An attack on one is an attack on all
Jewish Voice for Labour is proud to be a signatory to this joint statement in defence of the left and, more generally, of democracy in the Labour Party.
Although at least one MP has called for JVL to be added, it is not (yet) on the proscribed list likely to be confirmed by Labour’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday.
However, an attack on one is an attack on all. We have been consistent in challenging those who have been undermining the Labour Party with factional acts including refusing to back Labour candidates who did not agree with them. This is part of that fight.
Please sign and mobilise support for this petition.
Defend The Left – against all bans and proscriptions!
Instead of opposing the reactionary Tory government, the Labour leadership is turning its fire against many of its most committed members. The July 20 meeting of the Labour Party NEC is set to proscribe a number of left-wing groups, including Labour Against the Witchhunt, Labour in Exile Network and Socialist Appeal. The motion includes a proposal to investigate yet more groups for possible proscription.
Apparently, the motion states that membership of the groups is “incompatible with membership of the Labour Party”. The rule book already allows for the exclusion of members who campaign against the Labour Party. These organisations do not do that.
The same cannot be said for right-wing factions within the party that consistently and openly campaigned against Labour under Corbyn’s leadership. Yet none of those groups are threatened with proscription.
This is just the latest salvo in the right’s full-blown attack on what remains of the pro-Corbyn left in the Labour Party. It follows the denial to Corbyn himself of the Labour Whip for more than eight months. It follows the silencing of free speech and democracy across the party with whole branches and CLPs being suspended and whole areas of discussion being suppressed, including legitimate expressions of no confidence in the leadership. Expressions of solidarity with Palestinians have been ruled out of order on the basis of unfounded antisemitism claims. Expulsion is no way to deal with political disagreements.
We should be debating how to end draconian anti-trade union laws, reverse privatisation in the NHS and education, combat racism and discrimination, defend our right to protest, resist Fire and Rehire and cuts in benefits, and many more issues of grave concern to the trade union and labour movement.
We urge everyone who wants to build a united, fighting opposition to the Tories to join together against the attempt by the right to reintroduce a list of proscribed organisations. No doubt, other socialist groups will be added to the list, should this first round of proscriptions go through without a hitch.
Show your solidarity!
- Come to the NEC protest on Tuesday July 20 at 12noon (more details here)
- Please sign and share this petition
- Get your organisation/trade union branch to support this petition and our campaign – email info@defendtheleft.co.uk
https://www.defendtheleft.co.uk
Initial supporting organisations include:
Jewish Voice for Labour
Labour Against the Witchhunt
Labour In Exile Network
Labour Left Alliance
Labour Party Marxists
Labour Representation Committee
Socialist Appeal
Socialist Resistance
Has Paul Mason been heard to comment on this move by Starmer and Evans or is now a member of His Starmer’s Loyal Opposition?
So what about the JLM who were advised by their chair Mike Katz not to campaign for Labour under Corbyn? If any group should be proscribed it’s them, along with their sidekicks the LFI.
Right wing Jews are welcome but not Socialist Jews. Starmer and Evans who now run the Labour Party can justifiably be called antiSemites and racists.
Let’s see how many Socialist MPs there really are in the LP who come out against these fascist manoeuvres?
Or
Put up a challenge
Are the unions, members and supporters not sick of them as well, what part of the internal report did we not get
Seriously they are paper tigers, cheap and nasty plastic Tories, what does it take to burst their bubble, trust me not a lot
The JC legacy is intact, Covid19 and the backlash from the attacks on English footballers proves that, millions just waiting for one of ours to stand up and be counted
Democracy is dead in the Labour party. This vote will be the funeral
We need a united Labour party. I’m so sad to see members treated like this
If these groups of people are to be “proscribed” – like turning the clock back to the ’50s – then why are groups such as “Progress” which I have always understood to be a party within a party, not being proscribed. They would be the first on my list – not that I would have one!
The Left must unite regardless of their factions & petty differences, both inside & outside of the LP. We must be visible in our Socialist Solidarity & resolute in seeing the job through to the end. Social Democracy is merely a cypher for the ‘acceptable face of capitalism’, there is no such thing. The revolution is here, time for everyone to do their share. Get out on the streets, make your voice heard, defend the cause.
This is so sad in the party our ancestors set up to fight for ordinary people and against exploitation. I see that “a Labour spokesperson” has been quoted as saying that “Labour is a broad, welcoming and democratic party and we are committed to ensuring it stays that way”: you really couldn’t make it up.
I know from personal experience how difficult it is to cut loose and start again, but it looks like this is going to be the only path for the left in the future. Hopefully, it can be done in an organised way, with MP’s and Union backing – and before the merger with the Libdems that will inevitably follow.
‘So what about the JLM who were advised by their chair Mike Katz not to campaign for Labour under Corbyn?’
Do we have positive proof that the JLM as an organisation or if any of its officers called on people not to vote for the Labour Party in the last general election, or at any other election?
Paul Mason has spoken out re the proscriptions. See his Twitter account.
In the above article it says the following:
Apparently, the motion states that membership of the groups is “incompatible with membership of the Labour Party”.
What they actually mean of course is that they are incompatible with the right-wing of the party!
And Doug, how can the SCG put up a challenge if they don’t have the numbers to do so. The SCG has 34 members, and would need 40 nominations to meet requirements – ie 20% of the PLP. And given that the MP they were nominating from their group can’t nominate themselves of course, and that Jeremy isn’t eligible to nominate anyone, they would in actual fact need 42 altogether to nominate a candidate to challenge Starmer.
