UK Labour Party officials attempt to oust deputy leader over Brexit

[rooster59]

UK Labour Party officials attempt to oust deputy leader over Brexit

By Andrew MacAskill

 

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson speaks on Brexit at an event in London, Britain September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville

 

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.

 

Britain’s 2016 EU referendum has split not only British towns and villages but also parliament, with both Conservative and Labour leaders struggling to keep their parties united.

 

Corbyn will face pressure from delegates at the conference, which begins on Saturday in the English seaside town of Brighton, to shift towards openly backing remaining in the European Union.

 

Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Oct. 31 but parliament has ruled that it should be delayed for a second time unless a divorce deal is agreed.

 

If Brexit is delayed and an early election is called to break the deadlock, Corbyn, an EU critic, has come under pressure from many in his party to unequivocally back remaining in the bloc.

 

But some in the Labour leader's team fear the party will lose the support of Brexit backers in places such as northern England, voters who could be crucial in an election that could come before the end of the year.

 

The divisions over Brexit were on display earlier this month when Watson said he supported pressing for a second referendum before an early national election.

 

His argument put him at odds with Corbyn, who says Labour would offer the people a second referendum on a credible option to leave against remaining in the EU, but only after an election.

 

Some Labour politicians criticized the attempt to remove Watson, saying this was not the time for the party to be divided.

 

The party "should be about putting forward a strong, unified message and showcasing the policies that will win that election," said Justin Madders, a member of parliament.

 

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-21

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[Chomper Higgot]

Ever eager to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

[englishoak]

Well with the Liberal Democrats recently stated they will literally cancel Brexit and revoke article 50 if elected thus becoming not in the least bit Democratic party.

 

Tories with - 40 majority and looking into the jaws of destruction if Brexit isnt delivered and unable to hold an election while none of the other parties want to let the people speak again. 

 

 Labour HAS to come out and try and compete with this lunacy and self harming by trying to abolish the position of deputy leader simply because its the easiest way of getting out a bloke Momentum hate... lets not debate and elect another deputy leader because that would mean following the rules, lets just cancel the position of 100+ years 

 

On top of all that there are literally dozens of MPs having left their old parties and some on their third membership since leaving will not even give their constituents a bi election between them...such is their trust and honour 

 

You couldnt make this up if you tried. This Parliament really is not fit for purpose.  

 

 

 

 

[mfd101]

1 hour ago, englishoak said:

Well with the Liberal Democrats recently stated they will literally cancel Brexit and revoke article 50 if elected thus becoming not in the least bit Democratic party.

Presumably if the LibDems cancelled Brexit only - as you say - AFTER being elected to government by The People, that would in fact be entirely democratic?

[Laughing Gravy]

55 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Presumably if the LibDems cancelled Brexit only - as you say - AFTER being elected to government by The People, that would in fact be entirely democratic?

Yes and you have more chance of seeing another moon landing than the LibDems getting into number 10

[billd766]

2 hours ago, englishoak said:

Well with the Liberal Democrats recently stated they will literally cancel Brexit and revoke article 50 if elected thus becoming not in the least bit Democratic party.

 

Tories with - 40 majority and looking into the jaws of destruction if Brexit isnt delivered and unable to hold an election while none of the other parties want to let the people speak again. 

 

 Labour HAS to come out and try and compete with this lunacy and self harming by trying to abolish the position of deputy leader simply because its the easiest way of getting out a bloke Momentum hate... lets not debate and elect another deputy leader because that would mean following the rules, lets just cancel the position of 100+ years 

 

On top of all that there are literally dozens of MPs having left their old parties and some on their third membership since leaving will not even give their constituents a bi election between them...such is their trust and honour 

 

You couldnt make this up if you tried. This Parliament really is not fit for purpose.  

 

 

 

 

Well past its best before expiry date.

[Basil B]

Not only not making a clear statement where the party stands on Brexit they want to sack the only person who speaks any sense in the party.

