Briefing AGM
Every time I think the hard left of my own party can't do anything more crass, they trump it.
Labour Briefing's AGM is next Sunday. I presume it will be attended by a sub set of the people who went to the LRC one last week.
On a platform with John McDonnell MP and NEC member Christine Shawcroft will be Mayor Lutfur Rahman of Tower Hamlets: http://www.labourbriefing.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100:labour-briefing-agm-2011&catid=3:newsflash
Whatever they consider the rights and wrongs of Lutfur's deselection by the NEC it is not appropriate for a body purporting to support Labour to be giving a speaking platform to someone who just ran against and beat the Labour Party as an independent. It is particularly insulting and provocative to all the people in the Tower Hamlets Labour Party who went out and campaigned for the official Labour candidate.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 5:51 pm
16 Comments:
Sunday 29th January;
6:25 pm, January 23, 2011
Sorry Luke, wake me up when you've started back on the Tories and the Lib Dems again will you?
I think you have to be the most sectarian person I've ever come across in the labour movement (and that's seriously saying something!!!) And to think you once accused me of being sectarian, back in Labour Students days!
9:20 pm, January 23, 2011
It is insulting to all those members who went out canvassing for Laboour? Do you not think it is insulting to all those (many more) Labour members who voted for Lutfur and WON?
10:05 pm, January 23, 2011
Its time we had a new workers party as Labour are only really for the bosses, as Blair had beer and sandwiches in no: 10 with the Fascist anti working class CBI and then locked out the Unions!
10:10 pm, January 23, 2011
Duncan
when your colleagues stop consorting with people who oppose the Labour Party, I'll stop highlighting them doing it.
Luke
10:11 pm, January 23, 2011
If we chicken out of disciplining Ken then we can hardly complain when others follow his example.
11:55 pm, January 23, 2011
How long will it be before "Briefing" spots that the 29th is Saturday and Sunday is the 30th?
Attendance could be small.
7:47 am, January 24, 2011
I tend to agree with Luke on this one, although warily as I don't have sufficient understanding of Tower Hamlets politics to form a definite view.
I would note however that in principle this is no different from getting Ken Livingstone to speak at the point at which he had run against the Labour Party as an independent and won. To those who know, is there any chance that Mayor Rahman will be able to do a Ken and return to the Labour Party at some point?
2:53 pm, January 24, 2011
I fail to see how this is ANY different from SImon Hughes at the Fabian event! Have we seen essays from Luke Akehurst denouncing the Fabian society for sharing a platform with Con Dems? I'll take you seriously when you're even handed in attacking those on Labour's right who court those outside the Party, rather than just LRC / Compass.
6:01 pm, January 24, 2011
Ken Livingstone is to the Labour party what Sir Alex Ferguson is to the Football Association, the outspoken beast who is too big to discipline. Makes it easy for the lesser mortals to commit and get away with their own misdemeanours. Livingstone has to be tackled sooner or later or the farce will continue with the potential to cost the party dear.
8:19 pm, January 24, 2011
Eh, David they were labour voters and they voted for Luftur,they weren't Labour voters then were they, As for being sectarian, Duncan , Do you want David Owen to rejoin he's hinting at it and he hasn't stood against Labour for 25 years,Otley Fabians aren't the labour aprty anymore than the TUC are, Didn't Tony Benn get the hump when Blair had Talks with Ashdown years ago, Keep up the good work Luke and we'll try to get you re elected next year.
8:31 pm, January 24, 2011
Didn't know the Fabians had Simon Hughes. That's worse than the repeated invites Compass have given Caroline Lucas and almost as bad as Alan Milburn collaborating with the Tories.
12:07 am, January 25, 2011
John Paul I don't think you understand my point. The Fabians are a Labour affiliate whereas Briefing is not. Surely this makes them giving a platform to people who stand against Labour a much more heinous offence? Personally I don't mind that much, but Luke Akehurst (and you apparently) are very upset about this when it is left wing groups doing it. All I ask is that if you are going to throw your toys out of your pram every time a local government politician is given a platform, you stick to your principle and denounce all groups equally for the same 'offence'.
2:15 am, January 25, 2011
For the record I don't approve of the Fabians giving a platform to Simon Hughes.
9:42 pm, January 25, 2011
When the tories introuced the opt out for union mrmbers not to give their affiliation to the Tory party-olds labour opposed it,you don;t have to be a labour member to give money to the party, its different for Lufhum to attend labour meetings than say a union meeting, As for Ken still not accepting he'ds ot allowed in the party, despite Ed miliband saying this 3 months ago, Ken ought to remember it took 4 yearrs for him to get back in. In 97 labour members in a constituency where labour came 3rd backed the lib dems as the only way to stop the tories ,were expelled,I never heard Ken call for them to be reinstated, but with ken it w es worse as the labour candidate could have won, if Ken hadn't of backed Lufhum
9:52 pm, January 25, 2011
David Owen? Well if we're raking up ancient history, I don't recall Luke calling on his colleague Mr. Findell not to stand as an independent against an official Labour candidate in an election in the mid-90s... (Why do I regress 15 years whenever I read Luke's blog? It's worse than the "I was York Campus Hack" group on Facebook...) I think all of this "consorting" stuff can be taken far too far. Presumably, Luke would not really have objected to a Lab-Lib coalition under certain circumstances (he is a PR fan after all) and in those circumstances Simon Hughes would be invited to speak in Cabinet, if not at a conference fringe meeting... Those who campaigned against him in his constituency under such circumstances might well feel offended at his presence, but would possibly have to conclude that it was preferable to a Tory government or some other grown-up thought process...
Would Luke speak on a pro-AV platform with people from other parties? If a local campaign was set up to fight to keep EMA, would he not want to be involved if some Lib Dem or Green Party person planned on turning up?
I'm often accused of being pretty tribal when it comes to party politics, but it is counter-productive and (to the public) nonsensical not to make alliances where the opportunity arises. At the end of the day, a big part of the agenda of "my colleagues" is to bring people into Labour's big tent; that is no more "consorting with people who oppose Labour" than Ed Miliband appealing to Lib Dems.
10:41 pm, January 25, 2011
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