The party supposed to represent workers will now see strike action over its abuse of staff and squandering of resources
More than three out of four unionised Labour staff have voted for strike action over the party’s threat to make 90 staff – around a quarter of its workforce – redundant because Labour’s new management has squandered the healthy bank balance built up by former leader Jeremy Corbyn and his team with the support of hundreds of thousands of members.
Around 150,000 members – perhaps more – have quit the party in disgust at the new leadership, while Keir Starmer and David Evans have failed to convince the rich donors they have been pursuing that Labour is worth their money. In addition, Labour has thrown away money it clearly could not afford, paying huge settlements to right-wing former staff in a case its lawyers said it would almost certainly win.
GMB and Unite members had voted two weeks ago to take a ballot for industrial action – and their overwhelming yes vote now will have the backing of all the genuine Labour movement against the mini-me dictators currently destroying the party.
It is one more shameful episode in a year and a half of disgrace for a party that was until so recently great and has been destroyed by those who claimed they would be twenty points ahead of the Tories under anyone but Corbyn.
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What were the other 25% not thinking???
Theyd already collected pay off money for political motive payment.Money not squanderd as SB says but siphoned off in a criminal act to bolster an illegal act against the Labour party.
It looks like any strike action and/or picket lines have been averted
https://labourlist.org/2021/09/no-need-for-compulsory-redundancies-at-this-stage-david-evans-tells-labour-staff/
General secretary David Evans has told Labour staff that “at this stage” there is “no need to consider for compulsory redundancies” as part of the restructuring planned for the party,
Staff were told by email this afternoon that the voluntary severance scheme is now closed and all those party employees who volunteered for it are now being contacted with the outcomes of their applications.
“The VS scheme will result in a headcount reduction of 60,” Evans said. This is a lower figure than the one initially intended. It was estimated in July that at least 90 staff would need to be cut to make the necessary savings.
Strike action. The workers nuclear weapon of last resort in a war! I fully support them.
“Labour had to address the financial situation Corbyn failed to address” er Corbyn boosted Labour’s membership to 500,000 and that at a stroke paid off Labour’s £20m debt & from then on under JC Labour was financially healthy. Right Wing Starmer drove 120,000 members away and fed up Unite cut £700k funding. Right Wing Labour is to blame and SH = Steve Ha! Ha!
Bazza – Are you advocating that Labour shouldn’t address its growing deficit problem. You can play around all you want with the figures but the basic underlying facts remain.
In July19 the membership had dropped to 450k (down 14% in 18mths with a further 10K loss by Dec19) when the party had based its budgets on the membership not dropping below 500k.
If you’ve got significantly more going out than you have coming in then most people would regard that as a problem particularly when you have running costs of about £3million pounds a month.
There has obviously been some churn and the membership is still below 500k but the membership is higher now than it was immediately prior to the 19GE.
What, what, what, this can’t be true. Our own SteveH centrist dad assured us that there are more members now than under Corbyn and that Corbyn squandered all the money by losing member’s because he supported a second referendum and lord Starmer had to work really hard to get them and more back and everything’s going to plan and Labour are better off than the Tories and who needs unions and disloyal staff who can’t take one for the team.
lundiel – “SteveH ….. assured us that there are more members now than under Corbyn “
Read it again, nowhere in the above article does it claim or provide any evidence that contradicts what I have said + Labour’s accounts show that their expenditure exceeded their receipts. That can’t be allowed to continue.
The Panorama payout will have had only a minimal impact on the decisions surrounding the proposed redundancies. The ongoing cash-flow problem in conjunction with Labour’s internal review is what has dictated these decisions about redundancies. Besides it being an act of gross incompetent it would damage the party’s reputation and finances for Labour to just carry on spending money it doesn’t have.
Doesn’t matter how big your phantom membership is (and whether they pay subs even), bad managers always spend more than they earn!
qwertboi – The Labour party have to deal with the financial issues that Corbyn had put off addressing.
The redundancies are unfortunate but inevitable. Labour can’t continue to pay for staff wages with money it doesn’t have
Steve H Hall centrist Dad sh davidh…are you really expecting anyone to believe a word you say ,and its more criminal use of members money siphoned off to pay a propaganda peddler like you
Minimal impact. The Labour Party is not the JC. Every penny counts , doesn’t it? Subs are useful though minimal. Don’t believe it, that slap from Max stung.
Steve H Hall centrist Dad You are beginning to sound like Thatcher.You will be telling us all about a good housewifes budget next. “You cant believe a word he says” ..
Joseph – Don’t be a numpty, MMT doesn’t apply unless you have your own currency.
ps – They don’t have to believe me they can check the facts for themselves.
Check the anti Corbyn MSM, they aren’t playing your tune.
https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-staff-redundancies-antisemitism-nec-b1887176.html?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#aoh=16304793841936&_ct=1630479679352&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fpolitics%2Flabour-staff-redundancies-antisemitism-nec-b1887176.html
100% behind the workers!
But why not do what they do to councillors, and levy a charge on MPs to pay for the lunacy their beloved leader and his Gen Sec are landing the party with?
After all…. MPs don’t go on strike.
Although…. Just a moment…….
On JVLs website yesterday.
Pamela Fitzpatrick is a Labour activist and trade unionist in Harrow. A Councillor, she is Chair of the Labour Group and Chair of the planning committee. She was Labour Party parliamentary candidate in Harrow East in 2019:
I received a letter by email this morning [August 23rd] from the Labour Party compliance unit…… The letter was to inform me that the party has reason to believe I am a supporter of Socialist Appeal. It threatens that I am to be ‘auto excluded’ from the party unless within 7 days I provide evidence that I am not such a supporter……
The banning of people through proscription the punishment of those associating with banned people, dictating who members can be friends with and what we can read are the actions of dictators in facist states. That so many of our MPs are silent on this or even support such actions should be a wake up call to us all. Fascism does not arrive one day with soldiers in trucks with guns, it arrives like this.
https://www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk/article/more-glu-madness-the-case-of-pamela-fitzpatrick/
“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?” Joe McCarthy will be very proud of uncle Joe Starmer, aka Sir Keir Rodney Starmer.
As you say, Starmer, Evans and co. are acting more like a dictatorial regime than the management of a political party. In Pamela Fitzpatrick’s shoes, would I refuse to respond to the letter’s demand? YES, I would.
Thanks Allan Howard.
qwertboi, Pamela Fitzpatrick has done better: she has served a notice to the Labour Party of seeking legal action if the Party persists in auto-expelling her.
Why would anyone want to be in a party that has a compliance unit. Chills.
Wobbly – Then you’ll be delighted to see that the discredited disciplinary procedures that were put in place by Corbyn and Formby are being replaced by new processes whose necessary rule changes will be voted on at conference.
https://labourlist.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Labour-Party-EHRC-Action-Plan.pdf
Allan – I guess you are going to have to make a choice about where your loyalties lie.
To put things in perspective the Panorama payout would only cover Labour’s running expenses for about one week
SteveH, there is no perspective. It was money donated by the Labour Party to the Hasbara merchants who were/are trying to destroy it. Unless you are one of them, get wise, stop seeing Starmer as some sort of Messiah and take off your blinkers. The LP is under a relentless attack from Tel-Aviv and it looks like you are complicit.
Jack – Don’t waste your time on it. His contributions get more feeble daily.
🥱
Not familiar with Hasbara merchants, who are they? Can anyone post a link to the Labour Party consolidated accounts at Companies House? Wouldn’t mind seeing when the next are due and comparing with the most recent already lodged.
PC – There is a more detailed version of Labour’s 2020 accounts here.
http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/22905
ITs not labours “running expenses” that we are worried about its the siphoning off of money by criminals. “You cant believe a word you say”
Joseph – If you have any evidence of this then please, please report it to either the relevant parliamentary authorities or the police.
Could you also publish your complaint and keep us all up to date with your its progress.
Gasp, that’s okay then. They do love their exes.
And not before time!
Let’s hope that Labour also has a critical ‘tipping point.’
Patron Law earned circa £400,000 their services rendered in the case
SM – Or more to the point how much would they have billed if this had gone to court and if they had lost how much would Labour have had to pay out in compensation and legal fees.
You know very well they were advised they would win the case. You don’t need to be a lawyer to appreciate that those staffers were a group of fifth columnists out to do damage, their own words convicted them. Their only defence was that the Whatsapp group they were running contrary to employment rules was private.
Also your link for the 2020 accounts doesn’t work and the payment to the staffers was one of many payouts for fighting cases against members dismissed on the flimsyist of evidence. You only have to Google ‘Labour party finances 2021’ to see MSM is full of the reasons for the current crisis and every Corbyn hating one of them blames antisemitism, loss of members and donations. They all talk of Starmer’s uninspiring rule.
lundiel – I do know that a legal opinion was commissioned at the beginning of 2020 and that it was rather non committal. (you are welcome to quote and link to the original advice if you think it will help your case).
I also recall that in early 2020 Little Becky (the darling of the left and a lawyer) also made a firm commitment to compensate the Panorama claimants. I do wonder why she did that if the case was a slam dunk as you claim
For some strange reason you also seem to have forgotten that several months later in the summer when decisions had to be made the original rather non-committal advice was superseded by new legal advice to settle the case.
If Labour had lost this case then it would have cost the party several millions plus a great deal of reputational damage.
