Instead of Stuffing the Ballot Box They Take
Votes Out of It!
As our letter in today’s Guardian says, if Labour Party General Secretary Iain McNicol were presiding over a local authority or parliamentary election, he would be facing years inside for corrupt electoral practices.
What type of a Party is it where
leading officials spend their time poring over party membership lists in order to
prevent as many as possible voting for the ‘wrong’ candidate?
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| Ron Draper of the Bakers & Allied Workers Union has been suspended – why? for this photo |
We have a situation where a
billionaire member, Lord Sainsbury, gave £2m to the Liberal-Democrats, another
party, yet members who previously supported the Green Party are banned from
voting. A situation where previous
supporters of the Tories, Lib Dems and UKIP are welcomed into the Labour
Party but anyone who has ever supported a party to the left of the Labour Party is
banned.
billionaire member, Lord Sainsbury, gave £2m to the Liberal-Democrats, another
party, yet members who previously supported the Green Party are banned from
voting. A situation where previous
supporters of the Tories, Lib Dems and UKIP are welcomed into the Labour
Party but anyone who has ever supported a party to the left of the Labour Party is
banned.
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| Iain McNicol has a contempt for Labour members – Corbyn’s first act should be to send him packing – ‘surplus to requirements’ |
Sainsbury has form. He previously funded the Social Democratic
Party and then David Owen’s breakaway SDP. His commitment is to his own class and subverting the politics of socialism.
Party and then David Owen’s breakaway SDP. His commitment is to his own class and subverting the politics of socialism.
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| McNicol is a liar – the decision to suspend someone is made by officials and rubber stamped by right-wing NEC members such as Baxter below |
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| Johanna Baxter, who was kicked off the NEC by party members, is taking her revenge by suspending some of them. Every night she takes home a large spreadsheet of those to purge |
McNicol, Stolliday and co.
are the political detritus that is left from the days of Blair. When corrupt privateers laid claim
to chunks of the NHS under the motto of ‘whatever works’, even though it was clear that
privatisation could only work to the benefit of the wage cutters and the
profiteers. It was the days when attacks
on unions, refugees, benefit claimants were
fine but regulating the City of London was not fine, at least until the
banks went cap in hand for over £300 billion in handouts.
are the political detritus that is left from the days of Blair. When corrupt privateers laid claim
to chunks of the NHS under the motto of ‘whatever works’, even though it was clear that
privatisation could only work to the benefit of the wage cutters and the
profiteers. It was the days when attacks
on unions, refugees, benefit claimants were
fine but regulating the City of London was not fine, at least until the
banks went cap in hand for over £300 billion in handouts.
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| hopefully Chuku’s Streatham LP will be intensely relaxed about deselecting someone who consider most LP members and constituents beneath him |
It was the days when Jack Straw, Stephen Byers and others in New Labour lent themselves out like cab for hire, open to any bidder willing to pay them for parliamentary influence. This is because corruption and right-wing politics go hand in hand. It was a time when Peter Mandelson, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ was ‘intensely relaxed’ about people becoming filthy rich and even more intensely relaxed about poverty, cutting benefits and demonising unions. But even if Mandelson has now recanted, his political successor, Chuku Ummuna ‘admires the New Labour godfather as a champion of industrial activism‘.
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| Shami Chakrabarti – despite her Report giving the Zionists and the Right much of what they wanted, it called for an open and transparent disciplinary process – that was too much for Iain McNicol who has ignored its recommendations that peoples’ social media past should not be trawled |
The idea that the Labour
Party might stand for an alternative to the present free market economy is
anathema to New Labour. Defence of capitalism and the free market is the real reason for
today’s purge. They first started off
with false accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ although no one has yet presented any
evidence of this ‘anti-Semitism’. When
Shami Chakrabarti produced a report which stated that the Labour Party wasn’t
overrun with anti-Semitism she was savaged, her peerage being the excuse for
vitriolic and vicious personal attacks.
Party might stand for an alternative to the present free market economy is
anathema to New Labour. Defence of capitalism and the free market is the real reason for
today’s purge. They first started off
with false accusations of ‘anti-Semitism’ although no one has yet presented any
evidence of this ‘anti-Semitism’. When
Shami Chakrabarti produced a report which stated that the Labour Party wasn’t
overrun with anti-Semitism she was savaged, her peerage being the excuse for
vitriolic and vicious personal attacks.
