ‘Left’ as so many Labour Right Wingers have in their day – until the popular power base so built floats them into being an MP – and then the predictable shift to ‘moderation, always follows. Hard to believe that even Margaret Hodge , David Blunkett, Alan Milburn, and so many others, traversed this careerist path in their day.
A genuine radical Left Party needs to be built , bloody hard, almost impossibly hard, as that is in the current UK socioeconomic context. But staying inside Labour, and putting in endless fruitless campaigning hours, with the likes of the Tory-lite creature, David Evans , in charge of the Party machine, is a fools errand – GUARANTEED to fail. Of course, as many have already said – IF Jeremy Corbyn and Abbott and John McDonnell, Lavery, and Trickett, left Labour and launched a radical Left Party , even on a mild reforming 2017 Manifesto style Corbynite agenda , it could have a 100,000 members in weeks . But those career Labour Old ‘radical ‘Lefties simply will not ever do that. For them the verbal radicalism is just that – a 40 year pose, and a personally non-risky, very well remunerated pose at that. The only target audience for a radical Left party has to be deeper into the poorer working class – exactly the people too many on the entirely middle class, professional, trendy EU-loving, identity politics ridden, Left Liberal ‘radical’ pseudo Left actually deeply despises and can never actually make contact with. Quite a challenge – if the utter failures of past radical projects like Left Unity and Respect are not to simply be repeated ad nauseam.
Brilliant stuff jpenney- Keep going!
this is what voting for Stoma means,, well done you have stolen the party from whom it should be representing , you have won nothing but a hollow shell of a victory .Tory lite will win nothing , not in 2024 nor 2029 and thence after will be irrelevant as the Tories will by then have cemented their hold on power forever by gerrymandering the electoral system and the new generations will know of no other type of Govt .
Centrist rejoice you careerists are guaranteed a cushy life of non Govt , never in the position of having to actually do something useful , nil responsibility and noses deep in the trough of money sucking it up , and the membership ,,, fuck em who needs them anyway , all they need is 4 or 5 billionaires and a couple of RW Unions ( GMB, Unison ) to keep the coffers just full enough to prevent bankruptcy…. cxxxs all of em .Chris Williamson was and always has been right , was just a matter of time .
I’m furious, shaking and murderous after seeing who is GS? Starmers friend and another right winger? The NEC has been stolen, Starmer today refused to sign the letter sent to BoJo demanding he sack Cummings, 6 other opposition leaders signed it.a few weeks ago the right said they hoped the Corbynites would follow him out of the party, they don’t want or need us now Starmer is being funded by Trevor Chinn an Israeli activist who funded Watson, Umunna, Phillips etc and the tinge group?
I think I read too that conference won’t go ahead this year either. I just hope Chinn is going to leaflet ,phone and doorstep in 2024 because I don’t know anyone in the 15 Labour groups I’m in on Facebook are going to do it. The workers, poor, homeless and zero hours workers are without a party now!
A leaked memo from this David Evans proposed that representative democracy should as far as possible be ‘abolished in the party’ which it was suggested would ‘empower modernising forces within the party’ and marginalise “Old Labour”.
That’s what we’re dealing with now, it’s not a party I want any part of, so what to do? New parties have been needed and started many times, it all comes to nothing.
I’m usually a very upbeat person and an optimist, this has floored me!
The Labour party has just become a Business for Carreerists MPs and now the Party machine who also have lofty ambitions.None of it for the oppressed working class.We never needed a democratic socialist labour party more than now,and were is it other than printed on my worn out cheap looking membership card.?I am retired from Business and can’t get my head around all the public schoolboys and girls wishing to involve me in Business and a dynamic hard sell Labour . Party machine..My expensive international Labour party membership runs out in june and I wonder if I should being as I am bored with the idea of Business?.I am already mr semi detatched so no loss just a deep sadness for all of this madness..
Isn’t it likely that the NEC elections will be cancelled along with the conference? I wonder how long the OMOV rules for the leadership will persist .. Are we waiting for the purges to begin? Blair and Mandelson have got their party back. Starmer has just moved more quickly to the R than expected but I am surprised that Angela Rayner has shown her true colours so soon.
syzygysue – This what the NEC didn’t decide at their last meeting.
