The (Homophobic) Party of the People?

The (Homophobic) Party of the People?

Gay councillor, Dr Rohit Dasgupta (he’s the one on the right) was previously the LBGT representative for West Ham CLP. In 2019 he faced a challenge. Unusually, it seems that the challenger was a straight man. And he won. 

In what Dasgupta termed a ‘shit show’, he got 45 votes and his opponent, one John Sacco got 49.

He was not pleased.

But then he might have a point.

It does sound like only gay members should be allowed to vote for the LBGT constituency officer. Would it have been any better if he were a straight Black man? Or maybe insults sound better if they are aimed at Whites? As a term of derision, “white” seems to be the last acceptable term of ethnic abuse.

But his ire has more than a little basis. The ‘inclusive’ party seems as willing to embrace and encourage homophobes, every bit as much as it embraced anti-Semites. It appears that the successful candidate gathered his votes from “the very homophobic men who had been bullying and harassing us,”

In the wake of the divisions over antisemitism in the party, the uncomradely behaviour of the West Ham delegates led to the resignation of the West Ham Chair, Josephine Grahl.

She said in a statement: “I’m saddened that people who have worked tirelessly to achieve what I saw as our shared aims – a better party, a better Labour Council, a Labour government – were rejected last night in favour of those who have no such record.”

Grahl stated that “a set of increasingly hostile meetings has taken a personal toll” and that she had “no intention of continuing to preside over a battleground in which defeating one’s internal opponents takes precedence over advancing the cause of socialism”

The strapline of the OnLondon article demands that action is taken against the entryists who are taking over the West Ham Party. It seems that the entryists who ousted the Right and Centre of Wales’ time are now facing a deselection of their own.

We have no knowledge of the Labour Party seeking to put West Ham CLP under special measures or investigate the allegations of homophobia.

In an article in Pink News, Dasgupta claims that the West Ham Labour Party is no longer safe for LBGT+++ people. In the context of a strong anti-RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) element in the party he commented, “There has been a distinct change in dynamics with lots of new members joining in the last year or so from faith groups.”

It is unclear whether Dasgupta was actually talking in the plural or referring to a single faith group.

“Dasgupta said that the influx of new members have voiced their opposition to LGBT-inclusive relationship education and their support for so-called gay conversion therapy. 

“Attending branch meetings “had become unbearable” for LGBT+ members after “homophobic content” was shared to social media, Dasgupta said. He explained the posts were designed to “rile parents up” against councillors such as himself who had spoken out in support of inclusive education.”

The campaign was promoted amongst Labour members, in a manner that was not entirely unlike the NPA campaign to oust Wales. 

Newham became the battleground for disputes over RSE in 2019. 

A certain mosque associated with a Constituency Officer and wannabe councillor in Canning Town South became prominent in the campaign to exclude RSE from the school curriculum. 

This was the glossy leaflet produced to introduce the homophobic anti-SRE campaign.

Shades of Birmingham

In Birmingham five primary schools have stopped their PHSE lessons in the wake of “parental” protests. 

The same level of misinformation and deliberate scaremongering is evident in the leaflet below.

Longer term residents will recall a similar pattern in the abusive campaign at St Stephen’s School over the issue of wearing the hijab.

This is what the Standard reported. 

“School leaders, and in particular the headteacher, have faced bullying and harassment, and there is evidence that this has been coordinated by some people outside the school community.” 

Newham Council were swiftly on the job. The issue, according to former councillor and Education Cabinet Member Julianne Marriott was “overblown”, not unlike the “false widow spider” scare of the year before. 

Don’t worry then if you have 20 angry protesters outside your child’s infant school, its nothing to worry about.

If anyone knows the answer, we’d love to hear from you.