Suspension of Attlee’s nephew proves Labour’s ‘compliance team’ does not understand satire

Last Updated: September 14, 2016By
The image of Cameron with a Hitler moustache that Mr Macdonald reposted [Image: Facebook].

The image of Cameron with a Hitler moustache that Mr Macdonald reposted [Image: Facebook].

So now we know why Clement Attlee’s great-nephew was suspended from the Labour Party; he re-posted a satirical infographic on Facebook, comparing David Cameron with Adolf Hitler.

Take a look at the image (above) – it makes a good point, doesn’t it?

Hitler said the way to control a population is remove the people’s rights in many small ways rather than one huge blow.

Isn’t that what David Cameron and the Conservatives have been doing – along with governments before them leading right back to Margaret Thatcher?

I’d say it is, and the image makes a very good point.

But why would Labour’s ‘compliance unit’ be angry about it?

It isn’t an abusive comment, as was claimed in the letter of suspension sent to Mr Macdonald. It is satirical. It makes a political point, strongly, but in a humorous way.

And it isn’t abusive to Labour Party members, which is a central part of Labour’s current ‘purging’ policy. Tories are fair game – otherwise more or less all Labour MPs would have been suspended a long time ago. Does Dennis Skinner still have his vote?

Not only that, but we are all well aware by now that the practice of digging up social media postings from a year or more ago in order to prove breach of a rule that is only around one month old simply isn’t supportable.

The best outcome Labour’s NEC – in charge of the ‘compliance unit’ – can hope for is to restore Mr Macdonald’s vote to the count and issue an apology so grovelingly abject that we’ll all become so distracted by it that we won’t remember what it’s for. Good luck with that, folks!

Meanwhile, the rest of us can look forward to the day – not far away – when an inquiry is launched into the activities of this ‘compliance unit’, and action taken over the behaviour of its absurdly-overpaid members.

John Macdonald, a longtime Labour member who supports Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership, said he initially could not work out why he was suspended for activity on 8 August 2015.

However, he eventually found he had reposted a meme on that date of David Cameron mocked up as Hitler alongside a quote from the Nazi dictator about the best way of taking control of people being to take a little of their freedom at a time.

He … questioned why the post from over a year ago had been dug up in the middle of the leadership election.

Labour declined to comment on the case.

Source: Attlee descendant ‘suspended from Labour’ over Cameron-Hitler image | Politics | The Guardian

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9 Comments

  1. Dez September 14, 2016 at 11:32 pm - Reply

    There is something that is very dark about this purging operation that suggests the huge amount of research could only have been harvested with the help of covert right wing secret resources that are permanently trawling the networks. This just shows how easy it is to gain access to these public network facilities to make any negative case out of virtually nothing. What is also painfully obvious that this very instance of freedom of speech is something that shows the compliance unit is totally right wing biased and maybe even Conservative moles in the NEC sent to sabotage the will of the majority of the Labour members. Anyone abusing their powers to this extent must be personally identified and their instructing masters also rooted and booted out for time/resource wasting and abuse of power.

  2. mohandeer September 15, 2016 at 4:34 am - Reply

    Just whose side are the compliance unit on – they really must decide whether or not to work in the interests of the Tories or the Labour Party. When so many people have not previously voted Labour in GE years because there is little to tell them apart and that New Labour are more Tory than the real Labour Party , this decision by the CU rather proves the point.

  3. rupertrlmitchell September 15, 2016 at 6:45 am - Reply

    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.

    As for the programme on Sky News last evening I felt that the compare was rather biased against Corbyn and that Owen Smith was more interested in promoting himself than real Labour values.

    I liked very much Corbyn’s final comments about Trump and the “Special Arrangement” with America. Of course America is a very important trading partner but it is not the only one and, unlike Smith, I for one do not want the “Special Arrangement” on any terms that Trump or any other American leader dictates.

    Of course the Party needs to come together if it is ever going to defeat this disastrous Tory government, but it will not be able to do that unless those, whose intentions have been made so abundantly clear and whose underhand divisive actions have weakened the possibility of winning an early election, are removed.

  4. Tony Dean September 15, 2016 at 9:56 am - Reply

    It is NOT a Hitler quote:-
    http://www.snopes.com/hitler-control-quote/

    • Mike Sivier September 15, 2016 at 11:50 am - Reply

      That’s useful to know, although it really doesn’t change what has happened.

  5. paulrutherford8 September 15, 2016 at 11:36 am - Reply

    I reposted that same graphic and still have it saved on my laptop… oh dear.

  6. hilary772013 September 15, 2016 at 12:07 pm - Reply

    My husband has been suspended for posting Happy Birthday! on Facebook to two Polish work colleagues and a close friend. This is beyond ridiculous, it’s a FARCE..
    If it had been me suspended I could understand as I am political but he doesn’t have a Twitter account & hardly posts on facebook.

    I rang the labour membership line who gave me the following email address:- [email protected], I sent them the following email on my husband’s behalf as he works 12hr shifts 8am-8pm

    I have just received notification from the Labour Party that I have been suspended with the reason given as follows:-
    Comments you made on social media including 29 June 2016.

    I would like to point out that I DO NOT use Twitter & I have never done so, I only rarely use facebook & on the date mentioned by yourselves I did make three posts on facebook two to Polish work colleagues to wish them Happy Birthday & one to a close friend to wish him a Happy Birthday and NO POSTS were made by me in MAY.

    I am attaching a snapshot of my posts for said timescale & would appreciate a reply by return with an explanation of why I have been suspended for wishing colleagues & friends happy birthday??

    I would also like to point out that there were posts placed by other people on my timeline in July but not made by me & mostly it was about food, some puzzles & the passing of a close friend. In August more of the same & I posted of the passing of my mother. So please tell me what is abusive or anything else about my posts??

    Mike I use twitter & facebook for political postings & wonder if they have got us mixed up somehow?

    Any advice is very welcome as this is so wrong.

    • Mike Sivier September 15, 2016 at 3:03 pm - Reply

      Having witnessed a stream of irrational actions by Labour’s ‘compliance unit’, I have no advice to give.

  7. Mike Young September 15, 2016 at 12:13 pm - Reply

    May I have another crack at promoting my petition “Suspend the Labour Party’s General Secretary Ian McNicol”. McNichol was complicit in the attempt to exclude Jeremy Corby from leadership contest and is currently at the helm of this increasingly absurd purging operation.
    Anyone can read more and sign the petition here: http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/suspend-the-labour-party-s-general-secretary-ian-mcnicol

    PS And I am aware I’ve miss-spelled his name!

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