The Barking case
JVL Introduction
The hysteria abroad on the right of the Labour party and in the mainstream media about reselection of MPs is calculated. Outrage that MPs on the right should be done out of a job for life, should be democratically accountable to the members who want them to reflect something of the politics of the base…
Margaret Hodge’s “triggering” had nothing to do with the left, as John Pawson makes clear. Rather, it is people fed up with her distance from her constituency and constituents and expecting her to retire and make way for others.
But why, asks Pawson, let the facts get in the way of a good story?
This article was originally published by LabourList on Wed 2 Oct 2019. Read the original here.
What really happened when Barking triggered Margaret Hodge
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Excellent, honest article which exposes MSM and Right-Wing Labour collusion to unfairly attack the Labour leadership on utterly spurious grounds. Being dishonest AND verbally abusive towards/about the Labour Leader would have been reason enough for deselection, but nothing left-wing OR antisemitic about this.
I think it’s disgracefull the wayCLPS have to defend themselves.
People have a right to say who they want to represent them it’s gone to far.A election is ahead right wing labour mps complain about trigger Ballots and deselection.
Where else do people enjoy a job for life.Only it seems on Labour backbenchers.
John, I get what you’re saying about left and right – I see it in my own branch and CLP – but can you spell out what policies rather than personalities the right don’t support? In other words was the 2017 manifesto not supported by most of the Labour group in Barking? (Note: Hodge 2017: 32,319 67.8% +10.1%)
I have known the Barling MP since 1981. I never saw her as a left winger, rather a careerist oportunist. She corrected me, more than once, when she was Chair of Social Housing provider Circle 33 as ‘The Barking MP’, she said ‘Im the MP for Barking’. I replied ‘I like it my way’. In her op-ed for the Guardian circa 1993 she said ‘we should not be forced to open our filofax’s to find board members (for Circle 33)’. Then with in five paragraphs she said ‘I was fotrced to use my filofax to fill the posts of board members’. A grip on detail and understanding of obvious contradictions have always been left wanting?
The very clear report from an active member in the CLP has told us what is happening. I am happy with that. I happen to also be happy that Margaret Hodge is facing a de-selection. Her behaviour toward our party is contemptible. In my opinion, she needed to be expelled when she called the leader of our party a ‘fucking anti-semite’. Slanderous. I cannot believe she has lasted this long. I have a complaint about her pending with the party.
John Pawson said:
What I’m hearing is that this move has come from those in the CLP who have supported Margaret Hodge and share her political views but had expected her to retire and wanted an MP who lives in the constituency.
Yes, but it seems highly unlikely to me that the Hodge supporters didn’t know how it would be reported by the MSM if they voted for her to have to stand for reselection. And what possible reason would they have had to say that they had expected her to retire, or why, after however long she has been an MP for Barking AND hasn’t lived in the area/constituency, would THAT suddenly become an issue. Sorry, but I just don’t buy it.
Will be interesting to see if she gets reselected!
If Margaret Hodge had spent one ounce of her time trying to really represent her constituency needs there may have been a different outcome .she never did that; she took them and the seat as her right not to be earnt by actually doing the job.!