Nothing could demonstrate more starkly the movement of the Labour party to the far left than what happened on Monday 18th February 2019.
Seven backbench MPs one of whom was a very vocal and televisual star, one of whom was prominent due to her religious faith and the others who were, with all due respect little known, announced they were leaving the Labour party to form a new independent group within the commons.
On that very same day, after a 34-year-expulsion, Derek Hatton was allowed back into the party – more of him later.
These MPs were, for mainly two reasons, left ‘no choice’, in their own words, but to go. One reason was for the failure of the party leadership to address the issue of a people’s vote on Brexit. The other was for the antisemitism which we all know is rife and institutionalised within the party and more importantly the movement.
It cannot go unnoticed that two of them were facing deselection in the near future and by going independent they have secured their careers for the foreseeable future.
The response from Corbyn was mute and thin. Tom Watson (could he also go soon?), the deputy leader of the party, was much more erudite and you have to say emotional about the state of the party and where it finds itself.
As I sit writing this missive, one more MP from the Labour party has quit and three from the Conservatives. We are, it seems, seeing a seismic change to politics and the makeup of the House of Commons.
Allowing Derek (Degsy) Hatton back into the party was either very poor timing, or a deliberate clear signaling by Jeremy Corbyn to the electorate as to where the Labour Party sits right now and how it intends to offer itself to the electorate in the future, especially when it has emerged that the Labour front bench team had no idea of the move to reinstate him. This was followed by the immediate suspension again of this wonderful man, due to a tweet from 2012 surfacing that is, yes you guessed it, antisemitic!
Derek Hatton was originally a fireman. He left to work for the Liverpool City council in 1980 and rose to be the deputy leader in 1983. He was by far the most vocal deputy, always on TV at any given opportunity. He sought out and craved fame. The actual leader of the council at that time was the much quieter and less seen and heard of John Hamilton. You should know that Hamilton was much admired as a politician. He did though have no control over his infamous deputy.
Hatton led the charge as a Trotsky militant to promulgate the Militant Tendency group. A capping of council tax rates rebellion took place in 1985. Liverpool took part with gusto and refused to make any increases. In June 1985, led by Degsy, the council took a u-turn and agreed an illegal deficit budget totaling £30 million.
The Trotsky led council agreed on spending of £30 million more than its income, claiming that this figure was stolen by central government. This led to media coverage of Hatton and his comrades which he could not have dreamt of. It also brought them into a direct conflict with the then conservative Government.
The ‘Militant’ group within the Labour party was found to be in breach of the rules. Hatton himself was expelled from the party in 1986 for being a member. He fought this at every chance he had but they were unrepentant, and he remained out of the party until this last Monday.
In the intervening years much has happened to this outcast, none of which I will make comment on. The fact that he has now been welcomed back into the Corbyn run, Momentum-supported Labour Party of this Century should be, and is, a quite stark pointer to the journey travelled from the days of Blair.
The modern-day party of Owen Jones, Diane Abbott, John McDonell and Momentum, led by the long- time Marxist backbencher Corbyn, is in my opinion unelectable. The party is a cabal of far-left Marxist leaning people, who claim to be “for the many not the few”, yet most of them are millionaires, property portfolio owners with children privately educated and of whom my lorry-driving Labour voting father would rightly be disgusted.
The usurping within different constituency parties by Momentum, to have votes of no confidence of sitting MPs who do not wholly worship at the altar of Corbyn is distasteful and reminds me of Animal Farm and its message.
Derek Hatton, now back within the fold, will assuredly not be quiet, he will seek out the camera at any given opportunity. I suspect that the seat of Liverpool Wavertree will be lined up for him at any coming election. The thought of him in the commons is most certainly not an attractive one.
The question now has to be, especially as it is suspected that more sitting MPs might leave and join this new group, will they, when the numbers are sufficient, form as a party – and what then of the British Labour Party?
Is Labour then done? Will they be a force of any note as a credible opposition? I suspect they have not been effectively holding this Government to account for quite some time and as such they are an impotent force, more given to internal fighting, tricks and nasty antisemitism.
I wonder what it is that Labour find so scary about Hatton that they suspended him again, given that they already have nutters like Corbyn and McDonnell at the top could it really get any worse? Perhaps they fear that he is popular in the north, and although Mcdonnel originally comes from Liverpool labour is struggling in the north.
One connection to Luciana Berger, she was a ‘milliband babe’ parachuted into Liverpool. She had absolutely no connection to the area whatsoever and was given a safe seat so she could enjoy a long life in politics. She worked for a grand total of 2 years before starting her career in politics. She has therefore never been popular in Liverpool as they had a good local candidate that she basically ended the career of. So this is also part of the background that gets airbrushed out of history, she isn’t attacked simply for being Jewish, it is for what else she represents, priveleged career politician.
Firstly I had only ever heard of 2 of the 8 Labour MPs and only Berger because of the problems she has had with being Jewish – sorry I mean the critical anti-Zionist analysis of her political position. It has been suggested that the TIG is an Umunna ‘vanity project’, – gosh is Umunna vain? All interviews I have seen of him he comes across as a haughty, supercilious, condescending half-know it all. Most of the Labour benches of all persuasions despise him. Probably to do with him being born with a Gold Ladle rammed down his throat.
