Emergence of questions over history of shady group’s favoured candidate and sour grapes at popularity of black woman candidate from the left prompted decision to set fire to process, say Labour insiders
The SKWAWKBOX earlier announced the breaking news that the Labour party had barred all three shortlisted women candidates from the party’s selection process to stand for Labour in May’s mayoral election. A right-stacked panel had made the decision and emailed members without even informing the prospective candidates.
One of the three had come under scrutiny over connections to a firm with unaccounted cash income and outgoings and which had awarded £20,000 to an organisation that then used it to employ her daughter. But the decision to bar all the candidates – including the popular left-winger Anna Rothery, who would have become the UK’s first black woman mayor if selected – has provoked outrage among Labour members and anti-racism activists in Liverpool and around the country.
Now, the SKWAWKBOX can reveal that the decision to abort the process and rule out Rothery has been driven by an ‘unholy alliance’ of right-wingers with the north-west ‘fixers’ who have previously been referred to as a Labour ‘mafia’ because of their tactics in stacking selection contests in favour of their preferred candidates – and a prominent Labour figure with designs on the party’s national leadership position.
One insider told SKWAWKBOX:
The right didn’t want a pro-Corbyn Mayor and got into bed with people who style themselves left but are all about building their own power base, a real unholy alliance. When they realised they were not going to be able to get their favourite through, they decided to set fire to the whole thing and start again and to hell with the racism it shows or the reputational damage it will cause the candidates or the party.
Another corroborated the information:
The right didn’t want Rothery, especially after she came out for Jeremy [Corbyn]’s reinstatement. And the mafia linked to [MP with leadership ambitions] saw their own pick was blown and had never been as popular as they’d assumed in the first place. With all those ambitions looking set to be thwarted and a plan B candidate in their pocket, they blew the whole thing apart.
The ‘mafia’ group is believed to have alternative candidates lined up that they hope to force through in the re-started shortlisting process – while the Labour right wants to run down the clock by delaying the process until the mayoral election is so close that the now right-dominated National Executive Committee (NEC) can impose a candidate to their liking.
The ‘mafia’ group has increasingly been building alliances with factions who backed Yvette Cooper for the leadership in 2015 and Lisa Nandy in 2019/20. Its aim is to turn the north-west into a power-base ready for when a senior, notionally-‘soft left’ MP with whom the group is closely aligned launches a bid for the national party leadership.
The interests and wishes of Labour members in Liverpool are of no relevance to the people involved in these manoeuvres.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to without hardship, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Come on, come out into the open!
Show yourselves.
If those two names mentioned weren’t involved, it’s a bit unfair on them. But if they were…
Although it’s good information for those who are unaware, it’s not news to those of us who have had a run-in with the right wing Labour NW in the past.
To be successful in today’s Labour Party you need two hats. One right wing to fool Southside and the campaign donors and one left wing to fool the CLP and the electorate.
Who can this ‘senior, notionally soft left MP, with designs on the national party leadership’ be ? I think we should be told.
Two names are mentioned, in the article.
I’m sure it’s not Yvette Cooper.
I’m trying to think of a NW MP who might have form as a serial disloyalist, with leadership ambitions these days…..
We need to know to name and shame. They have question s to answer.
Prolly Wes Streeting or someone like that! 😏
Surprised if either of those 2 named have given up their own leadership ambitions. Why should they back ****** ******? if it be s/he?
Who is it?
We need names and numbers Steve, names and numbers…
Burnham?
Raynor or Reeves.
Who will the ‘shoe-in’ be ? Blair ?
Can the Party sink any lower? Disgraceful and embarrassing. LP members don’t put out chairs and tables, no more foot-slogging or cold calling. In fact change the locks. Who are these paragons: soft left, remainders, centrist, Blairites? Let them do the heavy lifting. Keep your money. These people will feel it if we worked full-time for any opponent. Turn their tactics back onto them. Vermin!
They are indeed vermin, and should never be let near a party of the Left.
burnham for sure. The only soft left (centre) northerner with some popularity in the region.
Burnham is the mayor of Greater Manchester.
We have no idea who the right are grooming for Liverpool City Region, but we sure as hell know which MP with leadership ambitions is involved in this situation. And she is not a Merseyside MP…..
So spill the beans then! Rayner? God, you’re as bad as Skwawk!
https://thegreatcritique.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/well-this-tweet-hath-not-aged-like-the-finest-armagnac-hath-it-cheggers/
This Starmer person don’t look too consistent, do he?
Note the Liverpool LP MP’s that don’t seem to mind the stench of shite that is now the LP. It would appear that the removal of democracy and accountability suits them very well now that they’re on the gravy train. It’s been like this for a couple of years, especially in Wavertree.
The film makers who produced the film for distribution on SB have themselves been victimised. Lets not forget that Phil Maxwell received an apology from a local councillor, after the police intervened, Haz, the Bame rep on the CLP, suspended. They also produced a promotional film for our current MP when she stood in the Gen Election. It didn’t stop her sticking the boot in though after she was criticised for apologising, and perpetuating the myth of anti-Semitism in Wavertree.