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    Jeremy Corbyn faces mutiny as Labour grandees dare him to expel them after Campbell thrown out... Archived Message

    Posted by Keith-264 on May 29, 2019, 2:07 pm

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/05/28/jeremy-corbyn-faces-mutiny-senior-labour-grandees-dare-expel/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw


    Jeremy Corbyn faces mutiny as Labour grandees dare him to expel them after Alastair Campbell thrown out

    [This is Jeremy's moment, if he has the guts to take it. He'll funk it as usual, the gutless bastard.]

    Jeremy Corbyn is under pressure from Labour grandees such as Charles Clarke over the expulsion of Alastair Campbell
    Jeremy Corbyn is under pressure from Labour grandees such as Charles Clarke over the expulsion of Alastair Campbell

    Harry Yorke, Political Correspondent

    28 May 2019 • 9:30pm

    Jeremy Corbyn was on Tuesday night facing a mutiny in his party as a series of crises threatened to engulf his leadership.

    In a direct challenge to his authority, Labour grandees including former Cabinet ministers Charles Clarke and Bob Ainsworth publicly dared Mr Corbyn to expel them after they admitted to voting for other parties in the European elections.

    Their act of defiance came after Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications director, was thrown out of the Party for voting LibDem and helping condemn Labour to its worst electoral result in a century.

    The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched a root and branch investigation into Labour’s handling of anti-Semitism complaints.

    Labour is only the second political party to be investigated by the EHRC, after the British National Party

    Mr Corbyn was already under intense pressure over his policy on Brexit, which was blamed for Labour’s disastrous results in the European elections.
    Alastair Campbell speaks to the media outside his home in north London
    Alastair Campbell speaks to the media outside his home in north London Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA

    Having moved towards backing a second referendum, Mr Corbyn was warned by MPs in Labour’s northern heartlands that there would be “zero” chance of the Party winning a general election if he did so.

    Mr Corbyn faced humiliation as a string of senior Labour figures revealed that they, like Mr Campbell, had voted for other parties in the European poll, in what they described as a “Spartacus” moment.

    Anji Hunter, known as Tony Blair’s Downing Street “gatekeeper” during her time as his director of government relations, wrote to Labour confirming she had also backed the LibDems.

    Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, said he, too, had voted LibDem because of the “hopeless incoherence” of Mr Corbyn’s position on Brexit, branding Mr Campbell’s expulsion a “disgrace”.

    Bob Ainsworth, the former Labour defence secretary, said he had voted for another party in the European elections, something he “did not intend” to make public before Mr Campbell’s expulsion, while Fiona Mactaggart, a former Home Office minister, said it was “time for all of us to declare I am Spartacus”.

    Mr Corbyn must now decide whether to expel the senior Labour figures, and risk a domino effect of more and more Labour members challenging him with similar admissions in coming days, or to climb down over the expulsion of Mr Campbell.

    The EHRC investigation into Labour has potentially far greater consequences for the Party, and could seriously undermine Mr Corbyn’s anti-racism credentials.

    Dame Margaret Hodge, the veteran Jewish Labour MP, said Tuesday was “one of the most depressing in my 56 years as a member”, adding: “Corbyn has completely failed from day one to take this issue seriously.

    "The consequence is a full statutory investigation, he should hang his head in shame."

    The probe, which will seek to uncover whether Labour has “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised” Jews, was described as a source of “utter shame” by Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, who said his repeated warnings had gone unheeded.

    He indicated he would blow the whistle on the party’s anti-Semitism scandal, as an ally of Mr Watson’s said he would be “completely honest” if approached by the watchdog, adding: “Tom will fully outline the concerns he has raised...and the problems as he sees them.”

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