The decisions over whether to hold regular NEC elections this summer and whether to adopt a single transferable vote (STV) system have been deferred. https://labourlist.org/2020/05/labours-ruling-body-agrees-to-cancel-conference-due-to-covid-19/
I live in hope because the NEC elections just don’t have any ‘Covid-19 issues. I just can’t see any possible justification to cancel them.
Another thing that needs sorting out is the current nonsense whereas the newly elected NEC members can’t take up their new posts until after conference. Who thought up the f’wit idea that newly elected NEC members can’t assume their new posts immediately. What it means is that those who loose their seats (the ones just rejected by the membership) are the ones who will be deciding the agenda for the next 12 months instead of those who are newly elected. Is it any wonder that members get pissed off when conference is always at least one year behind in expressing their wishes. Is it any wonder that the status-quo of entrenched factions persists when members see policies pass through conference that they have rejected at the ballot box..
This was a very close run election.that could so easily have gone the other way
with only two votes in it. The vote was split 16 to 20 in favour of Evans over left’s candidate Byron Taylor.
The Scottish leader Richard Leonard was absent, Peter Willsman remains suspended. GMB’s two votes were decisive, as well as that of Welsh Labour’s Mick Antoniw.
Theres your answer GMB
If the left cant organise more than 3% of GMB members to vote for their candidate then this is what happens
Just a suggestion: get rid of that broad Church thingy. It really invites people to sit on the fence or leaves a ‘good’ excuse not to change anything. Also a cop out not to have to do anything because it has always been like it.
I also thought that Labour was/is a party promoting cooperation with other countries, look at international brigades, etc rather than a party happy to join the tories in isolation politics or a selective symbiotic relationship with the US or something related to the ‘glorious’ past of the Empire.
Starmer has a track record which no amount of feeble excuses by his zealot supporters on this site or anywhere else will eradicate. I have, yet, to hear them excuse away his persecution of the political prisoner Julian Assange. I have yet to hear a satisfactory explanation why he is a member of the Trilaterals ( a right wing anti democratic billionaire funded American organisation) apart from its “ it’s only a talking shop” which plainly it is not by its track record.
Moreover, the feeble excuses trotted out to justify his refusal to accept democratic decisions does not wash either. Now, the latest is the appointment of 100% Blairite appointee as general secretary. The democratic socialist Labour Party members plus supporters are hearing similar feeble excuses trotted out by the usual suspects to support a bought and paid for member of the establishment.
When he and Progress, Labour First, the Blairites, “ moderates and centrists “ finally succeed in turning it into another one side of the same coin business party, just like New Labour was, will they still continue to trot out feeble excuses as was in the case with Tony Blair’s supporters!
Doug – It’s amazing the mandate and influence that some union leaders claim for themselves. eg less than 6% of Unite’s membership voted McCluskey into office.
brianbotou at 10:05 am
I have yet to hear a satisfactory explanation why he is a member of the Trilaterals
I have yet to see anyone, apart from the self appointed guardians of ‘the left’, who’s really bothered one way or t’other
If this organisation is such a danger then what would posses Jeremy to appoint Keir to his front bench twice? If this organisation is so dangerous then why did neither JLB or LN challenge him about it during the leadership election?
Moreover, the feeble excuses trotted out to justify his refusal to accept democratic decisions does not wash either.
Exactly which democratic decisions are you referring to?
Hmm, it appears you are totally ignorant of the history of the Trilaterals, and “ the guardians of the left” as you are so quick to dismiss care about democracy something your beloved knight of the realm seems not too. In his participation in the Chicken Coup his refusal to accept the democratic referendum result as been pointed out to you many many times by the posters on this site.
In addition, you will notice who amongst many are also members of the Trilaterals Henry Kissinger plus Jeffrey Epstein. One a war criminal, the other a sexual predator, black mailer. Besides of course Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisor to Carter who orchestrated the Mujahadeen which transmuted into the terrorist group Al Qaeda . These people do not believe in democracy as Professor Antony C Sutton wrote and explained in great detail in “ Trilaterals over Washington “ which you were offered free downloads to some time ago which , evidently, you haven’t read neither has JC,JLB orLN otherwise they would know how pernicious this anti democratic right wing organisation is.
