• CAMDEN and Islington Momentum once again finds one of its members being expelled on an entirely factional use of the disciplinary process to enable Sir Keir Starmer to silence any socialist voices within the Labour party.

Diane Pearson is a long-time Holborn and St Pancras Constituency Labour Party member and trade union rep on the executive committee and a local activist, has now been expelled under a rule which allows “retrospective rulings”.

Retrospective punishment is viewed as opposite of “natural justice” (totally a fundamental principle of justice) because it would self-evidently be wrong to punish someone later for doing something that they were allowed to do at the time and was not agreed upon till sometime later.

When Sir Keir Starmer was elected leader, representatives of the left in his CLP (including Momentum members) had meetings with him to question him on whether he wanted a left voice within his CLP and what he could do to get rid of the toxic atmosphere.

Sir Keir insisted he welcomed our input and wanted an “inclusive party.” The experience of the left since is quite the opposite.

No one from the left was allowed to go onto the long-list for selection as a prospective Camden councillor.

All standing councillors of a left persuasion who wished to stand were barred from standing. Amongst many dubious reasons given was the attendance at Momentum anti-racist meetings!

Since then, many Momentum members and socialists within Camden have been investigated, suspended or expelled for the crime of “liking a Facebook page”, “commentating on a Twitter thread” including Jewish Anti Racists Riva Joffe and Stephen Kapos.

It seems while people who stood for other parties against Labour in a general election, Conservatives who were part of some of the dreadful policies enacted on the UK, are now welcome in Labour, Socialists like Diane and thousands like her, who would argue for real Labour values like the abolition of two child benefit cap, for public ownership of water and energy, the redistribution of wealth through fair taxation, are being excluded and marginalised in Labour.

Diane is still a member of Momentum and will remain so. She will join us in Camden and Islington Momentum in campaigning for policies in Labour and a Labour government that are a real alternative to the austerity model adopted by establishment politicians.

PAUL RENNY
Camden and Islington Momentum Steering Committee