Quotes of the Week

“This suspension raises questions about whether the Labour Party can be trusted to treat anti-Zionist Jews, Black people, Muslims and people of faith and no faith fairly.”

Labour Party Black Socialists, on the suspension of NEC member Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi

“This Government’s bankers’ budget is a gift for the few and a slap in the face for the many. Truss, Kwarteng & Co. are doubling down on tax cuts for the rich, handouts for bankers, dirty fossil fuels and attacks on workers.”

Jeremy Corbyn MP

“Tories are pretending that forcing unions to ballot on every offer, how- ever shabby, is democratic.”

Diane Abbott MP

“Too much time and energy is sadly going into fighting the left of the Party…. We need to come together and unite to defeat the Tories… Our political enemy is not Jeremy Corbyn.”

Former NEC member & CLPD Vice Chair Rachel Garnham

“We need to protest about every- thing that’s going on. The country is being run on behalf of the wealthy, it’s not being run on behalf of the people.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch

“The Party has investigated, disciplined or expelled 55 Jewish members for anti-semitism. Two of them died during the process. When the Party chooses to accuse Jews of anti-semitism, it has totally lost the plot.”

Diana Neslen, speaking at the “Act On Forde: Abuse & Sabotage” fringe meeting

Bitebacks

“Rather like the PLP, and with even less basis, party HQ decided it neither wanted a quarter of a million members, nor Jeremy Corbyn, nor electoral success while he was Leader. Their heinous sin of commission should see them banished in perpetuity.”

Glyn Ford (former leader of UK MEPs – no leftist he) on the Forde report. September Chartist.

CLPD Rounds up Conference

It was standing room only once again for an energetic CLPD round up meeting last night which reviewed the highs and lows of conference. Mike Phipps thoughtfully analysed priorities for the left in the face of a deepening economic and political crisis and the Tories falling polling performance. Barry Gardiner mused that Labour is at its best when we are offering bold solutions to the issues facing working people.

An animated discussion ensued among audience members – all eager to recount their views of the last few days. There were of course some bitter notes for the left including the continued marginalisation of former Leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, some progressive motions were passed by Conference on issues such as a £15 minimum wage and public ownership, bound to ruffle the Leader’s feathers.

Comrades were in unanimous agreement that socialists should stay in the Labour Party to campaign for a trans- formative majority Labour Government to govern in the interests of the many, not the few.

Report of Conference Decisions

CLPD will produce a summary report of Conference decisions. Delegates may find this helpful when preparing Conference reports for their CLPs. If you have not already signed up for reports from CLPD and you would like to receive this summary, please sign up here: bit.ly/clpdsignup .

And Even Yet More Dodgy Dealings

●At the end of yesterday’s Britain in the World discussion, the vote on the Reference Back (reaffirming Conference policy in support of Palestine) was taken by a show of hands. The Chair said it was “quite close but lost” – but then turned down the calls for a card vote. There was similar reluctance to take card votes last year too.

●Yesterday morning, the daily briefing sheet of the hard right faction “Labour to Win” was put out on delegates’ seats in the main hall – in defiance of the CAC’s clear instructions against distributing literature.

●A South Eastern Region staff member was overheard yesterday telling delegates that voting against the CAC report is “to cause trouble”. “I’m not telling you how to vote but….” the official continued. There have been similar kinds of “helpful suggestions” from party officials before – one of the reasons why voting for the CAC was taken away from conference delegates and given over to an OMOV ballot of party members.

●A CLP Secretary who is well known for their republican views found they were locked out of “Organise” during the period of mourning for the Queen. Party officials

proved unresponsive to requests for access to be restored. The CLP Sec would like to know if anyone else has been sanctioned for their lack of enthusiasm for the monarchy. Let CLPD know, and we’ll pass it on.

●As raised yesterday, in an excellent point of order, the party machine has been accused of favouring PPCs in the debates which occur in the brief gaps between plat- form speakers – to the extent that ordinary CLP delegates are pushed to the margins. The same point has been raised in the last several annual conferences.

●Party officials will head back to work on Thursday to deal with the urgent problem of the Boundary Commission report and how to select candidates for a whole new lot of constituencies. What a headache. Using the age-old unwritten procedures in the Labour Party Office Manual, the Lon- don Region has already started its work – and suspended all branch and CLP AGMs till further notice. We await hearing that we are too close to a General Election for members to select candidates, followed by mass imposition of candidates. You heard it here first.

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