Moreover, you have not answered the charge about Starmer persecuting the political prisoner, Julian Assange, as Starmer’s E-Mail confirmed when addressing the Swedish authorities reluctance to continue with the facade about pursuing him “ don’t you dare get cold feet…” I now awaiting feeble excuses to be trotted out.
Unions have far too much influence on Labour.
Union members have the same vote as everyone else plus an extra proxy vote via their union.
Union leaders build their careers negotiating with bosses and even ex-firebrands learn to reach accommodations with capitalism.
The higher in the union officials get the higher the salary and the cushier their lives become.
High salaries and cushy lives turn people into conservatives.
When they reach the top they get to control all those proxy votes.
It’s not a system likely to favour socialism.
Steve H, my mistake so the rules have changed and now we need 20% of the PLP to mount a challenge, that is 41 MPs nominating so we are short of less than 10. If the loses to Labour at next year’s elections are massive they would be plenty of MPs making calculations as to whatever they will survive with Starmer as leader and who knows perhaps they even challenge him for the right, believing that is what we need, or join the left to challenge him.
It depends how big the loses are.
Starmer showing his true colours too quickly, isn’t going to help him in the mid and long run. He could say “party unity” all he likes. He was helped by the fact that the other two contenders for the leadership weren’t much to chose from. So many like myself were willing to give him a chance.
After the way he is refusing to suspend pending investigation the members that allegedly conspire against Labour to lose the GE 2017, plus engaging in racist language, no a change I will unite with racist inside the Party.
Plus this time, trade unions could be persuaded to join in if the loses are massive and ask for his resignation, so it could bring us to a 10% for a challenge. It is a question of organising well and to whatever we follow the example of the rank and file of the PSOE or we only moan without doing much about it.
Marie – So your plan is to sabotage the local elections next year to win back the party, why does that have such a familiar ring to it. I’m pretty sure that will go down with the electorate just as well as the self same plan did when the RW did it against Jeremy. The RW succeeded in getting rid of Jeremy but at the cost of another Tory government. Is that a price you are willing for others to pay. If so you should be ashamed of yourself.
”The RW succeeded in getting rid of Jeremy but at the cost of another Tory government. Is that a price you are willing for others to pay. If so you should be ashamed of yourself.”
WHY are you going on about the right wing as though you’re not one with them?
Are YOU ashamed of yourself for neither saying nor doing the sum total of fuck-all when your beloved starmer and watson openly plotted against Corbyn and DELIBERATELY ruined the last election campaign?
No? Then shut your fucking cave, hypocritical bellend.
Toffee – were you admiring your fine physique in the mirror when you typed that.
What is the difference between having a Tory-lite Labour government and a Tory government? I tell you, with Blair we kept quiet because he was our leader, inequality under Blair between rich and poor rose exponentially.
Blair introduced PFI on the NHS with gusto, it is part of the reason the NHS is in deficit because a lot of the budget is used to pay for PFI at very high interest.
We saw Margaret Thatcher off when she tried to impose the Poll Tax, we will see Johnson or any Tory again if they don’t keep their grabby hands of the NHS. Hence, from my perspective better Tory than fake Labour, that is what Starmer is in my eyes. So in reply to your question I am very proud of myself.
Are you still proud to have voted for Starmer? Are you going to carry on justifying him? Because he isn’t taking us back to membership of the EU that is for sure. So why you don’t carry on demanding that Starmer pushes Johnson for a People’s Vote?
Maria – Maybe you don’t really believe its actually happened but we have already left the EU
Admittedly there hasn’t been many visible changes yet but that’s because we are still protected by the transitional deal. For the next few months we will continue to enjoy all the benefits of membership (apart from a say in anything). Maybe this is why you haven’t noticed we have already left.
Perhaps the penny will drop for you when come the end of the year when we will no longer enjoy all the benefits, privileges and rights that our EU membership afforded us all.
Why would I want to waste my time on what is for the foreseeable a dead issue.