A week ago I cited an article
in the Telegraph that thousands of Labour Party members were to be expelled for
anti-Semitism. I wrote
that anti-Semitism was now a weapon of mass expulsion. Clearly McNicol and fellow conspirators
realised that they might have a hard time proving that there had been a sudden
outbreak of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
in the Telegraph that thousands of Labour Party members were to be expelled for
anti-Semitism. I wrote
that anti-Semitism was now a weapon of mass expulsion. Clearly McNicol and fellow conspirators
realised that they might have a hard time proving that there had been a sudden
outbreak of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
Instead people have been barred from voting and suspended for the most trivial things. Catherine Starr
tweeted that ‘“I fucking love the Foo
Fighters” a band. That was enough to merit a ban. Presumably using the word ‘fuck’ gets you
banned now! Harrow Councillor Pamela
Fitzpatrick was banned for ‘rudeness’ at a meeting. Amazing, who said? She wrote that ‘“I was devastated and felt
criminalised,” Pamela wrote on Twitter. “Luckily I have had fantastic support –
others might feel completely isolated.”
Labour
Membership: 7 People Banned From Leadership Election For Bizarre
Reasons
tweeted that ‘“I fucking love the Foo
Fighters” a band. That was enough to merit a ban. Presumably using the word ‘fuck’ gets you
banned now! Harrow Councillor Pamela
Fitzpatrick was banned for ‘rudeness’ at a meeting. Amazing, who said? She wrote that ‘“I was devastated and felt
criminalised,” Pamela wrote on Twitter. “Luckily I have had fantastic support –
others might feel completely isolated.”
Labour
Membership: 7 People Banned From Leadership Election For Bizarre
Reasons
I had one woman who has
been a member for 25 years who wrote to me yesterday the following:
been a member for 25 years who wrote to me yesterday the following:
WHY
HAVE I BEEN SUSPENDED ??? I have been
a Labour Party member & donor for well over 25 years, supporter for over 50
years, & am also a retired Civil Servant (member of PCS 1971 to date &
always VERY polite) & I have NEVER joined ANY other Party, . I was looking forward
to voting for Jeremy Corbyn in the Leadership Election (as I did last year), I
received an email on 19th saying I would get my ballot, I was told only on 24th
on the phone to The Labour Party at 2 pm that I HAD DEFINITELY NOT BEEN
BANNED, so why did I get this shocking letter at 6.14 pm ie AFTER the LP
office was closed so I couldn’t talk to anyone & was awake & stressed
all night, I am 69 & housebound with mental health history so a shock like
this is APPALLING, PLEASE DO SOMETHING URGENTLY, ie BEFORE it is too late for
me to vote, I AM HORRIFIED, I had heard NEC was purging people for supporting
JC but NEVER thought it would be me at my age & history, 99% of my
political activity this year has been on Twitter but they say they are
investigating me for AN email (date unspecified) & I have NO RIGHT TO
APPEAL, PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO REINSTATE ME IMMEDIATELY, voting is so VERY
important to me, my CLP is looking into this as well but I need all the help I
can get.
HAVE I BEEN SUSPENDED ??? I have been
a Labour Party member & donor for well over 25 years, supporter for over 50
years, & am also a retired Civil Servant (member of PCS 1971 to date &
always VERY polite) & I have NEVER joined ANY other Party, . I was looking forward
to voting for Jeremy Corbyn in the Leadership Election (as I did last year), I
received an email on 19th saying I would get my ballot, I was told only on 24th
on the phone to The Labour Party at 2 pm that I HAD DEFINITELY NOT BEEN
BANNED, so why did I get this shocking letter at 6.14 pm ie AFTER the LP
office was closed so I couldn’t talk to anyone & was awake & stressed
all night, I am 69 & housebound with mental health history so a shock like
this is APPALLING, PLEASE DO SOMETHING URGENTLY, ie BEFORE it is too late for
me to vote, I AM HORRIFIED, I had heard NEC was purging people for supporting
JC but NEVER thought it would be me at my age & history, 99% of my
political activity this year has been on Twitter but they say they are
investigating me for AN email (date unspecified) & I have NO RIGHT TO
APPEAL, PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO REINSTATE ME IMMEDIATELY, voting is so VERY
important to me, my CLP is looking into this as well but I need all the help I
can get.
Those who have suspended
this woman on the basis of a tweet, without even bothering to explain to her
what she had allegedly done wrong, are the ones who should be expelled. Their behaviour is far worse than rude, it is insulting and demeaning and cruel. McNicol and co. should be sent packing the
moment Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership.
And make no mistake – despite McNicol’s attempt to perpetrate an act of
fraud and larceny, the support for Jeremy Corbyn is too overwhelming for his
efforts to have anything but a marginal effect.
this woman on the basis of a tweet, without even bothering to explain to her
what she had allegedly done wrong, are the ones who should be expelled. Their behaviour is far worse than rude, it is insulting and demeaning and cruel. McNicol and co. should be sent packing the
moment Jeremy Corbyn wins the leadership.
And make no mistake – despite McNicol’s attempt to perpetrate an act of
fraud and larceny, the support for Jeremy Corbyn is too overwhelming for his
efforts to have anything but a marginal effect.