 

Definitely a Drive By Shooting. 

 

If they get rid of him McDonald will be next and then they will wonder why they will have a bus load of MP's leave. 

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, Basil B said:

Not only not making a clear statement where the party stands on Brexit they want to sack the only person who speaks any sense in the party.

 

Definitely a Drive By Shooting. 

 

If they get rid of him McDonald will be next and then they will wonder why they will have a bus load of MP's leave. 

 

 

I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but someone has to go if Labour want to rectify the current shambles.

 

Personally, I would rather Corbyn went but the grassroots support would rather sacrifice others.

[evadgib]

What's stopping Corbyn relegating him to the back benches?

[dunroaming]

Interesting how kamikaze the Labour Party have become.  I don't think that the Lib Dems have much of a chance of getting a majority in a general election but they will certainly be taking votes from the Tories and Labour.

 

Labour desperately need to get rid of Corbyn but with Momentum in place that is unlikely to happen any time soon.  I don't think that Watson is the answer and to be honest it is hard to find any "saviours" lurking in the shadows. 

 

I suspect that Johnson is slowly realising that he has to go and get some sort of deal with the EU or the Tories will be out at any forthcoming election.

 

Politics in Britain are broken and a radical clear out is needed.  Not going to happen though and we will just stagger on from one disaster to the next.

[Basil B]

15 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

I suspect that Johnson is slowly realising that he has to go and get some sort of deal with the EU or the Tories will be out at any forthcoming election.

 

Politics in Britain are broken and a radical clear out is needed.  Not going to happen though and we will just stagger on from one disaster to the next.

I doubt he can get an acceptable deal with the EU, the Backstop is the problem.

 

Labour already self-harming, only to be overshadowed by the the Tory Party conference due to start a week tomorrow which will turn Manchester into Dodge City.

 

 

[Laughing Gravy]

1 minute ago, Basil B said:

I doubt he can get an acceptable deal with the EU, the Backstop is the problem.

 

Their party conference ended with a united party with a clear stance on Brexit.

 

Labour already self-harming, only to be overshadowed by the the Tory Party conference due to start a week tomorrow which will turn Manchester into Dodge City.

 

 

OK. No bickering here. With what you have written which makes some sense, how do you respect the 2016 referendum and keep democracy alive.

[Basil B]

1 minute ago, Laughing Gravy said:

OK. No bickering here. With what you have written which makes some sense, how do you respect the 2016 referendum and keep democracy alive.

Given there has been no no deal and not all the 17.4M knowingly voted for a no deal.

Revoke A50, lick our wounds and if anyone really wants to start it all again.

 

The other option is to look at the problems with the EU and work within for reforms...

[dunroaming]

9 minutes ago, Basil B said:

I doubt he can get an acceptable deal with the EU, the Backstop is the problem.

 

Labour already self-harming, only to be overshadowed by the the Tory Party conference due to start a week tomorrow which will turn Manchester into Dodge City.

 

 

Of course Johnson will not be able to better May's abysmal deal but he can probably re-arrange some words to make it sound more palatable.  As for the backstop, again he will try to find some sort of fudge.  If so you can expect a surge of Brexiteers jumping over to Farage and his cronies at the next GE.

[DannyCarlton]

5 hours ago, englishoak said:

lets not debate and elect another deputy leader because that would mean following the rules, lets just cancel the position of 100+ years

It may not have come to your notice but Johnson cancelled the position of Deputy Pm when he came to power.

[DannyCarlton]

54 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

Personally, I would rather Corbyn went but the grassroots support would rather sacrifice others.

Momentum aren't the grass roots support. They're not even afilliated to the Labour Party.

 

The grass roots support are the traditional Labour voters, 65% of whom voted to remain in the EU.

 

I do agree though that Corbyn should be the first to go. If he remains as leader, for the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem.

[Jip99]

4 minutes ago, DannyCarlton said:

Momentum aren't the grass roots support. They're not even afilliated to the Labour Party.

