LibDems win Council seat in Sheffield

Surprised he hasn't claimed to be a decendent of William Wallace

I think he lives in Scotland, so good luck to him against the SNP!

Perhaps he is line to be selected as a labour MP

I don't hold people responsible for the sins of their fathers, but it makes me cross when people use their family (or alleged family in this case) to boost their credentials.

Pity he wasn't truthful about his -historical credentials !

To be fair to him, I think that was a mistake on his part, because he was given the wrong date. It seems the suspension related to a picture of Hitler from 2015.

I also think the suspension is ridiculous. Although it has a quote from Hitler, it's obvious to anybody with half a brain cell that he wasn't praising Hitler but comparing him to somebody else (the government?) Either the suspension was carried out by an automatic bot or somebody with no sense of irony.

I think he's right to feel aggrieved, but I don't like the way, he's 'pulled rank' by mentioning his relationship to Attlee, especially as it isn't true. Other social media sites have now repeated the 'Clem's great nephew purged' myth. Nobody has challenged the relationship. In fact, his grandfather was an Admiral, who ordered Jews to be turned back from Palestine against the government's orders. His father was also a Vice-Admiral, but that doesn't seem to fit the role of being a good socialist.

Why did he say he was suspended because of that letter when it was a lie . Atlee descendant my foot,

Ooooh Daphne, your not deluded and yes you are worth listening to

This is John MacDonald's grandfather:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Willis

Why doesn't he mention this ancestor, rather than Attlee?

@Annie

I apologise. John MacDonald is only a distant descendant of Attlee and not even a blood relative. Cath Attlee is, as I stated, the granddaughter of Tom Attlee, Clem's brother.

John MacDonald is the grandson of Olive Millar, Clem's sister-in-law. Olive married Admiral Sir Algernon Willis, who had a daughter Joan Willis, who married Roderick MacDonald (John's father).

I knew all those family history detective skills would be useful one day .

I really can't take him very seriously, if he has to boast about being a relative of Attlee to get himself noticed.

Now then...

I'm a descendant of Captain James Cook - really! Admittedly, Cook doesn't have any direct descendants and admittedly it's only by marriage (well, a few of them) and most people with North East ancestors are probably related to one of the families involved in some way or other, but I'm sure it makes me worth listening to (or maybe I'm just deluded ).

@dj

He doesn't just use Facebook. For a start, he has his own website. johndwmacdonald.com/about/

For all I know, he contributes to other sites, not necessarily using his own name.

THIS was the post, which allegedly caused the suspension:

www.facebook.com/johndwmacdonald/posts/1080264912094610

@annie

You've misunderstood me. I think John MacDonald's claim is a bit dodgy.

I just can't believe that the Labour Party suspended him for no reason. I've read some of the posts by people claiming that there are conspiracies to get rid of Corbyn supporters. Quite honestly, as an outsider, I think there is all sorts going on, but many of these posts are bordering on paranoia.

I agree with you, annie, that's there's almost certainly more to this than the media is reporting.

Jrn, you claimed the reason was the letter , you want it to be true but it doesn't make it true

What it says is that he cannot think of any other reason to be suspended. He only uses facebook and you can follow his posts on that. I went as far back as Tunisia. Lots of photos of his trip round Auschwitz, etc.
I don't follow anyone. I'm not on facebook. I looked at the link from his link, because I was looking to see if there was a reason. There isn't.
You must know it's impossible to prove a negative.
If that is not the reason he was suspended, the party should tell him what was. If they've found out something that he said that was wrong, they should be able to give him proof.
I presume you would expect no less.

So you follow him do you Jen? This is not about me, it is about your claim that he was suspended for writing that letter and the link does not say that

I think he started like that to show his historic credentials, daphne.

Very distant descendant?
I have six great nephews, all of whom I send presents to.
Another one due this month.

There is no evidence of anything else he has written on social media to warrant expulsion. You have written far worse, Annie. You have copied lots of Michael Foster's insults. Did you get your vote?

Daphne if you read the link it does not say he was suspended because of the letter , so nothing doggy, well what is claimed in the link is not true so thst is dodgy.

This man, John MacDonald, isn't a very distant relative. He is the grandson of Clem's brother, Tom. Cath Attlee is also a granddaughter of Tom, so I'm not sure whether they're brother and sister or cousins.

They did write a letter supporting Corbyn, but it wasn't very controversial. I must admit that I didn't like the way they started the letter 'As Clem Attlee's great niece and great nephew...' So what? I don't see that their opinion is more important than anybody else's. On the other hand, I don't understand why MacDonald has been suspended, but not Cath Attlee. It all sounds a bit dodgy.

But what of the allegation that some very distant descendant of Atlee has been suspended for writing a letter of support when there is no such evidence this is true.

Apparently Michael Foster has also been suspended for his stormtrooper attack.
He was suspended for breaching a rule that said that' all eligible members and supporters must conduct themselves in a calm and polite manner and be respectful to each other at all times.'
I can imagine what he said to that..

Thank you for the link Jen, it also says he was suspended a month later after abusive
Behaviour on social media, so what else did he write is the question ,the link says possibly because etc, it does not say because of the letter

www.thecanary.co/2016/09/12/labour-party-just-purged-great-nephew-clement-attlee-called-members-vote-corbyn/

What is this letter Daphne?

I think you could be right, Annie. Andy Burnham has obviously decided to leave Westminster and I suspect others will find jobs with local authorities, charities, journalism or even (shock horror) in business. There are a number of lawyers on the Labour back benches, who could easily go back into legal practice.

Has Cath Attlee, who co-wrote the letter which was allegedly the cause of MacDonald's suspension, also been suspended?

Sorry, but this is Labour Party internal business. It needs to get itself sorted, so that people can be confident that they're voting for a political party not being torn apart by squabbles.