Two-faced: Johanna Baxter is pictured applauding Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during a speech in Brighton – before embarking on a series of backstabbing plots [Image: Ben Pruchnie via Getty Images].

Johanna Baxter, who was voted off the NEC earlier this year when party members overwhelmingly supported the six candidates of the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance over Labour First, of which she was a member.

Johanna Baxter, who then ran the panel of NEC members who adjudicated on complaints that other members had acted inappropriately – policing the rule change retrospectively so that comments made many years before members even became members were used against them, as was previous support or membership of other political parties, in one famous case, support for a rock band, and – of course – support for Jeremy Corbyn.

Johanna Baxter who, while still an NEC member, released her contact details to the public, calling for opinions on whether Mr Corbyn should be allowed onto the leadership ballot paper without nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party – and then cried crocodile tears while falsely claiming bullies had published her details online as part of a campaign of intimidation against her and other NEC members, to make them support Mr Corbyn’s case.

And now she is saying people who want to reverse the undemocratic decision to put unelected opponents of Mr Corbyn onto the NEC are putting internal politics ahead of the Labour Party’s interests.

No, Ms Baxter. That is what you have been doing – for many months. Once again, we see that the accuser is guilty of the abuse she identifies.

Perhaps somebody should make a complaint to the party’s ‘Compliance Unit’ – of which, having been removed from the NEC, she should no longer be a member.

The architect of the Labour rule change that saw Jeremy Corbyn lose his majority support on the party’s national executive committee has said it would be “deeply unhealthy” if critics of the leader were silenced.

Johanna Baxter, who served on the party’s executive for six years before losing her bid for re-election over the summer, said opponents of her decision to give Scotland and Wales dedicated seats on the ruling body had tried to put internal politics ahead of the national interests of the party.

The change, which Baxter said she had pushed for her entire time on the committee, was voted through this week at party conference after an angry debate on the conference floor where Corbyn supporters accused the NEC of a “stitch-up” and “gerrymandering”.

The Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, will now join the committee as a full member and the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones, chose a representative, Alun Davies. Dugdale and Jones are prominent critics of the Labour leader and as well as securing better regional representation, the seats are a huge boost to the anti-Corbyn faction in the party.

Source: Labour activist: it would be deeply unhealthy to silence Corbyn critics | Politics | The Guardian

ADVERT

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.

The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in eBook format here:

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here: