Friday, August 31, 2018
Is Frank Field's resignation a 'wake-up call' for Corbyn?
The decision by Birkenhead MP, Frank Field to resign the Labour whip and, as a consequence, membership of a party he has served for decades, was not that surprising.
Field is an ardent Brexiteer, who has defied the whip on a number of occasions, he is under threat of deselection and is experiencing considerable personal abuse from members in his constituency.
His decision to call it a day however, underlines a number of issues within Labour, not least the toxicity, the intolerance of anybody who does not offer unthinking fealty to the Leader, the growing anti-Semitism within the party and the undermining and loss of the broad church of left-of-centre opinion on which the movement was built.
The Guardian reports that Labour’s Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, has warned that Field's resignation must be treated as a 'wake-up call' for the party leadership:
In a blistering letter to Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, Field wrote: “It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party” and added that antisemitism alone would have been enough to prompt his resignation.
The MP for Birkenhead, who recently faced a vote of no confidence from his local party over his support for Brexit, highlighted what he called a “culture of nastiness, bullying and intimidation”, saying this was at best ignored and at worst tacitly tolerated.
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, said Field’s move was a “serious loss”, which “reflects both the deep divisions in the party and the sense of drift engulfing us. It is a major wake-up call. We cannot afford to lose people of such weight and stature.”
With a number of MPs privately frustrated, and growing rumours that several could resign to sit as independents, or even form a breakaway party, the Ilford MP Wes Streeting said that if the leadership failed to get a grip on the issue, Labour could face an existential crisis.
Field has become the third Labour MP to sit as an independent, after John Woodcock and Jared O’Mara separately resigned the whip over the party’s handling of misconduct claims against them.
The Guardian says that shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, believes that Field’s resignation should trigger a byelection in the safe seat, which the MP held with a majority of more than 25,000 in last year’s general election.
It's funny how no senior Labour figure is suggesting that there should be a by-election in Sheffield Hallam, where the Liberal Democrats would be likely to regain the seat from Labour.
Field is an ardent Brexiteer, who has defied the whip on a number of occasions, he is under threat of deselection and is experiencing considerable personal abuse from members in his constituency.
His decision to call it a day however, underlines a number of issues within Labour, not least the toxicity, the intolerance of anybody who does not offer unthinking fealty to the Leader, the growing anti-Semitism within the party and the undermining and loss of the broad church of left-of-centre opinion on which the movement was built.
The Guardian reports that Labour’s Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, has warned that Field's resignation must be treated as a 'wake-up call' for the party leadership:
In a blistering letter to Labour’s chief whip, Nick Brown, Field wrote: “It saddens me to say that we are increasingly seen as a racist party” and added that antisemitism alone would have been enough to prompt his resignation.
The MP for Birkenhead, who recently faced a vote of no confidence from his local party over his support for Brexit, highlighted what he called a “culture of nastiness, bullying and intimidation”, saying this was at best ignored and at worst tacitly tolerated.
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, said Field’s move was a “serious loss”, which “reflects both the deep divisions in the party and the sense of drift engulfing us. It is a major wake-up call. We cannot afford to lose people of such weight and stature.”
With a number of MPs privately frustrated, and growing rumours that several could resign to sit as independents, or even form a breakaway party, the Ilford MP Wes Streeting said that if the leadership failed to get a grip on the issue, Labour could face an existential crisis.
Field has become the third Labour MP to sit as an independent, after John Woodcock and Jared O’Mara separately resigned the whip over the party’s handling of misconduct claims against them.
The Guardian says that shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, believes that Field’s resignation should trigger a byelection in the safe seat, which the MP held with a majority of more than 25,000 in last year’s general election.
It's funny how no senior Labour figure is suggesting that there should be a by-election in Sheffield Hallam, where the Liberal Democrats would be likely to regain the seat from Labour.
Comments:
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Senior Labour grandees will not call for by-elections cos if they loose it will not be good for the party. They will wait till the good times come back and these 'independant' Mps will be welcomed back into the fold. The pressure for by-elections in these seats should be continued (unless it is counterproductive).
What is happening at the moment,to me, looks like the 1930s Labour looking neo-communist,stamp on those who disagree with the leader,all must conform (Stalin!). Tories, Banks urging Ukippers to 'take control' of the party,to become a Nationalist one(Hitler, Mussolini!)you could add Trump to this. Do we never learn from history? Protect the future
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What is happening at the moment,to me, looks like the 1930s Labour looking neo-communist,stamp on those who disagree with the leader,all must conform (Stalin!). Tories, Banks urging Ukippers to 'take control' of the party,to become a Nationalist one(Hitler, Mussolini!)you could add Trump to this. Do we never learn from history? Protect the future
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