Friday, January 03, 2025
Labour not tolerating any dissent
This is the meat and drink of politics and each party has a different approach to getting these things done. Whether it is Boris Johnson withdrawing the whip and ending the political careers of a large number of pro-European MPs who wouldn't go along with his bonkers Brexit plan, or Keir Starmer temporarily suspending seven Parliamentarians early in his term because they voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap, Prime Ministers do what they can to get their agenda through.
Where it gets a bit barmy is when this disciplinary regime starts to filter down the ranks. Yes, leaders need their troops in the lobbies in Westminster, but do they really have to come down hard on the rank and file who are asking legitimate questions, and in doing so representing the concerns of their constituents?
THe BBC reports that rwenty councillors have quit Labour in protest at the party's direction under Sir Keir Starmer, and after ten of them had been blocked from standing for Labour at upcoming local elections for Nottinghamshire County Council after questioning the winter fuel policy:
The councillors - from Broxtowe Borough Council in Nottinghamshire - claimed the party had "abandoned traditional Labour values" and criticised policies such as cutting the winter fuel allowance for some pensioners.
Council leader Milan Radulovic, who had been a party member for 42 years, is among those walking away from Labour.
A local Labour spokesperson said the decision by some councillors to sit as independent 18 months after they were elected was "incredibly disappointing".
The councillors said they would establish a new independent party, planning to run the borough council as a minority administration in the short-term, but may need support from existing independents in order to keep control.
...
Radulovic said of the move that he was "deeply saddened" but had been placed in an "impossible position".
"I cannot support and will not support another centrist government intent on destroying local democracy and dictating national policy from a high pedestal," he said.
He also criticised plans to reorganise local government, which could see district and borough councils scrapped.
"I believe the concentration of power in the hands of fewer people and the abolition of local democracy through the current proposals of super councils is nothing short of a dictatorship, where local elected members, local people, local residents will have no say over the type and level of service provided in their area," he said.
The group said 100 local grassroots members had also left Labour.
Not a good start to the new year for Keir Starmer.
