[ad_1]
Labor MPs supporting Jeremy Corbyn have discussed quitting the parliamentary party and sitting down as independents amid fears that Keir Starmer will lead a “massive purge” of the left, warned an ally of the former leader.
While senior party figures called for calm after Corbyn’s suspension of Labor on Thursday for saying the party’s anti-Semitism problem had been overblown, Ian Lavery said there are fears the move is a “rallying cry” that could force some deputies to leave.
Lavery, who chaired the party for three years through April, told The Guardian that many of Corbyn’s supporters, including MPs, fear the suspension is the beginning of a significant change in Starmer’s leadership.
On Friday night, senior figures close to Starmer and Corbyn held informal talks in an effort to allow the former leader to return to the game. Unite the Union officials have been involved in the discussions, which are expected to continue into the weekend, it is understood.
Many on the party’s left, including the general secretaries of affiliated unions and deputies from the Socialist Campaign Group, remain furious at the decision to suspend Corbyn. But those closest to the former leader have warned them not to do or say anything that could hinder their position.
Lavery’s comments come after Starmer defended the party’s decision to remove the whip from its predecessor. The new Labor leader added that he does not rule out expelling Corbyn from the party he led until six months ago.
Meanwhile, an Ipsos Mori poll showed Labor five points ahead of the Tories at 42%, the first time the opposition had been ahead according to the pollster since Boris Johnson became prime minister, although the investigation It took place in the week before Corbyn’s suspension.
Lavery told The Guardian on Friday: “I have heard people suggest that if this is going to a continual change in political direction, they may not remain for the entire term as Labor Party representatives. Maybe they [MPs] could be persuaded to become an Independent Labor Party
“I have heard MPs say that if this is a purge of the left and things are not resolved and they continue in the same direction, then they would have to check their conscience to see if they can remain Labor MPs until the end of this parliament. There is a possibility for people to become independent. “
Any such move would be a “disaster,” Lavery said, urging all MPs to stay within the party, but called on key figures, including Starmer, to come forward before it is too late.
“The only way to win an election is by staying as a united party. If people perceive that this is a total attack on the left of the movement, and if other decisions of the leader confirm it, there will be issues that will come to light and that will lead to massive problems.
“I urge those MPs not to leave and urge the leader’s office to come closer. We have to try to keep people calm. This dispute with Jeremy has to be resolved as quickly as possible and then we can move on, “he said.
Lavery, the Wansbeck MP for Wansbeck in Northumberland, said Labor’s decision to suspend Corbyn could be challenged because it had broken a key recommendation of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report, which found the party responsible for three violations. legal for anti-Semitism.
“The EHRC’s recommendations, all of which I support, clearly stated that there should be no intervention from the leader’s office in disciplinary matters. Jeremy was suspended by order of Keir, ”he said. This is denied by the party, which says Secretary General David Evans made the decision.
The widening schism in the party could heal if the two sides reach a resolution on Corbyn’s suspension, Lavery said. “I think there has been a miscalculation and there is room for discussion among the adults in the room to see if there can be some kind of resolution,” he added.
In a series of interviews Friday, Starmer insisted that he had had nothing to do with this disciplinary process. Party staff were told this afternoon that the only person Evans consulted prior to his decision to suspend was an attorney.
When asked if possible disciplinary action against Corbyn could include expulsion, Starmer said: “Yes, people have been expelled from the Labor Party.” He told the BBC: “But it is not for me to say what process should be followed, that is for the secretary general, or what sanction is in order.
“I don’t want a civil war in the Labor Party. I do not think that it’s necessary. I want to join the party. But I will not renege on my commitment to eradicate anti-Semitism. “
Starmer said that he had explained to Corbyn Wednesday night how he intended to respond to the EHRC’s damning report. “I am deeply disappointed in Jeremy Corbyn’s response yesterday, especially since I spoke with him the night before the report to explain how I planned to approach it,” he said.
Others on the party’s left were preparing to speak in support of the suspended former leader Friday night.
Members’ lobby group Momentum announced plans for an hour-long “Stand with Corbyn” online rally, with family allies John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Jon Trickett and Richard Burgon among MPs who lined up to speak.
Despite Lavery’s comments, some allies and colleagues at both Starmer and Corbyn appeared willing to step back from any immediate confrontation, and Labor officials said that while the disciplinary process was beyond Starmer’s control, it would have “many meetings” with everyone. sides in the meantime.
Len McCluskey, leader of the Unite union, Labor’s biggest financial donor, also backed off in his most combative tone on Thursday, saying it was “a delicate moment” and that people should be measured.
“Now is the time for a bit of calm, so we can see if we can figure this out,” he told Sky News. “Yesterday should have been about leaving anti-Semitism behind and accepting what the EHRC said, what Keir did, and unfortunately we’ve all been knocked down a bit by Jeremy’s suspension.” McCluskey is understood to have toned down his comments after a conversation with Starmer.
McCluskey met with the Labor leader Friday afternoon with proposals for a negotiated end to the suspension, but there was no immediate indication that anything had come of it as a result.
A Corbyn ally said they believed the Labor leadership would be willing to resolve the disagreement quickly and that both sides were looking for “mutual ladders to go down.”
However, they disputed Starmer’s implication that Corbyn had been fully briefed on the repercussions of downplaying the scale of anti-Semitism in the Labor Party prior to the EHRC report, saying the couple only had a “brief” phone call Wednesday for the night, with few details.
