People Turning from Labour To Greens in New Bristol Central Constituency

Yesterday the Groan published a piece on people in the new Bristol Central constituency abandoning the Labour party for the Greens. Their journalist talked to a number of people who had done so, beginning with an Asian woman, who was particularly disgusted by Starmer’s treatment of Gaza and women of colour, such as Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen. Other people were also upset at Starmer’s attitude and policies towards Gaza, as well as Labour’s abandonment of the £28 bn pledge for the Green New Deal, as well as the party’s general shift to the right.

The article begins:

‘Anger over Starmer’s stance on Gaza and perceived shift to the right could lead to the Greens’ Carla Denyer being elected in Bristol Central

Early June in the bohemian enclave of Montpelier in Bristol, the sun warms the tightly packed terrace houses, delis and cafes. Flashes of Labour red that may once have adorned the windows in previous general elections are notably absent. In their place are badges of green, displayed with pride.

Enjoying the sun outside the Bristolian cafe on Picton Street is Norhan Nabeeh, 34, a secondary teacher of psychology and religious studies who has always previously voted Labour. She won’t be doing so this year.

“It’s primarily Keir Starmer’s leadership,” she says, listing the reasons she has turned her back on Labour.

“Their views and actions on Gaza and Palestine. The way they’re treating black and brown women – like Diane Abbott and Faiza Shaheen – I’m not going to vote for a party that treats women, particularly women of colour, that way.

“Bristol Central is a constituency that cares most about immigration and welcoming immigration. People feel betrayed by Labour.”

Montpelier sits within the newly formed constituency of Bristol Central, where the Green party is more confident than ever of gaining its second MP in co-leader Carla Denyer. She hopes to take the seat from Labour’s incumbent MP – and culture secretary hopeful – Thangam Debbonaire.

Debbonaire says she is not frustrated. “I’m the first woman of colour, to my knowledge, ever to represent any seat in the south-west … [Green] supporters say they want a change in government – it’s only going to be a Labour government – but their party is choosing to target a Labour MP not a Tory MP, to campaign against the Labour party – that’s their choice. That’s democracy. Personally frustrating? It’s not about me.”

The Greens’ confidence comes partly from some choice maths. Firstly, the constituency boundary has been redrawn, with Debbonaire’s current patch of Bristol West to be scrapped. The Greens believe some measures show this alone will halve Debbonaire’s sizeable majority from about 28,000 to about 15,000.

Then, a little over a month ago, the local elections gave the Greens a huge boost. Every single council ward within the Bristol Central parliamentary constituency elected a Green councillor. The party gained 10 seats across the city, mostly from Labour, bringing its total to 34. The Bristol city council leader is now a Green, Tony Dyer.

But why Bristol and why now? In Montpelier, voters rarely raise environmental or climate issues among their primary concerns although many do touch upon them, occasionally mentioning Labour’s U-turn on its £28bn green investment pledge. It is rather the differing positions between Labour and the Green party on the conflict in Israel and Gaza that is cited, as well as Labour’s perceived shift to the right under Starmer.

Up the road from the Bristolian, Thomas Chadwick, 52, who runs the Radford Mill Farm Shop, is planning to vote Green. “When Labour turned against Palestine, that was big for a lot of people. I used to work for Thangam Debbonaire. For her not to support people in Palestine – she is happy to repeat the party line over any ethical choice. Labour just feel like Tory-lites.”

The Greens have called for a “full bilateral ceasefire” and the suspension of arms exports to Israel, while Labour backs a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and has called for the publication of government legal advice on arms exports. Starmer’s approach is viewed broadly as mirroring the Tories.

…..

The shift from Labour to the Greens is evident among the party’s volunteers out in force knocking on doors in Hotwells and up the hill into the affluent streets of Clifton and its grand Georgian crescents.

Among them are Rebecca Bentley-Price, 25, a classics master’s student who lives in Clifton Downs. She used to be a Labour supporter but has been volunteering for the Greens since January. “It was mainly the shift to the right I saw in Labour,” she says, clutching a clipboard, preparing to knock on another door. “The Green party was completely aligned with how I feel about how we should be treating people.”’

For further information, see: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/07/people-feel-betrayed-by-labour-bristols-green-surge-continues

I was particularly interested in this article as it reflects my own attitude towards Starmer’s Labour party. He has abandoned it’s Green pledges, along with the traditional Labour welfare policies and hopes for the renationalisation of the utilities and the health service. And he, and the Blairite party bureaucracy, have been steadily turning Labour into Tories MK2 for decades.

