Labour Party (UK)

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Labour Party (UK)

The real threat from a redistributive Corbyn govt isn't to economic stability, but to economic ideology.ref

Jeremy Corbyn

See main article: Jeremy Corbyn

Labour's Official Position on the EU

  • 2018.01.09: Calling all #LabourRemainers. If you want it IN WRITING that @jeremycorbyn & @UKLabour WILL DELIVER #Brexit then look no further. (screenshot of letter from Corbyn). @JeSuisSabotEUr
  • Jan.08.2018: Jeremy Corbyn insists UK cannot remain in single market after Brexit. Labour leader disappoints pro-EU MPs in address to parliamentary party before launching attack on "struggling" Tory govt. Rowena Mason, The Guardian.
  • 2016.09: Labour party conference: "Unless the final settlement proves to be acceptable, then the option of retaining EU membership should be retained. The final settlement should therefore be subject to approval, through Parliament and potentially through a general election or a referendum." @PetersWooll

Structure

Constituency Labour Party

National Executive Committee

  • Sept.04.2018: Antisemitism row activist Peter Willsman is re-elected. Jewish community groups expressed fury last night after a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn who said that Jewish “Trump fanatics” were behind allegations of antisemitism in Labour was re-elected to the party’s ruling body. Today the NEC will vote on whether to climb down from its decision to modify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) examples of antisemitism, which the IHRA regards as part of its definition. Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum who was also re-elected to the NEC, admitted that he had been present when Mr Willsman made the comments and voted for him before they became public. The entire group was elected to the 9 constituency representative roles. Jennifer Gerber, director of Labour Friends of Israel, said Mr Willsman’s victory was “deplorable”. Amanda Bowman, vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, criticised Mr Corbyn for “failing to rebuke” Mr Willsman “during his antisemitic tirade”. Labour is set to adopt the IHRA definition and examples of antisemitism in full today, but may insert an extra clause specifying “freedom of speech” to criticise Israel. Henry Zeffman, The Times.
  • Mar.28.2018: Corbynite left is hooked on conspiracy theories. ... Kalen Ockerman aka Mear One, mural ... Ms Elleanne Green is a member of the actors' union Equity and a leading light in Artists for Palestine. She set up and was for a while the administrator of the 3,000-strong closed Facebook group Palestine Live, of which Jeremy Corbyn was a member for at least two years until 2015. The aim of the group was "to gather together a group of good friends all of whom wholeheartedly support the people of Palestine in their struggle". In addition to Mr Corbyn, the Labour MPs Chris Williamson and Clive Lewis were members, as was the former Liberal Democrat peer Jenny Tonge. In 2015 Ms Green added a Carol Foster as a group administrator. Ms Foster is associated with the Trotskyist group Socialist Fight, whose most notorious member was Gerry Downing. Mr Downing was on the general committee of Brent Central Labour Party (Brent Central (UK Parliament constituency)Wikipedia-W.svg) when, in 2016, he was outed by David Cameron and only then expelled by Labour for his antisemitic views. Mr Downing told Andrew Neil on the BBC that he was not antisemitic but that "Zionism is in the vanguard role in the capitalist offensive against the workers", and that he was against "the millionaires and billionaires of Zionist persuasion who have dual citizenship, most of them". Mr Downing was on the counterdemonstration against Jewish organisations protesting about Labour antisemitism on Monday night. ... I owe a debt of gratitude to the freelance researcher David Collier for bringing all this to light. Because at the very least it shows that important sections of the Labour Party are prepared to tolerate, or even quietly endorse those spreading the most florid of conspiracy theories. And I haven’t even touched on Ken Livingstone, the Corbyn ally Ken Loach and the purveyors of the "Zionists helped the Nazis" libel. There is an argument that the decline of Marxism is behind this phenomenon. Once upon a time left-wingers believed that a system, capitalism, was to blame and now they believe it is people — evil bankers, Tories or Blairites who are in cahoots with the mainstream media. David Aaronovitch, The Times.
  • Mar.22.2018: Momentum's Christine Shawcroft loses comrades with furious Whatsapp messages. The kamikaze style of Momentum narcissist Christine Shawcroft certainly isn't found in the "ABC of Chairmanship". Comrades fear the strain of chairing the party's disputes panel is unsettling the veteran activist. Frustrated by her inability to persuade Labour’s #National Executive Committee members to drop disciplinary charges in two constituency cases, 3 horrified sources recounted how, while still chairing the hearing, a seething Shawcroft pinged a couple of splenetic WhatsApp messages to a 25-strong left group. The first unwise denunciation – "you bunch of fucking wankers" – was followed swiftly by the perhaps unwiser "I want to kill you all". Yelled in the room, the insult might have proved sufficient grounds to summon Shawcroft on an abuse charge before the very panel she convenes. How to lose friends and alienate comrades. Kevin Maguire, The New Statesman.
  • Mar.10.2018: The two tribes of Labour’s left are at war. In the red corner is Jennie Formby, a Unite official and former lover of its general secretary Len McCluskey, the leader’s greatest union ally and Labour’s largest financial backer. In the other red corner is Jon Lansman, bearded prophet of Momentum, the activists’ group that claims a membership of more than 36,000. At stake is the post of general secretary and immense power to shape the party’s machine, its candidates, politics and future. Francis Elliott, The Times.

