From a Labour Member.
Unity? What Unity?
Let me give you an account of my experience over the past two to three years:
I am a life long Labour voter but only recently a Member. I joined to support Corbyn’s socialist initiatives. As I recall, so did a huge number of people. Huge.
But it didn’t take long to find out that the establishment (CLP/Region/NEC/PLP/HQ/etc.) was hostile. You must remember that if you want any hope of Unity, otherwise you will not understand why there isn’t any. There are those who do not care that there isn’t, so this narrative is not really for them.
Take the attempt to remove Corbyn by having another Leadership Election. During that time, the Labour Groups were full of hostile discussions. I was told to Fuck Off by a Labour Councillor. I am not the only one. I do not suggest that the invective was made by any particular ‘side’, but certainly those that attempted to argue the case for Corbyn and the Manifesto were often met with derision, ridicule, invective, and hostility. I am sure there are those who would support that claim.
We were present while the anti-Semitism smear campaign was in full swing. We knew it was a scurrilous attempt to undermine Corbyn because the attacks were demonstrably refutable, but when has truth got in the way of a good smear campaign?
After the last General Election it was clear that Corbyn’s tenure had come to an end. So when the Candidates were revealed, there was still a difference of opinion between those who supported Corbyn, and those that didn’t.
In the event, those that didn’t prevailed, but 56% is not an impressive majority. The Party is still sorely divided. Many lent their votes to Starmer, being persuaded that a more establishment friendly type of person would be preferable from a General Election point of view. In hindsight now, the folly of that mistake is being revealed almost on a daily basis.
Then the leaked report surfaced and the contents were astonishing, even though we were not that surprised. It reinforced what we had always suspected even though not as systemic and profound as these revelations reveal.
If this had been a leaked Tory report, Team Starmer would be screaming for an inquiry and rightly so. But what do they do? Threaten those who are involved with the leak and anyone publishing the contents. For all I know, just referring to the Report could be seen as a dismissable offense?
Transparency? Accountability? Integrity? Decency?
And what have we heard from our Administration? If we hear anything at all it is stop moaning and unite.
So this is for those who give a damn and want us to cease and desist in the interest of Party unity. Where do you think that unity is going to come from? Those who you berated and ridiculed for years? You think? How does that work?
So you might as well not bother to make any plea for unity unless you can come up with a strategy that takes into account 3 years of hostility, and the damage done by the leaked report. If you cannot understand that, you haven’t a hope.
The other approach is to ignore it, and carry on trying to rebuild New Labour again. Top down. Opaque. Unaccountable. So far I have yet to see any behaviour that leads me to think that is not the game plan.
I don’t know where this goes, but I am not minded to give up my Membership. That would happen when the Party has become a lost cause and loses democratic socialist credibility or any possibility of redemption. Or my vote is taken away from me.
That’s where I think it is going with the current dynamics. For the moment I have no power to change anything (if a vote can be seen as a power), so we observe. And record. And wait. And discuss with others about the state of play and the future. And vote when the time comes.
Unity? What Unity? How does that work?
(Name withheld on request)
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