Tag Archives: disrepute

Expelled activist Marc Wadsworth is taking Labour to court

Marc Wadsworth: We should all stand up against the injustice that Labour has done to him.

Marc Wadsworth, expelled from Labour on a daft charge of ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ after it was proved that claims of “anti-Semitism” against him were false, is launching legal action against the party.

And who can blame him?

He told Skwawkbox this would be a test case for the many members who have been falsely accused and unfairly treated – members like This Writer; I am in the midst of writing an answer to unjust and fabricated anti-Semitism charges from the Labour Party at the moment.

Mr Wadsworth, who is crowdfunding his action, added that it was “a pity” it was necessary at all.

I am also crowdfunding for legal action against my own accusers, including the Labour Party and those who have fed it the false claims about me. If you would like to contribute to that fund, please visit my JustGiving page.

Labour and black rights activist Marc Wadsworth, who played a key role in supporting the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence through their campaign, is about to formally initiate legal action against the Labour Party.

Wadsworth was expelled over an exchange with Labour MP Ruth Smeeth at the launch of Labour’s Chakrabarti report – widely misreported by the media and Ms Smeeth’s supporters as on grounds of antisemitism, but this is untrue as the party downgraded the charge to one of disrepute after it became apparent [a] widely-available video of the incident showed no antisemitic behaviour.

A letter from Wadsworth’s legal team will be sent to the party [today, August 1], with formal proceedings expected to begin next week. The team includes QC Martin Westgate, who successfully represented Labour members in their fight to overturn Labour’s decision, under former general secretary Iain McNicol, to exclude them from voting in the party’s leadership election, as well as solicitors from the highly regarded firm Birnberg Peirce.

Source: Exclusive: Wadsworth launches legal action over ‘unjust’ expulsion | The SKWAWKBOX

Visit our JustGiving page to help Vox Political’s Mike Sivier fight anti-Semitism libels in court

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Labour’s travesty of justice: activist expelled – liar exalted

Marc Wadsworth: Falsely accused?

Labour activist Marc Wadsworth has been expelled from the party after its National Constitutional Committee ruled that he had brought the party into disrepute.

This is nonsense.

The allegation against Mr Wadsworth – by MP Ruth Smeeth – arose after an incident involving the two at the launch of the Chakrabarti Report on June 30, 2016.

He had been handing out leaflets calling for the mandatory reselection of Labour MPs, and had seen a Telegraph reporter handing it to Ms Smeeth for a comment.

So he said: “I saw that the Telegraph handed a copy of a press release to Ruth Smeeth MP so you can see who is working hand in hand.”

Ms Smeeth, who we all subsequently discovered is Jewish, accused him of attacking her with an anti-Semitic trope (that Jews – or rather “the Jews” – control the media).

Can you find anything anti-Semitic in what Mr Wadsworth said?

He was calling out a Labour MP for colluding with the Tory press, wasn’t he?

All things considered – and it will be fascinating to learn the reasons for the NCC’s decision – it seems it is Ms Smeeth who is guilty of bringing the Labour Party into disrepute.

What was she doing, falsely accusing a man of anti-Semitism on such a flimsy basis?

Why did she kick up such a huge fuss, that overshadowed the launch of a very important piece of Labour policy?

And why did the party leadership take a frankly silly claim so seriously that it has permanently tarred a perfectly decent man as an anti-Semite.

This is an absolutely despicable decision and all those involved should be ashamed of themselves.

One can only hope that Jennie Formby’s review of Labour’s disciplinary procedures will make any further travesties of justice impossible.

But, considering today’s result, I doubt it.

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Labour will discount leader election votes AFTER they’ve been cast – won’t that encourage vote-RIGGING?

The right-wing Labour leadership has put itself in a proper dilemma, thanks to the candidacy – and popularity – of Jeremy Corbyn.

Look at the denial of comedian Mark Steel’s application to become a Labour supporter – and vote for Corbyn – because he does not “support Labour values” – this is a man who wrote newspaper articles in favour of Labour, doorstepped members of the public to encourage them to vote Labour, and actually voted Labour himself.

It seems that, because he admitted he’d vote for the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas if he was in her Brighton Pavilion constituency, he’s out. That’s a comment in favour of a person, not a party.

