Yvonne Davies, who resigned from the party last week over its failure to protect women or serve local people, releases letter ignored by Labour mayoral candidate
Former Sandwell Council leader Yvonne Davies has accused Labour’s West Midlands Mayor candidate of “self-serving hypocrisy” for his failure to support her in resolving her suspension from the Labour Party. Davies resigned her party membership last week, accusing Labour of failing to protect women or serve local people.
Davies, who had originally supported Byrne in the selection of Labour’s mayoral candidate, has released a letter that she sent to Mr Byrne in September last year, to which he did not respond.
Ms Davies said:
Mr Byrne was keen to associate himself with my suspension in July last year, being quoted in the press and asking for the matter to be dealt with quickly. I wrote to him shortly afterwards and he responded on 16 July saying “I have escalated this with Keir’s office”. He wrote to me again on 17th August to say he had urged David Evans, the general secretary of the Labour Party of the need for, “good people to get stuck in and get a grip of the bad business in Sandwell. fingers crossed, LB”.
With still no response from the party, Davies wrote Byrne a long letter setting out why she was being victimised and again asking him to intervene to get the matters resolved. In that letter she:
- described discriminatory and unequal treatment to which she had been subjected as a working-class woman compared to the ‘perverse impunity of male Labour councillors engaged in actual wrong-doing in Sandwell enjoyed, all of which is known to you and the party’
- said she was having ‘real difficulty in reconciling [his] silence on the injustices levelled against [her] ‘considering you are fully aware of the ‘bad business’ in Sandwell that I as Leader was working on cleaning up
- accused him of ‘self-serving hypocrisy’ for failing to support her while his mayoral campaign manifesto “talks of Values and Compassion and Justice and making things real”
Davies received no response to her letter and says that she now considers “self-serving hypocrisy” to be a fitting strapline for Mr Byrne’s mayoral campaign given that he ‘did not lift a finger in the following 7 months’. She adds that she is aware that other local women have similarly written to Mr Byrne about her treatment by the party without receiving a response and that many women have approached her to start a protest campaign regarding the party’s failure to support women.
Below is the text of the letter:
Dear Liam,
It’s now nearly 6 weeks since we last corresponded, when you said that you hoped for a speedy resolution, ‘fingers crossed’. It’s actually nearly three months since I was suspended on the basis of malicious and false allegations of antisemitism and still I have had no response from the party other than a confirmation that it had received my first response on the 10th July, not even an acknowledgement of my second response on 22nd July.
I’ve always supported and respected you Liam and I apologise in advance for the directness of what I am about to say, but I feel I must bring matters to a head. I’ve worked in public services all my life and supported many people through disciplinary processes. You know as well as I do that if we were supporting any individual, as a party or as a trade union, we would publicly shame any organisation that demonstrated such a cavalier disregard for its own processes and such a lack of care for the person concerned – let alone a female council leader who has bravely led principled change, despite being subjected to a long and well-documented campaign of bullying and victimisation from senior men in the Sandwell Group over many years.
Your Mayoral Campaign manifesto talks of Values and Compassion and Justice and making things real. Values, Compassion and Justice are about the way you treat individuals Liam, and words are hollow if you can’t model the change you want to make real. Anything else is self-serving hypocrisy. Here’s just a few things you could sort out straight away given your involvement in my case and your place at the very top of the party.
1. Whilst being suspended over allegations of anti-semitism, which I challenge and refute in the strongest terms, I have also been told (8th July) that I have been accused of bullying, but I haven’t been given even a single iota of what these allegations are, who my accuser/accusers are, in complete violation of the rules of natural justice, rendering me unable to defend myself against what I can only assume are unfounded allegations. Why haven’t I been told what these are?
2. How can it be right, Cllr Paul Moore, in violation of the party’s rules, told the Express and Star newspaper of his formal complaint against me? No action has been taken against Cllr Moore for breaching my data in contravention of the DPA 2018, no disciplinary action as far as I’m aware has been taken against him for also breaching confidentiality rules of the party. Why has he not been disciplined?
3. Every communication I have received from the Disputes team has always stressed that: “The Labour Party’s investigation process operates confidentially,” it continues thus: “is vital to ensure fairness and to protect the rights of all concerned under the Data Protection Act 2018,” it strictly prohibits sharing any details: “with third parties or the media, including social media.” Why has this been flagrantly disregarded?
4. You will remember your press comments about my position when you urged the party to deal urgently with the matter…….“Labour MP John Spellar and Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne, Labour’s candidate for West Midlands Mayor, both urged their party to urgently deal with the matter.” You were very keen to be associated with the press reports at that time, but since then, the need for urgency pertaining to my suspension has apparently disappeared and you have said and done nothing to advance this matter at all. Why is that?
5. Why have fellow councillors who have made allegedly anti-semitic social media posts been allowed to continue in their roles with impunity? I’ve attached some of these, but I’m sure you have seen them before, certainly they’ve been reported as complaints to the Party before. I’m not going to stand in judgement over these – but there are some vile comments here compared to what I’ve been suspended for, but which appear to be not even worthy of investigation, let alone suspension? Why not Liam?
Despite my being forced to spend thousands on legal support, I’ve had no response to any of my requests to the party, including a SAR. This is unfair and unacceptable. It is unfair and unacceptable that I am being made a party pariah in this way. My patience is exhausted and I’m afraid I will genuinely have no choice, but to make public what I know. This includes the connivance of senior party people, to hide the truth about the Eling regime and who are even now lobbying to have due process terminated to protect those who have done wrong, or colluded, from facing the consequences of their actions.And let’s be clear about 1 thing: this is not a “factional”dispute – right v left as some would like to portray it. I’m laughably described (by Spellar and others) as being on the “left” but I have supported our party and its successive leaders nationally, locally and regionally with loyalty and enthusiasm for as long as I have been politically active. From Kinnock through Blair all the way to Jeremy Corbyn, my support for whomsoever holds the Labour leadership has been unwavering. This is despite the fact, in the case of Jeremy, the party will be aware, I financially supported the campaign of Owen Smith MP but being a loyal Labour woman, I accepted the election of Jeremy Corbyn in recognition of the democratic mandate he had been given.
Locally, I enthusiastically endorsed, encouraged other members to support your campaign to be our Labour Mayoral candidate because I believed and still do, you have the values, skills and passion to take our region forward.
No, this is not “factional” – it’s about values and principles and goes to the heart of what it means to be principled in public life. I’ve done my utmost as leader of Sandwell council to bring a values-based approach to public service, bringing transparency and clarity to party, executive and scrutiny roles, to the separation of party and council business, to the difference in role between elected members and council officers and above all else to instil an ethos based on “doing the right thing” and the primary role of elected members being to serve their communities, rather than to serve their own political interests. That we have people in the party who will apparently stop at nothing to reverse this, is indeed shameful.
Worse than that, it is an attempt to thwart proper process by those who are themselves facing standards hearings in regard to their actions in previous roles of seniority within the council.
At its heart is also misogyny, which I’ve faced for many years. In 2017 I was hounded out of the council chamber with the Leader, Eling, banging his stick on the table, orchestrating a chorus of “out, out, out”. My crime – to question the wisdom of bringing Richard Marshall – mate of Eling [who was declared bankrupt after failing to repay around £40,000 taken from a local widow] – into the Cabinet. The next meeting, I had Councillor Moore bawling “resign!” at me in public, waving his finger in my face threateningly, ultimately shouting in public all across the car park. To have me suspended, the Chief Whip used fabricated allegations – all of which were thrown out at my appeal.
Where is the outrage Liam? Where was the protection of my party and senior officials for me -a Labour woman under attack from masculine supremacy demonstrated by vicious bullying and intimidation, attempting to brow-beat me in to submission?
During my time as Leader, no officer of the council was able to walk away with 6-figure sums of tax-payer’s money, no officer of the council was bullied to comply with any element of illegal or unethical political interference, and no resources of the council were used to give licence to institutionalised racism of the most disgusting form, all of which took place under the Elling regime and all of which can be evidentially proven.
