Fudge, muddle, clarity
James Marshall of Labour Party Marxists provides a rough guide to the issues and arguments that will dominate the January 30 Zoom conference
Another Labour Left Alliance conference; another massively overloaded agenda. Over the course of four hours (plus half an hour for lunch) we are going to debate the crisis in the Labour Party and decide what to do next. Doable, if the conference had been organised with a view to achieving clarity. Unfortunately that is not the case. The methods of the labour and trade union bureaucracy have been thoroughly internalised.
There is a mixed bag of eight motions - surely in a calculated attempt to dumb down, all limited to a maximum of 350 words, then nudged up to 400, by the LLA’s conference arrangements committee. This was strongly opposed by Labour Party Marxists. There is also the certainty of various amendments (with no word limit).
SIR KEIR STARMER is being called on to “come clean” about the alleged hiring of a former Israeli “cyber spy” as his office’s social media manager.
Suspended and expelled Labour members are challenging the party’s leader to explain how Assaf Kaplan was hired and how much Sir Keir knew about his background working for Israeli intelligence.
Mr Kaplan served in the cyber warfare unit of Israeli intelligence, which, in 2014, was alleged to be using information on Palestinians for the purposes of extortion and blackmail, the Electronic Intifada has reported.
The Labour in Exile Network (LIEN) group claimed that Mr Kaplan has tried to track LIEN’s activities by following the group on Facebook and Twitter.
A NEW group has been formed to facilitate a fightback against scores of local party officers and chairs being suspended by Labour HQ.
Members of the new Labour In Exile Network (LIEN) are taking collective action against the string of suspensions in recent months.
The suspensions have mainly been over constituency Labour parties (CLPs) allowing the discussion of motions in support of former party leader Jeremy Corbyn after his suspension in October, and the subsequent withdrawal of the whip after his reinstatement.
The LIEN members said that they will pursue a policy of non-co-operation with the party’s bureaucracy until the CLP officers are reinstated.
PURGED Labour Party members have set up a campaign opposing the suspensions of local party officials for allowing motions supporting Jeremy Corbyn.
The Labour In Exile Network (LIEN) aims to bring “true democracy” to the Labour Party through its Plan for Change campaign.
The plan will aim to make the party more democratic, protect the right of members to debate issues of their choice, and radically overhaul the party’s disciplinary procedures, the group says.
LIEN member Norman Thomas, who was chairman of South Thanet Labour Party until his recent suspension, said he was targeted because he allowed debate on a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to former party leader Mr Corbyn.