Louise Ellman: Another Labour MP resigns because of anti-Semitism and disagreements on basic policies

Another Labour MP resigns because of anti-Semitism and disagreements on basic policies

Louise Ellman MP

The 75-year-old MP spent 55 years in the Labour Party and his relationship with the Labour Party came to an abrupt end when she resigned declaring that she was resigning because of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and disagreements with Jeremy Corbyn that she judged unfit to be Prime Minister. If this is not a damning condemnation of the Labour Party, I don't know what is.

As this happens the process of forced deselection of MPs that represent the Labour Party goes on and despite assurances given by Jeremy Corbyn regarding what the Labour Party will do with Members of Parliament that do not foot the line. This is a defining moment for Labour Party MPs. Do you want to pushed around and forced to support policies that you don't want to support? Do you want to be threatened by the Leadership of the Labour Party?

I saw an exchange on Twitter between Anne Soubry MP and Jess Phillips MP. Jess Phillips was showing sadness and surprise asking why the matter of anti-Semitism had not been resolved. Anne Soubry MP asking Jess Phillips MP why they hadn't adopted a firmer stance on the issue and asking why they had not left the Labour Party to form a new centrists political party.

In the present political environment, Members of Parliament will have to decide what matters most. Their principles or their seats. I understand that many will be pressured and will succumb to pressure because their income as Members of Parliament is all they have got or because they want to keep their seats hoping that something will dramatically changed inside the Labour Party.

What becomes immediately apparent is that United Against Fascism, Searchlight, Hope Not Hate, Unite and others don't seem to be at all worried about Anti-Jewish sentiments in the Labour Party and don't seem to be at all worried about racism. The same individuals that usually go around calling other people Nazi, Fascist and Racist appear to be extremely quiet when the Labour Party is the one that stands accused. Are they actually against anti-Jewish sentiments? Are they actually against Racism? Or are they simply there to do the dirty political work for the Labour Party?

Labour's true colours: Margaret Beckett

Labour's true colours: Margaret Beckett

Margaret Beckett

We are so focused on Jeremy Corbyn that we have perhaps missed what Margaret Beckett, a veteran Labour MP, wrote for all to see. She advised Labour MPs to reject any deal that Prime Minister Boris Johnson agrees. 

This is what defines Labour: Opposition for opposition sake. Not what benefits the country but what she things would benefit Labour's electoral chances. Not the well-being of Britain but the selfish attitude of profesional politicians who couldn't care less about Britain.

And it is precisely such attitude that really and trully damages her party's electoral chances. The Liberal Democrats have stated and stated over and over again that they want to Remain and they will campaign in a General Election to Remain. The Conservative Party's position is to Leave on October 31, Deal or No Deal.

On top of this there is a group of policians the left either the Labour |Party or the Conservative Party that find themselves in the wildnerness as Independents or as members of meaningless political parties with very limited or non-existing chances of getting back to the House of Commons if a General Election was called.

The SNP has no intention of doing anything that could benefit Britain. Their agenda is the partition of Britain. They have said it over and over again and in spite of having declared itself a non-British political party they continue to act as a hurdle in the House of Commons. So the worst the political crisis, the happier the SNP becomes.

Can we call this Parliament a representative Parliament? Representative of what? Just a few hours ago, the Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary said that the Liberal Democrats were Taliban. Chucka Ummuna, the rising Labour Party star that turned against the Labour Party, has become the most poisonous enemy of his former friends. And what about the rebel Anne Soubry? Well, she cross the Conservative Party and became independent to form a group with former Conservative and Labour MPs only to be betrayed and left in no man's land. Her fortunes changed after Change UK failed miserably in the European Parliament Elections. So once again we pose the question. Representative of what? This is the Parliament in which the Opposition ran away from a General Election proposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson not once but several times.

My position in this matter is pretty clear and straightforward. We don't have a democratic and representative Parliament. This Parliament has devalued itself to such extent that it is moving away from the Electorate while claiming to be legitimate.

Next week, the Supreme Court will announce its verdict: Was prorogation legal or illegal? It is said that whatever the outcome, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not recall Parliament and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II finds herself caught up in the middle. She approved prorogation and with this act declared that prorogation is legal. Funny situation to be in if the Supreme Court moves against the Monarch.

But in a country in which nothing is sacred anymore anything could happen. Former Prime Minister David Cameron broke away from tradition and revealed what should have been kept as a secret for all. time. He made revelations about his dealings with the Monarch and in a unusual move the Royal Household publicly announced its displeasure regarding the actions of David Cameron.