You seem to have the same cavalier attitude towards legal advise as JC did when he neglected to seek advice from the party’s lawyers before he published an official Labour party statement on such a contentious issue and against people that were known to be litigious. We shouldn’t forget that it was Jeremy Corbyn’s incompetence that opened up this potential liability in the first place.
My link to the 2020 accounts does work, I tested it immediately after I had posted my comment and I have just tested it again. I suggest you try again
http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/22905
Ah yes, I didn’t see it was a PDF.
You are absolutely full of 💩 shit. From the report: Party finances were challenged from the very start of the year. The result of the 2019 General Election meant that the
allocation of short money was reduced by £1.5M. A significant loss to absorb. Further testsfollowed throughout the
period as a consequence of the lockdown and restrictions. There was pressure on income as at first, fundraising activities
were suspended and later, and far more significantly, Annual Conference was cancelled. In addition to being our flagship
policy event, the commercial income streams generated by Conference form a key part of our annual budget.
Turning to expenditure, the postponement of the elections scheduled for May 2020 meant that amounts invested in
campaigns were lost. There was also the knock-on effect of stretched resources into 2021 as the party contested UK wide
elections on a scale unprecedented outside of a General Election. The party also took steps to extend the employment of
those staff whose contracts were ending during the pandemic; the cost covered by the party rather than the taxpayer
funded Government scheme.
On a far more positive note, party membership reached a new record high in February, at the time of the Leadership
contest. We are extremely grateful to all members, both old and new, who continued to give to the party despite the
financial uncertainty and huge impact on livelihoods.
However, despite the increase in membership, recognising the impact of COVID19 on income generation, the financial
result for the year was a deficit. The first period that the party has incurred a significant and unplanned deficit since 2006.
However, we are pleased to report that this was funded through cash reserves and the party remains debt free. The
continued uncertainty from COVID19 does though mean that financial pressures remain and these pressures need to be
alleviated. A further consequence of COVID19, is that the usual post General Election realignment has been delayed,
however it is imperative that the party reverts to its usual reduced mid-election cycle operating model that will sustain our
finances on a sound footing.
The pension liability under FRS102 of £1.0M has been determined by the actuaries based on the pension membership
information as at 31 December 2020. This is a concerning deterioration following many years of reporting a surplus.
Unfortunately, regardless of more favourable market conditions recently experienced, an increase in the deficit is likely to
be seen, a direct effect of the government’s decision to change a methodology for calculating inflation.
As ever, we will face up to these challenges with robust financial management and a determination to maintain our
financial stability in line with the NEC Finance Strategy.
As always, we are deeply grateful for the fantastic assistance and financial support that we receive from our affiliates, both
trade unions and socialist societies.
There was £13 million in reserves left by Corbyn you deceitful, lying shit.
lundiel – none of the points you have highlighted contradicts what i have highlighted.
“If Labour had lost this case then it would have cost the party several millions plus a great deal of reputational damage.”
Nothing like if Labour had won the case. The case itself is of little consequence, merely a decision on whether a private Whatsapp group should be private to employers when run by staff. But the consequences of the contents of those messages would have destroyed Labour if given widespread media attention. Everything the left has said about the undermining of Corbyn and the project to throw two elections is true that’s why the Forde report hasn’t been released. I’ve to read those messages and they are damming. Of course you know this but wish to obfuscate and deny because you are a troll who is either paid or you suffer from severe mental disturbance.
Sm you can here the money being siphoned off by the bottom feeders profession Lawyers and the grand prix lawyer S Sir Rodney Knight.of the realm…Keep watching for that bolt hole Telaviv when hes finished off the Labour party.
Joseph – You have a duty to present your evidence to the relevant parliamentary authorities and/or the police. Please remember to keep us all informed about the substance of your complaint plus its progress and outcome.
Only a leader who boasts his select status as a Member of the (economically hard right) Trilateral Commission could run the party so badly that loyal staff chose by 75% to consider strike action against his management decisions – and not be lambasted and pilloried by the MSM for so doing.
Electing Starmer is the biggest mistake current members of the Labour party have ever made.
You couldn’t make this up…it’s no wonder they gave up The Thick Of It…
Satire has gone mouldy and putrid…
Wonder who’ll cross the picket line?
fOrEsMiC 0_0
I wonder id SteveH elected for strike action, or if he was one of those who did not vote, or voted against industrial action?
christpher – I didn’t have a vote, I’m not employed by the Labour Party.
Steve H Hall centrist Dad .. “You can’t believe a word he says”
Joseph – Who’s this ‘Hunt’ guy that you keep obsessing about.
Oops –
HuntHallHeadline in the Torygraph, 20/07/21 the most ardent of anti Corbyn rags “The Labour Party plans to cut up to a quarter of its staff after finding itself in a dire financial situation brought on by a mass exodus of members and a slew of anti-Semitism cases.”
