The Forde Report has exposed the rotten foundations of Keir Starmer’s leadership
JVL Introduction
Daniel Finn has produced another fine exposition and critique of the Forde Report to add to those we have already posted.
His conclusion echoes that of many others: we cannot accept Forde’s both-sides-are-equally-at-fault framing of what happened when Corbyn was leader.
There is simply no equivalence between the tawdry behaviour of those opposed to Corbyn and the response of the Labour left.
As Finn argues, “Forde’s superficially evenhanded framing cannot be reconciled with the material that he presents. In order to sustain it, he has to apply a double standard, criticizing the Labour left on the basis of speculation and false equivalences while hesitating to draw negative conclusions about the Labour right when the facts permit no other interpretation.”
This article was originally published by Jacobin on Fri 22 Jul 2022. Read the original here.
The Forde Report Has Exposed the Rotten Foundations of Keir Starmer’s Leadership
Lawyer Martin Forde has finally published a report on the Labour Party’s bitter factional wars under Jeremy Corbyn. The findings of the report show that the case against Corbyn made by his opponents was a shameless and cynical frame-up.
Loading article text…
JC
Has a considerable fighting fund, he needs to cherry pick a target and blow them out of the water
It’s never to late to make up the capitulation on the AS Scam
We forget a lot of our problems were self inflicted
The leaked report was part of this capitulation
A brilliant article, profound thanks to Daniel Finn.
Some of the best parts of the Forde Report in my view are those explaining how the factional senior staff got away with what they did. It was only when Jennie Formby took control as General Secretary late on in 2018(?) and produced effective management information systems together with proper supervision of staff that anyone outside this self-reinforcing maverick group could see what they were up to.
It’s outside the remit of the Forde Report but I’d love to find out whether the maverick group within Labour’s civil service had close, ongoing links with Peter Mandelson, Blair’s organisation, the British press and a stable group of right wing Labour MPs.
The mass, carefully timed resignations from the front bench early in Corbyn’s leadership depended for their success on strong operational leadership and up to date contact details and strong existing relationships with key individuals across a range of political and media organisations. I don’t see how the scheme could be “worked” without administrative support from inside the party.
Now read it. More comprehensive than Jonathan Cook’s [also excellent] articles. A pity a new concert of a leadership *heave* has crept in [against the conventional leadership *challenge*], but other than that, detailed and good in its critique of the weaknesses of some of Martin Forde [and his team’s?] points; but we will never know what compromises were forced on him [he who pays the piper].
Re Linda’s point above: “I’d love to find out whether the maverick group within Labour’s civil service had close, ongoing links with Peter Mandelson, Blair’s organisation, the British press and a stable group of right wing Labour MPs.” The leaked Report shows [from what I remember from 2 years ago!] that the HQ staff team were in close collusion with Corbyn’s *supposed* Deputy, TWatson, who they were ready to install as Acting LOTO once they’d *offed* Corbyn, after the expected poor election results [the electorate let them down!].
“After Jeremy became leader, he opened the floodgates and allowed people to join the Labour Party who never would have been allowed anywhere near it in the past…..”
Sam Matthews
Yes, that’s right. One of the questions you were asked in the onllne membership form when Jeremy Corbyn was leader was ‘Are you an anti-Semite?’.
I think we can safely say that such nonsensical and fatuous rhetoric comes naturally to propagandists. And needless to say, the author of the article, Lee Harpln, didn’t think to ask Matthews to specify what he meant by floodgates, OR, how, in the past, LP staff would have known who these people were, which must have presumably amounted to thousands if the ‘floodgates’ had to be opened to let them all in, or even tens of thousands! And they weren’t interested in his socialist policies of course, which they couldn’t care less about, and joined the LP solely because they knew instinctively that he was an anti-semite just like them.
There were numerous examples of such nonsensical rhetoric being churned out by the democracy-subverting saboteurs. Another example is the following from Ruth Smeeth:
“He should be naming and shaming some of the worst perpetrators who are doing it in his name…..”
Yes, Jeremy Corbyn obviously knew who they all were, but kept schtum about them. Now if she’d only thought to send him a comprehensive list of their names (along with what they said) – which one can only assume she knew – and asked him to name and shame them all, then if he didn’t do so, she could notify the MSM that he declined/refused to do so, but unfortunately it didn’t occur to her to do that. Or name and shame them herself. I hope it occurred to her to pass all their names on to the police though.
https://news.sky.com/story/female-mp-ruth-smeeth-received-20-000-pieces-of-abuse-in-12-hours-10562476
‘We forget a lot of our problems were self inflicted’
Well thankyou for reminding us Doug, as you have on numerous occasions, and especially on Skwawbox, along with the other line that you endlessly repeat about the left being ‘practically useless’, as you did yet AGAIN just a few days ago:
At what stage do we accept the Labour movement is like a one legged man in an arse kicking contest
No chance of winning and practically useless
https://skwawkbox.org/2022/07/20/forde-criticises-party-for-excluding-jvl-antisemitism-training-jvl-responds/#comment-228135
Starmer’s entire leadership is built on lies, corruption, dirty funding, broken pledges and treachery and yet NO ONE has questioned him on any of it..
I’m sure one of the reasons he still has supporters is because many don’t know anything about depths of mendacity Starmer is guilty of.
I’m sure because in know many people who refuse to believe me.. even with proof..
