ShadCab quitters had ‘mass hysteria’, claims McCluskey. More accurately, they were committing mass abuse

Last Updated: September 26, 2016By
Len McCluskey, general secretary or the Unite union, speaks to the TUC’s conference in Brighton last year [Image: Mary Turner/Getty Images].

Len McCluskey, general secretary or the Unite union, speaks to the TUC’s conference in Brighton last year [Image: Mary Turner/Getty Images].

We’ve been through a lot of names for the high-profile faction of the Parliamentary Labour Party that opposes Jeremy Corbyn.

They’ve been right-wingers, centrists (a misnomer), plotters, rebels, traitors (a banned word! Naughty!), moderates (another misnomer – nothing moderate about them), and a few other things besides.

Now Len McCluskey has added a couple more words: Invertibrates and hysterics.

But This Writer thinks the best word for them is a word they have misused themselves many times over the summer: Abusers.

They have abused party democracy; they have abused party members who don’t agree with their sub-Tory policies; and they have abused their fellow Labour MPs who respected Jeremy Corbyn’s mandate as leader.

While Mr Corbyn has been growing olive branches and is keen to offer them to anybody willing to accept one, it should be for the members to decide whether these deeply unpleasant and disturbing characters should be allowed to remain in national politics.

That is why it is so important that the so-called “democratic reforms” of the party must be voted down, when they go before the party’s conference tomorrow (Tuesday).

They are calculated to diminish Mr Corbyn’s influence and grant dominance to the abusers once again.

While I’m not at the conference, and I understand many left-leaning delegates have been refused entry by the abusers, I hope enough people of good conscience remain who are willing to do the right thing.

We’ve all had enough of this selfishness and – again – abuse.

Len McCluskey has criticised Labour MPs for walking away from their roles in the shadow cabinet in what he described as a fit of “mass hysteria”.

The general secretary of Unite said opinion polls had showed Labour level with the Tories, adding “in fact a few of them were showing that we were ahead”, up to the point at which the mass resignations began in June.

It came as Jeremy Corbyn addressed another mass rally at conference today with hundreds of people gathering in Liverpool city centre.

McCluskey defended the leader, saying his ability to connect with voters had triggered the wrong reaction from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

“Are they not pleased of that, proud of that? Do they have to moan and groan about handfuls of so-called Trots who have infiltrated?”, McCluskey said.

The PLP could learn from Betty Tebbs, a 98-year-old member Unite, he added.

“I was just thinking that perhaps we should get Betty to address the next meeting of the PLP. She might be able to tell them what courage, principles and backbone are all about”, he said.

Source: McCluskey: Shadow cabinet quitters succumbed to “mass hysteria” | LabourList

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7 Comments

  1. Tim September 26, 2016 at 1:29 pm - Reply

    Personally I think the people mentioned did what they did believing that they were acting in the best interests of the MILLIONS of people, the vast majority of whom were not members or affiliates of the Labour party, who had voted for them to represent their interests in parliament.

    I believe it’s called democracy.

    • Mike Sivier September 27, 2016 at 11:44 am - Reply

      No; they were acting in the interests of a tiny elite, afraid of losing their money and power. Democracy has nothing to do with it, as we can see from the way party conference is being manipulated this year.

  2. Roland Laycock September 26, 2016 at 2:34 pm - Reply

    Good old Len McCluskey

  3. jeffrey davies September 26, 2016 at 2:40 pm - Reply

    to greedie to far up theirs but coming back they never will its a sad fact that blair took this party so far right its tory but with the old labour guard who hang in there we have a labour person who upset the far right but hes got to bite the bullet and rid us of them theyl never change back has they never were true labour but greedie mps out for themselves jeff3

  4. casalealex September 26, 2016 at 3:34 pm - Reply

    ABUSE OF POWER. Improper use of authority by someone who has that authority because he or she holds a public office.

    Misfeasance, which is an act that is not illegal but is improperly performed.

    …“just continue to cause abuse”… which I take to mean it’s okay to abuse people, cos they bring in on themselves. So that’s okay then?

    I am fed up to the eye teeth with the constant abuse of power permeating from the Labour Party executives and certain MPs on members of the Party and other MPs.

    They are manipulating them with the ability to punish them if they do not comply with their ‘on the hoof’ suspension and/or banned decisions.

  5. paulrutherford8 September 26, 2016 at 6:29 pm - Reply

    I hope our clp delegate votes as we want him to. I wish I was confident in him.

  6. mohandeer September 26, 2016 at 6:38 pm - Reply

    The reason the right wing anti Corbyn are so agitated and throwing hissy fits is precisely because they know they have infuriated a majority of members who, if given the chance(and I believe they should)would deselect them in favour of someone more representative.
    Oh dear, there goes their cushy job at Whitehall and all that opportunity it affords them.

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