Party leaders

And momentum are very busy now in Plymouth, they are targeting people to join them, these will then become party members and come selection of a candidate - bingo

trisher

You mention the Conservative 1922 Committee .

The 1922 Committee are MP's they are NOT as Momentum is ' at present' a lobby group/ think tank.

They are no different to the Parliamentary Labour Party who we all remember once took a vote of No Confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.

The two are not in the same league.

Interestingly this brings us back to the point of the Momentum quest for 'candidates' who will if elected become members of the Parliamentary Labour Party to sign up to what can only be called a sort of ' Oath of Alliegence ' to Momentum and Jeremy for Leader .

The Servation Poll - the only poll that called the last election correctly - is giving Labour an 8 point lead.

The second commentator I quoted was Tim Stanley, who writes for the Telegraph so hardly a "Corbynista". The first was Rachel Shabi, a Guardian writer.

The other paper reviewer then added that

One thing, Labour is not in trouble (as Hattersley had implied) it's doing very, very well. It did well in the last election and some policies are now well ahead. The second thing is that maybe the left does do some damage to the parties reputation, does prevent it winning in some areas but so does disunity. I am sure that Labour now, or in the past few months has lost at least as many votes as a consequence of right-wing rebellion as it has as a consequence of left-wing policy. The voters at the last general election looked at Labour's platform and 40% of them, which astonished me, I didn't predict that, quite liked it. So I don't see any reason why they should change their mind because Roy Hattersley has said it's a moment of disaster - which it plainly isn't.

Watching the paper review there was a mention of Momentum quoting Roy Hattersley. The comment by one of the reviewers was interesting.

This is a ridiculous story, run on repeat by the Observer and by other papers who seem really weirdly obsessed by Labour's process and seem to see the Labour Party and Momentum, which is the grass roots group of Labour and Corbyn leadership supporters, as somehow infiltrating the Party [laughter at this point]. I think it, you know, I think they are just struggling to understand basic concepts of democracy which is that the Labour Party now has over half a million members. They are very enthusiastic, they canvassed and campaigned during the election which I think led to that success, for the Labour Party in that election. And, you know, if the right of the party doesn't like the candidates that are being democratically elected there is nothing to stop the right of the party getting people to join Labour and do its own canvassing. They really need to ask themselves why that isn't happening because the reason it's not happening is because they are not able to generate any kind of appeal for the policies that they have. So it seems like instead of actually addressing that issue they have decided to become obsessed with democratic processes that are happening across the country with the party now.

Are they companies run to support one person?

Labour First?
Progress?

I do not criticise the 22 committee because it is made up of back bench MP's who are MP's because they were voted in by the people. Momentum were not voted into power .

So just carry on wondering, I have far more important things to wonder about,

Back on your hobbyhorse, Annie. That's why you started this thread, while pretending it was just general. It wasn't at all.

You criticise Momentum, yet you don't criticise the 1922 committee, Progress or Labour First.
You must know about them because you mention Labour List, which supports Labour First and Progress.

I wonder why that is.

Abuse? How silly, is he such a tender creature , if so he needs to get out of politics and back to his allotments

Honestly, this is a joke, politicians are criticised with the exception of Corbyn ,criticism becomes abuse, how sad to say such nonsense

The OP descibes candidates as "not being allowed to stand" . No one will be unable to stand. Presumably if a candidtae feels they have more support locally than just members of Momentum they will not need the support of Momentum and will not sign.
As for the freedom to vote with one's conscience, given the abuse that Annie has thrown at Corbyn for doing just that it is a bit of a joke that she is suddenly all in favour of it.

Waste of time Lemon, it's just a need to be fed

The OP doesn’t say MP’s.
Perhaps it is us who should be banging our heads in the wall.
It is not fake news, it is real news.
Momentum ( who are an intrinsic part of the LP machine for Corbyn) are asking selected candidates to sign a loyalty clause ( to Corbyn and all his works) in order to be supported and helped by them, Momentum.
If you want to make sure as much as you can that you will do well, how can you not sign up? Take a strong minded person wouldn't it.
Stop all the pedantry about this and saying it’s fake news FGS.

Pity the Labour Party back benchers didn't have a similar committee

The LP has its members. This comment seems to loose the sense of Democratic Socialism - it supports the thinking of the Conservative Party.

The opening post is incorrect.
No party has asked it's MPs to sign the suggested document.
No one, other than the members of the Parties will choose who stands to be MP in their name.
No one has been influenced to vote against their conscience by any Party.
No body, other than Parties, was mentioned in the OP.

Never heard of Progress, Annie?
I am surprised.

And the 1922 members were voted for by Tory voters, I did not vote for Momentum

Pity the Labour Party back benchers didn't have a similar committee instead of an outside company running the party

Of course they are Annie and they have never influenced the leadership, weren't responsible for IDS going, and as for Mrs May they've probably never heard of her (or wish they hadn't)

The 1922 committee are conservative back benchers

POGS The 1922 committee has run the Conservative party for years. They do it secretively (How did May get to be leader?) and through discreet threats and offers of advancement (not necessarily in Parliament). Personally I think it's so good that you can read what Momentum actually means, although of course you over estimate what they can do.

Pity you hadn't been a party activist in 1982/83 Trisher you would heard the voters views on the unions strikes and their domination of the party, and the fear of the rise of the far left , it's the voters who choose the government and do not hold back on their reasons as to why they voted as they did.

My knowledge comes from those experiences not from newspapers or the internet . Quite simply it's listening to voters .

trisher

Of course they are 'taking decisions' !

They are asking candidates to follow the Momentum route of how the Labour Party will go forward.

It is saying we Momentum and our members will not back you if you cannot abide by 'our rules'. Momentum and Corbyn have put pressure on potential candidates to give allegiance to Momentum/Corbyn not the Labour Party.

Yes the so-called 'loyalty test' it has in it's wording :-

' To work for the election of a Labour government;'

but it then goes on to say :-

'To revitalise the Labour Party by building on the values, energy and enthusiasm of the Jeremy for Leader campaign so that Labour will become an effective, open, inclusive, participatory, democratic and member-led party of and in Government;'

'Commit to the following actions, which follow on from Momentum’s political aims.

' Commit to the following standards, which follow on from Momentum’s Code of Ethics'

Now some posters will say "So, what's wrong with that?". Others are saying it is putting Momentum before the Labour Party.

I think it will take a strong 'candidate' to stand up against Momentum and not sign up to putting Momentum / Jeremy for Leader as the precursor for serving the Labour Party .

If there was such a thing as a lobby group that told ANY political Party 'candidates' they had to show allegiance to 'The Leader' and their groups ideas ahead of the overall Party I would hope they got their comeuppance but I can't see it happening somehow. Show allegiance to your Party Leader yes, to whom ever he or she maybe at any one given time not to a 'specific leader ' as the Jeremy for Leader/Momentum group are doing.

Any analysis you make of the Labour party is flawed Annie. It's called bias and you have in the past railed about Unions and communists and all sorts of other things. Pity you can't actually back anything up with facts.

The Labour Party has never been run by a set up like momentum . There was the militant group in the seventies which caused the disastrous 1983 election loss