The decision of the Supreme Court regarding a very political matter - if it is goes against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliametn - could also mean that separation of powers that must exist in any democracy no longer exists and we could enter the worst of all worlds - a corrupt and anti-Democratic Parliament, a compromised Judiciary and an Executive forced to take action against Parliament while ignoring the Supreme Court.

All this could have been avoided if the Opposition had agreed to call a General Election. Instead, a bad situation could become a lot worse. 

The unforeseen consequences of Brexit War

The unforeseen consequences of Brexit War

What the surveys indicate it is not just Parliament that is divided. The gap between positions involving Leave and Remain is growing. The centre is disappearing and polarisation is growing reaching dangerous levels.

Until now, Members of Parliament on both sides of the argument have complained that they are being targeted by those that hate their stances regarding Brexit. A SNP MP stated that he is afraid for his personal safety. Anne Soubry MP stated that she is afraid of going home. Others stated that they are not walking around but driven in cars in spite of short distances. This is not just about vocal threats. This is about real life threatening threats. It is difficult not to appreciate that the number of armed Police officers deployed in and around the Houses of Parliament is growing. 

As I was walking nearby the Houses of Parliament I look at the memorial plate of a Police Officer killed by a crazed fanatic Muslim convert. The dangers Members of Parliament face when dealing with Brexit are much greater. What happened to Jo Cox is just the tip of the iceberg. More and more people dislike politicians and despise Members of Parliament that they no longer trust. This is much more than the expenses scandal. It is much bigger than the sexual harassment scandal that has divided Members of Parliament. 

The Brexit Process is reviving British Nationalism and also English Nationalism and there are plenty of those around who would take matters into their own hands as Parliament is seen as going against the will of the people expressed in the EU Referendum.

The Prime Minister has stated that she will not accept any decision by Parliament that goes against Brexit. Theresa May carefully tries to avoid another European Parliament Election for very good reasons. If there is an extension that goes much beyond May 23rd 2019, Britain will have to take part in European Elections and UKIP and others are ready for it. The backlash against parties represented in Parliament will lead to a vast number of seats of the so called Far Right in the European Parliament that added to the number of seats that it is foreseen similar political parties will gain in May 2019 will turn the European Parliament into a gigantic nightmare for the Establishment. Getting seats in the European Parliament will strengthen British Nationalists beyond everything that they have been able to achieve until now at a time when support for both Labour and Conservatives is at an all time low.

Cancelling Brexit, Parliament will unleash forces that have until now being kept under check. Words like 'Traitor' and 'Nazi' are now being used against those called Remainers and anger is growing. This could be the last drop of patience after a long list of scandals, failures and deceit.

The use of the words Nazi and Fascist is not news

The use of the words Nazi and Fascist is not news

|Anne Soubry MP

Much has been said about the fact that a demonstrator told Anne Subry MP 'you are a Nazi'. 

Anne Soubry should be comforted by the fact the Labour Party followers and representatives, Liberal Democratic Party followers and their representatives, Green Party members and their representatives, trade union members and their representatives, et cetera, et cetera, call members of the United Kingdom Independence Party and their representatives Nazi and Fascist.

In fact, they tend to call Nazi and Fascist anyone that they disagree with.

Non only that, those associated with the aforementioned have physically attacked those that they call Nazi and Fascist.

The UAF (official name United against Fascism) and that I call "United against Freedom" that many MPs fully support periodically engages in name calling exercises and hostile acts leading to violence and bodily harm.

The mass media eagerly cooperate in the demonising of political representatives including those linked to UKIP  but UKIP itself has been found wanting when, across the board, banned anybody who at one point in time was a member of other organisations also categorised as Nazi and Fascist.

Coming from Members of Parliament the over-reaction is nothing more than yet another example of sheer hypocrisy because the environment of hatred has been promoted by Members of Parliament who led to the name calling culture and discrimination against those they don't like or do not agree with.

In today's Britain, people who have been/were  members of certain legal political organisations are banned from employment in certain branches of public organisations and those who having been employed for a certain time are found to have been members of the said legal political organisations face the sack and not just from employment in the public sector. 

Not long ago, Richard Barnbrook, former Labour Party Member, who joined the British National Party and was elected London Assembly Member, was told by authorities of a well-known English University that despite his knowledge and credentials he was going to be rejected because of his political background.

Political discrimination exists in the United Kingdom and it has been deemed acceptable by Members of Parliament like Anne Soubry. Therefore, she should search her own conscience to see that she is just suffering the consequences of what Members of Parliament like herself have promoted.

Just hours ago, in Germany, a representative of Alternative für Deutschland was brutally attacked by a gang of the German equivalent of the UAF, and headquarters of Alternative für Deutschland have been the targets of politically motivated attacks. This is the direct consequence of intolerance promoted by so called mainstream political parties and politicians for whom the ends justify the means. They are eager to justify such attacks but then cry foul when they - the original perpetrators - are targeted.    

