(Suspended Lambeth Councillor) THE LABOUR Party NEC has decided that the witch-hunt will focus on rooting out left candidates for the General Election.
All other expulsions have been postponed. Even with the threat of a hung Parlament, the NEC is doing the best it can to demoblise Labour activists in key marginal seats, riding roue snoo over ceil rigis teeiy to solect candidates.
In three Parlamentary seats, Dave Nelist MP Hattersley's NEC election panel have rigged the short lists which wil be put to a postal ballot, removing members" rights to interview candidates and Rewarded In Coventry South East and Liverpool Broad Green, Individuals who Jave evidence at the NCC to expe Jave Nelist and Terry Fieids are rewarded with a place on the shortist.
In Wallasey, Lol Duffy (former leader of the Cammel Laird strike) has been excluded oven though he received twenty ward and union nominations. Duffy had the best result in a Tory hokd soat in the last General Election reducing Linda Chaiker's majority from 6,700 to 279.
hatchet man Eddie Haigh said that he was very impressed with the Imposed nominees. The local Parties wont be!
The same meeting imposed a ostal ballot on Nottingham East CLP AHOHOU shortlist. for what i's worth. The already been banned from standing. (The Tory majority in this seat is only 4561)
Thirteen Lambeth Councillors have been suspended for a year for voting against cuts, poll tax and the Guif war. Their NCC hearings have been postponed until after the election and 'Lambeth general Against the Wich-Hunt is winning support for the demand that the charges and suspensions should be dropped The witch-hunt has divided the Streatham Party which neods to be united to win this key marginal seat from the Tories. Two recent council Dy elocuons in the considency Whol cate that the Labour vote has colapsed.
Twenty-six Party members face expulsion in Brighton. 1 The two CLPs remain suspended, despite NEC plodoes, Tor wyoVuIN councilors ho opposed the Poll Tax. Counc Leader Steve Bassam has drawn up a wide ranging hit list of 50 people for the NEC.
Soft left
This has angered the soft left who Bassam has given an apology to one, not so left wing, member included on his list. Brighton Kemptown is a key marginal.
Manchester Councillor John Clegg has been suspended from the Group council elections in May. John's ward and retuses to select without him. His 'crime' was to visit a constituent in Walton jail at the same time as Lesiey Mahmood. The NEC say this means he supported her cancidacy! He emphatically did not.
Frustrated that this charge was unsustainable, Gerald Kaufman asserted at the NEC that the suspension must remain because of John's 'assoclation' with the SWP. John opposed the SWP at a public meeting arguing for people to join the Labour Party!
In Bedford the NCC has gone as expel councilors for supporting Labour Party policy in cp posing a pact with he ecss Eight more LH OvO CoUTKP lors have boon banned from the Group, many purely for abstaining or even being absent when the votes on privatisation were taken. The minority Labour administration is now a rumo with only 34 members (33 have been suspended), and depends on the Liberals to get votes carried.
The Regional office is now gearing up to impose teenty candidates for the May elections. However a number of campaigns to reinstate left wingers on the panel of candidates have been successtul. ( Last year in Loeds, Patrick Hall was banned from the counci banel because his phone number was on an ant-poll tax leaflet. Council Leader John Trickett led attacks on Patrick's Universky Ward, caling for an invesOgation into why they were allowing the Miltant" to be sold!
Postal ballot
Whilst this charge could equaly be lovelled at the right-wing CLP officers. Eddie Haigh, Kinnock's right hand witch hunter the EC referred the case to the NEC. The ward has been suspended and the region wil run a postal balot for t's council candidate.
Trickett has fuelled a media witchhunt against the ward, and a candidate for the soat has boon questioned by the local paper about her DOR HU We need to buld the Campaign Against the Witch-Hunt to fight those CAW is a non sectarian campaign sponso/oo Dy host miciy soo oxpul sion in Nottingham. Sheffield. Bnghton, Lambeth, Birkenhoad, Wallasey, Liverpool, Manchester and by a number of union and Labour Party branches Join uel Pleaca sand the appropriate affiliation rato (trade uion branchas or CLPs S15. wards or shops E5, indivictuals E3, unwaged €1.50j to CAW, 56 Ashby House. Loughborough Road, Brodon, London, SW9 SL.