Liam, the discriminatory and unequal treatment to which I have been subjected to as a working-class woman is a disgrace when it is compared to the perverse impunity male Labour Councillors engaged in actual wrong-doing in Sandwell currently enjoy, all of which is known to you and the party, yet nothing has been said or done to address this heinous behaviour.
The realisation of the ill-treatment I am subjected to in return for years of tireless dedication to the Labour Party breaks my heart.
I have no interest myself in the leadership of Sandwell council and am happy to pass on the baton, and whilst I look forward to seeing you replace Andy Street in Summer Lane, I will not allow the party to walk away and leave me and my good character tarnished under such accusations.
I must, and I will, clear my name.
Unless this matter is concluded quickly, with my suspension lifted and the allegations concluded, I will use the mayoral campaign as a platform to draw attention to the failure to tackle malicious complaints, motivated solely by people who themselves are facing standards investigations into their conduct.
Considering you are fully aware of the ‘bad business’ in Sandwell that I as Leader was working on cleaning up, I am having real difficulty in reconciling your silence on the injustices levelled against me considering the excellent Labour values you displayed which led to me publicly supporting you in the selection race.
I will campaign to shine a spotlight on the institutional misogyny within the Party. This will include drawing attention to your own failure to intervene, to ensure the party has followed due process and given your deep understanding of just how bad this ‘bad business’ actually is, the dereliction of duty it represents on your part. I have a base of support in Sandwell and beyond and I will use it to point out that there is nothing radical or compassionate about a man who stands idly-by as party women in Sandwell are victimised and hounded by male bullies supported by the full weight of the Labour-party machine.
Many local residents who are themselves staunch Labour supporters and members have been utterly disgusted to see how an honest woman like me has been treated by the Labour Party to such an extent they have asked that I launch a campaign for justice. These are long standing Labour supporters. I have urged that the party be given time to conclude its own processes and I have said I am confident it will do the right thing……
Over the coming weeks and months, I will spearhead a campaign for transparency, public accountability and justice, asking: if you Liam cannot stand up for working-class women persecuted in Sandwell, how will you stand up for women wronged in our region?
From outside the Sandwell Council House, on the doorstep of other council houses across the region, outside your offices in Birmingham and London, to media agencies across the region, the truth of Sandwell Labour and the abusers of public office within it who act with impunity must be known to the public if the party and regrettably yourself Liam, personally fail to act upon what you know to be wrong.
Such abusers of women and violators of Labour values have no commitment to you or your campaign, they did not support Keir Starmer publicly, and in fact some of them are known to have assisted the Conservatives, some of them even served as Conservatives previously all to satisfy their own personal political aims.
Alternatively, I’m happy to put the full weight of my campaigning behind you, but you must do the right thing by me and Sandwell. This is not a “fingers-crossed” issues – it needs action to prove there is a better way.
The double-standards must stop and I turn to you Liam, in hope of a final plea for fairness and justice, I await your expeditious response.
Note, this is not a private and confidential letter and should I not hear from you and the party by the end of the month, I will publish it as an open letter.
Yours sincerely
Yvonne Davies
Yvonne Davies currently sits as an independent councillor in Sandwell since her resignation from the party, having resigned from the Labour Party last week. She told Skwawkbox:
People need to be aware when casting their votes for both Sandwell Council and the West Midlands Mayor that this is a Labour Party that does not protect women and a mayoral candidate who has done nothing to prevent the victimisation, and ultimately the sacrifice, of the only female Labour council leader in the Midlands, in order to bury the truth about political wrongdoing in Sandwell Council.
Liam Byrne was sent the full content of Ms Davies’ accusations for comment several days ago and asked to comment. At the time of writing, no response had been received.
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I wouldn’t trust Byrne as far as I could spit.
If only it was just sandwell..!
You’re right and it’s not just councils that are corrupted by the right. The Labour machine is rotten to the core.
Ms Davies and countless other members have a right to expect fair treatment from the organisation they pay membership subscriptions to. But they don’t get anything like equitable treatment. I note from the report that the misuse of members data is again a factor and that the ICO seem either to be powerless or disinterested. The message the party is sending out is one of ignoring any legal responsibilities that get in their way. How Labour is running the party, is an indication of how Starmer would govern if ever elected to PM.
Does the abuse of members rights violate the recommendations of the ECHR report that Starmer was very keen to sign up to, after cherry picking the bits he liked, then distorting them for his own purposes? Once again we’re back to funding lawyers, which for most people is prohibitively expensive and the party always use expensive London lawyers. To even try to fight back could mean putting your house on the line. Marc Wadsworth found this out and decided it was too high a price.
There are several legal cases going through the courts currently. Other members have challenged the party on separate but related issues and been unsuccessful, so I’m not optimistic that they will do any better. I hope I am wrong.
I’ve always supported and respected you Liam
An expensive lesson.
Byrne, according to the polls, bookies and local paper is due to lose……another slap in the face for Keith Starmer’s NuLabour who can expect many more shortly.
PS. Everyone knows there is something rotten in Labour West Midlands. When is someone going to do something about it?
Byrne wasn’t imposed on an unwilling West Midlands constituency, he was selected as Labour’s mayoral candidate in a democratic vote by the membership.
He’s still going to lose. Which should tell Keith something about his and the party’s direction of travel, who to place faith in and that it might be prudent to look for another job.
Given the fact that this report is about the mafia-like workings of the Labour Party in the West Midlands and the reluctance of a Labour Mayoral candidate to support someone targeted by this crowd (despite apparently having said that he was supportive), it seems odd that someone could think that the fact that Byrne was selected as the candidate is of any relevance to the discussion – Maybe the comment was added to the wrong thread.
Good.
Useless get isn’t fit to wipe arses, nevermind kiss them.
I financially supported the campaign of Owen Smith
Centrists are just as venal as their Tory cousins and always end up disappearing up their own arses
Just over a week to go
Labour Party disciplinary procedures are not worth the paper they are printed on.
Enough is now known about them to make this fact plain and clear for all to see.
I think it was Moshe Mackover, a Jewish member of the party, who last year did us the service of making public his letter of suspension from the Party, in which it tells the recipient that it should not be made public.
The fact that Mr Mackover was suspended because of accusations of anti-Semitic behaviour is enough to show the basic injustice of the system, and that it’s real purpose is to hide real injustices, and protect the perpetrators on a sectarian/sectional basis. It is a disgrace and affront to civilized and democratic values.
On another note, this week, on Pointless, only seven out of a hundred people recognized Lisa Nandy, the Lady Macbeth of Labour politics, who might, even now be working to undermine our current “Glorious Leader”.
Indeed. Machover’s expulsion, then, three years later, a fresh suspension puts Yvonne Davies’ concerns and suspension in context
Moshé Machover has been a supporter of the Palestinian cause for decades. Many Jewish members of Labour are. In 2017 Dr. M was summarily expelled From the party after an anti-Semitism smear. Party bureaucrats faced a membership backlash and an international outcry, and soon reversed their decision. The 2017 temporary expulsion was directly tracable to specific NEC officials. The reversal too.
Since right-wing leader Keir Starmer took over Labour in April 2020, there has been a steady stream of suspensions, expulsions and investigations targeting party members, including Yvonne Davies.
This is bigger than a West Mids Mayoral candidate and bigger even than the current incumbent as party leader, and it needs members to highlight the anti-democratic and censorial Purge culture which Starmer is implementing before Labour becomes irrelevant and insignificant.
Personally I think that they should suspend all disciplinary proceedings until the discredited process (that was put in place by the previous administration) has been replaced with what will hopefully be an independent, transparent and fair process. (we can but hope).
No process will be fair under the IHRA definition of what constitutes antisemitism.
lundiel – Both of the religious affiliates (yes there are only 2 of them) should be disaffiliated from the Labour party. By all means consult with a broad spectrum of faiths but no religion should have more influence than anybody else (religious or not).
The current nightmare of ad-hoc rules and regulations should be replaced by a simple and straightforward secular code of conduct that all members are required to explicitly sign up to.
