With Keir Starmer as Leader of the Labour Party, some have suggested that the Labour Party has moved into the centre ground. However, there is significant evidence to suggest that Labour is still being controlled by the far-left Corbynista lobby.
While claiming to be moderate, Starmer continually referred to himself as a ‘Socialist’ throughout the Labour leadership campaign, and in a VICE video he is quoted as saying: “I still see myself as a Socialist”. A Socialist is quite evidently not a centrist. In addition, would a moderate serve under Corbyn in a Momentum-approved cabinet? Yet Starmer was happy to serve as Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.
Likewise, behind the scenes of figurehead pseudo-centrist Starmer, Labour still has several Momentum figures in positions of power. The Express reported that far-left MP and former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell headed up Momentum’s activist strategy by stating that Momentum could exploit medical digital support groups to “evolve a debate and discussion about what Socialist practices are at the local as well as the national level”. Not exactly the moderate actions of a centrist organisation.
Another classic example of the extreme factions in the Labour Party is Brighton Kemptown’s MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle. Russell-Moyle also serves under Starmer in the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Natural Environment & Air Quality. However, Russell-Moyle is another controversial Labour figure. Earlier this year, he came under fire from the Evening Standard after claiming that “the Conservatives have conspired to murder and let British citizens die”. Russell-Moyle has also been on record this year threatening Conservative voters in his constituency, claiming that he would “root out” Tories there, and adding: “We know where they live.” This sort of extremist and aggressive view seems to be commonplace in the Labour Party.
Diane Abbott has also undermined Starmer’s attempted centrist rebrand of the Labour Party. In a video leaked earlier this year, Abbott stated: “We need unity between black, Asian, minority ethnic and Muslim people – we need the maximum public show of unity. Because time after time in the past 32 years, I’ve seen efforts of people to organise disrupted by white people playing the ‘divide and rule’ card, and this time we can’t allow that to happen.” This racist statement – notably missing out the Jewish community – echoes Abbott’s 2012 controversial tweet, accusing white people of playing ‘divide and rule’. These racially divisive and extreme comments are often commonplace amongst those on the far-left, as division creates the perfect environment for extremist ideologies to flourish.
A quick Google search will reveal that the Labour Party has countless far-left scandals and viewpoints from activists and elected politicians, despite Starmer’s bid to move the party back towards the centre ground. Let us not forget the disgusting comments from prominent Labourites when the Prime Minister was in critical care.