 

The grass roots support are the traditional Labour voters, 65% of whom voted to remain in the EU.

 

I do agree though that Corbyn should be the first to go. If he remains as leader, for the first time in my life, I'll be voting Lib Dem.

 

 

Was it not the “grass roots support” that saved Corbyn in the past when the parliamentary party tried to oust him.

[dunroaming]

34 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Was it not the “grass roots support” that saved Corbyn in the past when the parliamentary party tried to oust him.

That is a valid point.  I wonder if he would still get the same support now given his dithering over Labours position?

 

It does seem that Corbyn's Momentum is akin to Johnson's Cummings.  

[DannyCarlton]

38 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

It does seem that Corbyn's Momentum is akin to Johnson's Cummings.

Not so much Momentum but their leader and founder, Jon Lansman. Had the same role as Cummings in the 80s for Tony Benn. Again played the same role as Cummings in Corbyn's leadership campaign in 2015. He was the sole director of Jeremy Corbyn Campaign 2015 (Supporters) Ltd, an official campaign company that held the data collected by the campaign. During the election, he was criticised for posting a link on Twitter to a Facebook page depicting rival candidate Liz Kendall as a future Conservative Party leader. A Corbyn campaign spokesperson commented: "Jon Lansman's tweets are not on behalf of the campaign. We discourage all Jeremy Corbyn supporters from joining in with spoof websites or social media." Very Cummings.

 

Strong suspicions that he is a fifth columnist. Ortodox Jewish family whose father was a Conservative councillor in Hackney. His brother and son run a large network of property companies, with a value of several millions.

 

 

[Sir Dude]

I guess Watson is too warm and fluffy for the Stalinists. On a more sober note, looks like Liebour are no more united than the Tories and resemble a shower of Shi*te too.

[abrahamzvi]

4 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but someone has to go if Labour want to rectify the current shambles.

 

Personally, I would rather Corbyn went but the grassroots support would rather sacrifice others.

The so called grassroots support will ruin a social democratic Labour party, in the same way as Johnson is ruining the Tories. What a pity!!

[Baerboxer]

8 hours ago, evadgib said:

What's stopping Corbyn relegating him to the back benches?

 

Corbyn doesn't appoint and fire the deputy leader.

 

When the Momentum aka SWP android, representing Watson's own constituency Labor party, Corbyn initially said he never interred in CLP business and that they could raise issues as they wished. He's since killed the idea as the unrest was growing rapidly. Yeah another U-turn. 

 

There is a real struggle in the Labor Party with the hard left Momentum SWP Corbynistas trying to purge anyone out who doesn't swallow dear Leaders polices and support them without question. Just as they infiltrated Unions in the 70's they are now doing the same to the LP.

 

 

[SheungWan]

Well with the Liberal Democrats recently stated they will literally cancel Brexit and revoke article 50 if elected thus becoming not in the least bit Democratic party.
 
Tories with - 40 majority and looking into the jaws of destruction if Brexit isnt delivered and unable to hold an election while none of the other parties want to let the people speak again. 
 
 Labour HAS to come out and try and compete with this lunacy and self harming by trying to abolish the position of deputy leader simply because its the easiest way of getting out a bloke Momentum hate... lets not debate and elect another deputy leader because that would mean following the rules, lets just cancel the position of 100+ years 
 
On top of all that there are literally dozens of MPs having left their old parties and some on their third membership since leaving will not even give their constituents a bi election between them...such is their trust and honour 
 
You couldnt make this up if you tried. This Parliament really is not fit for purpose.  
 
 
 
 

Parliament fitness not decided upon by aspirant autocrats who seem to be popping up.

Sent from my SM-N935F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[SheungWan]

I guess Watson is too warm and fluffy for the Stalinists. On a more sober note, looks like Liebour are no more united than the Tories and resemble a shower of Shi*te too.

Labour Party populists vs Tory Party populists.

Sent from my SM-N935F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app