Is his endorsement of Ms Lucas then really the reason he got the boot? Or is it because he supports Mr Corbyn now?

That is the question that will be worrying many dedicated Labour supporters who have signed up in good faith, in order to do the same.

Now, the Labour leadership has said it will remove “infiltrators'” votes, even after they have been cast. The Daily Mirror reports:

The party will carry on vetting people right up until the September 10 voting deadline to stop ‘stooges’ and ‘entryists’ taking over the race.

Insiders say that means they will tell independent vote-counters to strip out individual ballots if they suspect foul play – for example if a Tory stooge mocks Labour by posting their paper on Twitter.

This plan is wide-open to abuse. What’s to stop right-wingers, neoliberals, Blairites (or whatever else you want to call them) from looking at votes, thinking, “These people voted for Corbyn – they’re disqualified”, and finding a reason for the decision later?

Conversely, there is nothing to stop Corbyn-supporting voters from making that accusation right now. The decision brings the election into disrepute.

The decision has been attacked by the Electoral Reform Society campaign group – which partly owns the company running the election – as it said Labour should delay sending out ballot papers for a few days.

This would have been a better choice – and it counts against Labour’s leaders that they did not support it.

The current system of weeding out members of other parties is working perfectly well. This Writer took part in the process, here in Mid Wales, and managed to identify Conservatives and Greens who were trying to skew the process.

I also recognised the names of many genuine Labour supporters who will certainly vote for Jeremy Corbyn. Their applications have been accepted and their votes will be counted.

By the time the count takes place, though, will the entire process have been discredited beyond redemption?

I am seriously considering writing a letter to Labour’s general secretary, Iain McNichol, about this issue. Perhaps other Labour members, of long-standing in the party, may wish to do the same.

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Conduct complaint over Iain Duncan Smith’s lie to Parliament

Lie: Some might believe Iain Duncan Smith told a bigger whopper than his gesture indicates.

Lie: Some might believe Iain Duncan Smith told a bigger whopper than his gesture indicates.

Parliament is to investigate a complaint against Iain Duncan Smith, after he was recorded presenting inaccurate information to fellow MPs in the House of Commons.

Vox Political reader Helen Groves stated in her complaint that she found it “deeply troubling” to hear that a government minister responsible for the welfare of millions of vulnerable people “continually misrepresents” information to other MPs.

She was referring to the Gentleman Ranker’s reply to Debbie Abrahams’ question on June 22. Ms Abrahams had asked: “Why does he refuse to publish the details of the number of people who have died within six weeks of their claims for incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance, including those who have been found fit for work?”

The Secretary-in-a-State replied: ” She knows very well that the Department does not collate numbers on people in that circumstance. It deals with individual cases where things have gone right or gone wrong and reviews them.”

Everybody reading Vox Political knows this to be untrue, as an email from the DWP, dated October 21, 2013, now-famously states: “The Department does hold, and could provide within the cost limit, some of the information requested.”

In her complaint, Ms Groves states: “I feel this calls both his position and the government into disrepute, domestically and internationally, due to his high profile. I can only assume that… Mr Duncan Smith deliberately provided false information.

She continued: “Mr Duncan Smith must be aware that his department [has] already provided such information to the data commissioner and that his department [has] been fighting a legal battle to prevent publication of this information. As such it is not plausible that Mr Duncan Smith provided this information without knowledge that it was false.

“This subject has been widely reported by [the] media and as simply a member of the public I am conversant with the issues. How can it be credible that the minister is not?

“Only days later, Mr Cameron has acknowledged in PMQs that this information does indeed exist though like Mr Duncan Smith he does not seem to be willing to release it in full, but rather in a form which would prevent the general public from being able to make a clear assessment of the data.

“I would therefore wish my complaint to be addressed as a formal complaint against the Minister Iain Duncan Smith on the basis that his conduct calls his position, The UK Government and the House itself into disrepute.”

In a comment to Vox Political, she added: “they have to investigate and I have no intention of letting them skip over it. Conduct is one of the easiest ways to go after a minister or MP. I think IDS has earned a bit of being held to account.”

Bravo!

Vox Political will publish updates on the progress of this matter as they become available.

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

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