Stephen Marks, expelled from the Labour Party for signing petitions
Stephen Marks was elected to the National Constitutional Committee of the Labour Party in November 2018. He received an administrative suspension from the Party in July 2021.
This was based on the grounds that Stephen, along with many others, had signed three public petitions/open letters in 2016. 2017 and 2018 respectively. You can read these here, here and here.
He wrote to the Party challenging the grounds for his suspension, but never received a response to that or subsequent attempts at communication.
Until last week, 19th December 2022, when he received a notice of summary expulsion.
Bindmans has written a letter on his behalf to the EHRC which is monitoring Labour’s implementation of its Action Plan against Antisemitism challenging the entire procedure.
They point out that
- all actions pre-dated Stephen’s election to the NCC
- he was one of a large number of signatories to these public documents and that other signatories have not been investigated by the Labour Party
- the charge of undermining the Labour Party’s campaign against racism, which in view of Stephen’s strong anti-racist actions and beliefs, is in fact an example of the Labour Party conflating legitimate criticisms of the Israeli government (expression of which is protected by Article 10 EHRC) with antisemitism.
It goes on to cite words written by Stephen in response to the charges:
“There is a principle of natural justice here, the right to speak up for others subject to accusations which is relevant to all three petitions. I have confirmed with other NCC colleagues that a signature on a statement or petition would not normally be accepted as evidence in a disciplinary case, being merely an expression of legitimate opinion, unless the petition itself contained racist or sexist expressions. Also it is illegitimate not to show ALL signatories as this representation singles me out.”
You can read the full letter here.
We have a Crowdfunder to help with our legal costs. All help is much appreciated:
It’s the right approach to go to organisations other than the Labour Party to highlight injustice in the party. Clearly it’s a waste of time appealing to Labour – the statement on Naomi’s expulsion is for us not them. But I hold out little hope for the EHRC.
How long are committed anti racists going to continue to plead to be allowed to continue as Labour Party members? When are we going to start to demand that apologists for Ethnic Cleansing (for example every single member of Labour Friends of Israel) should no longer be eligible for Labour Party membership ? Tolerance is a good thing but appeasement of people who defend a state that only exists because of Ethnic Cleansing undermines the fundamental moral bedrock of social democracy. If you stand by when a fellow human being loses their home and nationality for the sole reason that they come from the wrong race how can you call yourself a socialist ?
Zionism is not an acceptable point of view and we should say so.
Stephen is a thoroughly decent man whose principled stance on the rights of Palestinians hasn’t wavered in 30 years. He is also intensely loyal to the Labour Party. His suspension is both incomprehensible and profoundly wrong.
The Parliamentary labour party is dead and buried….we now have to defeat the blue and red tories at the next election
Heartfelt solidarity to Stephen, a local comrade who has shown nothing but wisdom, compassion, anti-racism and hard work for the Labour Party in all the years I have known him. I am totally bemused how signing a petition as an individual Party member does any damage to the Party. The message of the petitions was not an official Party message but an expression of the personal views of some members. Therefore, it should surely not be the business of the Party to expel any signatories, let alone to selectively do so. In any event the petitions were anti-racist and so the opposite of what is claimed.
Well said to all, especially Martyn Meacham & David Hawkins. It is abundantly clear that these right-wing witch hunters of anyone with socialist credentials or opposition to the now proto-fascist leanings of the Netanyahu regime of Israel are under orders from their political paymasters in the Tory Party and Israeli establishments to drive out of the Labour Party all those who even have a whiff of political decency or questioning of this Israeli government’s policy of ethnic cleansing of those whose lands they have occupied and stolen.
A first step would be for Jeremy Corbyn to state unequivocally his intention to stand as an independent socialist at the next general election for his constituency. No more “Mister Political Nice Guy” prepared to countenance a truce or co-existance with these right-wing, careerist, political entrists who don’t know the meaning of “a broad church” in the Labour Party. That and a concerted effort, when Starmer’s regime falls flat on its economic & political face after the Tory Party loses the next general election, and a campaign for all trade unions currently affiliated to Labour to withdraw their funding and determine to support the foundation of a new, socialist workers party, bereft of the kind of self-seeking, careerist scoundrels who currently call the shots in the PLP.
We are appalled at the Labour Party’s victimisation of any member who opposes Zionism. Palestinians are living under a brutal military occupation which is getting more severe by the day. The apartheid regime is causing untold suffering to the men, women and children of Palestine and Gaza. If you are a Labour Party member you are not allowed to openly oppose this situation. Stephen has been campaigning for the Labour Party for decades. I personally have campaigned with him in pouring rain and in the dark when he would be the last person to call it a day. Shame on the Labour Party to expel him and the many others who oppose the brutal and cruel apartheid regime in Israel and the settlers who have carte blanche to murder and terrorise. The Labour Party and it’s Zionist sympathisers will go down in history as supporters of racism and apartheid.
When I joined the Labour Party in Oxford in 2016 there were so many new members regular socials were organised to welcome them. I remember Stephen Marks as the first person to actually welcome me to the party (I think he held some position in the CLP at the time). I can’t express how disgusted I am about this expulsion – all for giving his support to others
It is absolutely ridiculous but not surprising that the BBC have not reported on Jewish expulsions from the party.
Not a surprise as Tom Watson and Mann are now Lords! Both now paid for back stabbing Jeremy Corbyn and Socialists, that meant it! Labour now definitely GENTRIFIED back into the SDP!!! Blair and Mandelson have achieved there Goal to smash Socialist Labour! They must have studied Nixon and Mc Carthyism!
Please, can anyone tell me how many Jewish members of the Labour Party have been expelled and how many have been suspended since Starmer became leader. I want to draw this to the attention of my Labour MP. Thank you.
So sorry to hear this. I haven’t had all that much to do with Stephen but whenever I have he struck me as kind and wise.
Yet another case where the a critic of the Israeli Government is thrown out of the Party. WE must keep up the fight for justice for all those expelled or suspended by these anti democrats, who just want a Party full of nodding donkeys.
How long can we continue to maintain the fiction that the Labour Party is a realistic force for progress and for social justice? It simply isn’t any more, if ever it was! I hope that MPs like mine (Rachael Maskell, York Central – ostensibly a member of “Campaign Group”) who have seen it necessary to keep a lower profile will understand if committed socialists express their frustration in the racist and reactionary leadership by seeking other purposes and destinations for their votes.
Stephen has campaigned against racism since he was a student, joined the Labour Party in 1981 and has supported, canvassed, leafleted and organised on its behalf ever since. To be expelled, with the unsubstantiated assertion that he had “undermined the party’s ability to campaign against racism” and that his conduct had been “prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party” is absurd. He was suspended whilst an elected member of the NCC, waited 17 months for the NEC panel to make a decision on his case and was not even told the date that this panel had met when notified of his expulsion on 19 December.