Just What is Happening in the Labour Party?

The Labour Party has suspended its last leader and alongside him they have suspended the former front bencher, Diane Abbot. Even the Tories haven’t managed that, but then, they don’t seem to have the same problem with antisemitism.

And then there were a new swathe of problems to bedevil the party.

The Evening Standard has just reported that Hackney Mayor, Philip Glanville was suspended by the Labour Party for enjoying a celebratory evening with Tom Dewey. He and Dewey had previously been housemates. Dewey had been arrested, (yep, by the police), only two weeks before the party in a sting operation to catch paedophiles, and yes, Glanville was aware.

Dewey was arrested very shortly before being elected as a Labour councillor in Hackney.

Does this not strike anyone as a little strange? No-one knew anything, no-one had suspicions, or if they did, they were prepared to cover it up. Once upon a time, Labour used to make some efforts to ensure that their candidates did not have embarrassing secrets locked away. Not now it seems. It’s a good job that none of the Labour Party councillors in Newham have any embarrassing secrets of a sexual nature to hide.

Dewey was responsible for “downloading “sadistic” images of children being sexually abused as well as a cache of violent pornographic photos”. Glanville reported to the council that he had been “angry, shocked and appalled” by the news of Dewey’s behaviour.

Dewey was convicted on August 15th this year. Glanville remains Mayor of Hackney.

In the same week, Leicester East Labour Party was suspended.

Leicester East is an interesting, not to say unfortunate party.  They were previously blessed to have Keith Vaz as their MP. Alas, “Mr Vaz was suspended for six months after a scathing report by the Commons standards commission, which found he "disregarded" the law by "expressing a willingness" to help buy cocaine for male prostitutes”, according to a BBC news report.

This is what the Parliamentary Commissioner said of the former MP, “While his comments concerning this may not amount to a criminal offence, he shows disregard for the law and that, in turn, is disrespectful to the House and fellow Members, who collectively are responsible for making those laws. Mr Vaz’s conduct has also been disrespectful of the House’s system of standards. He has not “cooperated at all stages” with the investigation process. He has failed, repeatedly, to answer direct questions; he has given incomplete answers and his account has, in parts, been incredible. I do not believe he has given me or my predecessor a full and accurate account of the relevant events”.

But Leicester East recovered and appointed Claudia Webbe as their candidate.

Unfortunately, after her election to parliament, Ms Webbe was convicted of harassment of a female “friend” of her boyfriend. Webbe received a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for two years. On appeal, the punishment was reduced to community service.

And then there was the matter of the 19 Labour candidates purged by the NEC. It could be that the NEC were at last doing their job, but as most of the candidates were from minority ethnic communities, they faced the inevitable charges of racism. Labour had lost 22 council seats in the city and the parliamentary majority fell from over 22,000 to just over 6,000.

One former Labour councillor has recently launched a new political party in Leicester, One Leicester. Having lost her bid to become mayor in Leicester, Rita Patel told journalists that she “would aim to build a "better tomorrow" for the city. “Leicester’s mayor, Peter Soulsby, told the BBC he was “deeply troubled” by the extent to which religion was “weaponised” during the campaign”. There do seem to be shades of Tower Hamlets in this, with politics being used as a vehicle to secure the ascendence of one religious’ group.

Interestingly, both Webbe and Glanville were supporters of and supported by Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum. We struggle to recall, but wasn’t there another mayor elected about the same time, also supported by Momentum? Who was it? It’ll come to us.

And then of course, there is Newham. Where Newham leads, others follow. Both CLPs remain suspended. If reports we received are true, around 1,000 members from both CLPs were expelled for various irregularities, (mostly it seems from one community), but only after Fiaz was selected. The mayor is the subject of repeated complaints about bullying, both of colleagues and staff. And the council is heading for a major deficit. We are unaware that the Labour Party has taken any action in respect of her.