National Constitutional Committee (NCC)

  • Feb.23.2018: Labour party general secretary stands down from position Iain McNicol, Labour’s longstanding general secretary, has stepped down, in the latest sign that Jeremy Corbyn is consolidating his grip on party machinery. McNicol had become a controversial figure for those on the Labour left after a row over the rules for the 2016 leadership race. Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell said, "This is a real loss". McNicol’s successor will be chosen by a vote of the party’s national executive committee. Corbyn’s office is expected to back Jenny Formby, the Unite officer who is deputy chair of the NEC. Other potential candidates include senior party executive Emilie Oldknow, and former Corbyn campaign organiser Sam Tarry. Heather Stewart, The Guardian.

Compliance Unit

Disputes Panel

Annual Conference


Affiliated Groups

Blue Labour

  • Blue LabourWikipedia-W.svg
  • The fact Blue Labour proudly aligns with a reactionary bigot like Embery tells you all you need to know about Blue Labour. @How_Upsetting
  • Jan.26.2018: [1] The Laura Perrins interview: A Blue Labour cousin (Paul Embery) on Corbyn, Brexit and the Tories. Laura Perrins, Conservative Woman.

Jewish Labour Movement

See main article: Jewish Labour Movement

Labour 25

This site was created to make the British public aware of the agenda of the Labour party. Of primary concern is the knowledge that there are 25 convicted paedophiles behind bars having had positions with the Labour Party. How many more remain free as the Labour Party ignores the infection in their ranks. Labour 25

Labour Housing

  • http://www.labourhousing.co.uk/about
  • The Labour Housing Group is a socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party. It was formed in 1981 by housing activists within the Party and has had a strong influence on the development of the Labour Party's housing policies, first in opposition, then in Govt. Membership includes many Labour members of Parliament, councillors, housing professionals and academics, tenants, trades unions and constituency organisations across the country.

Labour in the City

Founded by former Treasury minister Kitty Ussher in 2012 as an association for party supporters in financial services and related industries. Its membership now stands at 650 (having doubled since Corbyn became leader in 2015). John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and a self-described Marxist, addressed the group last year. “McDonnell has had some very strong meetings with people in the City, he’s taken very seriously,” Simpson said. He did, however, concede that the City had concerns over the “aggregate impact” of Labour’s planned renationalisation programme and tax increases. [ https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/04/corbyn-s-capital-story-how-london-became-labour-city The New Statesman], Apr.30.2018

Labour Party Irish Society

  • Oct.29.2017: Labour Irish AGM "Smoking-Gun" Email. ...allegations flying that the meeting was rigged to prevent a challenge to the Labour right's control of the organisation. LPIS is an affiliated society, which means it can exert influence over CLP activities and decisions, candidate selections and other Labour Party matters. An email exchange between LPIS figures that demonstrates that the existing LPIS ‘exec’ was planning to set up the meeting to exclude left-wingers and allow the right to maintain its control. The SkwawkBox.

Labour Representation Committee

A pressure group which aims to promote traditional socialist principles within the Labour Party. Affiliates: RMT, ... Labour Representation Committee (2004)Wikipedia-W.svg. old website >> new website, https://labourrep.com/what-we-do/, https://labourrep.com/friends.

  • Wages, Migrants and Protecting Workers’ Rights. Discussion Paper, Good overview of the impact of neoliberalism on workers' rights. Tony Blair boasted that British labour law is "the most restrictive on trade unions in the western world." Not a single Thatcher-era piece of anti-union legislation was repealed during his tensure.. Accessed October.01.2018.

Labour Tribune

Progress / Progress Online

Progress is a ginger group political organisation within the Labour Party, founded in 1996. It is broadly viewed as supportive of the New Labour leadership of Tony Blair.
See main article Progress

Saving Laour

  • Right-wing faction. Thomas McGarry said to be a key figure. Gerard McGrath, the society’s Membership Secretary.

Young Labour

  • Feb.12.2018: Why our Young Labour conference 'excluded' straight, white, able-bodied men. We’re helping disabled, BAME and LGBT people and women push for equal representation in parliament, and we’ll succeed. Young LGBT members in Young Labour are going to attend our conference to elect their officer. So are young women. So are young BAME people. So are young disabled people – who may also be male, white and heterosexual, for what it’s worth. These young people are organising campaigns to make sure their voice is heard. They’re going to be organising for a Labour victory at the next opportunity. We know we’re making the Tories nervous for their jobs. Caroline Hill, Jasmin Beckett, The Guardian.

