The Morning Star Article entitled, “Starmer criticised for urging party members to drop legal action for Corbyn’s reinstatement,” wades into the ‘Typhoon in a Teaspoon’ debate, or prohibited debate, over the Captain of Capitulation, Keir Starmer’s, misjudged targeting of Corbyn in the fantisemitism controversy. They warn that, “’If Sir Keir thought he had acted legally’, say Jewish Voice for Labour, ‘he wouldn’t be so anxious not to have his actions questioned’,” noting that, “Campaigners criticised Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer today for having urged supporters of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn not to “tie up” the party with costly legal actions in an attempt to secure his reinstatement. Islington North MP Mr Corbyn was suspended from the party last month after saying that the scale of anti-semitism in Labour under his leadership had been ‘dramatically overstated for political reasons’.” It is obscene that the Labour Party ever sought to discipline Corbyn for making an accurate, truthful statement; what does it say about the Party?
The Morning Star remind us that, “His comments came after an inquiry by the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found that under his leadership, Labour had unlawfully handled complaints of anti-semitism. Former shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti is working on a legal case to get Mr Corbyn’s suspension revoked. In an LBC radio phone-in, Sir Keir said the party should be focusing on campaigning and winning elections. He said that he would raise the issue with Lady Chakrabarti when he next spoke to her. A Jewish Voice for Labour spokesman said ‘it is quite inappropriate’ for Sir Keir Starmer to ask Lady Chakrabarti to abandon the legal action, adding: ‘If he thought he had acted legally he wouldn’t be so anxious not to have his actions questioned. In fact, it is the findings of the EHRC of unlawful acts that are themselves likely to be questioned at law’.” A significant faction of the Jewish community represented by Jewish Voice for Labour, are being totally ignored by Keir Starmer.
The Morning Star point out that, “Mr Starmer has been criticised for repeatedly defending the decision to suspend Mr Corbyn publicly, after Labour branches have been ordered not to discuss ‘individual cases’ such as the former leader’s suspension.” Keir Starmer is emulating the dysfunctional Tory model of, “don’t do what I do, do what I say” and it is not a good look. His new style of authoritarian rule has created a fierce backlash from CLPs right across the UK. He is trying to impress the public by taking a strong and decisive stand on anti-Semitism, but this entire debate was hijacked a long time ago by the Zionist Lobby and Starmer is just seen as doing their bidding. As a qualified Lawyer he really should know better as he is now on very shaky ground. Under Jeremy Corbyn, Labour in the UK swelled their ranks to become the largest Socialist Party in Europe; now members are leaving in droves! Sir Keir Starmer has well and truly burned his bridges and I don’t see a way back for him to remain Leader of the Labour Party.
Starmer has made other chronically ill-advised legal decisions recently as he doggedly stuck to the same flawed allegiances and goals. The Labour Legal team strongly advised him that they would win the John Ware SLAPP Suit, but he capitulated offering a groveling apology and a hefty unwarranted payout that really infuriated many Labour members. It was sickening to see defamation rewarded, but if at some point the truth emerges, Ware and all those who lied in sworn statements could potentially be charged with perjury, which is a serious custodial offence. Starmer deciding to settle out of Court was a truly grave error of judgement because SLAPP Suits are generally not strong enough to prevail in Court. It’s extremely important to fight them robustly in a Court of law; Starmer’s appeasement will undoubtedly generate a proliferation of similar frivolous SLAPP cases that will drain the Labour Party coffers and continue to damage the reputation of the Party, making Labour unelectable for years to come.
Mike Silver has included a quick poll to test public sentiment in his Vox Political Article entitled, “Starmer had £50K from pro-Israel lobbyist…” He asks if it isn’t, “Time for a ‘no confidence’ vote?” Cynically captioned, “Keir Starmer: he’s pictured practising the hallmark of his Labour leadership so far, inactivity;” clear about his contempt for the Labour Leader he says, “Now we see why Keir Starmer was so cagey about donations to his Labour leadership campaign. He has been taking cash from lobbyists dedicated to pushing the interests of the Israeli government, from opponents of Jeremy Corbyn and funders of the so-called Independent Group for Change (or whatever they ended up calling themselves) – the Labour splitters who were annihilated in the last general election. In other words, it seems his funders are opponents of socialist, pro-Middle East peace Labour. This casts a shadow over his handling of the leaked Labour document on factional interference in the party’s handling of anti-Semitism complaints.”
