The Forde Report what should happen now?

I wish people could stop equating this as just a Corbyn problem and realise what is at the heart of this, which is that there is no party now that can present an alternative to the Tory perception of government. You can have real Tories like Boris&Co or you can have Tory lite like Starmer. And before you say that there is no support for the left wing, the people now speaking out for left wing policies are people like Mick Lynch and Eddie Dempsey. They not only state the facts, they demand something is done about the rampant profiteering which exists. It's just a pity that there is no political party that supports them and their aims. It wasn't just Corbyn people working in the LP office destroyed it was the aims of a party that once stood with working people.

. . . more than anything I want decency and honesty to return to British politics.

Hear hear! I am embarrassed at the way the UK is now perceived on the world stage.

Corbyn was a great back bencher. But he was never leadership material and, like Johnson, surrounded himself with his supporters, not necessarily the best people for the job. I, too, find it hard to move on from brexit. It’s been too distressing. But somehow British politics must now look forward and not backwards. We need a new government and a fresh start. We can then rebuild our relationship with the EU and make this country the sort of place that’s good to live in. Brexit was based on lies and, more than anything I want decency and honesty to return to British politics. Maybe then I can move on, too.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite saying that people should put the Corbyn years behind them, seeing as I've had no problem with rehashing the Brexit referendum for the past 6 years, ..


Yes, but . . . . .

I'm pleased that it's been published, and that with luck the LP can move on. I think that Corbyn had some good ideas, and he was treated very badly, but the bottom line is that he wasn't electable (although he should have been - we should get the leaders we want, not the ones the media think we should have).

I agree with you, Dd. The last Labour manifesto was fine and I happily voted for it.

But it seems from the Report that Corbyn really didn't have a grasp of the party organisation; so much poor administration seems to have been let slide and did he ever get a handle on the factionalism?

In that respect, whether you love him or hate him, I feel that Starmer's experience of running a very large organisation might enable him to sort out the admin, even if he can't quell the factionalism.

I feel a bit of a hypocrite saying that people should put the Corbyn years behind them, seeing as I've had no problem with rehashing the Brexit referendum for the past 6 years, .. But I do think that differences have to be reconciled as far as is possible. Not trotted out over and over again.

Casdon

MaizieD

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(Never ever thought I'd do this, but ...)

Quite. Someone hasn’t read the report. Grany please put your lifted comment in a quotation and identify your source.

Here you go

I'm pleased that it's been published, and that with luck the LP can move on. I think that Corbyn had some good ideas, and he was treated very badly, but the bottom line is that he wasn't electable (although he should have been - we should get the leaders we want, not the ones the media think we should have).

Pragmatically, however, the way things are just now we all need a change of government and to get the Tories out, so all the party can do is to work with what they've got.

Nope that's not why Johnson is running the country. It's because he won a massive majority against Corbyn.

I now know why Boris & company are ruining this country. The electorate no longer care for democracy. It bores them.

MaizieD

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

(Never ever thought I'd do this, but ...)

Quite. Someone hasn’t read the report. Grany please put your lifted comment in a quotation and identify your source.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

(Never ever thought I'd do this, but ...)

After two years of excuses and delays the Forde Report was finally published yesterday, and it makes for grim reading. It confirmed what many of us already knew: right-wing Labour staffers used their positions to obstruct and undermine the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, despite his democratic mandate from hundreds of thousands of party members. Perhaps most shamefully, the report also lays bare how the serious issue of antisemitism was used by these staffers as a weapon in their sabotage operation.

No both sides the difference is the left stood up against false accusations from the right The left had a mandate from hundreds of thousands of people the right did not.

Incredibly, Keir Starmer’s team were yesterday quoted as saying that “Keir Starmer is now in control and has made real progress in ridding the party of the destructive factionalism and unacceptable culture that did so much damage previously”. Those of us on the left of the party will know that this could not be further from the truth.

The past two years have focused on continuing this factional warfare, in an attempt to purge the party of the left entirely: the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn, the silencing of Young Labour, the factional blocking of left-wing candidates, and the escalating series of unjustifed suspensions, expulsions and proscriptions. When the right claim that they have transformed the ‘culture’ of the party, what they mean to say is that under Corbyn they burned the house down rather than respect the left’s democratic mandate (‘factionalism’) – and now they are crushing the left (‘unity’).