Fiscal Policy

Conservative politician's argument: "Labour always claim that “the rich” will pay for their huge spending plans. Experience tells us that it will be millions of hard-working people in medium and low paid jobs that end up footing the bill. That’s always how it is with Labour." @JamesCleverly
Conservative supporter's argument: The richest 1% pay 27% of the income tax. The rich are already paying more than their fair share. What do they get in return? Hatred. Hating the Good for being Good. The Left use the word "Elite" as a smear; as a swearword. They'd rather us all be lying in the gutter together. @ElliottRise

No tax rise for people on less than £80k - Labour. John McDonnell will say only the top 5% of earners would pay more tax, but opponents call it a tax raid on Britain's professional classes. Mr McDonnell would bring back the 50p tax rate introduced by former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling and later scrapped by his Tory successor George Osborne. Attacking the Shadow Chancellor's pledge, the Treasury Chief Secretary David Gauke said: "Jeremy Corbyn will have to raise taxes because his nonsensical economic ideas don't add up and he'll make a mess of the Brexit negotiations. The Liberal Democrats' Shadow Chancellor Susan Kramer said: "Labour's so-called tax pledges aren't worth the paper they're written on". Sky News, Andrew Marr Show, May.07.2017

Labour can't be trusted them with the economy. They always borrow insane amounts of money and put the country into massive debt.

Get the info from here:

Funding and Donations

Labour Party Donors

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  • Aug.22.2018: Labour raised and spent £10m more than the Tories last year. Labour raised a record £56m last year and spent almost £10m more than the Conservatives, who raised £46m, beating its own record. As both parties raised money to fight an unexpected general election, Jeremy Corbyn’s party received £55.7m, £4.5m more than its previous highest tally of £51.2m in 2015. The party spent £54.3m, while the Conservatives spent £44.9m. Labour, whose membership has surged dramatically since Mr Corbyn stood for leader in 2015, received £16m from membership subscriptions, £2m more than the last year. Conservative income from membership fees almost halved, falling from £1.46m to £835,000. This drop is complicated by the fact that the central Conservative Party only takes a small proportion of the joining fee if somebody signs up to a local Conservative association. Legacy payments from dead Conservative donors were double those from living members, with £1,697,000 paid in legacies. Labour’s finances were bolstered by £7.4m of “Short money” — public funding given to opposition parties. Spending by all political parties rose 30% in 2017 compared with the year before, the Electoral Commission’s figures show. Because of the snap general election, parties spent nearly £28m more than in 2016. Income rose by 24%, or £24m. A Labour spokesman said: “Unlike the Tories, who rely on a few super-rich donors to bankroll them, we’re proud to be powered by small donations from hundreds of thousands of people across the country.” Henry Zeffman, The Times. See also Labour is Britain's richest party – and it's not down to the unions, Aug.22
  • May.13.2018: The Rich List: At last, the self-made triumph over old money. In a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research tomorrow the shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett will claim that our annual ranking of Britain’s wealthiest men and women “exposes a warped system in which a super-rich elite runs rings around the rest of us”. Over the past year — for the first time — just one of the 50 largest political donations from Rich Listers went to Labour. The Conservatives attracted 95.3% of the £16.1m gifted by the 50 biggest political donors in 2017, according to a Sunday Times analysis of Electoral Commission accounts. Labour attracted a record low of £233,000 in donations from Rich Listers last year, down from the £5.994m peak recorded in 2007 under the leadership of Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown. Trickett said: “The Tories’ billionaire friends give them money, and are gifted tax cuts worth £tens of billions, paid for off the back of the rest of us.” Robert Watts, The Sunday Times.

References

  • Apr.02.2018: Jewish Donor Departs from Labour Anti-Semitism. The donor Sir David Garrard complained that the party was rife with anti-Semitism, and that very little was being done about it. This must have delighted the biased mainstream media. As everyone, who’s been smeared as an anti-Semite by the Israel lobby can vouch, this is an utter lie. Decent people have been suspended, expelled and smeared as anti-Semites and, in Mike’s case, as a Holocaust Denier, simply through baseless accusations brought by mendacious, cowardly individuals. These people hide their real identities, and deliberately twist the evidence and misquote those they are maligning so as to misrepresent them. The anti-Semitism smears have nothing to do with real anti-Semitism. It’s about the Israel lobby and its cheerleaders and lackeys trying to get rid of Corbyn, because he supports the Palestinians. And they’re aided by the Blairites, who fear the rise of a real, genuine socialist Left. This is a blow against their control of the party, and their policy of pursuing the vote of the aspirant middle classes instead of sticking up for the poor, the disabled, the unemployed and the working and lower middle classes. Tony Blair was able to carry through his ‘modernisation’ of the party, getting rid of Clause 4 and transforming it into another Thatcherite political vehicle, because of the funding he was given was by a group of Jewish donors through Lord Levy, who Blair met at a gathering at the Israeli embassy. This made Blair independent of the unions and their funding. The departure of Gerard won't be as severe as it may have been because Corbyn has transformed Labour into a mass party. And this is the core of the issue. A couple of years ago Harvard University issued a report stating that America was no longer a functioning democracy but an oligarchy. This is because American politicos ignore what the electorate want, and do the bidding instead of their donors. And Blair was exactly the same. In Peter Mandelson's notorious words, New Labour was 'very relaxed' about the rich, and Blair promoted a vast number of corporate donors, like Lord Sainsbury, to govt posts. If you want to see how many, take a look at the relevant pages in George Monbiot’s "Captive State". With the power of the Blairites being challenged by Momentum and the Left, it was always on the cards that the donors Lord Levy had brought into the party to support Blair would eventually abandon Labour. They were never really supporters of Labour to begin with. Indeed, quite the opposite. ...they were only interested in Labour as the best vehicle to pursue their own, corporate interests within the wider area of neoliberal economics. And I doubt very much that anti-Semitism is the real reason Gerard left, despite his bitter comments. It seems to me that he’s another member of the Israel lobby, who feels bitter about the Labour leader supporting the Palestinians. Gerard wasn’t one of them. He looks instead like one of the very many donors, regardless of religion or ethnicity, who supported Blair simply for their own corporate advantage. And in Sir David Garrard's case, to promote Israel against the Palestinians. Now that this is threatened, he has angrily made his departure. And his accusations of anti-Semitism are just lies made to excuse himself and make his departure look less like the self-interested manoeuvring it is. Beastrabban's Weblog.
  • Apr.01.2018: Britain's Labour party loses a key Jewish donor. Britain's Labour party is facing a severe loss of financial support with the news one of its main private backers, Sir David Garrard, says the party he has supported to the tune of 1.7 million euros since 2003 "no longer exists". Robert Hackwill, EuroNews.
  • Mar.07.2018: 'I was nothing more than a common thief': master of Fleet Street's dark arts reveals trade secrets. His first big success for the Sunday Times came in 1997 when he penetrated a blind trust set up for Labour donors by Lord Levy, one of Tony Blair’s main fundraisers. Ford said the Sunday Times drew up a hitlist of a dozen prominent figures in the Labour government and they targeted bins in the spring and summer of 2000. He employed a friend, whom he calls George, a student at the time, who helped him in what they refer to as "bin-spinning". He and Ford would rifle through the rubbish in Ford’s office or living room. It was Alastair Campbell's bins that proved the most productive; the refuse yielding a string of memos written by New Labour pollster Philip Gould. Dan Sabbagh, Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian.

Disciplinary Process

  • Mar.22.2018: The Kelvin Hopkins case shows Labour needs a truly independent disciplinary process. The Labour party has been inventing its process on sexual harassment for the past few months. It has had to go from 0 to 60 pretty swiftly, so the approach might be best characterised as "suck it and see". What makes this case particularly tricky is a member of Kelvin Hopkin's staff is actually on the #NCC, although he will not be allowed to take part in proceedings. I only mention it to highlight that the NCC members are very much Labour people. The Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and the Labourtoo campaign of women activists have called for this process to be operated by a completely independent investigator. We want a person who is trained in handling these cases, and who has no ties, friendship, patronage or fear of anyone in the party. They can undertake the task of gathering evidence, witness statements and seek clarifications where needed, before making recommendations on a ruling to the NCC. The NCC can then rule in the case. This is fair and evenhanded to all sides. It allows for evidence to be the only thing that matters. Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, The New Statesman.

Scandals

Cash for Honours

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_for_Honours
  • 2012: Rod Aldridge of Capita received a knighthood for his services to young people
  • 1994: Rod Aldridge was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the computer industry.
  • Chai Patel, founder of the Priory Clinic (£100,000 to Labour)
  • Sir David Garrard, a property developer (ditto)
  • ToDo: finish this off. Note was under Blair Ministry. See 2006.03.24 Capita chairman quits after criticism of loan to Labour.