Seems rather odd that you’re not aware that THAT is the case given that you post on skwawkbox every single day, and especially as how I have pointed it out on a number of occasions (on skwawkbox), and did so yet again a couple of days ago.
As for what Jack said – ie ‘Let’s see how many Socialist MPs there really are in the LP who come out against these fascist manoeuvres?’
And what do you think their NEXT ‘fascist manoeuvre’ would be if any or all of them collectively did so?!
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Came across the following earlier in a Haaretz article:
A party source told Haaretz that “the worst of the abuse that Jewish members received at local constituency Labour Party meetings came from members of these [four] groups.”
https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium-jewish-labour-members-applaud-move-to-kick-far-left-factions-out-of-party-1.10015303
Yep, there is no level to which these people will not sink!
Thought I’d just check out the Sun to see if they’ve posted an article yet about the NEC vote today, but they’re obviously still in the process of concocting it, but in the process came across the following from three days ago (well, four in fact as of 35 minutes ago):
‘KEIR’S PURGE Keir Starmer to boot out 1,000 far left members from Labour in effort to clear out ‘poisonous’ groups loyal to Corbyn’
And here’s a clip from the article:
One Labour MP told The Sun the planned clear-out is a “necessary first step”.
And they warned that Sir Keir will need to boot more hard left factions out of the party “before people take us seriously again”.
Yeah, sure, as if anyone other than left-wingers (and the Blairites et al) have ever heard of these groups prior to a few days ago!
And then the following:
In January, The Sun Online reported how two-thirds of British Jews felt safer in this country after the fall of Jeremy Corbyn, according to a survey.
The poll was conducted by King’s College London and the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.
Chief exec Gideon Falter said at the time: “Britain’s Jews are back from the brink.”
Yes, thanks to Gideon and other courageous people, Britain’s Jews were saved from certain death at the hands of Mr Corbyn and his Neo-Nazi Labour Party WHO, I have no doubt, would have rounded them all up and herded them off to concentration camps within hours of attaining power, had he done so.
And they do so just luurve to amuse their minions whilst eradicating the left from main-stream politics, like this classic in the Daily Mail:
On the expulsions, a Labour spokeswoman said: “Labour is a broad, welcoming and democratic party and we are committed to ensuring it stays that way.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-9808341/Labour-expels-groups-critical-work-tackle-anti-Semitism-party.html
The latest moves are a witch-hunt devised and executed by political scabs.
So if these groups are so ‘poisonous’, and those belonging to them the worst abusers of Jewish members at CLP meetings etc, then how come it’s taken fifteen months for Starmer & Co to get round to kicking them out?
Doesn’t add up or make sense of course.
And how come we didn’t hear about any of this A/S abuse of Jewish people attending CLP meetings by members of these groups before? I mean given all the coverage the topic has garnered during the past getting on for six years by the MSM, surely they would have been made aware of it and, as such, covered it. And they’ve never been shy about mentioning names before…… Oh, silly me, but of course, there’s just far too many of them to mention by name! But no doubt it was a member of one of these groups who came up to Ella Rose when she was handing out leaflets at a LP conference (I wonder what they were about) and screamed abuse in her face. And no doubt it was members of these groups who told Izzy Lenga at meetings every day that ‘Hitler was right’ and that ‘He didn’t go far enough’. And were probably responsible for all the OTHER abuse that these poor members were subjected to, who were courageous enough to take part in John Ware’s excellent Panorama program.
Allan Howard – I like you am puzzled about “poisonous groups” abusing CLP members. As you correctly say – how come we have never heard of this before and why were they not reported at the time?
Was any evidence produced at the NEC meeting concerning members of the groups and in which case – for each occasion of alleged abuse:
(1) who was it?
(2) when did it happen?
(3) where did it take place?
(4) what was the nature of the abuse?
Most or all of these groups have either been suspended or
thrown out of the Labour Party already so how come they were attending meetings of their CLP?
Certainly no member of any of the groups have been given a chance to defend themselves.
The party has one month’s reserves, we can either tip them over the edge and bankrupt the party
Or
Challenge the man responsible for squandering £13 million and many millions more votes
Labour MP’s will have two choices, help to get rid of him and keep your job or support him and lose it
The unions who back a lot of these MP’s can also apply pressure or threaten to withdraw funding
Finally JC scared the right to death and they will simply not allow Temporary Embarrassment to stand, which I believe brings the requirement down to 20 MP’s
You say tomato I say potato, Mr Howard
Some Afterthoughts: In the Real World – had the members of these four groups been the worst abusers of Jewish people at CLP meetings – then SURELY they would have not ONLY been banned from attending any more CLP meetings as of the very first time they did so, but ALSO reported to the LP/NEC and, shortly thereafter, kicked out of the Labour Party. In other words, none of them would now be in the LP, so there would be no reason to proscribe said groups, as none of them are members of the LP any more.
And given that there are – reportedly – around one thousand members of these four groups altogether, it seems highly unlikely that more than ten of them, say, would belong to and attend meetings of any ONE particular CLP. But even at an average of ten – which is highly unlikely – that would mean that between them, they were attendees at meetings of around one hundred different CLPs around the country. And all of them abusing the Jewish people attending meetings!
BUT, *they* – the members of these four groups – were only responsible for the WORST of the abuse, and there were yet OTHER people/members who attended meetings and abused Jewish people as well, only THEIR abuse of Jews wasn’t so bad.
I mean you couldn’t make it up….. But ‘they’ DO!! If it weren’t all so serious, it would be laughable.