#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

The real fight will start after we have elected a new Labour Leader

My ballot papers arrived though the letter box last week but I still haven't filled them in yet.

Like many Labour members, I am still undecided, and as we are told on many occasions, our second preference vote is also very important. Plus we have votes for the NEC and policy forum. So the next few days I have to make my mind up and send the papers in.

But for me I wish it was already over, I had hoped for more from the leadership campaign, I wanted it to inspire more Young members and also for it to be used as a tool to get out and meet the public. Some people have been inspired and the party has seen a rise in it's membership as many have joined to be able to vote in the election. We have had hustings, debates and the candidates have bombarded us with leaflets, e mails, texts and phone calls but I believe we would have gained more in the long run if each candidate had gone out and knocked on doors with members rather than speed from one constituency to another, often visiting over 5 a day, just to meet members rather than the general public

Then to make our job even harder we have Tony Blair and Mandelson with their books! Now I do believe we should be proud of what Tony and Gordon achieved and the two of them along with Campbell and Mandleson have helped make a party that is now far more electable than it was in the 80's, but Blair and Brown have had their time and I now want a new leader now so he can form his strong team and start taking the attack to the Tories and Lib Dems and then activists can get out talking to the public rather than trying to encourage other Labour members to vote for their preferred candidate.

So who am I going to vote for?

Well I believe all of them less Abbott would make better Prime Ministers than Cameron (or Clegg) but I am thinking I should vote for the one who is most electable, the one who non Labour members would most vote for. You may say where are your principles? Why don't I choose the candidate whose policies are the closest to mine. But I do believe that we must choose the man who will ensure that we only have 4 more years of this Tory gang. They have already started to destroy the Education system and in 10 years, the NHS, the Armed Forces, all would be unrecognisable and even worse probably destroyed beyond repair.

So my vote will go to David Miliband, but my second preference? Still have not got a clue, so keep sending those texts and phoning me up because David may have my first choice but the rest of my votes are still up for grabs (Ms Abbott save your money)

So what I am looking forward to is October when we will have a new, young, strong leader with a strong shadow cabinet, then the real fightback and the real work will start.