Anti-Semitism

See main article Anti-Semitism in the Labour Party

  • https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-labour-and-antisemitism
  • Let's be clear – antisemitism is a hate apart, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/22/be-clear-antisemitism-is-a-hate-apart
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel
  • Feb.03.2018: Antisemitism goes unpunished at fractious party meetings. An investigation was conducted into the Liverpool Riverside constituency party after a series of complaints. The report concluded that a “significant proportion of each meeting is given over to intense questioning on Israel from the floor” and that there were “obsessive interrogations” of the MP, Louise Ellman, who is Jewish, about the Israel-Palestine conflict. The issue was used “as a platform to attack” her, according to witnesses, and the abuse continued online. The revelation comes as Claire Kober, the Labour leader of Haringey council, announced her intention to step down at the May elections, claiming that there was widespread anti-Jewish behaviour in her local party. The Times, Lucy Fisher, Rachel Sylvester, Alice Thomson
  • Feb.03.2018: Claire Kober interview: "The only thing worse in Labour than sexism is the antisemitism". This week, Ms Kober — the most senior Labour woman in local govt — announced her intention to stand down at the local elections in May after a vicious campaign orchestrated by the pressure group Momentum, during which moderate Labour councillors in the north London borough were purged and a local housing project blocked by the party’s ruling national executive committee. After ten years as council leader, Ms Kober has been condemned as a "Blairite ultra" and a "red Tory" by leftwingers who oppose her plan for a £2 billion deal with a private developer to build 6,500 homes in one of the poorest parts of the country. The Times, Rachel Sylvester, Alice Thomson
  • Feb.01.2018: Labour's antisemitism is worse than it looks. The party’s latest row over Zionism reveals much about the views of the governing body that surrounds Jeremy Corbyn. The Times, Philip Collins
  • Apr.07.2017: Labour and anti-Semitism: can’t get the stink off. Ken Livingstone was, essentially, let off. A man who for years has ridden perilously close to anti-Semitism in his behaviour – we shouldn’t forget the "concentration camp guard" incident with a Jewish journalist in 2005 – finally crossed the line a year ago when he decided to argue that Hitler was a Zionist. And so Livingstone was suspended. The hearing has taken almost a year and the original three complaints upheld. Never one for knowing when to stop, outside last Thursday’s hearing he doubled down and claimed that Zionists "collaborated" with the Nazis. But instead of expelling him the party has decided – unbelievably for a mainstream party – that expulsion in this case is just on the too-difficult path, and opted for the wrist-slap of one further year’s suspension. There are various factors which have nurtured this unpleasant situation: hard-to-defend actions by Israel; what can only be termed prejudice among some party figures (Lord Ahmed, Ken Livingstone, Naz Shah); the rise of the far left, the main promoters of this view in mainstream politics; and the corresponding rise of the populist and far right, helping legitimise discrimination in general and make it fashionable once again. The frustrating thing is that Labour is genuinely chock-full of decent people without a racist bone in their bodies. We are talking about a handful of cranks. But its leadership cannot continue let such people act with impunity. The message sent is just terrible, whatever your politics. The Centre Left, Rob Marchant

Soviet Infiltration

  • Feb.24.2018: Operation Labour: how Soviet spooks infiltrated the left. Harold Wilson, whose close relationship with the Soviet Union before he became prime minister gave rise to a wave of conspiracy theories that reinforced public suspicion of links between Soviet intelligence and Labour. Wilson was not a Soviet spy but the allegations that he had been one inflicted damage on Labour and continue to haunt the party. Mr Corbyn blames right-wing hysteria for the rash of stories about his meetings with a Czech intelligence officer. In fact, he should be blaming his 1970s predecessor, whose contact with the KGB sums up the tortured Cold War relationship between Labour and the Soviet Union. ... The Czech intelligence service alone recruited at least three Labour MPs as agents. Jack Jones, the powerful trade union boss, was listed as an agent in KGB files, along with the MPs Bob Edwards and Ron Brown. The former Labour leader Michael Foot met KGB officers on numerous occasions. (more) The Times, Ben Macintyre

Sexism

  • Feb.05.2018: Labour’s ruling body ‘at heart of sexist abuse’. A Labour council leader who quit after abuse from the hard left said that it was pointless complaining to the party’s ruling body as it was part of the problem. Claire Kober said that the national executive committee, which is dominated by Jeremy Corbyn backers, was sexist in the way that it publicly undermined her administration’s efforts to deal with a housing shortage by working with the private sector. The Times, Dominic Kennedy

Transgender Issues

  • Feb.03.2018: Labour’s purge of the trans-rights heretics. When shadow equalities minister Dawn Butler announced that anyone who self-identifies as female can join all-women shortlists she was wrong: Labour rules require a gender-recognition certificate. Feminists were enraged and raised £20,000 to challenge the ruling. Their names were added to a secret blacklist by a group called Labour Against Transphobia, whose members include Wes Streeting MP. Both suspended women are passionate Corbynistas... Laura Pidcock MP opposes self-ID. The blacklist includes ex-Lambeth council leader Linda Bellos, a political ally for 40 years. And Jeremy stands by his old Trot friends. Between the two opposing camps is the unscalable wall of biology. The Times, '
  • Jan.27.2018: Labour suspends activist in transgender row. Jennifer James, the founder of a crowdfunding campaign to bar transgender women from all-women shortlists has been suspended from the Labour Party after her name appeared on a “secret hit list” submitted to party officials. {Tags: Labour Against Transphobia, Aisling Musson, Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting} The Times, Lucy Bannerman