Silver reports that, “With so many anti-Corbyn funders, and the report showing how anti-Corbyn sentiment informed the lack of exertion on anti-Semitism by the party’s Governance and Legal Unit, it is easy to reach an obvious conclusion about Starmer’s priorities. This would be hasty. But it certainly seems clear that Starmer’s innocence needs to be established before he can continue as leader. A responsible man would step back, (I think the word is) recuse himself and allow an independent investigation into the report and his donations, returning to office only if he is found innocent of any wrongdoing or corruption. Trouble is, he hasn’t done that. So my question is: is it too early for a vote of ‘no confidence’ in this non-leader’s leadership?” When I added my vote it was 73% in favour of a no confidence vote and only 26% against. Silver lists the Canary Article entitled: “Keir Starmer received £50,000 donation from pro-Israel lobbyist in leadership bid” as his source.
Silver also makes a pitch for donations to his, “Crowdfunding Appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.” When he talks of ‘wealth beating justice,’ although he doesn’t fully identify them as SLAPP Lawsuits that’s what they are, mostly bought on a ‘no win no fee’ basis with back-up insurance to eliminate all risk to litigants. The Panorama case Ware has lodged against Jeremy Corbyn is a SLAPP, but it is stalled right now due to the huge fighting fund raised to secure justice in Court. Silver is also facing a similar SLAPP case over fantisemitism. Essentially this is a fight against SLAPP Lawsuits where people think they can make easy money bringing a totally baseless liable case against those they want to gag and intimidate into silence. It is one of the greatest modern threats to free speech and the important work of professional investigative journalists trying to expose corruption.
In the Morning Star Article, “Silencing Labour members over Corbyn ‘unacceptable,’ says CWU” the Communication Workers show that it’s not just Labour CLPs in this fight because, “A Union has accused Labour general secretary David Evans of ;unacceptable’ silencing of members who want to discuss the party’s treatment of Jeremy Corbyn at meetings. The party has a ‘very serious issue developing regarding freedom of expression and natural justice’ over the ban on discussing the suspension of the Islington North MP, Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary Dave Ward wrote in a letter to the union’s branches. Mr Ward warned that directives from Mr Evans forbidding Labour CLPs from discussing Mr Corbyn’s situation and expressing their solidarity, and even suspending members for doing so, ‘only serves to deepen divides within the party along factional grounds.’ He said that CWU has ‘expressed directly; to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer concerns over ‘freedom of expression and natural justice’.”
The Morning Star report that, “Evans had written to Labour CLPs this week to say that motions relating to the withdrawing of the whip from Mr Corbyn, and motions of solidarity ‘will be ruled out of order.’ A number of CLPs have defied his instructions by passing motions in support of Corbyn, including Birmingham Hall Green, Hampstead and Kilburn, Milton Keynes North and South, and Leeds North East, according to the LabourList website. The chair and co-secretary of Bristol West were suspended for having allowed a motion to be debated, and Labour has now cancelled the CLP’s AGM. Others, such as Hackney South and Bristol East, have circumvented the ‘ban’ by instead commenting on democracy or passing motions of no confidence in Evans or Sir Keir.” They remind us that, “Corbyn was suspended on October 30 pending the investigation of his comments over the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report into Labour’s handling of anti-semitism complaints.”
Jeremy Corbyn made a statement of fact when, “He had said that ‘anyone claiming there is no anti-semitism in the Labour Party is wrong’ but that the ‘scale of the problem was overstated for political reasons by our opponents’.” We can’t continue to propagate the overblown fantisemitism lies to appease the Israeli Lobby. They say that, “When Corbyn was reinstated to the party earlier this month his successor Sir Keir swiftly withdrew the whip from him. Ward said in his letter that Sir Keir’s action ‘flies in the face of the party’s rules and customs’ as Labour’s national executive committee panel had found Corbyn ‘to be not guilty of any breaches in a unanimous decision.’ An emergency motion was presented to the CWU NEC which called for Corbyn to have the whip restored. This was passed unanimously. His letter came a week after the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union said that it would be consulting members over whether it should remain affiliated with Labour because of concern over the ‘political direction’ of the party.”
