Labour's Broad Church
The Sunday Post reported a while back that the GMB union was refusing to back Labour's candidate in the Copeland by-election, after an alleged 'stitch-up' by Jeremy Corbyn supporters.
Apparently the NEC panel which made the selection comprised of Kate Osamor, Corbyn’s Shadow Secretary for International Development, Unite’s political director Jennie Formby and Christine Shawcroft, the new director of the left-wing movement Momentum.
Doesn't sound very well balanced to me, but Labour Party members in Copeland had the last laugh when they selected Gillian Troughton to fight the seat - rather than the candidate favoured by Jeremy Corbyn supporters.
Apparently Corbyn's name is 'toxic' in Copeland because of the Labour leader's opposition to nuclear power, but we'll know the result soon as the by-election in being held on Thursday.
Read the full article in The Sunday Post via the link below.
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/union-fury-as-labour-fights-to-retain-seat/
GMB union members refuse to back pro-Corbyn Labour candidate for Copeland by-election
By Rachel Wearmouth - The Sunday Post
UNION chiefs are refusing to back a would-be Labour MP in a key by-election race after a “stitch-up” by Jeremy Corbyn allies, The Sunday Post understands.
Labour faces a fight to hang on to the Cumbrian constituency of Copeland, with MP Jamie Reed set to stand down.
But it has emerged members of the GMB – which dominates the local party due to the union’s strong presence at Sellafield nuclear plant – are “furious” with party power-holders and will not back Rachel Holliday, the pro-Corbyn favourite to defend the seat.
The union was pushing former Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty, but its choice was blocked.
Ms Holliday, a community campaigner who founded a hostel for ex-servicemen, is among three women shortlisted by a special panel of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
Insiders say GMB officials may even refuse to put whoever wins in touch with their Sellafield members, who could prove crucial to victory.
The problem with Jeremy Corbyn's latest recruit to Labour's high command is not so much that Jayne Fisher once worked for Sinn Fein, but that the upper echelons of the party now are dominated by people whose unrepresentative political views are so far removed from those of ordinary Labour voters.
The Politics Home web site reports on the latest row to have broken out in Labour ranks, but alongside Jayne Fisher key 'movers and shakers' in the Labour Party already include:
I had a Twitter exchange with Jeremy Corbyn supporter, a chap who hides his real identity behind the silly moniker 'Cool Daddy' and describes himself as a London Corbynite.
Anyway, I had simply pointed out that the opposition to Jeremy Corbyn inside the Labour Party is much greater now than it was during the days when Jezza was a serial rebel and thorn in the side of every Labour leader since Neil Kinnock, i.e. going back to 1983.
In his response this clown then described members of the party's National Executive Committee as 'fascists' which says a lot about Labour under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
Jezza bangs on about tolerance and respect yet many of his fanatical supporters are out of control using language that has no place in civilised political debate.
And you can be sure that the Labour leadership either know Cool Daddy's identity or could find this out easily, if Corbyn & Co really wanted their loony supporters to 'cool the beans'.
Cool Daddy @Cool__Daddy
The boss of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, issued the following statement after talks collapsed over Jeremy Corbyn's continued leadership of the Labour Party:
The Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy won a vote of confidence (17-14) at the Scottish party's executive committee the other day, but decided to stand down nonetheless because of the wrecking tactics of his most vocal critics, including Len McCluskey the boss of the Unite trade union.
Apparently Corbyn's name is 'toxic' in Copeland because of the Labour leader's opposition to nuclear power, but we'll know the result soon as the by-election in being held on Thursday.
Read the full article in The Sunday Post via the link below.
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/union-fury-as-labour-fights-to-retain-seat/
GMB union members refuse to back pro-Corbyn Labour candidate for Copeland by-election
By Rachel Wearmouth - The Sunday Post
UNION chiefs are refusing to back a would-be Labour MP in a key by-election race after a “stitch-up” by Jeremy Corbyn allies, The Sunday Post understands.
Labour faces a fight to hang on to the Cumbrian constituency of Copeland, with MP Jamie Reed set to stand down.
But it has emerged members of the GMB – which dominates the local party due to the union’s strong presence at Sellafield nuclear plant – are “furious” with party power-holders and will not back Rachel Holliday, the pro-Corbyn favourite to defend the seat.
The union was pushing former Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty, but its choice was blocked.
