#StayinLabour - I won’t be quitting Labour

I won’t be quitting Labour

Not a great day yesterday – the result from Liverpool was not unexpected, and then throw in a lacklustre defeat for Ipswich in Leeds, I did not wake up in the best of moods this morning.

Turning on my phone did not help, people I respect and trust telling me they are leaving the party – I chat to some Corbyn supporters, vow to give him a chance, even not to attack him on twitter but then the car crash of a morning for the party starts.

McDonnell refuses to apologise for the vile comments he made about a woman MP – the woman may be a Tory and not a nice piece of work and someone who should be attacked for her actions as a minister but not with the words McDonnell used. But he could have just apologised and that would have put water on the fire – but, no he said it was OK as he was being honest- this is just minutes after Jeremy Corbyn said he will not accept any abuse. He stated that he is not nasty to anyone – correct but if his closest ally is being abusive and he does not suspend or censor him then he is as guilty as McDonnell.

We then had the offer of an olive branch, wiping the slate clean – seems to have fell on deaf ears if you see the coverage of the Labour First meeting, but then I understand their anger – Corbyn on the Marr show had the opportunity to say there will be no de-selections – he failed to give that assurance.

He is dragging his feet at the NEC on how a Shadow Cabinet should be elected - a real leader would want the most capable people on his front bench. An election would have achieved that plus would have been a real sign of peace in Labour.

Then we find out is he not only dragging his feet on that issue we find out he also spoke out against more autonomy for Scottish Labour and rumour has it that he wants the next NEC to look at reversing some of the decisions made last Tuesday. Democracy?

We then had McCluskey telling us we were ahead in the polls before the coup a myth that Corbyn supporters now seem to see as fact.

You can add in the open anti Semitism being displayed at the  Momentum alternative conference (attended by Corbyn and other Front Benchers like Clive Lewis) you can see why people worry about the future of the party.

It seems most members from pre 2015 did not want Corbyn so new members have changed the party many of us joined – but that does not mean it was all good. We had lost two elections, the membership was distanced from Westminster – we did need clearer policies- in particular on education. But we just get someone who has spent most of his life in Westminster, London centric and a serial rebel – who has a team round him that seem to make constant PR cock-ups and his polices just seem to be words.

I campaigned hard in 2010 and 2015, we lost because we were not trusted on the economy – not because we were Tory lite!

But we need to get behind Corbyn – Am I being a hypocrite? No, I support the Labour Party, not Corbyn the same as I voted for Labour not Foot, Blair or Brown.

I will stay in Labour, fight hard to return more Councillors to the County Council – I will attack the Tories – in particular over this Brexit shambles – but that does not mean I will forgive Corbyn for his poor performance in the EU campaign. But from the news today it seems May joins Johnson, Corbyn and Cameron in a group of MPs who put their own future in front of what would have been better for the country.

Interesting it seems that those who voted in the election campaign, the majority of those under 24 voted for Owen Smith the same generation who feel most betrayed by the EU vote.

So I stay and work hard for the party, attack the Tories, knock on doors, get involved in policy – Corbyn states today that activists will have more of a say in policy – good news as most of the activists who are out on the streets of Ipswich each Saturday are not Corbyn followers- he may have confused the word activists with members.

I want Corbyn to lead, disappointed that in his speech after he won he  'demanded followership, ‘ not what is needed.

I am proud of what this party has achieved in 120 years, the NHS of Bevan, the involvement of Attlee in the founding of NATO and the minimum wage of the Blair Government

There of course were mistakes – Iraq the most commonly used example but I was also proud to be in the army sent by Blair to help in Kosovo as my friends were proud to help secure peace in Sierra Leone.

I fear Corbyn is an isolationist that is not what this party believes in and I believe many who voted for Corbyn also see us as an international movement.

So I stay, work hard for my constituents, campaign hard for Labour victories and where possible stay loyal to the leadership – but I will at times be critical – but never as critical as Corbyn was of Labour leaders – I like him will say if  I disagree on policy – NATO, Trident, EU but I am sure it will not be the 500 times he felt he needed to vote with the Tories.I will not take lectures on loyalty from Corbyn or people like Shami Chakrabarti who have been in the party for all of five minutes.

I would ask all Labour members to stay, the party, the county, the electorate are far more important that one leader. 

#StayinLabour

Invited to your own funeral – can we save the Labour Party?

Last night we heard the results for the election of constituency representatives to the NEC. Not a great night for the moderates with the ‘Left’ slate winning all six seats. It does not mean the fight for the party is over but it makes it more likely that Corbyn will remain leader – but for how long?

Yesterday I shared a conversation on twitter and  afterwards I felt almost helpless and very sad that we have got to this point – I feel let down by the PLP, not because they passed a no confidence vote in Corbyn but because some of them lent votes to Corbyn to get him into the last leadership competition.