All of these Unions know that Corbyn was there standing shoulder to shoulder with them at strike protests over pay and working conditions; he has earned their genuine respect and they will not abandon him. The Unions pay to sustain the Labour Party, but Starmer is putting their significant contributions at risk and it is not just about their respect for his inspirational predecesor who he is so determined to vilify and remove from the Labour Party on groundless charges. The ego-centric “New Leadership” with a notable lurch to the right, ditching the ten pledges he made to con them into voting for him, failing to provide robust opposition to the most toxic Tory Government in our lifetime and beholden to the dictates of the Zionist Lobby, no longer represent Labour values. Unite have already voted to reduce their contribution to the Labour Party and it is only a matter of time before other powerful Unions decide to do the same. If Starmer wants to rely on wealthy donors he will be required to meet their special interest demands.
Keir Starmer definitively proved early on that he was no friend of ordinary workers and their Unions when he ousted Rebecca Long Bailey on a flimsy fantisemitism pretext. He failed to support the Teachers Union when they tried to demand that Covid precautions must be in place before children returned to school, doubling-down on his desertion by sacking the Shadow Education Secretary for standing her ground on the issue to protect their rights. The Captain of Capitulation supported Johnson’s demand for schools to reopen, sending children back into unprepared, overcrowded classrooms to incubate the Coronavirus and infect their older relatives in multigenerational households. With no demand for functioning test, track and trace before Starmer fully endorsed the PMs deadly error, Covid is spreading rampantly through schools, colleges and workplaces, while pubs are being forced to close unnecessarily. This, despite the growing evidence demonstrating where the risk is greatest: is the PM making deliberate, well calculated, mistakes?
According to the Website “Stats for Lefties” the “Support for Corbyn” is on the rise as Labour CLP refuse the Labour NEC gagging order. They are keeping a running tab of the now controversial motions regularly updated on their site. They, “list the Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), affiliated trade unions, other affiliated organisations and Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) who have called for Jeremy Corbyn MP to be readmitted to the Parliamentary Labour Party, have expressed solidarity with Corbyn, or who have passed a motion of no confidence in Keir Starmer or David Evans. As of 28th November, the totals are: 58 CLPs; 4 trade unions, representing a total of 1.5 million workers; 1 affiliate (Young Labour) and 28 Labour MPs.” A copy of, “The full list of who has shown support for Corbyn can be found” on their Website and you are asked to contact them with any updates, “If you have an addition to this please tweet it @LeftieStats on Twitter.”
A Morning Star Article entitled, “Without a political alternative, we face a historic downgrade to living standards,” offers a genuinely hopeful way forward with the neo-liberal consensus as the only obstacle to achieving this goal. The problem: this Tory Government and sadly Starmer’s “New Leadership” capitulation dragging Labour to the right! They say, “Thousands more families go into the weekend facing real anxiety over how they will keep their heads above water over the winter with news of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia’s impending collapse. It’s a grim end to a week in which Chancellor Rishi Sunak predicted surging unemployment until mid-2021. Retail union Usdaw expects 150,000 jobs in the sector to go by the end of the year. And it is not the only sector experiencing mass job losses. Mass unemployment also means downward pressure on wages. Sunak claimed while announcing a real-terms pay cut for millions of public-sector workers this week that this was justified because of falling pay in the private sector.”
The Morning Star offers a Reality Check on that huge mistake, saying, “Actually the attacks on public-sector pay are an attack on wages generally. Lower public-sector pay weakens pressure on private business to raise wages. Workers with less money in their pockets will also spend less, further damaging private-sector business, leading to more job losses and further downward pressure on pay. We face a historic downgrading of living standards, with the Resolution Foundation predicting this week a cut in average pay packets of £1,200 a year by 2025. All this is avoidable. The Conservatives will do their best to claim mass unemployment and growing poverty are inevitable consequences to the shrinking economy. But that shrinking economy is their fault. Britain faces the biggest economic downturn in Europe. Even now, when the rapid economic recovery of countries that have effectively suppressed the virus such as China and New Zealand is plain, ministers will not adopt a zero-Covid strategy.”