I was a staunch advocate for Remain and I have accepted that we have unfortunately already left the EU so I find it rather amusing that you an advocate for Leave is still unable to accept the reality that we are no longer a member state of the EU.
Maria could you clarify your last 2 paragraphs please , I am struggling to grasp your end point , are you now regretting your decision to vote for Starmer?
This is not me being triumphant it’s about whether comrades are beginning to learn and hence make the right decisions going forward .
Sadly I suspect that we , the Left , will never make the necessary % to challenge Starmer , simply because now with the RW back in such force and control they will simply amend the rules to up the % required and find some way round the requirement for the membership to approve it . Just look at the way this years Conference has been denied to us ( even in a rudimentary on-line format perhaps ) ,and hence you can bet all the decisions will happen now behind closed doors .
Just what is the point of the Labour Party under Starmers barmy army ??? I don’t see one any more ….none !
The poor ,the vulnerable ,the disadvantaged and the working class no longer have a Party that represents them .
It has been stolen by vacuous self centred , shallow , primped and buffed to an inch of perfection (Evans a perfect example of emptiness over any substance ) , individuals only interested in their careerist advancement and the hoovering up of the money .
Snouts in the trough RW MPs , ( I refuse to use the term Moderates or Centrists , that , they are not ! )
Chris Williamson was/is right , it just took a little time for that to sink in and become reality .
Support Forward Momentums initiative ( I whole heartedly do and so does John McD ) and create the necessary organisation for the Left to rally round, gather enough support and momentum to break away and succeed with a new Democratic Socialist party . There isn’t a way to get these RW Tory fuckers out of Labour , just see the last 4 years for proof of that impossibility .
Rob, I never voted for Starmer, I voted for RLB holding my nose. However, when he won the leadership, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but after he refused to suspend the high pay party officials pending investigation. His seating on the fence on re-opening schools, his lack of support for UBI, I can see a return to New Labour. After the way they sabotaged Corbyn’s leadership, I don’t see why we own Starmer any loyalty.
As for the last two paragraphs, I guess than you maybe are under 35 years of age? I explain in the late 1980’s Thatcher introduced the Poll Tax, such was the public outrage that ordinary people took to the streets and revolted. She was forced to abolish the Poll Tax and the Tory MPs forced her to stand down.
We never revolted in the same way against Blair because he was our leader, we kept the Party line, holding our noses, despite demonstrating against the intervention in Iraq, but we never revolted against PFI for example, or the lack of public housing..
Hence, it would be easier to protect the NHS and to revolt against public service cuts with Tories in government, that with a labour leader like Starmer in government.
Look at the example of the French, Macron has a bigger parliamentary majority that Johnson. But when he tried to increase the age of retirement, to increase the working weekly hours and increase VAT the French workers took to the streets and won the fight.
The last paragraph was in response to Steve H, that expended his time campaigning for a People’s Vote. He should carry on campaigning for stopping Brexit and re-joining the EU. Why stop know, when he has the leader that promoted staying in the EU? Steve H should carry on pushing Starmer to deliver on the People’s vote and ensure that Starmer carries on supporting staying in the EU. If would be dishonest otherwise to push Corbyn but no pushing Starmer, wouldn’t it?
Rob – “you can bet all the decisions will happen now behind closed doors “
Given the block votes that the Trade Unions posses most things have in reality been stitched-up well away from prying eyes and accountability for years.
What makes you “rebuilders” think that while you’re recruiting raggedy-arsed peasants from the sticks for another shot at the evil empire, the Blairites won’t be further strengthening Fortress Southside with professionally trained right wing mercenaries guarding every entrance?
I’d have thought you’d be sick of paying the wages of our enemy’s troops.
David – What makes you “rebuilders” think
I don’t think their plans have got quite as far as the thinking stage yet.
Anyone knows the point of Robert Peston? What’s Peston for?
RH, McNiv, SH + those who never read my post, need not reply. After all u r already stuffed with posts. u love them, can’t get enough😂😂😂
But seriously, point of Peston❓ Wastes so much time and space.
Seriously gets my goat🤬🤬🤬
Heard someone on talkradio or lbc expressing my same exasperation re Peston about 40 minutes ago.