Ms Holliday, a community campaigner who founded a hostel for ex-servicemen, is among three women shortlisted by a special panel of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
Insiders say GMB officials may even refuse to put whoever wins in touch with their Sellafield members, who could prove crucial to victory.
Jezza's Broad Church (30/12/17)
The problem with Jeremy Corbyn's latest recruit to Labour's high command is not so much that Jayne Fisher once worked for Sinn Fein, but that the upper echelons of the party now are dominated by people whose unrepresentative political views are so far removed from those of ordinary Labour voters.
The Politics Home web site reports on the latest row to have broken out in Labour ranks, but alongside Jayne Fisher key 'movers and shakers' in the Labour Party already include:
- unreconstructed old 'Stalinists' like Seumas Milne (Jezza's official spokesperson) and Andrew Murray (Len McCluskey's chief of staff at Unite)
- Karie Murphy a key figure in the Labour leader's office who is referred to in the media as a 'close friend' of Len McCluskey and who was once tipped to become the Labour candidate in Falkirk before the 'vote rigging' scandal and Ineos dispute blew up
In days gone by Labour liked to present itself as a broad church, where a wide variety of political views were welcome, whereas now it appears to be operating as a 'leftist' dominated Jeremy Corbyn fan club.
Read the full story via this following link to Politics Home.
Jeremy Corbyn defends giving key role to former Sinn Fein staffer
By Kevin Schofield - Politics Home
Jeremy Corbyn's office has defended his decision to hand a key job to the former head of Sinn Fein's London office after the move sparked fury among some Labour MPs.
By Kevin Schofield - Politics Home
Jeremy Corbyn's office has defended his decision to hand a key job to the former head of Sinn Fein's London office after the move sparked fury among some Labour MPs.
Jeremy Corbyn with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams at the House of Commons in 1995
Credit: PA Images
Jayne Fisher will be in charge of "stakeholder engagement" for the Labour leader from next month.
Mr Corbyn confirmed the move at a meeting of the party's parliamentary committee in parliament yesterday afternoon.
Labour MPs' fury after Jeremy Corbyn hires senior Sinn Fein staffer to work in his office
Sinn Fein calls for referendum on a united Ireland after Brexit
Labour 'approached Sinn Fein' on hung parliament
One MP present told PoliticsHome: "It's fair to say that the general response was one of shock and anger. Obviously, we really need to annoy more people in the run-up to Christmas.
Credit: PA Images
Jayne Fisher will be in charge of "stakeholder engagement" for the Labour leader from next month.
Mr Corbyn confirmed the move at a meeting of the party's parliamentary committee in parliament yesterday afternoon.
Labour MPs' fury after Jeremy Corbyn hires senior Sinn Fein staffer to work in his office
Sinn Fein calls for referendum on a united Ireland after Brexit
Labour 'approached Sinn Fein' on hung parliament
One MP present told PoliticsHome: "It's fair to say that the general response was one of shock and anger. Obviously, we really need to annoy more people in the run-up to Christmas.
State of Labour (10/01/17)
I had a Twitter exchange with Jeremy Corbyn supporter, a chap who hides his real identity behind the silly moniker 'Cool Daddy' and describes himself as a London Corbynite.
Anyway, I had simply pointed out that the opposition to Jeremy Corbyn inside the Labour Party is much greater now than it was during the days when Jezza was a serial rebel and thorn in the side of every Labour leader since Neil Kinnock, i.e. going back to 1983.
In his response this clown then described members of the party's National Executive Committee as 'fascists' which says a lot about Labour under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
Jezza bangs on about tolerance and respect yet many of his fanatical supporters are out of control using language that has no place in civilised political debate.
And you can be sure that the Labour leadership either know Cool Daddy's identity or could find this out easily, if Corbyn & Co really wanted their loony supporters to 'cool the beans'.
- In reply to Cool Daddy@Cool__Daddy @shirleymcbrinn Your use of the word 'fascist' to describe fellow Labour Party members is appalling, no wonder polls are so bad
- In reply to AuntieShirley
@shirleymcbrinn @Cool__Daddy Opposition to JC is much greater now than Corbyn-led opposition to Kinnock, Smith, Blair, Brown and Miliband
Mark Irvine Cool Daddy @Cool__Daddy
- @Mark1957 The opposition to Corbyn is mainly from the PLP and the fascists in the NEC. Not to mention the RW MSM @shirleymcbrinn
'Kamikaze' McCluskey (10/07/16)
The boss of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, issued the following statement after talks collapsed over Jeremy Corbyn's continued leadership of the Labour Party:
“I am dismayed at the statement issued by Tom Watson announcing his withdrawal from talks aimed at resolving the crisis in the Labour party.