The Morning Star spells out how, “Their half-measures, including a ‘lockdown’ that has been nothing of the sort because the sector recording the highest numbers of new infections, schools, was not included, have merely prolonged the pain, raising the prospect of yet more ‘waves’ of infections and future lockdowns. Covid could have been a game-changer in a different sense. The huge sums spent on propping up the private sector could have come with conditions. Stricken industries could have been nationalised and reshaped. Schools could have been made safe for socially distanced learning by the expropriation of unused property and a mass recruitment drive that could have led to permanently smaller class sizes.” Sadly, if the Covert 2019 Rigged Election had not succeeded in defrauding the British public out of a progressive Socialist Government then we would very likely have seen all these measures implemented under Jeremy Corbyn’s Leadership, but Labour under “New Leadership” will offer more austerity lite.
The Morning Star describe how, “The significant shift to home working could, if accompanied by the right government policies and incentives, help revive high streets outside major urban centres as millions of workers save time on the morning and evening commute. It could breathe life into towns and villages that have suffered from the concentration of jobs and investment in London and a handful of other major urban centres.” They say that, “Instead everything we have seen from ministers, and for that matter from the Labour front bench, is fixated on propping up a broken system. As Usdaw points out, the crisis on our high streets predates Covid. The long squeeze on incomes has lasted since the bankers’ crash of 2008. Giant firms, from Carillion to BHS, were being hollowed out and dumped to make fortunes for a handful of spivs long before 2020’s lockdowns.”
The Morning Star warns that, “Unless serious pressure is built up behind an alternative, the next decade will be a sorrier sequel to the last. Collapses like Arcadia’s will merely accelerate the growth of precarious, poverty-pay work, even when we have all just witnessed the dangerous public health consequences.” They offer a positive way forward, saying, “The first building block of the alternative is the fight to defend jobs. This requires a national, co-ordinated effort from trade unions — the TUC’s New Deal for Workers campaign is well placed to lead those discussions — community-based campaigns such as local People’s Assembly groups and networks of influence in local and regional government, such as the Alliance for Full Employment. The Tories will say unemployment is an inevitable feature of a depressed market. We must make it a political issue ministers cannot dodge — indeed, the overriding political issue facing the country.”
What I consistently find incomprehensible is the blind acceptance that huge numbers of former Labour supporters voted for Boris Johnson supposedly just because they trusted this notorious serial liar to “Get Brexit Done.” Allegedly they felt confused and that Labour had betrayed them by promising another referendum, but this does not make sense. This fantasy tale does not explain why the very man pushing hardest to demand a second vote would have been rewarded as the top choice to replace Corbyn in the Labour Leadership role. The Tory track record guaranteed that Brexit would strip away workers rights, while voting Labour would have prioritized protecting those rights and a whole host of other important guarantees to protect ordinary citizens. A confirmatory vote was a logical and fair option because we would all have known what had been negotiated before making any final decision. I believe that the Labour team could have negotiated concessions for remaining in the EU as well as a reasonable deal if we left.
Boris Johnsons’s lies are coming unravelled thick and fast; his “oven ready deal” is now in ashes as we head for the crash-out cliff edge. Will he start to sell us the snake oil, ‘Hobson’s choice,’ no deal renamed the “Australian Deal” next week? I anticipate major distractions, possibly a ‘dead cat,’ but we cannot afford to be distracted. The Covid restrictions will be used to keep a lid on public protests: we cannot allow that to happen. We need to protest like the French, because we have a hell of a lot to lose here if we do not derail this warped Tory Government. It’s time to challenge their reckless squandering of public funds; also time to challenge the legitimacy of that unfathomable ‘landslide victory’ and demand a full Investigation of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. Exposing the truth about all of the corruption and the fantisemitism lies too would see both Johnson and Starmer removed from power. A corrupt Tory Government with a weak and incompetent Labour opposition: this will require a concerted effort to restore our democracy.
DO NOT MOVE ON!