Labour losing members hand over fist under Starmer, warns John McDonnell
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JVL
JVL Introduction
John McDonnell says the unintended consequence of the disciplinary process is really dangerous and queries the extraordinary targeting of us JVL members.
John McDonnell was interviewed on the BBC’s flagship Today programme on 17th September and he is quoted more extensively in this article on the BBC’s website. He said that he was concerned about an unintended consequence of the disciplinary process.
“From the evidence Jewish Voice for Labour have produced, key members of their executive committee are having disciplinary action taken against them,” he said.
“I found it ironic to say the least that in our campaign against anti-Semitism we are taking action against Jewish people. What I am saying to the Labour party is you have to be very careful about this. I think it’s really dangerous.”
This article was originally published by BBC News online on Fri 17 Sep 2021. Read the original here.
Labour losing members hand over fist under Starmer, warns John McDonnell
The former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has claimed Labour is losing members “hand over fist”.
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‘Unintended’ really
John McDonnell needs to start getting real
“John McDonnell says the unintended consequence of the disciplinary process is really dangerous and queries the extraordinary targeting of us JVL members.” Is everyone certain that they are unintended consequences?
It has always seemed to me that the aim of the leadership was to rid the party of the troublesome lefties.
“People need to get real. We are trying to get rid of anti-Semites or people who apologise for or cover up for anti-Semitism,”
So said Luke Akehurst. We certainly do need to get real. The campaign about ‘antisemitism’ was never about anti-semitism or any other form of racism. That is why Akehurst has no objection to the quiet readmision of Trevor Philips.
If it was genuinely about removing racists from the Labour Party then the first to go would be Luke Akehurst, who justified snipers shooting unarmed demonstrators, including children, at the Gaza Fence. Imagine if this had been Jewish children being killed by Palestinians, what his reaction would be.
Re Watson’s comment on the relative size of the JLM and JVL, can we have the real (i.e. Jewish members) please?
In the vote as to whom to support as Labour leader, the JLM only gave percentage figures. This hid the number of those voting.
Reading what Luke Akehurst is saying, is more than a bit frustrating and annoying, him and his Progress group, did nothing but undermine Jeremy Cornyn because he supports the Palestinians, and he’s a supporter of Israel and allows that to stop him thinking straight and fairly, the majority on the Left abhor the behaviour of Israel towards the Palestinians and that’s why Akehurst has always undermined and criticised them, including Corbyn.
Akehurst, Starmer and Evans, in my opinion and I believe the evidence is overwhelming, are not interested in a Labour Party winning an election, their priority is to make sure a Left dominated Party that condemns Israel doesn’t exist.
My next objection to Akehurst’s statement that, these groups (which are mainly made up of Left Socialists) are whitewashing antisemitism, they are not but what they do say is, the antisemitism in the Party was massively exaggerated, previous analysis has shown it to be less than 1%, which is totally ignored by Akehurst, Starmer and those MPs that also support Israel.
These groups have come together to counter the lie that it is a massive problem in the Party and is being weaponised by those Israel supporting MPs and others like the BoD and the BBC.
Every suspension since Starmer became leader that I have heard about, including friends involves those that criticised Israel or Supported Palestine why, because that is what the truth is all about.
Akehurst’s next statement, is frankly ridiculous and is a cover for his support of Israel, “People need to get real, we are trying to get rid of anti-Semites or those that apologise for or cover up for anti-Semitism”. What’s his proof for accusing JVL Jewish members of apologising or covering up anti-Semitism?
He needs to be challenged on these accusations, I hope that he is challenged and brought to book on them.
[This comment has been cut to approximate our 300 word limit – JVL web]
“A member of Labour’s ruling NEC, Luke Akehurst … said the principle of acting retrospectively had long been established”…
Gobsmacked by what Akehurst has said. Any lawyer, police officer or professional worker should know such behaviour is legally untenable and wholly unfair and unreasonable. Come to think of it, any child over the age of 7 would realise Akehurst’s view is unethical and contrary to the way decent human beings conduct themselves.
I fear this is one aspect of a gradual decline of the Labour Party as a functioning campaigning and electoral force. In some local ward branches, we are reduced to a handful of active members and most of these are over 60 years old. We have always had distinctive groups and interests working in an uneasy alliance with each other, but the present centrally organised witchhunt of members who identify themselves as socialists seems likely to compromise our ability to campaign free from being involved in factional infighting. The few hard right MP’s who deserted the Party seem to now have ex-colleagues still in the Party, who are continuing their factional activity. This completely drains my enthusiasm and energy.