“Extraordinarily, I received no notice of this statement before it was issued. I had made arrangements for a meeting of trade union leaders, Tom Watson and representatives of the PLP and the party leader for tomorrow, arrangements requested by Tom Watson and his colleagues, specifically for Mr Watson’s convenience.
“In that context, when the possibility of a workable plan had never seemed closer, Tom Watson’s actions today can only look like an act of sabotage fraught with peril for the future of the Labour party.
“I must clarify one point in Tom Watson’s statement; I made it absolutely clear from the outset of these discussions that Jeremy Corbyn’s resignation as the leader was not on the agenda. Watson knew that, and it is entirely wrong to suggest that any public statement by Jeremy represented any change in the situation. This is a deeply disingenuous manoeuvre.
“I will continue to work with trade union colleagues and others to chart a way forward, including meeting the legitimate concerns of Labour MPs.”
Now if McCluskey had already made plain that Corbyn's position as leader was 'non-negotiable', then the talks were doomed from the outset, the vast majority of Labour MPs (from all wings of the party) having concluded that Jeremy is simply not up to the job.
So it's worth remembering that Len McCluskey's style of leadership almost led to the closure of the giant Ineos plant at Grangemouth after Unite foolishly called a damaging strike over a local union steward who was called to account for carrying out work for the Labour Party during his employer's time.
Resign! (26/09/15)
The Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy won a vote of confidence (17-14) at the Scottish party's executive committee the other day, but decided to stand down nonetheless because of the wrecking tactics of his most vocal critics, including Len McCluskey the boss of the Unite trade union.
Unite has wasted £14 million of its members money in donations to the Labour Party since Ed Miliband became leader in 2010 and last year the union called a disastrous strike at the giant Ineos plant in Grangemouth which almost cost thousands of Unite members their jobs
So why doesn't Len McCluskey follow his own 'lead' and resign as the Unite general secretary because by any standards he's done a lousy job after accepting that the vast majority of Unite members in Scotland supported the SNP in the general election, having deserted the Labour Party in droves over recent years.
Jim Murphy gave Len McCluskey both barrels in announcing his decision to resign and has pledged to table a report of proposed reforms to the Scottish Labour executive next month.
Here's what he had to say:
“It is clear that a small minority who didn’t accept my election as leader of the Scottish Labour Party just five months ago won’t accept the vote of the executive today and that will continue to divide the party.
Today I received more support in the executive vote than I did from members of the executive when I stood for election five months ago.
When I table that report at next month’s meeting of the Scottish Labour Party executive, I will also table my resignation as leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
It will be for the party executive to decide whether it accepts the reforms proposed, but a party in such urgent need of reform blocks those changes at its peril.”
“It is clear that a small minority who didn’t accept my election as leader of the Scottish Labour Party just five months ago won’t accept the vote of the executive today and that will continue to divide the party.
Today I received more support in the executive vote than I did from members of the executive when I stood for election five months ago.
When I table that report at next month’s meeting of the Scottish Labour Party executive, I will also table my resignation as leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
It will be for the party executive to decide whether it accepts the reforms proposed, but a party in such urgent need of reform blocks those changes at its peril.”
The Labour Party’s problem is not the link with trade unions, or even the relationship with Unite members - far from it.
It is the destructive behaviour of one high profile trade unionist.
One of the things about stepping down is that you can say things in public that so many people in the Labour Party only say in private.
So whether it is in Scotland or in the contest to come in the UK, we cannot have our leaders selected or deselected by the grudges and grievances of one prominent man.
The leader of the Scottish Labour Party doesn’t serve at the grace of Len McCluskey, and the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by Len McCluskey.”
It is the destructive behaviour of one high profile trade unionist.
One of the things about stepping down is that you can say things in public that so many people in the Labour Party only say in private.
So whether it is in Scotland or in the contest to come in the UK, we cannot have our leaders selected or deselected by the grudges and grievances of one prominent man.
The leader of the Scottish Labour Party doesn’t serve at the grace of Len McCluskey, and the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by Len McCluskey.”
