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Deselection issue in Labour Party with respect to Luciana Berger

(179 Posts)
Baggs Fri 07-Jul-17 10:43:37

Liverpool Labour MP, Luciana Berger, got 34,717 votes (four fifths of the total) in the recent General Election. Local supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, members of the far left group, Momentum, who have nine of the ten executive committee places in Berger's constituency party, think she should be deselected because of her criticisms of JC's performance in the EU Referendum (she resigned from the Shadow Cabinet in protest).

I think her deselection, based on the opinions of these nine people, would be completely anti-democratic: an assault on the principles of representative democracy. Berger was chosen by her constituents to represent them. It is to them that she is accountable.

The activists controlling her local Party are demanding she apologise for not supporting JC "in the past". They clearly have no understanding of the irony of their stance: JC's parliamentary career is thickly littered with evidence of his lack of support for the Party leadership.

trisher Sun 09-Jul-17 11:17:50

I could post a list on my Facebook page of all the people I don't like or all the people I do like. It doesn't mean a thing. This is a no news item. A 'he said' "she said" discussion about something that will never happen.

Baggs Sun 09-Jul-17 11:24:19

Yesterday, T, I understood a post of yours to be saying you'd searched for info on the alleged 'attack' by Momentum wonks on Luciana Berger but couldn't find any. Today I provided you with some. What have your people likes and unlikes on FB got to do with it? (rhetorical question; I don't really care; that post is amusing though ?).

trisher Sun 09-Jul-17 11:43:01

People post all sorts of things on Facebook and as I don't tweet I can't post them on Twitter. You searched desperately and found something on Twitter I was simply pointing out that it can't happen and as such is no news, In other words there is no threat to democracy except perhaps by subversive elements and those who choose to believe there are still Reds hiding under our beds.

Baggs Sun 09-Jul-17 13:01:49

You'll be pleased to know that doing a jigsaw has apparently helped me to understand yur FB post, T. I presume your FB is not the same as South Tyne Momentum's page so the comment neither proves nor disproves anything about what Mark Wallace claims to have uncovered about TS Momentum.

I think what is pertinent about his tweets and what some people were saying yesterday in various newspapers is that there is likely to be some truth in the rumours. To be fair there may be some untruth too. Either way a lot of people don't like Momentum and think it will destroy the Labour Party, the moderate factions of which have, as Rod Liddle so soundly put it, only have themselves to blame. In short, one way or another, it looks as if Labour's buggered.

Time will tell.

whitewave Sun 09-Jul-17 13:11:47

A long with the Tory party

durhamjen Sun 09-Jul-17 14:53:39

So anybody who gets elected, no matter how they were selected by the party, whichever party, is deemed to be elected honourably and democratically, and can therefore not be deselected.
S/he must only lose the seat if s/he either stands down, is voted out by the whole electorate, or dies.
That is democracy, is it, Baggs?

Anniebach Sun 09-Jul-17 15:24:42

In a speech to the Fabian Society, Yvette Cooper said the attacks on Luciana by Labour Party members should stop

durhamjen Sun 09-Jul-17 15:42:28

Yeah, right, they are definitely going to take notice of a speech to New Labour, aren't they?

durhamjen Sun 09-Jul-17 15:47:37

skwawkbox.org/2017/07/09/moderates-threaten-to-trigger-by-elections-oh-do-please-do/

Baggs Mon 10-Jul-17 05:30:13

In the news today Angela Rayner is reported as saying Labour shouldn't be fighting internal battles but targeting the 'real enemy': "Anyone that talks about deselecting any of my colleagues... they need to think about who are the real enemy here". Diplomatically put. Well done her.

whitewave Mon 10-Jul-17 07:36:17

bags so I think that your assertion that you were interested in the concept of democracy and not any particular party was so much hot air.

So now I suppose we must at your continual assertions over Labour and de-selection.

Will get back once I've done some research.

vampirequeen Mon 10-Jul-17 07:49:32

Most people don't vote for the candidate. They vote for the Party. LB got a massive majority because she was in a safe seat.

General Elections are fought on a national level. Floating voters are swayed by what the see in the national media. Hence TM's appalling performance lost the Tory Party seats.

whitewave Mon 10-Jul-17 07:59:22

vq yes no one is indispensable as everyone eventually finds out in their life.

Anniebach Mon 10-Jul-17 08:03:51

The Fabian Society are new labour?

whitewave Mon 10-Jul-17 08:06:23

Not that I am aware of annie grin

Anniebach Mon 10-Jul-17 08:09:16

It is news to me too Whitewave

daphnedill Mon 10-Jul-17 08:11:28

If voters always vote for a national party, we might as well just have donkeys and pin different coloured rosettes on them, because MPs just become lobby fodder. I don't see that as democratic, especially in a two party system. It's top down politics, which is why people have become disillusioned.

rosesarered Mon 10-Jul-17 08:13:20

From reading all Baggs posts it seems to me that she is very interested in democracy (along with many other things ) and is also supportive of the Labour Party ( if not the new Leaders of it).
The worry over deselection by moderate Labour MP's seems to be a very real one.
The worry about Momentum is also a real one, which perhaps ( instead of denying it ) posters should acknowledge , even if they agree with Momentums aims.

Anniebach Mon 10-Jul-17 08:20:25

Baggs posts are a joy to read, sensible, polite, a true Labour Party supporter .

whitewave Mon 10-Jul-17 08:31:21

Being such good Labour supporters annie and bags perhaps you could outline some Labour policies that would help May? She has asked for ideas from Labour.

Anniebach Mon 10-Jul-17 08:35:26

Has she? I thought she said other parties not named MomCorby party specifically

whitewave Mon 10-Jul-17 08:39:03

Well she will need a Labours support to prop her up - that is what it is really about.

It is about May trying to by pass the democratic process isn't it bags?

kittylester Mon 10-Jul-17 08:41:14

confused surely involving others in such an important issue as Brexitt is very democratic.

rosesarered Mon 10-Jul-17 08:43:23

Yes, I would have thought so too! kitty in fact there are some important issues that should be cross Party ones.

Anniebach Mon 10-Jul-17 08:49:14

May speaks of cross party and this seems to mean the Labour Party

She means all parties when she speaks of cross party

Not aggressive , bullying Momentum party