Join the Fightback this Friday at the Founding Meeting of the Socialist Labour Network (LAW/LIEN)

Help Us Build a Socialist Movement by Organising Grassroots CLPs 

To attend the meeting please first join either:

https://membermojo.co.uk/labouragainstthewitchhunt

https://membermojo.co.uk/lien

(£10 waged/£5 unwaged)

At the end of November All Members Meetings of Labour-in-Exile-Network and Labour Against the Witchhuntt voted to merge into a single organisation. LIEN members voted by 4-1 and Labour Against the Witchhunt members voted, despite vociferous opposition from Labour Party Marxism/Communist Party of Great Britain members 47-27 to do likewise.

Ian Hodson, Guest Speaker and President of the Bakers Union

The founding meeting of the new organisation was to have been on December 17. Unfortunately too many people tried to get in! Our Zoom facility only catered for 100. We have ensured that this time around up to 500 people will be accommodated so, just to make sure you get in, please sign in early!

Name

The Steering Committee has proposed that the name of the new organisation should be Socialist Labour Network (LAW/LIEN). There are however 7 other proposals and you can find them all here

The Witchhunt

It is or should be obvious that it is impossible to fight against the witchhunt inside the Labour Party. The reason is very simple. As Ken Loach put it ‘democracy is dead inside the Labour Party.’ If you put your head above the parapet it is chopped off by some anonymous bureaucrat. An insidious culture of informing has been cultivated that is modelled on the Stasi and Gestapo.

Anonymous nerds, incapable of constructing a single coherent sentence or having an original thought don't have to face the task of explaining their reactionary politics. All they have to do is send an email  to Labour’s Disputes Team fingering someone and the suspension letter will go out the next day.

You might not thing that Starmer and his clones have a sense of humour but you would be wrong. Virtually every candidate for suspension/expulsion accused of ‘anti-Semitism’ was also accused of ‘undermining Labour’s campaign against racism.’ You may indeed wonder what this fight consists of given the number of Jewish and Black/Muslim members expelled. However in the Orwellian world of Starmer and Evans fulsome support for Israeli Apartheid is compatible with fighting racism!

Sonali at the  Labour Grassroots meeting on January 2^nd

Momentum, CLPD and the Socialist Campaign Group have been cowed into silence

If anyone has any doubts about the fear and cowardice of what’s left of the Left in the Labour Party about fighting Starmer and the Witchhunt then all you need to do is to watch Sonali Bhattacharyya, co-Chair of Momentum. Sonali who appeared on Labour Grassroots on 2^nd January. Sonali reacted with a mixture of arrogance and affront to peoples' criticism. 

Crispin got off to a bad start when he asked Sonali about Momentum’s strategy to fight what is happening in the Labour Party and to make it more attractive. So badly did she take the criticism that she has told Crispin Flint, the genial compare of the show, that she will have nothing to do with him or Labour Grassroots ever again.

Sonali Bhattacharyya

When asked why Momentum has failed to campaign against the witchhunt or support expelled members, which Jackie Walker challenged her on, she simply refused to answer parroting the statement that Momentum has supported hundreds of members legally. Even if this is true, and it is open to doubt since no one will admit to having been helped, this is insufficient.

Legal help on an individual basis is not the same as campaigning to end the expulsions, the witchhunt and Starmer himself. Momentum have failed to make it clear that Starmer, Evans and his neo-Blairite strategy is the enemy. They have been cowed into silence. Nearly 2 years ago Sonali and Forward Momentum ousted Lansman’s cronies in the elections. Since then they have maintained a Trappist Silence. They have neither been seen, heard or said anything of note.  

Labour Against the Witchhunt

I was the only 1 of 6 members of the LAW Steering Committee to support the merger. Subsequently 4 of them penned a statement Why we resigned. To his credit Steve Price, although part of the majority that opposed the merger refused to sign that statement. Steve is now standing for the new Committee. I hope that he is elected. Those who decided not merely to throw their toys out of the pram but to junk the pram altogether justified their decision by writing:

We cannot support the view that the struggle against the Labour witch-hunt is over, or that “LAW has outlived its usefulness”, as Tony Greenstein, the proposer of the motion to merge, put it.

The problem is I never said anything of the sort! What I did say was that LAW had outlived its usefulness, but they are not one and the same thing. The fight against Labour’s witchhunt will be carried out largely outside the Labour Party and in the unions. Organising within the Labour Party is not possible and that is why nearly 2/3 of LAW members supported my motion.

There has been a considerable debate in the pages of Weekly Worker despite their annoying habit of using headlines and subheadlines, not to describe my articles but to attack them! Innovative journalism. See at the bottom for details of the various articles and statements.

The Agenda

The meeting will be opened by Ian Hodson, the expelled President of the Bakers' Union. In addition to adopting a new name we will be electing a new Steering Committee. The joint Steering Committee of LAW/LIEN is proposing that the Committee should be 10 strong. There will be 17 candidates for the positions.

To participate in the meeting, you have to be a paid-up member of either group. To join, you can sign up via this link: https://membermojo.co.uk/lien. 