Go away pathetic troll SteveH centrist dad.
lundiel – Did they also mention that Jeremy lost more than 14% of the members in 2018/19 when he was in office
Did they also mention that Len stopped the funds that were going towards paying Labour staff wages (many of them Unite members)
Did they mention that the party also lost over £1million in ‘short money’ following the dire results in the 19GE when for the first time ever more of the working class voted Tory rather than Labour (and by a 15% margin) citing JC as the reason they couldn’t vote Labour.
You deceitful lying shit 💩.
From the report: Party finances were challenged from the very start of the year. The result of the 2019 General Election meant that the
allocation of short money was reduced by £1.5M. A significant loss to absorb. Further testsfollowed throughout the
period as a consequence of the lockdown and restrictions. There was pressure on income as at first, fundraising activities
were suspended and later, and far more significantly, Annual Conference was cancelled. In addition to being our flagship
policy event, the commercial income streams generated by Conference form a key part of our annual budget.
Turning to expenditure, the postponement of the elections scheduled for May 2020 meant that amounts invested in
campaigns were lost. There was also the knock-on effect of stretched resources into 2021 as the party contested UK wide
elections on a scale unprecedented outside of a General Election. The party also took steps to extend the employment of
those staff whose contracts were ending during the pandemic; the cost covered by the party rather than the taxpayer
funded Government scheme.
On a far more positive note, party membership reached a new record high in February, at the time of the Leadership
contest. We are extremely grateful to all members, both old and new, who continued to give to the party despite the
financial uncertainty and huge impact on livelihoods.
However, despite the increase in membership, recognising the impact of COVID19 on income generation, the financial
result for the year was a deficit. The first period that the party has incurred a significant and unplanned deficit since 2006.
However, we are pleased to report that this was funded through cash reserves and the party remains debt free. The
continued uncertainty from COVID19 does though mean that financial pressures remain and these pressures need to be
alleviated. A further consequence of COVID19, is that the usual post General Election realignment has been delayed,
however it is imperative that the party reverts to its usual reduced mid-election cycle operating model that will sustain our
finances on a sound footing.
The pension liability under FRS102 of £1.0M has been determined by the actuaries based on the pension membership
information as at 31 December 2020. This is a concerning deterioration following many years of reporting a surplus.
Unfortunately, regardless of more favourable market conditions recently experienced, an increase in the deficit is likely to
be seen, a direct effect of the government’s decision to change a methodology for calculating inflation.
As ever, we will face up to these challenges with robust financial management and a determination to maintain our
financial stability in line with the NEC Finance Strategy.
As always, we are deeply grateful for the fantastic assistance and financial support that we receive from our affiliates, both
trade unions and socialist societies.
Apart from the nonsense about new members, the blame is squarely down to listed conditions. It was the reserves left by Corbyn that bailed the party out. There is no mention of profligate spending prior to 2020, no mention of any of the lies you’ve been peddling. And the reason for the redundancies is nothing to do with party finances per se, it’s because of the projected pension fund problems due to possible inflation.
Please don’t write any more libelous, fetid, hateful lies.
SteveH is a liar and propagandist. Do not believe a word he says.
lundiel – Repeating facts isn’t libellous falsely accusing others of theft and false accounting is.
From your comment above:
“The Labour party have to deal with the financial issues that Corbyn had put off addressing.”
The ‘financial issues’ had nothing to do with Corbyn, it’s all listed in the report. The pertinent bits I posted above. Corbyn hadn’t ‘put off addressing’ anything. You just come on here and make shit up for your own twisted enjoyment. Just fuck off.
“libellous falsely accusing others of theft and false accounting is.”
Don’t be silly. The rise in membership when Starmer was named leader was short lived. Every newspaper is reporting “an exodus of members” and Rainer said she’d expel “thousands and thousands”. Next year’s balance sheet will make sad reading and show the true cost of the factional war waged by the right.
Jeremy Corbyn won more votes and gained more seats than any UK Labour leader this century, turned Labour into the largest party in Europe, achieved the highest income in labour’s history, recorded the largest vote share increase since 1945 and inflicted 41 defeats on the government. What’s Starmer done?
Wouldn’t it be great if they had to cross a picket line to get into the conference.
With hired guards protecting them from ‘unspecified’ threats from Labour’s vicious right?
Guardian reports that among Unite members, 78% of staff on a 90% turnout said they would support a strike.
So much for Sharon Graham’s ‘hands off’ approach. Whether Unite is interested in internal Labour party politics or not, Labour’s internal politics is interested in you and your members.
The bitter truth is, these redundancies probably have everything top do with Starmer and Evans running the party’s finances into the ground, with their ill-advised payouts, purges and a factional war against anyone perceived as being of the left. Certainly not something Graham and Unite shouldn’t be ‘intensely relaxed’ about, to borrow Mandelson’s words used in a different context to describe his approach to those becoming “filthy rich.”