Racism

  • Apr.01.2018: Exposed: Jeremy Corbyn’s hate factory. Twelve senior staff working for the Labour leader and the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, are members of groups containing anti-semitic and violent comments, including praise for Adolf Hitler and threats to kill Theresa May, the prime minister. The dossier was compiled over two months by whistleblowers working with The Sunday Times in the groups, who gained access to restricted membership groups. They uncovered more than 2,000 racist, anti-semitic, misogynistic, violent and abusive messages. (list of stuff) Richard Kerbaj, Gabriel Pogrund, Jon Ungoed‑Thomas, Tim Shipman, The Times.
  • Mar.16.2018: Scottish minister demands Labour expel councillor over racist remark. Scotland’s Transport minister Humza Yousaf has demanded that a councillor who made an Islamophobic comment about him be expelled from the Scottish Labour party. Jim Dempster, a Labour member of Dumfries and Galloway Council, told transport officials at a meeting on Tuesday that "no one would have seen [Yousaf] under his burqa". Dempster has since written to Yousaf, Scotland’s first Muslim Cabinet minister, to apologise and has been suspended by the Scottish Labour party pending an investigation. But Yousaf has called for him to resign as a councillor, adding that "only expulsion from Scottish Labour will do". This is the party’s third row over racism since the beginning of the year. Libby Brooks, The Guardian.
  • Jan.24.2018: Labour forced to scrap plans to charge white people more for Corbyn speech after equalities watchdog complains. Non-white supporters were offered a £10 discount on tickets to the East Midlands conference. The party were offering Black and Minority Ethnic supporters a £10 discount on tickets to a rally, but the plan had sparked outrage. The Sun, Harry Cole
  • Jan.23.2018: The Truth About The "More Expensive For White People" Smear. Far-right sites have been spreading a smear about a Labour event in the East Midlands that supposedly charged white people a higher ticket price than others. Tory MP Ben Bradley repeated the slur on Facebook. The truth of the matter is simple. The price of tickets was £40 for everyone. However, tickets for BAME (Black, Asian + Minority Ethnic) members were subsidised by BAME Labour – a membership organisation for BAME Labour members. In other words, the discounted price for people from ethnic minorities was no different to a discount subsidised by any club for the benefit of its members. {Via @SkawkBox. Also see @SunPolitics} SkwawkBox, '

Articles

Single Market

  • Mar.10.2018: Anger as Labour delegates denied Single Market vote. Corbyn has declared Britain should not remain in the EU Single Market because that would prevent a Labour govt from curbing cheap migrant labour and implementing socialist policies. He wants to nationalise the railways, place new restrictions on privatised energy companies and restrict private companies’ access to public services, all of which, he claimed, could be restricted by the EU if the UK stayed in the SM. Mr Corbyn also wants to stem the flow of migrant labour to the UK which, he claims, is undercutting British workers. Mr Corbyn said the EU was preparing to change its rules on the rights of temporary migrant workers. He said he wanted to negotiate a deal that gave Britain "full tariff-free access to the EU single market". Catherine Stihler, a Labour MEP, said that she had argued strongly for the Single Market to be included in the unity motion but had been defeated. The Times, Hamish Macdonell
  • 2017.04.24: Jeremy Corbyn on "Leaving the Single Market" (Video) YouTube
  • 2017.07.23: Labour would leave single market, says Jeremy Corbyn. Market membership is dependent on being in EU, but party would seek to mirror its benefits with trade deal. The Guardian

Moderates / Blairites

  • Apr.07.2018: Labour moderates are desperate to leave – but there’s nowhere to go. The case for Labour moderates leaving their party strengthens by the day. Jeremy Corbyn's behaviour demonstrates that he is not going to change. His decision to attend a Seder with Jewdas, a fringe group who have claimed that the anti-Semitism scandal is being whipped up by his political opponents, shows how determined he is to stay in his own comfort zone. A poll showing that 80% of Labour members think he’s doing a good job as leader highlights how impossible it would be to remove him. A "true Labour" party would be a classic social democratic party. But across Europe, these parties are in crisis. Unusually, neither the Tories nor Labour are led by their liberal wings at present. But it is also the case that the Tory move towards a more nationalist posture has been halted by GE-2017, and the political repositioning that has followed. May's chief of staff is now Gavin Barwell, a former Croydon MP who is one of the Tories most worried about how the party appeals to the more diverse parts of Britain... James Forsyth, The Spectator.

Candidate Selection

  • May.10.2018: Anger at Labour 'stitch-up' over MP candidate. Labour bosses have been accused of a "stitch up" and of trampling over party democracy by rushing through the selection of a candidate for the Lewisham East by-election. It is understood a shortlist will be chosen at national party level rather than by Lewisham East members. Top officers on Labour's #National Executive Committee (NEC), including party leader Jeremy Corbyn and deputy leader Tom Watson, were understood to be meeting on Thursday morning. Press From.

