Labour leadership supporters of Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith have been seeking support from Labour councillors. So far only seven of Brent's 56 Labour councillors have signed up. Statements and signatories below:
KEEP CORBYN
We are a group of Labour Party councillors who are dismayed by the attempt by some within the Parliamentary Labour Party to oust our democratically elected leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Many of us were elected in May, where in spite of predictions of an electoral meltdown, we won our seats. Voters who had previously felt abandoned by the Labour Party returned to vote for us, returned as members, and returned as campaigners.
It would be utterly self-defeating for the people we represent if now, less than a year after Jeremy was elected on the single biggest mandate of any previous leader, he was to be forced from office. It is our view that the behaviour of some members of the Parliamentary Labour Party is totally self-indulgent and at odds with what the communities we represent need. We will risk losing all those new members and enthusiastic campaigners who joined us because Jeremy offered a vision of hope for the future.
Our enemy is not Jeremy Corbyn – it is the Tory party and their plans to use the EU referendum as a fig leaf to inflict further cuts to the councils we represent.
We hope that those MPs who have embarked on this indulgent course of action will reflect on their behaviour and turn their fire on the real enemy, the Tory Party.
Claudia Hector,
Rita Conneely
Jumbo Chan
BACK SMITH
In a month’s time, we will be casting our votes for Owen Smith as Leader because we believe this is the only path forward to a Labour Government and putting a stop to the immense damage the Tories are doing to our communities and our nation.
We have closely watched the debate in our Party in recent weeks and are deeply impressed with how Owen has done. He has driven home the message that the fight Labour must lead is about tackling inequalities in wealth, power, outcomes and opportunities, across our country.
Owen has convincingly made the case that he knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the cause of working people. He has not shied away from saying our Party has been too timid and that he would increase taxes on the wealthy. He has set out a radical vision for a £200bn investment programme, re-nationalising our railways and putting the decision to make war firmly in the hands of elected MPs, not the Government of the day.
But there is more at stake here. There are militants in both wings of our Party who are determined to carry out a civil war against each other, whether it harms working people or not. We have intimidation and bullying in Constituency Labour Parties up and down the country. We have those who seem to prefer perpetual division to the job of winning power for the good of those we represent. We need a unifying leader who is principled and competent.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Our country faces an existential threat from nationalists and poor-bashing Tories. A new Scottish referendum is on the horizon. This is no time for Labour to keep fighting itself. The next general election has already begun. Owen Smith, with his experience, especially as Shadow Secretary of State fighting austerity, has a firm grasp of the issues and will be prepared to lead our party from day one.
Our party needs a leader who can win and is principled. That’s why we need your support in backing Owen Smith.
Bernard Collier
John Duffy
Neil Nerva
Sam Stopp
KEEP CORBYN
We are a group of Labour Party councillors who are dismayed by the attempt by some within the Parliamentary Labour Party to oust our democratically elected leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Many of us were elected in May, where in spite of predictions of an electoral meltdown, we won our seats. Voters who had previously felt abandoned by the Labour Party returned to vote for us, returned as members, and returned as campaigners.
It would be utterly self-defeating for the people we represent if now, less than a year after Jeremy was elected on the single biggest mandate of any previous leader, he was to be forced from office. It is our view that the behaviour of some members of the Parliamentary Labour Party is totally self-indulgent and at odds with what the communities we represent need. We will risk losing all those new members and enthusiastic campaigners who joined us because Jeremy offered a vision of hope for the future.
Our enemy is not Jeremy Corbyn – it is the Tory party and their plans to use the EU referendum as a fig leaf to inflict further cuts to the councils we represent.
We hope that those MPs who have embarked on this indulgent course of action will reflect on their behaviour and turn their fire on the real enemy, the Tory Party.
Claudia Hector,
Rita Conneely
Jumbo Chan
BACK SMITH
In a month’s time, we will be casting our votes for Owen Smith as Leader because we believe this is the only path forward to a Labour Government and putting a stop to the immense damage the Tories are doing to our communities and our nation.
We have closely watched the debate in our Party in recent weeks and are deeply impressed with how Owen has done. He has driven home the message that the fight Labour must lead is about tackling inequalities in wealth, power, outcomes and opportunities, across our country.
Owen has convincingly made the case that he knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the cause of working people. He has not shied away from saying our Party has been too timid and that he would increase taxes on the wealthy. He has set out a radical vision for a £200bn investment programme, re-nationalising our railways and putting the decision to make war firmly in the hands of elected MPs, not the Government of the day.
But there is more at stake here. There are militants in both wings of our Party who are determined to carry out a civil war against each other, whether it harms working people or not. We have intimidation and bullying in Constituency Labour Parties up and down the country. We have those who seem to prefer perpetual division to the job of winning power for the good of those we represent. We need a unifying leader who is principled and competent.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Our country faces an existential threat from nationalists and poor-bashing Tories. A new Scottish referendum is on the horizon. This is no time for Labour to keep fighting itself. The next general election has already begun. Owen Smith, with his experience, especially as Shadow Secretary of State fighting austerity, has a firm grasp of the issues and will be prepared to lead our party from day one.
Our party needs a leader who can win and is principled. That’s why we need your support in backing Owen Smith.
Bernard Collier
John Duffy
Neil Nerva
Sam Stopp
3 comments:
Is there the remotest hope of getting the Tories out if Corbyn is the potential prime minister on offer to the electorate?
No.
Is there a chance that Smith would increase the chances of getting the Tories out?
Undoubtedly, to some extent.
Can anything be worse than the government we've got at the moment?
Probably not.
Would you wish running post-Brexit Britain on your worst enemy?
Not sure.
Labour was 16 points behind the Tories in the ICM(?) poll yesterday and that's after the internal Tory mayhem we've just witnessed. If May calls a snap election soon then she'll win it by a mile and Corbyn will have to resign. But she'll only gain just over a year before the next election and she'll probably then have to fight a stronger candidate than Corbyn. If she doesn't call an election then Corbyn will cling on and she won't have much trouble defeating him in 2020.That's probably what she'll do. Labour can dump Corbyn now or enjoy 4 more years of him not laying a finger on the government and then dump him in 2020.
Chuck in a Labour split and it becomes clear that we're all probably f***ed.
Mike Hine
PS
According to the Guardian website Owen Smith has just promised ‘massive investment in the North of England to close the North-South divide and to deliver High Seed 3’. Presumably a proposal for a new network of interconnected cannabis farms from Birmingham to Hadrian’s wall.
Over to you, Jeremy ......
I am not sure what would be best for the Labour Party nationally, but a group of Brent councillors writing:
'We need a unifying leader who is principled and competent' certainly strikes a chord!
Philip.
Post a Comment