We publish below a statement from a group of 21 former Labour party officers and activists in Leyton and Wanstead CLP, in East London, in which they announce their defection from the Labour Party in order to:
“help to build an alternative socialist party that we can be proud to be members of – one that can act in the interests of working class people and provide a real alternative to the “populist” authoritarian far right.”
Most of them are now campaigning with many others locally to establish a “Your Party” branch in the constituency, where there has already been a public meeting attended by over 150 people and a real basis for future progress and united action.
Leyton and Wanstead had always been a traditionally left CLP. It was one of the first in the country to nominate Jeremy Corbyn in 2015, and had successfully moved three important rule changes to democratise the national party.
It had a proud record of work with trade unions and the banner and many members were often to be seen on picket lines supporting teachers, rail and post workers, NHS staff and others and striking workers were offered a chance to speak at CLP meetings. In October 2022 it set up a local Cost of Living Campaign springing from a public meeting of over 200 people as part of the Enough is Enough campaign and, over the next year, collected over £4,000 at tube stations and outside Leyton Orient football ground.
Support for Palestine
From back in October 2023 it took a principled position against the Israeli attacks on Gaza and re-stated that position throughout the last appalling two years, its members routinely attending the regular demonstrations in support of Palestine.
For these reasons, many party members stayed active in the party locally – in spite of the betrayals by the Starmer leadership – in a constant battle with the national, regional and borough right wingers and their party bureaucrat allies.
But as the situation went from bad to worse, and the democratic structures were increasingly bypassed or ignored, many members felt that they could no longer actively work for the party in any capacity. This was felt particularly keenly in this area as the constituency borders Ilford North, where the independent candidate, Leanne Mohammed reduced Wes Streeting’s vote from 55% to just 33% and reduced his majority to just 528.
It also borders Chingford and Woodford Green, where the left candidate Faiza Shaheen was scandalously dumped by Labour, days before the general election, and mounted her own vibrant independent campaign. And of course, just a few train stops away in Islington North, Corbyn himself managed to stand independently and thrash Labour, drawing in hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers from far and wide.
CLP membership halved
Some local members helped one or other of these candidates in the 2024 election and constantly expected automatic expulsion letters. Many good socialists left the party in ones and twos. The CLP membership has halved since Starmer took over, and previously active ward branches are becoming hollowed out.
The sitting Labour MP, John Cryer (Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party and brother-in-law of Rachel Reeves) stood down days before the election to go off to the House of Lords, allowing Labour’s NEC to impose a candidate whom nobody had ever heard of, Wing Commander Calvin Bailey, last seen at this year’s Labour conference on a “Labour First” platform with the revolting Luke Akehurst MP, who was forced on North Durham CLP in the same shameless carve-up.
The Labour vote in Leyton in Wanstead fell from a record 70% in 2017, to 64% in 2019, to just 47% in 2024, and is likely to sink further unless opinion polls dramatically improve.
[photo – Richard Garratt]
Finally, once the Corbyn/Sultana “Your Party” project looked to provide the possibility of a serious mass alternative socialist party, many of the remaining socialists decided, rather than drift away from the party as individuals, to leave as an organised block and to send a statement to the local press and national left media outlets.
The absurd and disgraceful infighting at the top of “Your Party” delayed the sending of the statement by a fortnight, but it was eventually issued on 30 September.
The full text is shown below, together with the signatories.
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Full Text of statement
We the undersigned are active members of Leyton and Wanstead Constituency Labour Party (CLP). We have all been in the party for many years and some of us for decades. Many of us have been CLP and local branch officers, including CLP chairs and secretaries, and a general election agent.
We have watched with anger, frustration and astonishment as the current dishonest leadership has abandoned the principles the Labour Party should stand on. It has tried to solve the economic crisis at the expense of ordinary people who did nothing to cause it, while doing next to nothing to address unprecedented levels of inequality and poverty, including child poverty. This has had disastrous electoral results.
The Government’s shameful inaction and active complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza is intolerable. In the face of hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries, the total destruction of infrastructure, the deliberate starvation in Gaza and the state-sponsored settler violence in the West Bank, the Labour Government has limited itself to minimal, mainly symbolic, actions, taken far too late, while continuing with weapon sales and military co-operation with the Israeli regime. This will be a permanent stain on its reputation.
The proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group is a terrifying extension of authoritarian state power and has led to the shocking and absurd arrests of hundreds of entirely peaceful demonstrators, many of whom are our friends and family members.
The Government is pandering to the fake patriotism and poisonous anti-migrant rhetoric of Reform UK in a doomed attempt to win their voters on that basis. It has savagely cut international aid and completely betrayed the interests of trans people. All this has led to intensified community conflict and is opening the door to a future Reform UK government.
This is not a complete list! And even many of the reforms that we would welcome have been weakened and watered down.
The leadership of the party at regional and national level, with their local supporters and their allies in the party apparatus, have used shameless anti-democratic manoeuvres – tearing up the rule book – to prevent properly democratic selections of candidates for Parliament and local councils and have increasingly closed down any method by which party members can try to determine or influence local or national policy. They have created a climate of fear in the party to shut down opposition.
We have remained members of the Labour Party, despite being told to leave by Keir Starmer, and in spite of many good socialists being expelled or leaving in disgust. We have done this out of party loyalty; to ensure the removal of the Tory government; for the sake of unity with the main organisations of the Labour movement; and because no viable alternative presented itself.
But enough is enough. We now feel that we have no choice but to resign from the Labour Party and to help to build an alternative socialist party that we can be proud to be members of – one that can act in the interests of working class people and provide a real alternative to the “populist” authoritarian far right.
Signatories
Ray Goodspeed, former Leyton and Wanstead Constituency Labour Party (CLP) chair and joint CLP secretary
Tim Harris, former CLP secretary
Lizzy Ali, former CLP chair
Julia Kent, former CLP treasurer
Carol Riley, former CLP election agent and CLP campaigns coordinator
Liz Fenton, former CLP fundraising officer, branch secretary and branch chair
Richard Price, former CLP political education officer and branch chair
Steve Williams, former CLP vice chair (campaigns) and branch secretary
Jenny Kidman, former CLP disabilities officer
Stuart Howard, former CLP assistant secretary
Liz Floyd, former CLP disabilities officer
Sue Catten, former CLP vice chair (membership)
Ros Mykura, former general committee delegate
Paul Bonell, former general committee delegate
Susan Cueva, former general committee delegate
Paul McCarthy, former general committee delegate
Geoff Bryant, former general committee delegate
Victoria Jesper, former general committee delegate
Mary Byrne
Arfan Abrahim
Reem Bortcosh
[Featured photo – Leyton and Wanstead CLP banner – photo Left Horizons]