A less than agile ceremony
Unintended? It’s entirely intended. IMO the right of the party think their plan is going swimmingly.
Nice to see Philip K Dick making a dramatic intervention in Labour Party politics!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-crime
A prophet much unappreciated in his own time. He was always on the side of the little guy, he would have been proud that his concept had been useful
Pace Orwell of course, who would also have been pleased to be of assistance
I am not apologising for or covering up anti-Semitism. I am saying that Jewish and non-Jewish critiques of Israel as a Zionist state are not anti-Semitic. This continues to be a dispute over what anti-Semitism is in which the last word is far from being said, and the chaos that takes place of proper debate on this is used as a disciplinarian fiasco by any rightwing Labourite, including the general Secretary it would seem, who wants to see progressive members leave the party – preferably in droves.
If that’s what you think John, can you please explain your silence when that inspiring black Jewish woman Jacky Walker was being unjustly expelled?
Your inaction when you were in power lead directly to the flood of expulsions today. You could and should have nipped the witch hunt in the bud when you had the chance but you chose not to.
Some of us are waiting for your apology.
It is virtually a stated purpose of Starmer et al to greatly reduce the membership of the Labour party. After all, it was members who elected and supported Mr Corbyn as leader. Ordinary people are just too unpredictable and uncontrollable for the Right to bother having around.
4 ‘anti-Semitism’ read ‘Socialism’…….true picture.
Linda
Decent human beans conduct themselves
The AS Scam is not a weapon used by decent people, this is an existential fight for the Labour party and democracy
Does anyone think we can keep Red Tories in the party after the internal report, the witch hunt and the Fascism
Luke Akehurst is a particularly nasty person. There are quite a few like him in the present Labour Party.
John McDonnell and others need to start to urgently start to address what is going on in LP before it is finely destroyed as a electoral force. Maybe its to late and another proper Labour party should be considered.
I fail to understand the logic of Starmer and Evans. What is the point of suspending alienating so many supporters members on to say the least dubious grounds.? Destroying Labour as a electoral force when we have the worst government in living memory.
What hope is there?
Is Watson right to say that JVL is “much smaller” than JLM?
Hasn’t Labour already lost over 100,000 members since Starmer became leader? Plus didn’t Angela Rayner say Starmer wanted to expel 100,000 anti-Semites?
Who is Luke Akehurst to tell practising Jews that they are antisemitic?
And he should remember that Labour was never elected to Government under Neil Kinnock.
I’ve just been reading a “Guardian” piece in which John Curtice has advised Starmer of the absolute necessity of winning over the soft Tory vote if he’s to win the next general election. Contained within the article is the explanation that soft Tories would rather stick with the Tories and don’t like or trust Starmer. So Starmer and Curtice OUGHT to realise Curtice’s recommended strategy won’t produce the results Starmer and Labour want.
John McDonnell assessment of Starmer seems to hit the nail on the head:-
“To be frank he [Keir Starmer] lacks an element of political experience. He hasn’t been in politics that long. He needs to talk to people across the political spectrum in the party and engage more.”
How long can John McDonnell and left Labour MPs sit and watch the rotten racist, anti-semitic, anti-democratic, right wing “leadership” and their acolytes destroy the party? “Unintended” ! Really?! Open your eyes John – get out of your office and lead the fight against the right. We need leadership, not apologies.
Akehurst’s comparison with the proscription of Militant is disingenuous but interesting.
Militant was proscribed because it was decided (probably rightly) that it was in effect a party in its own right, with its own policies, leadership structure, disciplinary system etc. For this reason a person could not be a member of both Militant and the Labour Party.
Labour members were, however free to agree with aspects of Militant’s economic policies, just as they can now agree with aspects of Green Party policies or even aspects of Conservatism. Several prominent members of the PLP have said that the public were right to return a Conservative government in 2019 which presumably indicates such agreement. Even this rather extreme statement was not taken as a ground for expulsion, though one would think that the same sentiment expressed before the election would have been.
LAW is obviously not a political party and expelling people for ‘membership’ is not an option. They have therefore to be expelled for expressing opinions; in practice, ones which differ from those of the Party leadership.
The result is that Labour Party members are far more likely to be expelled for agreeing with opinions expressed by LAW or similar groups than for agreeing with opinions expressed by other political parties in direct competition with Labour.
This confirms the general impression that the present Labour Party leadership sees other political parties as opponents but the left wing of its own party as enemies.
John Curtice
Between 97 and 2010 New Labour lost 5 million votes and came within a whisker of bankrupting the party
No one wants to vote for a Red Tory party