Left favourite robbed by Starmer and allies of new Liverpool mayor resigns from party
Liverpool Princes Park councillor Anna Rothery was the left favourite to stand in Liverpool’s mayoral election earlier this year, until she and her two rivals were removed from the contest without cause or explanation – though in fact because she was ready to speak out about corruption among the Labour establishment – by Labour in an unholy alliance between the Labour right and a small group of notionally-left ‘fixers’ and new candidates were imposed on members amid chaos and protests. As a result of the party machine’s interference and racism, the party’s new candidate was elected on a much-reduced vote share in what has been the country’s politically-reddest city.
And Rothery has today resigned from the party and will fight the next Princes Park election as an independent candidate, citing Keir Starmer’s lack of opposition, his assault on democracy and his unforgivable betrayal of the city by writing for Murdoch’s S*n, as well as the leadership’s personal war on her.
Cllr Rothery’s letter to Labour General secretary David Evans reads::
Dear Mr Evans,
Today I have taken the difficult decision to resign from the Labour Party and to sit as an independent on Liverpool City Council. It’s a matter of great sadness, having joined the Party as a teenager but one I arrived at on principle. As a socialist, I feel the Labour Party no longer represents my values. I can no longer serve the residents of Princes Park to the best of my abilities and remain as a member.
I believe Labour’s national leadership is failing in its duty to effectively oppose the government’s attacks on our people. The leadership is more interested carrying out internal party vendettas than standing up for our people, our black community and our LGBTQIA community.
Our country is being divided by a government and opposition party that should be uniting us around the common agendas of human rights, equality, dignity and respect. And yet food and fuel poverty, job insecurity, cuts in benefits to our most vulnerable, child poverty, our NHS being worked to the bone and hate crime are all on the increase.
I have been on the receiving end of the leadership’s attacks, despite serving as a councillor for 15 years, as mayoral lead for equality and Lord Mayor and increasing the Labour majority in my ward over four terms.
I was treated with utter contempt, with my name dragged through the mud for having the temerity of offering myself as a candidate for Liverpoolās elected mayor. But the decision of Sir Keir Starmer to actively engage and seek support from the Murdoch press despite the feelings of the whole of Merseyside was unforgivable.
Petty personality politics wastes time and provokes demoralisation and I want to spend my time supporting the people of our great city. As an independent councillor I will continue to fight passionately for my residents and the city without being held back by a timid national leadership or distracted by the internal fights in the party.
Skwawkbox view:
Labour loses yet another strong woman of colour to its war on black and Asian women and the people of Princes Park will have an opportunity to let Keir Starmer know what they think, in a city where his pale and poisonous version of the Labour party is already haemorrhaging votes.
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Do your job Liverpool. Don’t forget Starmer wanted to ‘break your Legs’.
Labour loses yet another strong woman of colour
But…But…But keef made jo anderson mayor…
…Oh, my bad – you said‘strong’ woman of colour…
Such is the state of the party, blinkered by all things remotely to the left they will see Annaās resignation as a victory. I just hope her constituents support her against whatāll be an empty shell of a right wing candidate put up by Labour.
The leadership care nothing of the feelings of Liverpool. Proven by Starmerās announcement that given the opportunity heād write for the s*un again.
The sad thing in all this, when I read the party had finally got ahead in the polls. Where normally Iād be delighted. In fact I felt rather disappointedš
Next GE will be interesting, I wonder if Blue Keef his bitch Evans and their Starmersstruppen are accumulating all their resignations and exiles, the might wake up with a bit of a void where there once were MPs, Councilors, CLPs, Members!
Blue Keef will still win, The Unilateral Commission has already decided on that, no matters how we “vote”! It would just be great fun watching the flap to cover their arses, and all the lies and debunks that usually follow for a couple of weeks or so.
He only cares about the votes of a few marginal constituencies, hence socially conservative, leave supporting new Labour. It’s up to ex/current members and voters to punish him. Anything other than a vote against new Labour is a vote for them. What people need to remember is Starmer’s an opportunistic liar, along with most Labour MPs. They don’t believe in anything other than winning elections.
Solidarity Anna. The right only operate with aggression and at times hate.We need a new party
United Independents, a Labour Movement of The PEOPLE, For The PEOPLE by The PEOPLE, Anyone?
Uniting all the Many New Parties and
The UK Labour Party Exiles, under one umbrella and perhaps even the first Open Source and Crowd Funded Party/Future Government ever?
I’d bloody sign up yesterday.
Pity that the word Independents is tainted by the forgotten band of thugs.
I don’t think they should be allowed to keep it in a special box marked never use!
This is a sign. If even Anna Rothery has decides to leave Sir Keir Rodney’s Labour party, maybe “Stay and Fight” is no longer the right and obvious thing for members to do.
Two caveats: FPTP and the synchronised MSM, they each oppose and rebut democracy, and, by implcation, democratic socialism.
So, although I say well done to Anna Rothery and that I respect her decision, the larger cause of democratic socialism in a representative democracy is not helped by democratic socialists leaving the Labour party and gifting it to neoliberal appologists for insufficiently-regulated capitalism.
The above catch-22-type quandry can only be resolved IF/WHEN a major trade union or two rescinds its funding from Starmer’s party and funds something else. There are a good few hundred thousand former members of Labour that would follow the trade union funding path to a new party.
Today I cancelled my Direct Debit Membership Labour Party. I did the same when Blair became leader & rejoined when Jeremy brought Socialism back on the Labour Party agenda. I regretted not staying to fight Blair but everyone I know in Sefton CLP has been either suspended or expelled. I take issue with Anna Rothery & Skwawkbox with the ‘see me, see my colour rhetoric’, the social injustice perpetrated here has nothing to do with skin colour nor gender, it is, as always, social class. I jumped B4 I too was pushed. The Witch Hunt of Socialists is a reality.
The left should leave
Shame the tusc doesn’t catch the pissed offs votes
Cancel D/D but don’t tell them
Solidarity Anna!! stay strong and win your seat as an independent.
When you get older, your hearing tends to go a little. When I heard Starmer speak in 2019, I was sure that he said he wanted to create a united party. I clearly misheard when he was actually saying “a benighted party.”
What can I say…..the solutions their in the hands of the member’s who are of the left..?
As I said at the time when she was a victim of Right Wing Labour (?)
Anna should have resigned then and stood for Mayor as a Liverpool Independent Socialist (L.I.S.) GIVE RIGHT WING LABOUR A MISS.
VOTE FOR ANNA.
VOTE FOR L.I.S.
See comment.