List of Members of Parliament and former Members of Parliament that were founding signatories of the United Against Fascism organisation: 

Ken Livingstone, Tony Benn, Peter Hain MP, David Hanson MP, Adam Price MP, Barbara Follett MP, Diane Abbott MP, John Cryer MP, John Trickett MP, Keith Vaz MP, Peter Bottomley MP, Alice Mahon MP, Alan Meale MP, Ian Gibson MP, Sir Teddy Taylor MP, Harry Cohen MP, Betty Williams MP, Ken Purchase MP, Laura Moffatt MP, Peter Bradley MP, Vera Baird MP, Bill Etherington MP, Edward Garnier MP, Roger Berry MP, Angela Smith MP, Brian Iddon MP, Anthony Steen MP, Mike Hancock MP, Colin Pickthall MP, Clive Betts MP, Janet Anderson MP, Neil Gerrard MP, Jane Griffiths MP, Brian Donohue MP, Helen Clark MP, Terry Davis MP, Janet Dean MP, Adrian Bailey MP, David Cameron MP, Louise Ellman MP, Eric Illsley MP, Kelvin Hopkins MP, Ernie Ross MP, Rob Marris MP, Martin Caton MP, Jim Sheridan MP, Martin Jones MP, Paul Tyler MP, Colin Challen MP, David Wright MP, Rudi Vis MP, Tony Worthington MP, Derek Watts MP, Julie Morgan MP, Rev W Martin Smyth MP, Diana Organ MP, Doug Henderson MP, Barry Gardiner MP

What do people really want? Mainstream political parties might not be the answer

Mainstream political parties might not be the answer.

There were Whigs and Tories, Conservatives and Liberals and later on Conservatives and Labour and Liberals. Britain keeps changing and this is only natural. The system kept evolving. There was a time when only those with a certain income could vote. There was a time when women couldn't vote. The system hasn't been the same. It has changed and needs to keep changing to accommodate new realities.

First-past-the-post might no longer be the answer. In fact, when the London Assembly was conceived the system chosen included a vote per constituency and a London-wide vote. You vote for your chosen candidate at local level and you also vote for a party-candidate regardless of where you live within the Greater London Region.

In time, political parties have become Vote Cooperatives - a blend of people who might have diametrically opposed views on practically every issue and only come together under a label in order to get elected. This is an anomaly that leads to people voting for ideas that they reject simply because they come under the same banner ie Conservative, Labour.

Anna Soubry and Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative Party) and Hilary Benn and Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Party) got elected under the same banners and the present crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was made by the way political parties are organised. Vote Cooperatives lead to confusion and crisis. Journalists and politicians talk about splitting political parties and mention it saying that it would be a catastrophic event. In fact, splitting political parties would be the best thing that could happen because it will clearly show the electorate what political parties really and truly stand for.

For many years, it has been said that the House of Lords is unrepresentative because its members are not elected. The House of Commons is unrepresentative because political parties are marred in confusion. When you vote Conservative or Labour, what are you actually voting for?

We could have several political parties with clear political agendas. We could have two elected chambers - a Senate and a House of Representatives. Senators would be elected nationally and Representatives would 'represent' local constituencies and a specifically written Constitution for everybody to know what the rules are. We could introduce a ballotage system. Senators and Representatives would come out of the first round of elections and a President and Vice-President would be elected after the second round to ensure that they have both cross-party political support.

Einstein defines 'Insanity' as the attempt to get different results using exactly the same methods. We can trust Providence to give us a strong leader or we change the electoral system and have a written Constitution.

The political system is in crisis and it will not be mended because Britain has changed and the political system is very much anchored in the past.

Devolution created a whole set of contradictions that included a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Northern Ireland Assembly (hasn't been working for more than a year) but failed to create an English Parliament. Devolution should have been about creating a Federal System. You could have National Parliaments and a Federal Parliament in which all nations could be represented. Unfortunately, expediency and a rush to introduce patches instead of generating a coherent political reality has led to paralysis. Driven by circumstances, the Westminster Parliament is forced to introduce legislation to deal with issues that the Northern Ireland Assembly should be dealing with and it isn't dealing with.

Looking at London and the way London is governed, there are virtually power monopolies and no working Opposition. There are no effective power balances. Boroughs are effectively Feudal States and on top of the Boroughs structure there is a London Assembly with limited attributions. Overlapping authorities create costly confusion and limit accountability. So call Safe Seats are the opposite of a working democracy. We have a system in which - in most cases - you already know who is going to win before the election ever takes place.