The governing body of the Labour Party has expelled several pro-Corbyn grassroots factions from the party following a vote, which has caused some internal disputes.
The National Executive Committee held a vote on Tuesday which saw four far-left factions banned from the Party due to associations with discrimination and general radicalism.
The groups Resist, Labour Against the Witch-Hunt, Labour in Exile Network and Socialist Appeal have all fallen foul of the purge. As an outcome of the vote, any member of these groups will automatically be expelled from the Labour Party.
Shadow Cabinet Minister Anneliese Dodds, who is also the Labour Party Chair, said: “We are acting decisively to put our house in order and show that Labour is – and always will be – the party of equality.
“We are getting on with the job of making sure the Labour party is a safe and welcoming space for the benefit of all our members.
“This will be the fairest, most robust process of any political party that we know of.
“We will continue to consult groups and individuals, especially those who have been subject to harassment, abuse and discrimination, as we finalise these proposals ahead of our Conference.”
However, this did not go down well with many within the Party, including some influential MPs.
Richard Burgon, who has been tipped as potential successor to the current Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, has attacked the decision, saying that the party should not be chasing “young socialists out of our party”. He wrote on Twitter:
This sentiment was shared by former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who served under Jeremy Corbyn while Mr Corbyn was leader and remains a staunch Corbyn ally. He wrote on Twitter:
The grassroots pro-Corbyn group Momentum also reacted in anger to the decision, saying in a statement:
“We must collaborate with each other in the spirit of tolerance and respect, and with the values of socialism and anti-racism. When members fall short of these standards, they should be held to account through the Party’s disciplinary processes. When members meet these standards, they should not expect to face automatic explosion. ”
The full statement can be seen below:
