Dear all
It is time to talk about the elephant in the room - Labour Party suspensions. Around 8,000 people according to some. There may be many reasons some members are still suspended from the Labour Party, stuck in limbo, but a lack of useful, pertinent information to those affected is just one cruel aspect of this sorry state of affairs. Legal concerns and matters may be part of the problem but we members are just ordinary folk. We are not in it for the money, the power and the glory. We have our own life stresses and strains. When we opt to commit to a political party we deserve some respect. People join for many reasons and yes some do so mischievously. But the majority join the party to show support and pay for the privilege. In some cases they work their socks off trying to get the Labour Party message out and representatives elected. If they then respond angrily on social media using a word that the party machine has suddenly decided is off limits, such as TRAITOR, do they deserve suspension? When the party has trawled back over time following anonymous complaints regarding party members the affected member is scuppered. But as previously stated if you feel a person has betrayed you or broken a promise TRAITOR is a very fitting word. Those MPs who vowed to support Mr Corbyn when he was elected September 12, 2015, but did anything but, fit that category to perfection. But as #LabourPartyPurge2 drags on tempers are fraying and people are resigning - enough is enough and who can blame them for quitting. A sensible way forward would be an amnesty of sorts. The abuse timer reset, as after all in many cases it was simply angry debate and not abuse. That would allow a date to work from. No more trawling back over social media just a clean slate and new era following your re-election in 2016. Allowing the current situation to drag on is destructive. It means people listen to Chinese whispers and gossip. That results in more anger and the downward spiral circle continues to whirl out of control. It is not rocket science. It makes some conclude the party is still split, that a further leadership challenge could follow and it provides the mainstream media with ammunition all making Labour's electability a distant dream. For the sake of us all we need to hit the restart button. With so many factions working against each other little wonder people are 'speaking with their feet' and resigning. Who will respond to this open letter? Will anything change for the better in 2016? Or is the Labour Party just too big for its boots now. Party suspensions need putting to bed. Time to move on and work toward election success with all hands to the pumps. Note: The writer is not suspended. But she has Labour values which means she cares about those that are. Do you Mr McNicol?
For those still waiting for ballots for the Labour Leadership contest, I have just been told the following:
-I have just been reissued with an email and postal ballot today-Fri 2nd September as I have still not received one as of 12pm. I rang 0345 092 22 99, pressed option 5, then option 2. -I was told I should receive my email ballot by Tuesday (6th Sep) or Wed (7th Sep). I should receive my postal ballot by a week from the date of request-in my case, Fri 9th Sep. -The man I spoke to was very helpful, but was NOT aware of circulating rumours of 102,000 eligible people still not receiving their ballots. He did think it was "bizarre" and "strange" what is going on, though. -The Cut off for asking for a ballot to be re-issued is: POSTAL BALLOTS (Just Full Members): Wed 7th September EMAIL BALLOTS (Everyone else INCLUDING Full Members): Wed 14th September -The man advised me to NOT wait until 14th September though if you still have not received the original ballot(s), or the re-issued ballot(s). HE SAID GET IN CONTACT SOONER. Also, he said if people vote via email and postal ballot, they take whichever is received first. The same goes if you suddenly receive the original ballot(s) AND the re-issued one(s). They will only accept one vote (obviously and rightly so!). -PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT THEM ASAP -IF it is true that 102,000 eligible voters have not received their ballots, this is VERY worrying. If you add this to the 160,000 Full Members not allowed to vote, and approx 55,000 Registered Supporters not allowed to vote, that means a total of approx 317,000 people!!! That would be HALF of all the approx 640,000 Members/Supporters/Affiliates etc who thought they had a vote. -I'm sure the Electoral Services must have some explanation; maybe they are waiting for information from the Labour HQ? Who knows. But it does seem odd, IF and I say IF the Electoral Services, who deal with the General Election ballots that number at least 8 times the amount for this Labour Leadership election, are struggling, for whatever reason, to get these ballots out. What is going on? Many Thanks to Adam Samuels Op-ed: "Assem Allam is an Egyptian-born British businessman, based since 1968 in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He is the owner of Allam Marine, an industrial generator manufacturer, and owner of Premier League club Hull City Wikipedia."
He is a very wealthy man and lives in a wealthy suburb of Kingston-upon-Hull, Kirkella. Thursday evening he appeared on Yorkshire television's regional news but the story was nothing new. In an interview Allam confirmed he is certain that the Labour Party will split if Jeremy Corbyn wins the 2016 party leadership election. He also said he is prepared to fund a new political party by investing millions and has already spoken with senior Labour politicians. Was one of those MPs Hull Hessle and West's Alan Johnson? Or does he mean the old new Labour guard and the likes of Peter Mandleson, Tony Blair and a couple of well-known spin doctors? Allam surely has more pressing business sorting out Hull City football club's ongoing issues? In 2014 he threatened to sell the football club if he was not allowed to officially change the club's name; his plans failed and his big money merchandising ideas were put on hold. More recently he has threatened to sell Hull City football club more than once; manager Steve Bruce left the club following a row this summer. Perhaps Mr Allam thinks he can buy and manage a political party to suit like a football club? He has donated more than £500,000 to the Labour Party helping fund the gap left by falling Union donations. Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour Party leader September 12, 2016, and we posted the following report six days later, September 18. Mr Allam was already publicly talking about funding another political party and pulling the plug on Corbyn, the party, its members and its traditional voters. So it is September 18, 2015: "Assem Allam is a local businessman, originally from Egypt. He is owner of the local Football League Championship team, Hull City. This week Allam has been in the news following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party. Often business and the big money it makes do not go hand in hand with the Labour party, a political party of socialist origins. But in this case it does, or rather it did; multi-millionaire Allam has been one of Labour's top donors but that could be about to change. He is not happy that Corbyn was elected party leader but it was a democratic election when all is said and done. Whether Corbyn fans would have supported the party had one of the other candidates won the leadership election is not known; probably not in some cases but that is immaterial. Corbyn is party leader and we all have to work with what we have and that means giving the people's choice a fair chance. As always Mr Allam is prepared to put his money where his mouth is and has said he will fund Labour MP's who want to break away from the party and either form a new more left of centre party of even swing over and join the Liberal Democrats. New Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron believes his party could be onto a winner following Corbyn's victory. He has hinted at conversations with disenfranchised Labour MPs who may make the jump to the Lib Dems. Division has been done before though and it did not work. A so-called 'gang of four' split to form the Social Democratic party in 1981. Four senior Labour Party 'moderates' broke to form the SDP; they were Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams. They also believed that Labour had become too left-wing for its own good much like some Corbyn doubters in September 2015. For the two general elections that followed they joined forces in an alliance with the Liberal Party and in 1988 formed the Social and Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats were formed in the late 80's. All the breakaway from Labour achieved was to help the Tories and Thatcher to political success, rip apart Labour and setback Labour's political success for years. Surely current Labour party representatives should take a lesson from history? Labour must know that 'together we are stronger' as after all the right-wing live by a very different adage 'divide and conquer'? The gang of four proved they were not worthy Labour party representatives when they caused a huge rift for their own ends. So let those not worthy in 2015 go their own way but do not let them try to con you that it is for the good of all. Mr Allam is used to getting his own way for a price. He has already been defeated in his quest to change the name of Hull City to the Tigers which is the team’s nickname locally. Allam wants the change as he believes it will bring financial success by way of marketing. He may be right that "rebranding the club is the only way to bring in new investment from overseas" but the FA and fans do not agree. With the help of people power Hull City remains Hull City. Can people power save Labour from his attack? Opinion: I voted for Andy Burnham in the leadership race. I am happy he was man enough to accept a job in the cabinet and respect the vote. Corbyn is party leader and unless he does something dreadful he has my support. Does he have yours?" July 2016 as the pathetic Labour coup rumbled on the Canary has reported on Assem Allam Also July 2016 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/05/top-labour-donor-offers-rebels-millions-to-defect-and-start-new/ And here we are September 1, 2016, and Allam is back in the news with the same old song. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3738698/Hull-City-staff-clean-Allam-graffiti-KCOM-Stadium-walls-ahead-Premier-League-return-protests-against-ownership-grows.html http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/eileen-kersey/time-for-labour-to-get-behind-jeremy-corbyn Opinion: The accepted left-wing of British politics was nicely occupied by the Labour Party for decades. After a series of reformations and makeovers the party's identity became muddied. If it is not on the left of politics surely it is irrelevant? Gone are the days of a two-Party system with the old Liberal party filling the centre ground but failing to form a government. Change can be good; moving with the times is essential; but where you draw the line matters. Old Labour, New Labour, Momentum, The Fabian Society, Progress, Saving Labour and now Labour Tomorrow. The last, Labour Tomorrow, may be new to you but that could soon change. The rest are existing groups within the Party or an earlier state of play. So what is Labour Tommorow and who is behind it. Brenda Zaman on Facebook writes "Electoral Commission records show the hedge fund manager Martin Taylor, who under Ed Miliband's leadership donated £600,000 to the party, has given £180,000 to the group. Labour Tomorrow was founded by the former Gordon Brown aide Nicola Murphy. Her fellow directors are former home secretary Lord Blunkett and Labour peer Baroness Dean. The Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott - who has also funded Labour candidates like Dan Jarvis in the past - has given £25,000. The group was founded in April but records on Companies House show that Lord Blunkett and Lady Dean were not appointed until 28 June - at the start of the coup by Labour moderates to try to unseat Mr Corbyn." You can check out the company here https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10097916/officers Tuesday Sky News opted for "Anti-Corbyn Group Amasses £250,000 Fighting Fund" as title for a Labour Tomorrow report It seems those who have done deals behind closed doors and worked to remove Corbyn as Labour Party leader are out of the closet and getting ready for their next move. SkyNews continues "Influential Labour moderates are raising cash to battle Jeremy Corbyn's Momentum campaign and "rebalance" the party." That is a great deal of hyperbole. Terminology matters. For moderates replace with centre, right of centre and right wing of Labour. For influential replace with wealthy. Money talks and is playing its part in the coup and Labour Party struggles. Owen Smith and his team may not like the words plot, plotters and coup but they are all valid. Plans to remove Corbyn were hatched before he was elected. Why is a Liberal Democrat Peer investing in Labour Tomorrow? "Matthew Alan Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, is a British investment manager and member of the House of Lords, formerly sitting in Parliament as a Liberal Democrat." He was expelled from the Liberal Democratic Party. Isabel Oakeshott, a distant cousin, was involved in Cameron's piggate as a part author of Call Me Dave. In January 2015 he made a huge cash donation to the Labour Party but why? Oakeshott worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Kenya from 1968 to 1970. During 1970 to 1972, he undertook post-graduate studies at Nuffield College, Oxford, although he did not complete a graduate degree. He joined the Labour Party and served as a Councillor on Oxford City Council. That tells me he is a very wealthy man but also has flip flop politics. He may also have his own agenda.
But while those with wealth screw with the Labour Party and our democracy some of the poorest and most vulnerable people of the UK are left to struggle on. Labour Tomorrow is a watch this space project. "It will provide funds for centre-Left political bloggers, activists and campaigners in an attempt to "re-build" the Labour party after successive election failures" reports Sky News. Is it only that or is it set to be a new Labour Party? Will it launch if Corbyn is re-elected party leader? If it divides Labour in much the same way the gang of four did in the 80's the only big winner will be the Tory Party. Will they hope to take the role of the official opposition in the House of Commons? But what will you do when they want support? I will say thanks but no thanks.. Looking at their website it is all about money and buying support. Why would I trust my vote and or support to devious, flip flop politicians with money to burn who want to buy democracy in the UK? I would rather not vote. Should I apply for funding for this Corbyn orientated website or does my support for that man make me a hard-left Trotskyite? Do we really need bought and paid for political bloggers? Further reading: David Blunkett and Brenda Dean http://www.labourtomorrow.co.uk/2016/07/25/the-challenge-ahead/ http://www.labourtomorrow.co.uk http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/former-lib-dem-lord-oakeshott-donates-300000-labour-candidates http://news.sky.com/story/blairite-group-amasses-163250000-corbyn-fighting-fund-1053900 http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/british-political-scene/continuity-labour-or-kinnock-self-indulgent-party http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3744417/Labour-donors-anti-Corbyn-fund-Thousands-pumped-fight-group-poised-strike-Corbyn-elected-leader.html http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/what-is-labour-tomorrow.html |
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