‘Deselection list’? No, it’s a complaint about Labour MPs who broke rules but haven’t been ‘purged’

Last Updated: September 14, 2016By
Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign team accused Owen Smith of being the ‘real disunity candidate’ [Image: Sky News/PA].

Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign team accused Owen Smith of being the ‘real disunity candidate’ [Image: Sky News/PA].

When I first heard that Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign team had issued a list of abusive MPs, I wanted a copy – to see how their list compares with my own.

Having heard a little more about it, however, it seems clear that it is a letter to the fabled Labour ‘compliance unit’, reporting party members who have publicly broken the rules against abusive behaviour towards other members.

To be honest, I’m surprised the list is limited to only 14 MPs!

Also: Issued by mistake? I don’t think so!

Now the list of names – and offences – is out in the public domain, all the claims can be checked and verified (unlike those made by the ‘compliance unit’ which only issues extremely vague explanations and may be in breach of certain rules and regulations, if not actual laws, by doing so) and appropriate action taken.

One wonders, as the information was in the public domain already, why the ‘compliance unit’ had not taken the requisite steps on its own initiative.

It is welcome to see Owen Smith criticised – after all the times Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of allowing abuse to continue – of failing to tackle his own supporters’ inappropriate behaviour.

Once again we see “the accusers are the abusers”, as someone cleverer than This Writer described it. Owen Smith even tried to use it against Mr Corbyn in the last leadership hustings, on Sky News, to stir up division but Corbyn wasn’t having any of it.

As for those who were named – the MPs who have already complained haven’t got a leg to stand on and I’m surprised the list isn’t much, much longer.

Neil Coyle, for example, abused Jeremy Corbyn by claiming he had presided over the “Farage-ification” of the Labour Party. Now he is complaining about “trial by troll“. Forget it, Mr Coyle! It isn’t trolling if you did what is claimed.

John Woodcock tweeted that Jeremy Corbyn was a “f**king disaster at PMQs” back in March (if that were true then, oh, haven’t times changed!) and quickly deleted the message – but it was caught by the mainstream media nonetheless and members of his own electorate launched a petition calling for his deselection – months before that became an issue in the leadership election.

Now he’s saying a list pointing out this abusive behaviour is “shabby” and is complaining that it “targets colleagues for more abuse”.

Isn’t that exactly what he was doing when he wrote about Mr Corbyn, all those months ago – inviting others to abuse the Labour leader alongside him?

I’m sure we can expect more of this whining from the others – I’ve only checked those mentioned in the Guardian news report.

As for the claim that the MPs mentioned are on a “deselection list”: Their future is not a matter for Mr Corbyn or his team. It is for Labour Party members in each constituency to decide whether their sitting MP is representing them in a sufficiently courteous and statespersonlike manner.

In Mr Woodcock’s case, alas, considering his constituents are already petitioning for his removal, an apology may be too little, too late.

Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign team has issued a list singling out 14 Labour MPs including deputy leader Tom Watson who it claims have abused the leader and his allies, triggering a new row in the party.

Corbyn’s team said the list was sent out by mistake by a junior staff member, but the leader later appeared to stand by the substance of the allegations, saying all the remarks had been made on the record.

In the release, Owen Smith, the challenger for the Labour leadership, was accused of being the “real disunity candidate”, who has failed to tackle abuse meted out by his own supporters.

The list, obtained by Press Association, highlighted the behaviour of a number of Labour MPs, including Jess Phillips for telling Corbyn’s ally Diane Abbott to “f**k off”, John Woodcock for dismissing the party leader as a “f**king disaster”, and Tristram Hunt for describing Labour as “in the s**t”.

Watson was highlighted for calling the grassroots Corbyn campaign Momentum a “rabble”.

The others identified were Ian Austin, Neil Coyle, Ben Bradshaw, Frank Field, Anna Turley, Jamie Reed, Karl Turner, Stephen Kinnock and Tom Blenkinsop.

Source: Corbyn’s team issues list of MPs who ‘undermined leader’ | Politics | The Guardian

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8 Comments

  1. mohandeer September 15, 2016 at 4:41 am - Reply

    The deselection process is in the hands of the CLP’s and members – as it should be, which will mean that many more than 14 MP’s will be facing the boot – by the members.

  2. casalealex September 15, 2016 at 5:28 am - Reply

    If they can’t take the reciprocal heat, get out of the kitchen!

  3. Jeffrey Davies September 15, 2016 at 5:36 am - Reply

    but untill they gone there be no piece they are trouble if not gotten ridden of

  4. Jackie Cairns September 15, 2016 at 6:32 am - Reply

    Oh Dear lol

  5. rupertrlmitchell September 15, 2016 at 6:58 am - Reply

    We need a clean restart with Jeremy Corbyn and there are plenty of genuine replacements for those who have let the Party down so badly.

    I find this purging operation nothing more than an affront and insult to genuine Labour members and its only intended benefit been to try to weaken Jeremy Corbyn by suspending genuine members so that their votes cannot be counted in the election.

    Those responsible will have to be removed as no party can survive successfully if it allows such underhand and undemocratic actions to go unchecked.

  6. Pjay Mac September 15, 2016 at 5:35 pm - Reply

    The silence of the Chickens was deafening at PMQs no roars of you’re useless sit down, sit down you don’t know what you’re talking about resign better the Torres than you, you’re weak and spineless, none of this from The Chicken Benches not a sound except unbelievably a few here here’s, not because they have had an Ian Duncan Smith style Epiphany no it’s because the terrifying truth has dawned finally they see what’s ahead of them WORKFARE they know now their days are numbered as the 24th hurtles toward them and what action their CLPs will undoubtedly take, I must ask where is Angela Eagle has she maybe migrated to warmer climes for the Winter it would not be Syria or Libya because like all her other right wing Blair Loving MPs she voted with their Masters to Bomb Libya and Syria back to the Stoneage, them and the Tories are culpable for the rampant Terrorism in the World today and I ask What gives the British American and the UN the right to instigate unrest in Countries for no other reason than they don’t like the Leader of these Countries because the leaders will not kow tow and do as the mighty Obama, Cameron and UN say so Afghanistan Stoneage, Iraq Stoneage, Libya Stoneage, Syria Stoneage, irreplaceable buildings and artefacts destroyed forever, but all this pales into significance compared to the Impartial BBC losing The Great British Bake Off.

  7. Claire M September 15, 2016 at 11:51 pm - Reply

    Karl Turner is my local MP so I’m very keen to find out why he’s on the list

    • Mike Sivier September 16, 2016 at 1:26 pm - Reply

      Mr Turner is a highly vocal opponent of Mr Corbyn and has been since before the leader election last year, if I recall correctly.
      A decent trawl through the World Wide Web ought to turn up some evidence.

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