version

Well-known member
There's apparently something going on with an attempt to ditch the post of deputy leader and oust Tom Watson. God knows what will happen at the conference if it's already kicking off like this.
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
Tom Watson should definitely go. Never mind him being an egotistical self-important wanker. He should have resigned over the Carl Beech business long since.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
I think this is all to do with Labour Party internal politics to prevent Watson having too much power in case Corbyn resigns (can't come too soon imo). I'll post links later
 

Leo

Well-known member
shouldn't they be plotting on how to fight against the tories instead of with one another?
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-b...-oust-deputy-leader-over-brexit-idUKKBN1W52G1

Labour Party officials attempt to oust deputy leader over Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s opposition Labour Party was plunged into fresh turmoil over Brexit on Friday as a key ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn attempted to have his deputy leader sacked on the eve of the party’s annual conference.

At a meeting of Labour’s National Executive Committee, Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum, a Corbyn-supporting grassroots movement, proposed a motion to abolish the post of deputy leader, currently held by Tom Watson, citing his disloyalty over Brexit, according to two party officials.

The chair ruled the motion should be thrown out. Members voted 17 to 10 to overturn that decision but did not reach the two-thirds majority required for it to pass, the officials said. The proposal is likely to go back on the committee’s agenda on Saturday.

A party spokesman was not immediately able to comment. Watson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dammit! Just when the next general election was all but in the bag! :mad:
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
I think this is all to do with Labour Party internal politics to prevent Watson having too much power in case Corbyn resigns (can't come too soon imo). I'll post links later

There's no chance Corbyn is going to be resigning. It's actually all about the membership thinking Tom Watson is a complete tool. But it seems his removal has been seen off by Corbyn himself, at least for the time being.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Sunday Times leading with the fact key Corbyn aide Andrew Fisher resigning. I've been to squat parties with less chaotic energy than Labour right now.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses

Stephen Bush on the idea that Corbyn didn't know about yesterday's plotting to do in Watson: "pull the other one, it plays the red flag". Article attached to the tweet.
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
Safest just to ignore everything the media says about Corbyn and/or the Labour Party. It's almost always proves to be complete bullshit.
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Ffs. The New Statesman is part of the lying MSM now is it? Photo editors hand picked for their prejudice?
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Yeah but the idea that the New Statesman carries some institutional anti Lab bias is crazy. It's a bloody house journal for the Left.

Bush is great as well, v well informed and connected, manages to be scrupulously unpartisan which is astonishing considering the bun fights he reports on
 

DannyL

Wild Horses
Of course. I do think though that this means that any valid criticisms are dismissed in a way that's not healthy. It's kinda emblematic of the post-truth culture we're in.
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
I like the Orwell quote, "some things are true even if they are in The Daily Telegraph"

Yes indeed, but when those true things are surrounded by endless garbage, how would you know which are which? Simpler just to ignore the whole lot.
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
Yeah but the idea that the New Statesman carries some institutional anti Lab bias is crazy. It's a bloody house journal for the Left.

It's a house journal for the "New Labour" type left. Consequently it does have institutional anti-Labour bias because their perspective is no longer the dominant one in the Labour party. Similarly with the Guardian. Although they both run supportive pieces from regular columnists, their general editorial slant is effectively anti-Labour.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Whatever you think of him as a person, party leader etc, the fact is that, as was true in 2015, Corbyn's proposed domestic policies are still very threatening to a very large number of people who just want a return to supposedly 'safe' 2000s centrism i.e. social liberalism and right-wing economics (eg the disastrous PFI continuation, which is now a major reason for the struggles of the NHS, because it was one of the worst deals imaginable). That dynamic goes way beyond Corbyn, and it's frustrating that everything is couched in terms of a single personality. If he resigned tomorrow, that struggle/tension would still be the central theme within Labour.

Figuring out what's actually happening is pretty damn difficult when the stakes are perceived as so high by so many. And 'what's actually happening' depends upon what one's own political ideals are, and whether the LP is moving towards them or away from them (assuming one has any investment in that party)
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
And also their lowest common denominator messages resonated massively in a West reeling from financial disaster and a new precarity. Will continue to do so.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Tom Watson:
"It’s a straight sectarian attack on a broad-church party and it’s moving us into a different kind of institution where pluralism isn’t tolerated, where factional observance has to be adhered to completely and it kind of completely goes against the sort of traditions that the Labour party has had for 100 years.”

Massive rolling of eyes...clearly the major movement within Labour over recent years has been to try to stamp out any residue of 'traditional' socialism/opposition to right-wing economics, until they found out that the membership was changing and didn't agree. It smacks of arrogance and selective truth, even when I agree with the principle that Labour has to have a broad base in order to win an election.
 
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