Carla Denyer, as the article says, is one half of the Green’s join leadership. She”s clearly a very intelligent, having studied mechanical engineering at university and worked in Green technology. She may well become the party’s second Westminster MP, as the Greens have overtaken Labour as the largest group on the city council. And I think she could be a breath of fresh air. Very many MP seems to have started their political careers studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at university but haven’t had a job outside of this, while others, like Tony Blair, are lawyers. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re bad MPs, but I do think it produces a certain uniformity in their thinking, and an inability to reason outside the bubble of what the elite class consider politically acceptable ideas. Such as someone actually demanding bringing back nationalisation and the welfare state and challenging neoliberalism, despite the popularity of these ideas and the number of books published advocating them.

Denyer, with her background in science and technology, could bring a fresh, much needed new perspective to British politics.

Middle East Eye on the Gross Deselection of Faiza Shaheen

This was posted on their community page 18 hours ago.

‘Social media users have accused the UK’s Labour Party of purging candidates who are critical of Israel, after Faiza Shaheen was deselected for liking several social media posts, including ones which touched upon Israel and Palestine.

Shaheen, who was due to stand for Labour in the London seat of Chingford and Woodford Green, revealed on Wednesday that she was in a state of shock after receiving an email saying her candidacy had been blocked.

Speaking to BBC’s Newsnight programme, she said that she received an email informing her that she was be barred from running for the party just an hour before the show because her running would “frustrate Labour’s purpose”.

“I’m out campaigning and my phone’s blowing up, they’ve briefed the press. They briefed the press before they even had the decency to call me and talk to me,” she said.

She went on to say that the tweets in question were from about a decade ago – some about the Green Party and one about her “experiences of Islamophobia within the party”.

“How am I not allowed to talk about my experiences of Islamophobia and the double standards I’ve seen – and that we see with Diane Abbott?” Shaheen continued, referring to an ongoing row about whether another Labour MP would be allowed to run for her own seat in London.

Hundreds of people took to social media to defend Shaheen, who has been vocal in her support of a ceasefire amid Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, arguing that the party was intentionally expelling candidates who are left-wing and pro-Palestinian.

One of the posts in question accused “professional organisations” of harassing critics of Israel alongside a clip from a 2014 skit by American comedian Jon Stewart that lampooned freedom of expression regarding Israel’s policies.

Stewart later called out Labour on X, saying the move to suspend Shaheen was “the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson”. Many social media users agreed. Speaking on Newsnight,

Shaheen acknowledged that liking the tweet – which at the time prompted complaints to the Jewish Labour Movement – was problematic.’

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Starmer is purging the Labour left. I don’t think there’s any doubt either that there are outside organisations involved as well, most likely the misnamed Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, Jewish Leadership Council and Community Security Trust among others. Starmer has an ex-Mossad spook going through his MP’s internet traffic. And this is also very much about clamping down on real Labour types supporting an end to Israeli oppression and the establishment of a Palestinian state. After all, Starmer isi the man who calls himself ‘100 per cent Zionist’. Well, a lot of people are, but that doesn’t mean they support Netanyahu’s bonkers, genocidal regime. And I’m really not surprised they briefed the press before they spoke to her. Snivelling, gutless worms! This is what they did to Mike when they falsely accused him of anti-Semitism.

As for going through her past email posts, she made some of them before she joined Labour. It’s a tactic that’s been used by unscrupulous intriguers and smear merchants since the days of Cardinal Richelieu. He said that if all he needed was three letters from a man to extract three sentences that would ruin him. Starmer and the Labour right have been following this piece of advice to a ‘T’.

Still, it’s always good to see Johnson given a kicking! (Metaphorically speaking,, of course.)

Open Britain’s Latest Election Update – Diane Abbott, Labour Lead, Deselection of Faizal Shaheen, Sunak’s Troubles and Tory Defections

‘Update: 31/05/2024

34 days to go – Here’s what you need to know.

Dear David,

It’s been another frenetic 24 hours in the election campaign with today’s top story being the awkward reconciliation of Diane Abbott and Keir Starmer.

Keir Starmer has confirmed that Diane Abbott is “free to stand as a Labour candidate” in the upcoming general election. His statement ended several days of speculation and controversy during which Starmer appeared increasingly uncomfortable.  Abbott has been in Parliament since 1987 and still commands significant support from her constituents and those on the left of Labour. Despite having the whip restored earlier this week, there had been reports that she might be barred from running for Labour. A number of senior Labour figures, including Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, went on record with their support for her.

In reinstating Abbott as a Labour candidate, Starmer praised her as a “trailblazer” and acknowledged her significant contributions to politics. In response, Abbott has expressed her intention to campaign for a Labour victory, and Labour’s National Executive Committee is expected to support her candidacy.

But it’s far from ‘happy families’ now. The controversy has sparked a fierce backlash from the Labour left, who accuse the leadership of a ruthless purge of left-wing candidates. All the evidence suggests that any future Labour government will have a significant amount of unhelpful tension bubbling away just under the surface.