Of course it was Casdon it was about the right of the party not approving of the elected leader. But if they had truly had the interests of the LP at heart they would have worked and done their best to win elections. Instead they used underhand devious and discriminatory tactics to undermine him. At best its unprofessional but the worst thing is it's undemocratic. And the trouble is instead of acting to discipline those people Keir Starmer rewarded them. Do you really think groups of people working in political party offices should be able to use their position to influence political results?

The voters didn’t want Corbyn, I cancelled my membership after 50 years, I did so because of what Corbyn did and said not because of what was in the press. I have rejoined.

Same old same old. This was going on long before Keir Starmer came into post, blaming him is disingenuous.
To succeed by gaining power to govern Labour has to be the party of the voters, not the party of the members Glorianny, and that’s a big part of the problem.

Glorianny

Casdon

M0nica

It seems from reports on the contents of this report that both factions in the labour Party weaponised anti-semitism to their own advantage, rather than uniting to oppose it.

How contemptible.

Yes, Monica I’m so glad that Keir Starmer pushed for this report, and for it to be published. At least there’s an honourable party leader who’s prepared to wash the dirty linen in public to avoid misconstruction.

The same Keir Starmer who paid out considerable amounts of the party money to individuals who have been identified as sending e-mails which are discriminatory and racist and then re-appointed some of those people who are also involved in acting against the leaders office because they didn't like him. The leader who was democratically elected by the members. Whose party is it the paid administrators or the paid up members?

Here we go... fighting the old battles.

Does no-one ever learn?

I think it's desperately sad that a party that has such high ideals should turn out to have had such squalor at its heart. When I read about racism and bullying on all sides it is depressing.

Casdon

M0nica

It seems from reports on the contents of this report that both factions in the labour Party weaponised anti-semitism to their own advantage, rather than uniting to oppose it.

How contemptible.

Yes, Monica I’m so glad that Keir Starmer pushed for this report, and for it to be published. At least there’s an honourable party leader who’s prepared to wash the dirty linen in public to avoid misconstruction.

The same Keir Starmer who paid out considerable amounts of the party money to individuals who have been identified as sending e-mails which are discriminatory and racist and then re-appointed some of those people who are also involved in acting against the leaders office because they didn't like him. The leader who was democratically elected by the members. Whose party is it the paid administrators or the paid up members?

M0nica

It seems from reports on the contents of this report that both factions in the labour Party weaponised anti-semitism to their own advantage, rather than uniting to oppose it.

How contemptible.

Yes, Monica I’m so glad that Keir Starmer pushed for this report, and for it to be published. At least there’s an honourable party leader who’s prepared to wash the dirty linen in public to avoid misconstruction.

It seems from reports on the contents of this report that both factions in the labour Party weaponised anti-semitism to their own advantage, rather than uniting to oppose it.

How contemptible.

Surely if a seat is a safe seat it doesn't really require extra finance whereas marginals do. If you already have a majority of voters you don't need to persuade more to vote for you.

Didn't exactly work like that in my 'red wall' constituency. A safe Labour constituency for decades, though, admittedly majority had been falling after popular local MP retired. The new (2017) Corbynite MP lost the seat in 2019. Central funding 'may' have prevented that...but presumably it wasn't forthcoming.

MayBee70

If there’s only limited finance doesn’t it make more sense to use it where there’s more chance of winning the seat. Also, didn’t people who were canvassing say that many people said that Corbyn was the reason why they wouldn’t vote for Labour: something his supporters seem to disagree with.

Surely if a seat is a safe seat it doesn't really require extra finance whereas marginals do. If you already have a majority of voters you don't need to persuade more to vote for you.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, Casdon I was referring specifically to the distribution of help given to candidates, not the Forde report as a whole.

Ilovecheese

That may or may not be true, MayBee70 but the adult thing to do is discuss it first, not sneakily do it in secret.

That didn’t work. I haven’t read the whole report yet, but it seems a balanced review from what I’ve seen. It certainly doesn’t exonerate Corbyn, or the right of the party. I’m very glad it’s been published now - not to be would be the sneaky thing to do.

That may or may not be true, MayBee70 but the adult thing to do is discuss it first, not sneakily do it in secret.

If there’s only limited finance doesn’t it make more sense to use it where there’s more chance of winning the seat. Also, didn’t people who were canvassing say that many people said that Corbyn was the reason why they wouldn’t vote for Labour: something his supporters seem to disagree with.