But surprisingly (!) Michael Foster, the right-wing Zionist millionaire who tried to keep Corbyn off the ballot paper and who called Corbyn supporters SA Stormtroopers in the Mail on Sunday, has not been disciplined. Presumably anyone who isn’t a right-wing Progress supporter or a Zionist a Nazi Brownshirt member of the SA is just part and parcel of what passes for polite conversation.
Chakrabarti
McNicol in his
malevolence, has ridden a coach and horses through the Report of Shami Chakrabarti
and her recommendations. In the final
paragraph of her Forward, Chakrabarti wrote that:
malevolence, has ridden a coach and horses through the Report of Shami Chakrabarti
and her recommendations. In the final
paragraph of her Forward, Chakrabarti wrote that:
‘If,
as I hope and believe, these recommendations are fully embraced by the Labour
Leadership, I ask everyone in the Party to work with them in good faith. I ask
for a moratorium on the retrospective trawling of members’ social media
accounts and past comments, so as to create the much needed atmosphere and
opportunity for learning, positive consensus and progressive change.’
as I hope and believe, these recommendations are fully embraced by the Labour
Leadership, I ask everyone in the Party to work with them in good faith. I ask
for a moratorium on the retrospective trawling of members’ social media
accounts and past comments, so as to create the much needed atmosphere and
opportunity for learning, positive consensus and progressive change.’
In the section Limitation and a Moratorium
Chakrabarti wrote that: ‘I
further recommend that once my guidance (set out in Chapter 4 above) on
appropriate language and behaviour is disseminated, there be a moratorium on
triggering new formal investigations (as opposed to informal discussions) on
comments and conduct arising prior to my report.’
Chakrabarti wrote that: ‘I
further recommend that once my guidance (set out in Chapter 4 above) on
appropriate language and behaviour is disseminated, there be a moratorium on
triggering new formal investigations (as opposed to informal discussions) on
comments and conduct arising prior to my report.’
Despite the National Executive Committee
approving this Report, McNicol has completely ignored it in his attempts to rig
the election. Jeremy Corbyn should demonstrate
that he has no truck with this behaviour and send McNicol packing after the
leadership election. Let this former GMB
political fixer return to previous pastures, along with Tom Watson and let them carry out their wrecking
activities there.
approving this Report, McNicol has completely ignored it in his attempts to rig
the election. Jeremy Corbyn should demonstrate
that he has no truck with this behaviour and send McNicol packing after the
leadership election. Let this former GMB
political fixer return to previous pastures, along with Tom Watson and let them carry out their wrecking
activities there.
Before the crucial NEC meeting of 12
July which put Jeremy Corbyn on the ballot paper, Executive member Jim Kennedy
of Unite had a solicitors
letter sent to McNicol which bluntly stated that:
July which put Jeremy Corbyn on the ballot paper, Executive member Jim Kennedy
of Unite had a solicitors
letter sent to McNicol which bluntly stated that:
‘You have an obligation as General Secretary to act in good faith.
You personally are required by the Party rules to be transparent and to
uphold the aims and values of ‘open democracy’. The manner in
which this special meeting has been arranged has all the hallmarks of anything
but “open democracy”. [my emphasis] McNicol was openly accused of calling
the meeting at short notice in order to exclude trade union delegates who are
working and live outside London.
You personally are required by the Party rules to be transparent and to
uphold the aims and values of ‘open democracy’. The manner in
which this special meeting has been arranged has all the hallmarks of anything
but “open democracy”. [my emphasis] McNicol was openly accused of calling
the meeting at short notice in order to exclude trade union delegates who are
working and live outside London.
McNicol had to be told that he was under a duty to act fairly and that the
election of officers should be conducted in a‘fair, open and
transparent manner.’ McNicol’s behaviour in other words was
anything but fair, open or transparent.
election of officers should be conducted in a‘fair, open and
transparent manner.’ McNicol’s behaviour in other words was
anything but fair, open or transparent.
What kind of General Secretary is it who needs to be told that ‘natural
justice requires you to act fairly’. As the experience of the suspensions
of the last few days demonstrates, McNicol wouldn’t know what fairness was if
it bit him in his nether regions.
justice requires you to act fairly’. As the experience of the suspensions
of the last few days demonstrates, McNicol wouldn’t know what fairness was if
it bit him in his nether regions.
The battle is on and the
first thing that Jeremy Corbyn and the new NEC should do when they take office
is to reverse all the suspensions and possibly conduct an additional ballot of
those who were denied a vote in order that their votes are added to the
existing vote. That would be a measure
of recompense and would also be a telling demonstration of the corrupt and
abusive nature of McNicol’s purge.
first thing that Jeremy Corbyn and the new NEC should do when they take office
is to reverse all the suspensions and possibly conduct an additional ballot of
those who were denied a vote in order that their votes are added to the
existing vote. That would be a measure
of recompense and would also be a telling demonstration of the corrupt and
abusive nature of McNicol’s purge.
Tony Greenstein
Posted in Blog
