Another one bites the dust – NEC member Mish Rahman denied longlisting
JVL introduction
Another name has been added to the roll call of left Labour figures denied longlisting for parliamentary selection.
NEC member Mish Rahman announced on Twitter on July 18:
I have not made the longlist in the Wolverhampton West parliamentary selection despite the backing of seven trade unions and affiliates. I have chaired longlisting panels for other Parliamentary selections but deemed not a ‘high quality candidate’ to be longlisted myself.
We reproduce his announcement below.
Mish was first elected as a constituency members’ representative on the party’s national executive committee in 2020, when he was chair of Aldridge-Brownhills Labour and a member of Momentum’s national coordinating group. He was the first Labour candidate of Bangladeshi heritage to stand in Walsall’s council elections and one of the first graduates of Labour’s Bernie Grant Leadership Programme. He set out his campaign to stand for Wolverhampton West in October 2022.
Factionalism on the part of the current Labour leadership is the only conceivable reason for excluding him from a parliamentary selection longlist for a seat in his native West Midlands.
(NWI)
Statement from Mish Rahman
I googled “what is due dligence in political parties”. This what I got:
“Best Strategies for Due Diligence Checklist for Political Parties.
1. Transparency and accountability. This means being open and honest about their decisions, finances, and operations. Political parties should be transparent about the sources of their funding, how they spend it, and how they report it.
2. They should also be accountable to their members and voters, allowing them to participate in the decision-making process and providing them with opportunities to voice their concerns. ”
Hmmmm…..
What will EHRC have to say about this? It is flagrant political interference in LP procedures by the perpetrator of a brazenly dishonest election deception. “Kid Starver” won the leadership election by making promiseshe had no intention of keeping- as he has broken every one of promises to heal division and end factionalism aswell as reversing policy. He will destroy the LP if not stopped. The deputy leader has a clear duty to depose and replace him in these cicrcumstances. There should be laws to prevent such open, direct violation of election procedure – by a candidate deliberately lying about his true intentions in order to win an election. The facts of the case are public knowledge : the policies carried out following his election are directly opposite to what was promised in his election manifesto
Surely some honest LP member could challenge this bent. pro-Apartheid lawyer
Go independent.
This is Keir Starmer’s Labour Party through and through – no integrity, and trying to present itself as what it thinks is a vote-winner, never mind any idea of having or sticking to principles, or adopting policies and practices that stand up to scrutiny.
Solidarity with Mish. Please stand as an Independent in the GE instead. This country is crying out for socialism – if we cannot get there through the ‘party path’ then with enough Independents in Parliament, we could hold the balance of power.
Every story such as this one is another nail in the coffin of the Labour Party. I desperately want to see the Tories relieved of their position in Government but, I would not want a Starmer led Blairite party either. As one already expelled for my criticism of Israel, I can only hope for a coalition.
Has Mish expressed any solidarity with Naomi, as it was her place he took on the NEC. I’m not sure he has which may be understandable if he’d got on the longlist but how surprised are we that he didn’t get endorsed by HQ.
I voted for Mish, so I’m gutted for him. This is happening right across the Country, Solid, Experienced, Socialists are not making the lists, especially if they have an ethnic background. Almost every day Starmer, says or does something that angers, not only me but many, many ex and still are members, if you’re on FB and Twitter, you see what they are saying about Starmer. I’ve also noticed that far less people are saying, he’s better than having the Tories.
I’ve also read comments by well known Socialist LP MPs that are having a dig at him.
I hope at some point they come together and chose someone to challenge him, they have a mountain of excuses to challenge him, especially on his Lying, which is on par with Boris Johnson.