(Re-)Nationalisaton

  • Jun.10.2018: Labour denies toning down water industry nationalisation plans. Labour has insisted it is not toning down its nationalisation plans despite claims from a water company chief that a mutualisation-style approach has been discussed with opposition leaders. Labour has made forceful public statements on renationalising water – along with energy and rail – in recent months but a FTSE 250-listed utility claims the party is looking at alternative means of gaining control over the industry. Susan Davy, the chief financial officer of Pennon Group plc, which owns South West Water, said that although Labour was publicly talking about full nationalisation, she had noted a more emollient position during discussions with the party. Shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has pledged total, “permanent” and cost-free renationalisation of the water, energy and rail industries if Labour wins power at the next election. In February he attacked the privatised water industry, accusing companies of paying out a “scandalous” sum of £13.5bn in dividends to shareholders since 2010, while claiming huge tax breaks and forcing up water bills by 40% in real terms since privatisation of the industry in 1989. The heads of England’s privatised water companies were criticised by the GMB trade union this month for banking £58m in pay and benefits over the past five years while customers have received above-inflation rises in their water bills. Lawrie Holmes, The Guardian.

Other

  • Dec.16.2018: Why are Labour’s leaders so quiet on Europe? Maybe it’s the lure of disaster. The party’s apparent defeatism on Brexit is grounded in old-style Leninist fantasy. For readers bewildered by the indifference of Labour’s leaders to Brexit, let me offer a suggestion: you cannot understand British politics until you grasp that the party has been taken over by men (and the occasional woman) who spent their lives around the fag ends of the 20th-century Marxist-Leninist movement. Labour has inherited the mental deformations of the Leninist style of doing business: the leadership personality cult, the love of conspiracy theory, the robotic denunciations of opponents, and most critically for our current crisis, the ineradicable fantasy that the worse conditions for the masses become, the brighter the prospects of the far left are. Disaster socialism is its alternative to disaster capitalism. ... ... Nick Cohen not just sticking in the knife, but twisting it as well. Nick Cohen.
  • May.05.2018: Labour peers accuse Corbyn of Brexit cowardice. Labour peers launched an attack on the party leadership last night, accusing it of “paralysis” and “cowardice” over Brexit policy. With Jeremy Corbyn increasingly under pressure from Remainers to develop a more distinct and robust pro-EU policy, Labour peers said they were outraged that the party appeared to be trying to block their efforts in the Lords to achieve a soft Brexit that would allow the UK to remain involved in the EU’s internal market, and provide a solution to the Irish border problem. Toby Helm, The Guardian.
  • Mar.12.2018: Files record Stasi scorn for Labour in the 70s. Files from the vaults of the Stasi reveal their frustration with the "so-called left" of the Labour Party and the British anti-nuclear movement during the last years of the Cold War. More than 300 pages of East German records show that the feared Communist secret police were disappointed with their access and influence in the party. Records were disclosed in fruitless searches for Stasi files on Jeremy Corbyn after the revelation that he met a Czechoslovak spy in London several times in the 1980s. David Charter, The Times.
  • Mar.11.2018: A red-hot civil war is raging for control of Jeremy Corbyn’s No 10. Communists have joined the hard-left factions vying to exploit a hollow Dear Leader. Communist Party of Britain, Susan Michie , Jonathan Michie, Seumas Milne, Andrew Murray, John McDonnell, Seb Corbyn, CBI, Jon Lansman, Jennie Formby, Len McCluskey, NEC, Christine Shawcroft, Palestine Live. The Times, Sarah Baxter
  • Mar.10.2018: The two tribes of Labour’s left are at war. Momentum and the unions together helped to consolidate Corbyn’s power but are now fighting for control of the party. For the first time since Corbyn became leader in 2015 there is open conflict between the twin pillars of the left on which his victory was secured, defended and entrenched. In the red corner is Jennie Formby, a Unite official and former lover of its general secretary Len McCluskey, the leader’s greatest union ally and Labour’s largest financial backer. In the other red corner is Jon Lansman, bearded prophet of Momentum, the activists’ group that claims a membership of more than 36,000. At stake is the post of general secretary and immense power to shape the party’s machine, its candidates, politics and future. Linkback: Lansman ally, Christine Shawcroft, Gerard Coyne. The Times, Francis Elliott
  • Jan.27.2018: Corbyn convenes "away day" to discuss Brexit policy shift. Labour leader under pressure to back permanent membership of customs union. The Guardian, Toby Helm
  • Jan.21.2018: The London Economic Jeremy Corbyn is stuck between a rock and a hard place over Brexit – Here’s why. A 2nd referendum would effectively hand the Conservatives the keys to Westminster. Corbyn is in an impossible position, that if he even wanted to, any attempt to obstruct or reverse Brexit would split the Labour support base entirely, handing unbridled power to the Tories. The London Economic, '