We intend to build and network shadow socialist CLPs as part of our local campaigning work.

Agenda

RECONVENED FIRST ALL MEMBERS’ MEETING OF LAW WITH LIEN 

14th January 2022

By ZOOM 

1	18:00	Meeting begins/final entry checks
2	18:05	Welcome from Chair of Meeting (Esther)
3	18:10	Speaker to be confirmed
4	18:20	Debate to inform formulation of Aims and Priorities Aims and priorities of the consolidated organisation here  (Norman to introduce) Member discussion (contributions no more than 3 minutes)   Draft Priorities to inform debate and based on interim discussion with members and joint steering committee Priorty 1: Opposition to witch-hunt here Priority 2: Establishment of Shadow CLPs and networks here Priority 3: Education Programme (for future agreement)
5	19:20	Name of Consolidated Organisation: SC proposal: “Socialist Labour Network (LAW with LIEN)” Proposed by Roger Silverman Further proposed names to be included in poll- to be returned to SC by cop 12th Jan. Updated list here Proposers to have one minute to speak. Members to vote for their preferred name (1 vote)
6	19:30	Election of Steering Committee. Nomination statements here. Data protection role to be assigned by the new steering committee. Each nominee is allocated 1 minute to speak. Zoom poll.
7	19:50	Next Steps
8	20:00	Meeting Close

 

Proposed standing Orders

Voting     

1.. Please click ‘Raise Hand’ if you want to speak (either in ‘Participants’ on the right hand side or ‘Reactions’ on the bottom of your screen). Alternatively write ‘I want to speak’ in the Chat.

3. For items 4, 5 and 6, we intend to use ZOOM polls. If you want to vote, we recommend that you have access to a device of your own. If this is not possible (and you are sharing a device), we will count manually raised hands.

Points of Order  

1. Attendees are urged to raise points of order only when necessary and reasonable. Attendees can raise points of order regarding conduct or procedures by pressing the blue thumbs down button (under ‘More’ at the bottom of the ‘Participants’ panel). Alternatively, describe your point of order in the Chat window.

2. The Chair’s ruling on any point arising from the rules or standing orders is final unless challenged by not less than two members; such a challenge shall be put to the meeting and be carried with a simple majority of those voting at the meeting.

Emergency motions

1. Emergency motions may be accepted at the discretion of the chair (decisions on admitting emergency motions can be overturned by a simple majority of conference).

2. We will accept new amendments to emergency motions only. Please write them down and present them in the ‘Chat’ window, with a clear indication of where it should go.

Discussion on the Merger in Weekly Worker

Why we resigned

Merging into a cul-de-sac

Not a liquidation?

Something serious is needed

Self-declared heretic replies

Why We Won’t Allow Starmer to Kill Off the Corbyn Project and Bury the Hopes of the Hundreds of Thousands Who Joined Labour After Corbyn was Elected

 Come and Join Us in Founding a new Socialist Movement as Labour Against the Witchhunt and Labour-in-Exile-Network Merge

To Join Click Below

https://membermojo.co.uk/labouragainstthewitchhunt

Three weeks ago Labour-in-Exile-Network and Labour Against the Witchhunt voted by large majorities to merge. Both organisations have worked closely together this year on a range of activities – the picket of Labour’s National Executive Committee on July 20^th against Proscriptions and the Resist at the Rialto series of events in Brighton during Labour Party Conference, including the Not the Forde Inquiry with Ken Loach and Chris Williamson.

Ever since the LAW All Members Meeting on November 27 a Joint Steering Committee  of LAW and LIEN members has been preparing for the merger which will formally take place this Friday evening at 6 pm.

Protest at Party Conference in September

LAW and LIEN are joining together to advance the fight for to retain socialist politics both inside and outside the Labour Party and to fight the witchhunt. The merged group will provide a rallying point for all who came together under the Labour banner of “For the Many, Not The Few,” but now find themselves under attack.

Lobby of Labour Party HQ on July 20 - Andrew Fenstein speaking

The meeting is for members of the two groups only, and if you’re a member you’ll get an email invite. If you are not a member of the newly merged group go to https://membermojo.co.uk/labouragainstthewitchhunt

Inaugural matters will cover discussing including a new name, aims and priorities and lastly the meeting will be voting in a new Steering Committee. The deadline for committee nominations and motions is midnight Wednesday December 14^th.

To be eligible to register to attend and vote, please join as a member by midnight on Thursday 16 December 2021.

The Shameful Expulsion of Anne Belworthy –a member for 63 years

Last Saturday night Labour’s anonymous witchhunters were burning the midnight oil, busy expelling long-standing members of the party for things like ‘anti-Semitism’. However the real reason in all cases was speaking out against the move to the neo-liberal right by Starmer. Free Speech has been abolished in the Labour Party - that is why it is futile to believe that the main arena of struggle is inside the Labour Party.

Our main unit of organisation will be Grassroots CLPs comprising both those who were in the Labour Party, those who still are members and those who have never been in any party.