Hatton: I was in Liverpool Labour politics at the time of his activities and gave evidence to the NEC about the manipulation of the local party by him and Militant Tendency. I will add something to the background of this Courageous Fighter for the Proletariat, for a junior official in local government he had a very large house in a nice suburb and a nice car – I wonder where the money came from, being a worker he did not inherit it presumably? He was in fact expelled from the Militant Tendency for ‘bringing it into disrepute’ a rumoured suggestion was made he had in someway personally benefitted from his role in Council Procurement and Recruitment and there was the strange case of the decision to put a large retail outlet into what was meant to be an enterprise zone and other planning procedures short circuited. He was then expelled from Labour proper for bringing the party into disrepute for setting the illegal budget among other findings of the NEC inquiry.
Can I just explain how it was this great revolutionary managed to be disqualified by the Courts after the information from Local Government Commissioners and the District Auditor. Disqualified from public office as a Councillor but not Surcharged personally the £Millions for the economic mismanagement of bankrupting his borough, unlike Ted Knight in Lambeth (still paying) and Tessa Cohen in Westminster (Tesco Heiress, she could actually afford it but left the Jurisdiction)? It was a special Revolutionary and Trotskyist defence deployed by his Counsel: “My Lord, the defendants are charged with ‘Knowingly and Willfully’ setting an unlawful budget under the Local Government Acts … well they ‘Wilfully’ did so, that is something they admit to and so disqualification follows, that is indisputable. However, they did not do so ‘Knowingly’ in that they did not understand the value or content of their actions to realise it was so unlawful and therefore they ought not to be Surcharged ” – that was the Militants Last Stand on principle “We were too stupid to know what we did, so don’t fine us!”
Hatton went on to be a Local Radio Host and endorsed the Conservative candidate in the second of two by-elections in Bootle, shortly after due to the early demise of the incumbents within months, the Tory failed to keep his deposit! Hatton also opined that the Working Class of Liverpool “do not want revolution as we found when we were on the Council” .. so there we are; it wasn’t his fault, it was all Lenin but No Bolsheviks.
What an awesome essay. Thanks Suthringa.
Just shows to go you, eh.
An interesting insight and additional information.
Yes the ‘Militants Last Stand’ on principle. I like that.
Unfortunately as with all these so called socialists/opportunists it ends up that other people end up picking up the tab for their ideals. It is a pity that the poor of Liverpool couldn’t escape being surcharged with the lack of improvements in the quality of their lives because of left wing crackpots.
All the Midland and north England Cities should go the same way as Scotland but without the SNP.
There may be a number of reasons why Labour is going to fall in popularity.
• Track record managing Councils. Lots of examples in lots of functional areas in lots of Councils.
• Track record managing the UK finances when in Government. This again is a big subject, has lots of individual areas and is well known.
• Track record of international and historical Socialism. Or should I say the almost complete and utter failure of the Ideology.
• The publicity raised by the behaviour Momentum and the thuggish behaviour of their activists. No doubt linked to more groups such as Antifa.
• The anti-Semitism, clearly a result of their association with Islamic groups who, let us be honest are not great lovers of Jews. There are a lot of votes up for grabs so understandable.
• Organisational and philosophical turmoil within the party. Bullying and power struggles.
• Noticeable and greatest Local Governmental hosts to the biggest individual social scandal in UK post war history. The systematic and focused torture and rape of young girls, perpetrated overwhelmingly by predominantly Pakistani Muslim gangs. Not my assumption but public knowledge. When it gets publicity.
There is probably more, haven’t even started on their mad policies. All this is in an environment of improved communication i.e. the internet, so not as easily covered up anymore.
Anyone who thinks that the Labour Party represents the ‘working class’ or labour, have seriously lost touch with what has been happening over the last forty years, or more. In my humble opinion.
Well said Kim. Of course you are reiterating what we already know but it does serve well to keep reminding ourselves of ALL the facts.
Personally I note the one where Labour sacrifice all other ethical considerations such as throwing away support for the Real working class, in order to grab the perceived low-hanging fruit of moslem votes. This will work until some charismatic islamist sets up their own party.
Then, for a number of years, there will be two lefty parties, ensuring Tory governments indefinitely(under FPTP) until the moslem vote reaches a critical point, either by cheating or actual numbers.
After that, Heaven help us.
Whilst the Blairites and the middle class professional members sought to get seriously rich out of Labour politics the Momentum supporters were attending all the meetings, doing all the boring upaid work and quietly taking over the party – good luck to them. Personally I find their politics highly destructive but they have as much right to lead the Labour party as any other faction. Activism works.
Just a thought – if the Labour Party had been led by a Blairite then Conservatives and Labour would have come together to deny Brexit right from the word go. Corbyn knows he cannot deliver his nationalisation programme whilst a member of the EU.
Update : According to SLY and the MSM, he’s been suspended .
As they say, a week is a long time in politics. Not for Derek Hatton, suspended again within 48 hours.