  • 2018.01.21: Corbyn’s nationalisation plan is ‘£176bn gamble’ A new study has calculated the cost of Labour’s renationalisation plans. a report by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), the right-of-centre think tank... The report’s author Daniel Mahoney... The Sunday Times, Tim Shipman, Caroline Wheeler. Also see Centre for Policy Studies, @SolHughesWriter's tweet Lanour@Reddit + Reddit
  • 2018.01.09: Jeremy Corbyn has set up a "community campaign unit", a small but growing dept in his office that will focus on organising with communities and groups of employees, helping them to campaign on local and workplace issues. The unit’s creation is also very tactical move, intended to make Labour more popular in the post-industrial and seaside towns where it has made fewer gains in recent years. If, after a Corbyn victory, there emerges trenchant opposition from the richest and loudest people in the country, Corbyn hopes that his popular legitimacy will be validated by this inconspicuous little community campaign unit – or, rather, by the members of the movement that he hopes will stretch out far beyond it. Independent, Richard Power-Sayeed
  • 2018.01.08: Why Labour and the Tories are like Kipling’s tortoise and hedgehog. In GE2017, Labour was seen as compassionate but feckless, while the Conservatives were seen as competent but cruel. Labour sees tackling its problem as a task of two parts. First, it must sharpen up the shadow cabinet’s ability to expose and undermine the Conservatives at Westminster. That will help with its second objective: eroding the Tory reputation for competence. Parliamentary advisers ("pads") must attend round-table meetings on Tuesday mornings, usually chaired by David Prescott, the son of the former deputy prime minister John Prescott. He is one of Corbyn’s spin doctors, and that meeting covers messaging and lines to take. A Thursday afternoon meeting with Andrew Fisher – Corbyn’s policy chief, the author of the 2017 manifesto and the man to whom all Labour’s parliamentary advisers report – tackles big-picture issues. It often features presentations from either the leader’s office or the relevant policy adviser. The long-term limitation on Labour’s self-improvement is that Corbyn is reluctant to conduct a wide-ranging ministerial reshuffle. New Statesman, Stephen Bush
  • 2018.01.05: Oppose @JeremyCorbyn over #Brexit/#Lexit and you endanger #Labour enacting progressive agenda say his fans. What progressive agenda #Corbyn? @UKLabout plans to put universal "free" University Tuition afore tackling child poverty. Jodatu >> All Posts
  • Dec.31.2017: Labour could be tearing ahead in polls if everyone sharing party's values were willing to vote for them, finds survey. Think-tank Fabian Society says research shows potential support untapped by Labour. Twitter, '
  • ct.23.2009: Labour wanted mass immigration to make UK more multicultural. Labour threw open Britain's borders to mass immigration to help socially engineer a "truly multicultural" country, Andrew Neather, a former govt adviser has revealed. (Former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett.) Tom Whitehead, The Telegraph.
  • Feb.25.2017: Copeland shows Corbyn must go. But only Labour’s left can remove him. The party leader’s supporters should ask themselves how long they can allow the Tories, unchallenged, to wreak intolerable damage on the country. Let’s remind ourselves what’s at stake. Unchecked, Theresa May and her government are leading Britain through the narrowest, harshest exit from the European Union, taking the country out of not only the EU but also the single market, and in all probability, the customs union too. At the same time, May’s government is presiding over a calamity in the NHS, a crisis in social care, and an eighth year of shrinking budgets for local councils – which means more cuts to already starved libraries, parks and services for the most vulnerable. The key word in those paragraphs is “unchecked”. This should not be a strong government. It rules with a wafer-thin majority. Properly held to account, it could be held back – at least from some of its most extreme decisions. But that requires a strong opposition. Without one, May can ignore the MPs who face her and the dissenters on her own side. She need listen only to the Tory hard right. This is the starting point for any discussion of Labour. It’s the reason the state of the opposition matters. And what a state it’s in. Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian.
  • Feb.25.2017: David Miliband: Labour's move to the left is a mistake. Former foreign secretary David Miliband says party is further from power than at any time in last 50 years because of lack of substance. "The tempting thing to say is that it’s a mistake because it won’t get us elected," he said. "But for people like me it’s a mistake because it won’t address the challenges of the country. This isn’t just an electability question, it’s a question of substance. I think one can achieve more radical and substantive change through a different set of positions." Damien Gayle, The Guardian.

To Research

  • Donations: Everyone forgets Bernie Ecclestone, and his £1 million bung to Blair. (Toby Young). Scandal over Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone’s £1 million donation to Labour.
  • Jonathan Powell: Outrageous hypocrisy - as the ex-Blair henchman who corrupted the Civil Service lectures Theresa May on ethics, Peter Oborne finds his jaw hitting the floor. MailOnline Peter Oborne
  • What is the difference between what Wardle is doing, and Jack Cunningham, who used to have a close relationship with the nuclear industry? (Toby Young). See W:Jack Cunningham,