Elsewhere

• Labour’s Lead in the Polls: Labour continues to hold a substantial lead in the polls ahead of the general election. Recent polls show Labour leading by 24 to 25 points over the Conservatives, with Labour polling at around 45-46% and the Conservatives at 21%. Nothing the Conservatives do seems to shift the needle.
• Faiza Shaheen’s De-selection and Legal Action: Economist Faiza Shaheen has been de-selected by Labour’s National Executive Committee due to her social media activity. Shaheen has accused the party of racism, Islamophobia, and bullying, and says she is considering legal action against the party. A headache Starmer could do without.
• Rishi Sunak’s Campaign Challenges Mount: Rishi Sunak’s job of persuading the public to stick with him got even harder as a damning report from the IFS set out the UK’s dismal economic performance under the Conservatives since 2010. Among many damaging findings, was one that showed income growth during that period was the “worst in generations”. Any lingering belief that the Conservative Party is the party of strong economics must now be dead, surely?
• Another Tory Defection: Conservative MP, Mark Logan, has defected to Labour. In doing so, he becomes the third Tory MP to flip in just over a month. Logan cited the need for a “new government” as his reason for crossing the floor, dealing another blow to Sunak’s rapidly diminishing authority.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow!

All the best,

The Open Britain Team‘

Guy Debord’s Cat on Jo Swinson and Racism in the Lib Dems

Also on the subject of hypocrisy and racism, Buddy Hell has written an excellent little piece about it in the Lib Dems under Jo Swinson. He notes that she said nothing about the Tories Hostile Environment policy and how it disproportionately affected Blacks and Asians, and said little about the Windrush scandal. She also hasn’t raised any objections to the Tories’ persecution of Gypsies and Travellers, has said nothing about islamophobia and has also said little about the rise in hate crimes against people of colour. He observes how she was silent in the House of Commons when Sir Paul Beresford called Travellers ‘a disease’. She has also welcomed into her party former Tory Philip Lee, who has also expressed racist views on immigration, hidden behind coded language. She also welcome the former Labour MP Angela Smith, formerly of the Change group, who infamously referred to people of colour as having a ‘funny tinge’.

The shadow equalities minister, Labour’s Dawn Butler, was also angered by her failure to act properly over the claim of one of Swinson’s activists that Butler had made up her own experience of racism. The activist involved was Steve Wilson, Angela Smith’s husband, Wilson wrote to Butler to apologise, and Swinson said that she believed Butler had been racially discriminated against. But Butler was not satisfied as Swinson had not revealed whether Wilson had been suspended or punished. She also wanted Wilson and Smith to undergo diversity training.

He also notes that before Sam Gyimah and Chuka Umunna arrived, the Lib Dems had no people of colour among their MPs. But Gyimah has shown his character by accusing Labour’s candidate for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, of being one of those responsible for making the decision to use flammable cladding on Grenfell Tower. Coad hotly denies this, and is suing. Dr Geoffrey Seef, the Lib Dem candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, has also been making coded islamophobic comments against Labour’s Faiza Shaheen, who has complained to Swinson with the support of Dawn Butler. Coded racism isn’t anything new to the Lib Dems either. In 1991 one Langbaugh produced leaflets urging constituents to vote for a ‘local candidate’. Presumably he thought he and his constituents lived in the League of Gentlemen’s Royston Vesey. In 2009 the Lib Dems in Islington were accused of camouflaged racist campaigning against Travellers, and used the same tactics in Tower Hamlets to try and get votes from BNP supporters.

He also describes how Swinson has lied time and again over a number of other matters. Despite claiming that the Lib Dems must own the failures of the coalition with the Tories, she’s done absolutely nothing to change their policies. She was caught lying about her misleading graphs claiming that the Lib Dems were the leading opposition party in certain constituencies by Sophie Ridge on Sky, but continued repeating the lie. She also has fantasies about becoming prime minister, something that is beginning to irritate her followers. He notes that she has done precious little herself about racism and anti-Semitism, while falsely accusing Jeremy Corbyn of it all day long.

He concludes

If Swinson isn’t lying, she’s fantasising about becoming Prime Minister. If she isn’t doing that, she’s claiming that her spokespeople are a ‘shadow cabinet‘. In September, Swinson was heckled by her own party members who were unhappy that she’d admitted Tory defectors into the party. Come 13 December, I’m hoping the voters of East Dunbartonshire do the right thing and vote Swinson out.

The Jo Swinson File

Absolutely. She’s a massive liar and hypocrite. She certainly is no progressive, despite her claims. After all, what true progressive would support the Tories’ attacks on the poor and vulnerable through their welfare cuts and the bedroom tax, for example. I also strongly believe that she isn’t a serious remainer, and that it’s just a voting tactic to provide her with an excuse not to go into coalition with Corbyn. If she’s given the opportunity, she will show her true Tory nature and go back into coalition with the Conservatives again. Just like Nick Clegg.

Don’t be fooled by her egregious lies. Don’t vote for her, or the Tories, but Corbyn.