Among those who were expelled last Saturday was Anne Belworthy. She joined the Labour Party 65 years ago aged just 19. It is outrageous that Starmer, who only joined Labour recently himself, has the audacity to expel someone like Anne. This shows the depths to which the Right have sunk and the contempt for those who have given their life for the Labour Party. Julie Wassmer, Anne’s friend has written:

PLEASE BEAR WITNESS - to a NEW VICTIM OF shameful LABOUR PARTY McCarthyism: my friend and fellow campaigner, Anne Belworthy - thrown out of the party after 65 YEARS of active membership!

Anne has written to me as follows :-

"On Saturday evening I received an email saying that my membership of the Labour Party was terminated. I will hear shouts of joy from one or two members on here but I know that my many friends recognise what I have put into the Labour Party since the age of 19 which has resulted in 65 years of active membership.

None of my first submission was acknowledged and I received no acknowledgement for answering the accusations and so it goes on. I made a full submission in July, answering the accusations of "anti semitism", and with a potted history of my years of activism plus letters of support from the Branch Chair and a long term member of Herne Bay Branch. I had no response.

I answered all of the 4 accusations. I then got a further email on 17th November and replied below to G&LU: Membership A035209

I have today received a further email from the G&LU with accusations of supporting Facebook posts of LIEN (Labour in Exile).

I received a previous letter of allegation dated 26th July (Case No. CN-12705) to which I gave a full response to the accusations. I have never heard anything about my response to the accusations, even though some of today's allegations precede that date.

In response to today's email I can only say I am not a member of LIEN. There is nothing in the posts that I have supported that states I am.

All I would ask is are we now banned from looking at sites on the internet that your department has decided we must not look at? Is it not worrying that this is nothing to do with the so called driving out of anti Semitism but something entirely different. Please could my first submission be read and responded to before you put before me these further accusations? Thank you, from a member of 65 years length.

They appear not to have read any of the first submission but then looked for further "wrongs" with no reference to the first. They have never acknowledged any of my submissions.

Last evening I got an email terminating my membership only citing the LIEN accusations. All of this happens to members if they are reported by another member. Ironically I have "liked" on FB, posts by others in our party whose names appeared on the photo shots of the accusations. They posted it but were not reported, I was because someone reported me. That's how it works. Democratic? Fair?"

Elizabeth Anne Belworthy

Julie wrote that ‘Anne tells me the 4 "anti-Semitism" accusations consisted of "likes" on Facebook sites of posts in support of Palestine's struggle against the Israeli government. Anne says,

"It hurts because I have never uttered a racist remark in my life. The second letter I got, 3 months after the first, ignored my previous submission and just said my membership was suspended because I had supported Labour in Exile. A page that contains posts from LP members who have been thrown out for similar reasons. But the party leadership has proscribed that group so I am out for supporting it."

Anne also tells me that the letter she received said that she must not tell anyone - or the media. As you can see, she is defying that - and so, in my opinion, she should. The allegations are SHAMEFUL. Anne is 84 years old and has fought racism all her life - including anti-semitism.

There aren’t words to describe how disgusting how Starmer and Evans and his apparatchiks were. They talk of ‘anti-Semitism’ but if they had lived in Nazi Germany they would have been the first to sign up to the Nazi party. Starmer and Evans are nothing if not conformists to the existing system.  There isn’t an anti-racist bone in any of their bodies. This is another example of  racists expelling anti-racists for the crime of ‘anti-Semitism’.

As Julie said:

‘This is NOT the Labour Party. It's McCarthyism, pure and simple. Please share this post and please send your solidarity to Anne,. Thank you. Jx ’

Starmer and Evans care nothing about racism. That is why, when Starmer addressed Labour Friends of Israel recently he described Apartheid Israel as a ‘rumbustious democracy’.  He cited as his mentor on ‘anti-Semitism’ the racist David Baddiel who spent his formative years blacking up and tormenting Black footballer Jason Lee by portraying his Afro haircut as a pineapple. 

Starmer and Evans and the rest of the right-wing rubbish in the Labour Party are the true racists.  They are the ones who have supported Priti Patel’s proposals to turn back refugees in the middle of the Channel regardless of how many deaths it causes. They care nothing about anti-Semitism.  They are like the boy who cried wolf. They use ‘anti-Semitism’ as a means of intimidating those who object to the pogroms and violence of apartheid Israel.

That is why, as part of his promise to protect ‘all Jews’ in the Labour Party Starmer has been busy expelling dozens of Jews.  If you are Jewish today in the Labour Party you are 5 times more likely to be expelled or suspended than if you are non-Jewish.

Starmer is a liar and a crook who gave away £3/4 million pounds to Labour’s racist senior staff, ‘whistleblowers’ they called themselves, in order to ensure that the EHRC on Labour ‘Anti-Semitism’ was not compromised.

Starmer’s 10 Pledges, which promised to embrace Corbynism was one long lie. As soon as he was voted in Starmer abandoned each and every one of them.

JOIN US AND HELP BUILD THE OPPOSITION TO STARMER AND EVANS