Labour loses its majority on Bristol City Council after Corbyn supporters are purged

Last Updated: September 20, 2016By
The three councillors, (L-R) Harriet Bradley, Hibaq Jama, and Mike Langley. Labour had won a slim majority of 37 seats out of 70 in Bristol, but now that number is down to 34 [Images: Bristol City Council].

The three councillors, (L-R) Harriet Bradley, Hibaq Jama, and Mike Langley. Labour had won a slim majority of 37 seats out of 70 in Bristol, but now that number is down to 34 [Images: Bristol City Council].

What kind of politician destroys their own party’s majority in a major city council, simply out of spite against a leader they don’t like?

This is exactly the kind of behaviour I meant when I criticised Labour’s National Executive Committee in a previous article.

The people responsible for this travesty must be named and subjected to disciplinary procedures. They have harmed the operation of the party on Bristol City Council and they have brought the whole Labour Party into ridicule and disrepute.

If I recall correctly, the appropriate words are: Not in my name.

Labour has effectively lost its majority on a major city council after three councillors were suspended as part of the ongoing party “purge”.

In 2016 the party won a slim majority of 37 seats out of 70 in Bristol, but the suspension of two councillors this week and one at the start of this month leaves Labour with only 34, just short of a majority.

All three suspended councillors have been vocal supporters of party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour’s national office confirmed that councillors suspended as part of the leadership election process have their council group whip suspended, meaning the party is now technically short of a majority in the city.

The three suspended councillors are Harriet Bradley, who represents Brislington West, Mike Langley, of Brislington East, and Hibaq Jama, of Lawrence Hill.

Labour says it suspends people who have supported other parties and who engage in abuse or rudeness on social media. Decisions are formally taken by the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).

However, supporters of Mr Corbyn are overwhelmingly reporting being the targets of the suspensions and say the operation amounts to a targeted purge by the Labour machine.

Source: Labour loses its majority on Bristol City Council after ‘purge’ of Corbyn supporters | The Independent

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11 Comments

  1. Kenneth Billis September 21, 2016 at 3:38 am - Reply

    Are these actions really just because they don’t like Mr Corbyn or is it more to do with wanting to be a party which is quite happy to implement and manage policies decided by others?

    • Mike Sivier September 21, 2016 at 9:41 am - Reply

      That’s an ambiguous comment. What exactly do you mean?

      • Kenneth Billis September 22, 2016 at 12:42 am - Reply

        It is just that sometimes I wonder whether the right wing of the PLP even wants to form a government. After all, they still get paid and Tory policies will generally be business friendly which will make it very easy for them to keep their future employers happy. Jeremy Corbyn is going to make it difficult for them to do that thus hampering their career path of which becoming an MP forms a part.

  2. Rupert Mitchell (@rupert_rrl) September 21, 2016 at 5:18 am - Reply

    Certainly they need to be named but as for shaming them people who act like this do not care about shame.

  3. Roland Laycock September 21, 2016 at 8:27 am - Reply

    The National Executive Committee are doing there best to destroy the Party

  4. NMac September 21, 2016 at 8:39 am - Reply

    This is ridiculous. What is the matter with the NEC, do they want permanent Tory government?

  5. Tim September 21, 2016 at 9:10 am - Reply

    Did the suspended councillors indulge in abuse of other on social media or not? Do we know what these people are supposed to have actually done or not? You can’t honestly be claiming that these people were suspended solely because they are Jezza supporters surely? Is that honestly what you’re saying, Mike?

    • Mike Sivier September 21, 2016 at 9:27 am - Reply

      That seems to be what The Independent is saying.
      Did you not bother to read the source article?

      • Tim September 22, 2016 at 8:06 am - Reply

        That sounds carpet chewingly bonkers to me, reminiscent of Jo Maccarthy-like “reds under the beds” paranoia or similar.

    • steve pickup September 22, 2016 at 8:32 pm - Reply

      That is exactly what is happening.

  6. Dez September 21, 2016 at 2:09 pm - Reply

    Would really like to hear the detailed background for this extreme radical action which at first glance looks like kamikazi politics of the more extreme kind.

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