Three things now need to be done:
(i) Use the Forde report to FORCE the whip to be restored to Corbyn: make it a public campaign
(ii) Write to the BBC asking/demanding that they re-examine ‘Is Labour antisemitic?’ in the light of the evidence in the Forde report
(iii) Go for the jugular: consider legal action against Sam Mathews. If it can be established that he bore false witness, and it looks like it can be, this man is a legitimate target.
Excellent article. Thank you Daniel.
I find myself responding in a very similar venomous way as shown in that right-wing Whatsapp group.
I do gloat when right-wing Labour candidates do badly in by-elections.
I do occasionally laugh out loud when a right-wing Labour Party spokesperson has their vacuous policies ripped apart during an interview.
There has not been much need to, but I do wince if I see Starmer receiving even a scintiller of positive reporting in the news.
But then, I feel I have a VALID reason. I have seen the only practical electoral alternative I have, the Labour Party, torn apart and neutered. Not as a result of bad decisions made through open and free discussion in the party, but in the most undemocratic way by a vicious pack of outright lieing red-tories.
The left never expelled any right-wing Labour leader. The left never put restrictions on free speech. The left never concocted vile false accusations and expelled thousands of members. The left never conspired for a LP candidate to lose to another party.
But perhaps we should have done some of this. Perhaps there are a thousand or more right-wing undemocratic LP hacks who should be expelled for dismantling or undermining democracy. Perhaps a bell should be rung when each one of them is heaved out.
Perhaps there are Labour Party MPs who need the power their privileged position gives them neutered, and allowed to lose their seats.
I read it all Daniel, may have to read it again as there’s lots to digest.
Personally from the very beginning of Mr.Corbyns leadership race, I became extremely interested in politics & at my age saw many pitfalls as accusations about him started to drip in.
My grandmother a refugee from the 2nd world war was taken from Poland with my mother aged 9 across Siberia in a cattle truck. The horrors they saw were nightmares.
So by the time some form of rescue came she had realised that politics & propaganda could change the nature of truth & decency.
She had seen good people brought down by just one lie. So never trusted those who created ladders for themselves & convincing others how righteous they are.
This attack on Mr Corbyn was so visible to me, so blatant, the actions of MPs walking out made me dig deeper to find out who they really were & what groups they belonged to. When I read about the protests & constant interuptions by a man called Jeremy Corbyn I had to ask myself WHY would this politician fight for justice in South Africa, Why does he constantly fight for Human Rights & Peace & all manner of things? Well the answer was clear, resounding…..IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
I did not trust the Watson, McNicoll, Akehurst, Austin, Smeeth, Berger etc & especially the Hodges & Ellman. I smelt betrayal, hatred & then the Eagle brick saga ! How does one justify giving this woman A Dame before her name?
The whole matter was planned, contrived & people were paid to ruin the chances of a Labour government, because the Right Wing have noses in the Zionist Israeli troughs. Its so Political so corrupt even the US 3.8 Billion dollars a year to Israel’s military must be protected & the Palestinians are & have been for over 74 years my lifetime , collateral damage. My grandmother wasn’t wrong money, greed & the need for overwhelming power does not include the poor, children or decent people whatever their beliefs, race or colour who hope for future.
The Corrupt don’t care.
I wonder who leaked the emails to the Sunday Times/media:
Labour defends handling of anti-Semitism complaints after leaked emails ‘show inaction by party in hundreds of cases’
The Sunday Times said it had seen leaked internal documents which showed the party’s system for dealing with complaints had been beset by delays, inaction and interference from the leader’s office.
Some members investigated for posting comments online such as “Heil Hitler” and “Jews are the problem” had not been expelled despite complaints being made a year ago, while Jeremy Corbyn’s office had been involved in approving, delaying or blocking at least 101 complaints, the paper reported.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-defends-handling-of-antisemitism-complaints-after-leaked-emails-show-inaction-by-party-in-hundreds-of-cases-a4111216.html
Hmm, as if any genuine left-wing supporters of Jeremy would say/post such things. And isn’t it odd that so few of these people get reported to the police, AND, that the MSM journalists themselves have at no point queried why that is. OR, that out of all the tens of thousands of alleged incidents/cases of abuse and A/S, only two or three LP members have ever been prosecuted.
Talking of which, it IS odd how the Counter Terrorism polIce never tracked down and caught the person who posted a long rant on facebook in 2016 calling Ruth Smeeth an effing traitor (but they DIDN’T threaten to hang her as the Sun asserts in its headline). Yes, in these days of mass surveillance they just happened to know how to avoid being tracked down! Like so many of the vilest offenders! Hmm……
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1712291/counter-terror-cops-hunt-foul-mouthed-jeremy-corbyn-supporter-who-launched-a-vile-tirade-threatening-to-hang-moderate-labour-mp-ruth-smeeth/
Well said to contributors on this discussion, especially Les Hartop and Teresa Grover. At the end of the day the struggle against against the labour movement’s “reformist”, right-wing sell outs, not only to our own British, Tory elite but also to the far-right, neo-fascists in the current Zionist leadership in Israel is nothing new. It’s been ongoing since the days of Karl Marx’s ideological battles with the snivelling, class collaborators,, especially in Britain and Germany, since the 19th century.
Those of us who were educated as far back as the 1960’s, through personal experience at the depths of subterfuge and hostility that the Labour Party’s right-wing, were prepared to sink to because we posed a threat to them carving out comfortable, careerist paths, not to mention filling their pockets by way of peerages, knighthoods and elevations to highly paid EU & state jobs, all these latest manoeuvres come as no surprise.
The only surprise is the length of time it’s taken for the political penny to drop amongst some of our colleagues on the Labour Party’s left.