To claim that the discredited process was put in place by the previous administration is disingenuous. When I was in the party, years ago, well before Corbyn became leader, I tried to get a motion to introduce a complaints procedure in line with best practice. It ran away into the sands. I was told that the policy had been in place for so long that it surely didn’t need amendment.
goldbach – Your historical experience and the previous administration altering the disciplinary procedures are not mutually exclusive.
Have a read of what Jennie Formby had to say at the time about the changes she made.
https://labourlist.org/2019/02/eliminate-the-evil-of-antisemitism-from-our-movement-that-is-my-mission-says-jennie-formby/
I agree about religious affiliates. What are the two?
There is another problem though and it is harder to deal with. That is the problem of affiliates that act as advocates for a foreign country.
goldbach at 4:38pm – Christians on the Left & Jewish Labour Movement are the only 2 religious affiliates. I don’t think that the likes of LFI are party affiliates.
https://labour.org.uk/people/societies/
You’re correct if you are saying that the last administration didn’t put on place a policy that was fit for purpose. My point was that it had always been unfit for purpose rather than becoming so as a result of actions of the last administration (which seemed to me to be what was implied by your comment).
Jennie Formby “in reassuring the Jewish community that we stand with them against oppression and prejudice.” – oh, apart from those Jewish comrades who oppose the apartheid of State of Israel and the racism of Zionism, we will oppress them and expell them.
Good news is these cases will be addressed in the courts, the AS Scam will be exposed for the shitfest it always was
The Labour party, BoD, JLM and CAA do not get to decide what is and what is not Anti Semitism
Yes, I think the winds of change are coming. What with corporate NGO HRW and the Liberal Biden’s cooling towards Israel, we have some catching up to do. I look forward to a time when the Countdown woman and Oberman disappear from public perception.
lundiel
https://youtu.be/4tgYKdcwmzQ
Trust in the Courts of Law?
Ineed
Damning indictment of Starmer: https://twitter.com/AaronBastani/status/1387359161302798336?s=19
Self-serving hypocrisy sounds like an ideal tag line for the cult of new Labour. Oh, they talk big and then do nothing, no help, no interest!
How these people can claim they have any values supposedly we all share in the Labour movement it’s amazing how lacking, in reality, their ideology is…
I am so glad I have nothing to do with this cult that is destroying the Labour party. More and more socialists are seeing the light and leaving like this lady.
DGD, they have values. Market values.
BRAVO! BRAVO!
Nothing to add to that!
Pity she couldn’t get on the Ballot to kick his Arse well and good!
As for me, I doubt that I need to, but my vote will go to his strongest opponent, sadly its another Tory, of the Conservative Party variety!
If we want to get the Neoliberal Neolabour Party Tories out of our UK Labour Party, so that we can build a Strong Democratic Socialist Party, we are, in the short term, going to have to make heavy sacrifices.
It is no good voting for their weaker/weakest opponents ie Green/LibDem, as that will increase their chances of the Continuation of Occupying our Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party!
Even if we can just knock them well below 50% down to 20/30% The Interference, Sabotage, Undermining, Propaganda Spin, Lies, Smears, MSM mainline, will be easily detectable and the filth will be booted out on their Thatcherite Neoliberal Neolabour Tory Arses, Opening seats for all the Zarahs, Apsanas, Bels, Claudias, Laura Ps or Laura S’! Young Powerful Democratic Socialist Women with Corbynist Passion and Fires in their bellies!
It will be a worthy bullet to bite, but if we were to get the Neolabour Tories out, we will have to bite that bullet! Our overnight Option was destroyed by them in 2019, now we only have the Longer and harder option left,and up to us.
Let’s just hope that we still have a Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party MP to wave the Crimson Standard high and in a Seat by then! At the Rate Starmer and The Starmerstruppen are Purging Democratic Socialists there might only be Neolabour Party Tories left burning the Crimson Standard in Parliament Square!
https://youtu.be/dk6L7QiXdUc
Don’t be silly
Not even remotely.
