Deselection issue in Labour Party with respect to Luciana Berger

labourlist.org/2017/07/local-labour-parties-must-win-back-right-to-pick-local-candidates-says-nec-member/

This is all they want.

I actually went to a Momentum meeting for the first time the other day to see if the stories about these rabble-rousing young hooligans was true.

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to find that of the people there - about 80 or so I would think - I would say at least 65% were aged 40 and above. I met a member of my choir there - a former Health Visitor who in retirement has campaigned tirelessly for our local hospital. I did not see any of the sort of dirty deeds that the right wing tabloid press likes to talk about. The discussion was mostly about seeking the opinions and suggestions of people within the borough in order to take on board the local and national issues that are of importance to them.

Labour Party members and supporters sometimes voted for candidates with whom, as individuals, they disagreed. An exsmple is the Labour candidate who sent a letter to voters encouraging them to elect her “whatever your misgivings about the Labour leadership” - because she expected Corbyn would not become prime minister. I think many Labour members voted Labour despite this woman, not because of her, and it is hardly surprising that people who have constantly tried to undermine an elected leader - even during an election - don't inspire confidence and aren't particularly popular.

I wish you would be bothered to evidentially refute all of the OP, ww, if it is as you say, all refutable.

Did Berger not get four out of five votes in the General Election, for instance? If she didn't then I feel I should take to task the person who claimed she did.

If she did get that proportion of the votes, it would seem a daft idea to deselect her, don't you agree?

Whether deselection is on the cards in a realistic way or whether this is just rumour and wrong with it, is a related but separate issue (because it's about the same person) from her apparent popularity in Liverpool as a Labour candidate.

reasonable and

I agree in principle about supporting one's Party leader, vamp. It would appear from verifiable records that Jeremy Corbyn doesn't or at least that he didn't until he became leader.

Berger resigned from the Shadow Cabinet when she disgreed with the leadership, which seems like a reasonable an honest thing to do. There is always disagreement within Parties, as others have pointed out. That is not the issue as I see it. If Berger thinks she acted honourably why should she apologise? Would you apologise for something you did that you didn't think was wrong?

I expressed an opinion about what I believe is the existence of a snooty attitude to the electorate in the political elite in its entirety, rigby. I don't think there's anything ridiculous or biased about that.

Well, as I suspected might be the case, there is a good deal of speculation and controversy about her selection. So far, therefore, any denial is equally as believable as any accusations.

I don't see anything wrong with "parachuting in" a perticularly good potential candidate though I'm open to being convinced otherwise by a good argument. As usual.

I agree that insisting on an all woman shortlist is not desirable.

Liverpool is one of the places where Militant Tendency was particularly active, wasn't it?

Who's been intolerant? I thought I was joining in a debate. Some people like the way the Labour Party is moving and others don't. IMO that's healthy. However whilst you might disagree with the Party leader and at times vote against the Party line what you don't do is try to undermine said leader who has been elected by the Party members. I'm not a member of Momentum and tbh I don't know anyone who is but I am a supporter of JC. It's time the Labour Party returned to it's core socialist objectives and stop being a pseudo Conservative Party. For example I want a Labour Party that says to this government, "No privatising the NHS is wrong!" Not one that says, "Well we see where you're coming from but perhaps it could be tweaked slightly."

ygg, I note your reference to Wiki and I will go and read it. Who wrote it? Not her I'll be bound, so it's not her Wiki entry but someone else's about her and her selection.

Back shortly.

It's the intolerance that worries me and it is very evident in the way anyone dissenting on here is spoken to. Heaven help us if momentum Labour ever win an election.

rig just back from walking the dog by the river - knackered!! Slouched with Pimms now watching Wimbledon.

With you there ww too hot here

A lot of unpleasant stories can be told of the Tories, but it has absolutely nothing to do with people's everyday life and their experience of the way they are being governed.

This op can of course all be refuted. But can I be bothered?

Answer - no

The notion, not really spelled out, but implied (imo) that four fifths of voters would vote for just anyone so long as they belonged to the 'correct' Party

Sadly very true in my town Baggs in fact I would go so far as to change the four fifths to nine tenths !

Stories= Tories obvs

Oh don't be ridiculous Baggs you seem to have no idea of the shenanigans that go on with ALL political parties between the centre and the constituencies when it comes to selecting candidates - particularly for safe seats. Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it doesn't go on - just that it's better covered up. And it's not patronising to say that most voters most of the time vote for the party not the individual candidate. I'd love to see you start a post that has a pop at the stories but that'll never happen will it?

Baggs: Perhaps I have misread something, but I presume she was selected in the usual way.

Just look at her Wikipedia entry to see your presumption was wrong.

It's what everybody always knew that Momentum would do given half a chance.
They will be trying to do this in any place they can.

The notion, not really spelled out, but implied (imo) that four fifths of voters would vote for just anyone so long as they belonged to the 'correct' Party (whichever that might be) is typical, I feel, of the patronising attitude of the political elite and its hangers on towards the common people, as if ordinary voters were just idiots with no real idea about what they want out of their politicians.

That said, I've also noted the comment about how parliamentary candidates are selected by constituency Party members. What I don't understand is why there is a problem with Berger's selection. Perhaps I have misread something, but I presume she was selected in the usual way.

The main point of the OP is to point out the irony of JC supporters, if this story is true, of demanding an apology from someone who didn't support the leader's line on the EU referendum. JC was only a back bench MP though when he was voting repeatedly against the Labour leadership stance, whereas Berger was a Shadow Cabinet member. Perhaps that's what makes a difference.

But, whatever it's about—an apology demand or a putative deselection—surely disagreement should still be tolerated. And, after all, she did step down from the Shadow Cabinet when she disagreed.

Yyyy to vampirequeen

There has only been one example where voters(not party members) have selected a candidate to stand in a GE.The selection of the candidate is absolutely nothing to do in our system with voters whose role is to choose between the various candidates selected by their parties. And yes FWIW her selection in 2010 was very controversial. Some of you are just looking for trouble.

Early days Vampirequeen , early days

Can you tell me where to look for the call for deselection info please?

I've found the report in the Liverpool Echo which talks about the apology. They're asking her to do what some other MPs have already done and admit that she got it wrong. Jeremy Corbyn has not been bad for the Labour Party. In fact, if the number of new members and the rise in opinion polls are accurate he's been very good for the Party. JC has voted against the Party leadership line many times in his career but how often has he been proven to have been right. Just look at the Iraq War and the subsequent events. He voted against not only because he believes that talking is better that fighting but he predicted that it would lead to the rise of extremists. I think the rise of ISIS proves his point.

CLPs are democratic organisations. Committee members are elected by the CLP members and do not just take control. If the CLP members want to swing to the left then they are entitled to do so just as if they want to swing to the right. Next year there will be more committee elections and, if the membership are not happy, there will be changes as other people are elected.

It seems that 'inclusivity' has been kicked into the long grass.
That was what JC spouted at at the Glasto love fest, wasn't it.?

She was voted in by the constituency, Momentum want her and fifty more MP's deselected,