Facts – not sure why I bother with facts as most of the Corbyn support (some of who I class as friends) seem to have decided to almost have a cult like view of Jeremy Corbyn – he can do no wrong in their eyes and they always seem to have an excuse at hand for his many mistakes.

But some facts – as I see them:

The PLP and in some cases – Cllrs and CLPs had moved away from the membership – and now they are even further away from the views of a much larger (and in most cases) and new membership.

So it is understandable that many of the membership have little faith in the PLP –the trouble is for the Labour Party, in my view the MPs views are closer to Labour voters than our new membership, we have become a middle class party, with a membership who in most cases have had little to do with the people who need a Labour Government most. Here in Ipswich, the ward which has seen the largest increase in membership is St Margaret’s – a ward that is held by the Lib Dems with the Tories in second place, whilst in wards that would be seen as working class and safe Labour seats (depending on the state of UKIP after their own leadership battle) we have seen very few new members.

Bur Corbyn supporters can see nothing wrong in Corbyn – and they seem in many cases oblivious to the fact that behind Corbyn, McDonnell and others (through Momentum) are pushing the party further left and makes us un-electable.

Why did Corbyn not put as much effort into the Euro referendum campaign as he is into his own leadership battle – he should have held a rally for us staying in the EU, IN Hull, Liverpool and Cardiff but he seemed to only be involved in the campaign because he was being forced to?

This week he had an opportunity to attack the Tories over the Cameron recommendations for new members of the House of Lords – this should have been something Corbyn relished as he has been a long time critic of the upper house, but instead we had the sad sight of a (far left) Labour leader, spending his time lobbying Number 10 to get his own nomination for the Lords accepted.

We also have the constant attacks on the media – msm, as Corbynistas prefer to call it- mainstream media – but yet again seeming to ignore the fact that Corbyn sidekick, Milne is on loan from the Guardian (msm) and that Diane Abbott was happy to spend the last 4 years sat on a sofa with Portillo on the BBC Politics Show (msm).

I expect another leadership challenge in 2017 and possibly 2018 and 2019 – what have MP’s to lose? Many will lose their seats if Corbyn stays as leader and some may not even get a chance to stand again once Momentum start to force de-selection of MPs who are not politically pure.

I will continue to fight to get rid of Corbyn – and please do not lecture me on loyalty – how can anyone be loyal to a leader who voted against the Labour Party over 500 times.

I just hope that my friends and others who support Corbyn wake up to the fact that he is not a leader and never will be and that whilst he stays in power, others from the 'Far Left' will use his position to make sure the Party moves further left – and further away from those who need us most.

Strange Summer ahead?

Sorry for the lack of posts recently - I kept away from my blog as still felt both anger and sorrow after the Brexit vote - this has not been helped by the behavior of Johnson (and to a lesser extent Farage) who have since run away from the mess they helped to create.

In the end after we finish negotiations with the EU (if the Tories ever start them)  we will find little difference in how we trade or in freedom of movement - we will just still pay into the EU, but get less out and have no vote!

I now have a busy summer ahead, next week is my annual week with the Army and then I take a group of teenagers to work on a community project in Ecuador.

When I return I will continue to be learning (and working on) about my new portfolio- public protection.One of the consequences of the Brexit vote has been the increase in racially motivated crime - I am writing to Police and Crime Commissioner to ask what the Suffolk Constabulary are doing about this issue.

But this will not be a summer that I wish to repeat - it could be one of the worst we have had in the political history of this country.

We have had the Brexit vote, Cameron did a 'runner' and now we have a Tory leadership contest - and two very unsatisfactory candidates - one who will not just become a Tory leader but the Prime Minister - Therese May as PM  sounds bad enough but I hope she wins, because to have Andrea Leadsom as the leader of our country would be catastrophic - her views on fox hunting, gay marriage may appeal to some Tory members but her lack of knowledge of world issues is frightening.

A major issue for me is that the Party, I am a member of is not in a position to hold this Government to account. We are a mess and the blame can not just be placed at the feet of Corbyn - the PLP, activists, members - many of us are at fault, I myself wish I had not made some of the comments on social media I have, but I am passionate about my party and am concerned for our future.

Corbyn has to go and I know and understand that he has the support of a large membership but he will never get us elected. We have members living in a 'dreamworld' if they think we can win in 2020. Some members (and many I would count as friends) seem oblivious to the role the 'Far Left'. and Momentum are taking in this internal crisis - they have an agenda more similar to that of the Militant Tendency of the 80's.

Leadsom and Corbyn seem to suffer from the same problem, both have very inexperienced teams around them - in particular in how they deal with the Press. For me the nightmare scenario is at the end of this Summer we have Corbyn and Leadsom facing each other over the dispatch box.

The Summer of 2016 will not be one I wish to repeat.