One thing I hate most of all Hateful things is a Tory!
Between a Neolabour Party Tory and a Conservative Party Tory I despise The Sly, Sneaky, Two Faced, Interfering, Sabotaging, Undermining, Propagandist Spin Meisters, Lying, Smearing, MSM mainline, Elites/Establishment/Machine mainline Nasty Neolabour Party Tories by far the most, utterly vile and extremely dangerous creatures!
If The Conservative Tories are the Bottom Feeders, of the Cesspit of Torydom, The Neolabour Party Tories are the Organisms that feed off the Bottom Feeders’ Excrement!
skellyknelly – Oh dear.
It’s okay, I wont eat any, they taste even worse!
All that Hermes ‘Charity Shop Indie look’ fake is really, really bitter. 🙂
The only problem in the era of Identity Politics is that ‘the left wing’ is no longer Socialist. The ‘left wing bible’ is still the Guardian & its Church, the BBC.
I agree with you Steve but I see it in a whole different light I don’t buy the “Left Wing” theory, There are two Opposing Factions/Ideologies and Parties.
Thatcher’s Neoliberalism, not Centre/”Centrist”, Liberal or Socialist, but Capitalist, Conservative & Tory on the opposite end there is Democratic Socialism.
There is The Host Party = The UK Labour Party and The Parasite Party The Neolabour Tory Party feeding off The UK Labour Party.
What you describe above comes in Two Flavours:
1 The Blair/Murdoch People of The Sun.
2 The Mandelson/Campbell People of The Sun in Lambskin aka Guardian.
The first “Working Class” once Centre L/R voters down to earth and hard grafting.
The second, The ‘Charity Shop Indie Look’ bought at Hermes type “intellectuals”, “artists”, TV Types, who boast at their soirees and champaign/cocktail parties how mush they spent to feed the poor, at 1p out of every £1, The ones who despite the Policies, Politics and Actions of their Politicians believe that by entering the Buzzwords ‘Socialist and Left Leaning’ on their Wiki Pages makes them so etc.
Both The People of The Sun and The People of The Sun in Lambskin were dragged by Blair/Murdoch/Mandelson/Campbell so deep into Torydom, that they literally occupy Thatcher’s Seat, but they still believe they are Centre L/R voters, because they call THEMSELVES Left Leaning and Socialist but they are not! They are Neoliberal = Thatcher/Reagan’s Neoliberal = Conservative = Tory in ‘Charity Shop Indie Look’ by Hermes and Vivian Westwood, who’s motivations for Activism I question.
They consider Centre L/R Democratic Socialism as Far Left Extremism, again, easily questioned by asking for the Far Left Extremist Policy/Action from The Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party! There are none,
Those “Left Wing/Socialist” “Radicals” of The Sun in Lambskin who are Labelling Centre L/R Democratic Socialist UK Labour Party as Far Left Extremists, where does that place them on the Political Spectrum? Certainly not slightly Right of Centre. Pure Tory.
PS. As far as I am concerned There are The People and The Elites/Establishment/Machine.
Within The People there are The People who stand up and will fight for The People, The People who will pick up The Crimson Standard when I have fallen and there are The People who take up the Arms and Words of The Elites/Establishment/Machine against their own.
All the Old Terms are as good as useless these days, Class, where does it begin and end, I know true Working Class People who because of their Trade/Skill/Job earn more than GPs. Left/Right what does it even mean, I really believe all these terms are Elites’/Establishment/Machine created to keep us divided and easily controlled.
Steveh: “they should suspend all disciplinary proceedings until the discredited process (that was put in place by the previous administration) has been replaced”
It’s not any process that’s discredited, it’s the charlatans who manipulate them. Moshé Machover’s treatment being a case in point.
I see you’ve managed to work it out in the end.
Steve H…I don’t believe you and others of the right and left in the Labour party have “worked it out” .You cannot replace “Rotton” with “Rotten” and that is the unsolvable problem of a party in terminal decline…!
Joseph – I came across this today and I thought that you might find it an interesting read.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-29-will-uk-security-agencies-learn-lessons-from-their-collusion-in-crimes-in-northern-ireland/
😁 yes..
seems like the right wing of the party are imploding from within,leave them to it until they blow themselves to pieces along with starmer.
“the right wing of the party are imploding…..”
They are indeed. It will become a millenium-class firework display on the morning of 07-MAY-2021 once Labour’s poor performance at the elections and the voters’ mass snub of the 1990s new labour tribute act that is Sir Keir’s new-management-Labour is alarmingly obvious.
BUT – at risk of “self-suspending” myself, I will certainly vote, just not for a right-leaning starmer-babe centrist, so yes either an Independent, or – where a Green candidate is an eco-socialist – a Green.
voters of sandwell should abstain from voting unless its a left wing independent candidate.
Advice plse!! Mayoral Candidate for Leeds Tracy Brabin – sure, as an MP she isn’t SCG aligned, and she is of the dreaded Co-op party, but is she worthy of a lefties vote? I’m conflicted and would appreciate informed opinions.
WHERE DO YOU STAND RE JEREMY CORBYN ?
Why was I not surprised to receive no reply.
Honesty takes political courage. It appears to be in short supply.
Personally, I can’t vote for anyone in Starmer’s Labour.
The above was a question I asked of Tracy Brabin (Web-site appears not to be working well fior me
So, you got no reply to the question “where do ou stand re. JC?”. I’m already not voting for my labour council candidate and was kind of hoping Tracy B might at least deserve a vote, but maybe lundiel’s strategy is the right one for me this time. Next step, cancelling the membership fee payment?
Labour party suspends seven Peterborough city councillors over antisemitism
It’s alleged that antisemitic opinions and videos of hate speech had been circulated by those who have since been suspended.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/labour-party-suspends-seven-peterborough-20485051
I doubt this has anything to do with antisemitism. On eve of the council elections, does the Labour pary have a ‘self destruct’ button?
They’re really having a clear out, I think these were all Corbyn supporters. This is on top of at least two councilors who were expelled as I recall, for antisemitism.
‘Labour suspends 14 members including Peterborough councillors over alleged antisemitism
……As revealed by the Peterborough Telegraph, Labour recently suspended Cllrs Ed Murphy (Ravensthorpe) and Heather Skibsted (Orton Longueville) while it investigates complaints made against the pair, although the nature of the complaints were not revealed……..’
Blimey, I’ve known Ed Murphy (who used to be the candidate for MP) since the poll tax days.
So this must be going on on a national scale. ‘The Tories are crumbling, better make sure there’s absolutely no opposition.’
That means in total, nine of the party’s 17 councillors have been administratively suspended in the past month.
So Peterborough Labour party was awash with ‘antisemites’?
Maybe Carlene, they don’t need a self-destruct button. When a parasitic pathogen invades a host and the host organism is no longer able to pursue its own purpose, the said host will often just die.
So, what are democratic socialists supposed to do? If only we had a trade union movement that could endorse a new political party that said democratic socialists might form? You know, a Labour Movement.
Carlene
If you were Labour party General Secretary how would you treat these future liabilities, the costs will be enormous
These issues will be decided in the courts and every member who has suffered will be compensated
How do political parties have zero governance standards, Temporary Embarrassment and his chum are getting away with murder
That’s what needs fixing
Doug – A pity those members can’t be compensated out of the perpetrators own pockets instead of funds from the members and trade unionists. Now that would be what I call justice, not holding my breath though, re justice through the courts, the trouble with inviting the state in to sort out the problems in what should be working class organisations is it can later back fire. The courts might in the future demand compensation for expulsion of right wing agitators or scabs in unions, for example and I don’t know if they could force re enstatement. Be careful what you wish for.
Peterborough is a ‘swing’ town. It is claimed Johnson’s government is on the rocks and that expensive flat refurbishment could be all for nothing. If there is a general election, how does Starmer/Evans think Labour will fare here when they have gutted the Labour party, abandoning the working class, handing Peterborough to the Tories. Perhaps that was Starmer’s intended roll all along.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rp1FIbBEoWw