vote
Exclusive: Eslamdoust continues to lash out as TSSA staff pass unanimous no-confidence vote
Union general secretary keeps blaming GMB as union employees say she keeps exposing lack of understanding of union mechanics
A union in flames? TSSA staff appear to think so
Maryam Eslamdoust and the TSSA rail union she is running – into the ground in the eyes of many – continues to lash out at the GMB union for TSSA staff’s complete dissatisfaction with her management and her team – despite a unanimous motion of no-confidence passed at an ‘all-staff meeting’ last week.
Ms Eslamdoust was recommended to members, despite what appears to be a complete lack of relevant experience, by the TSSA executive after former general secretary Manuel Cortes was sacked over sexual harassment and bullying exposed in the Kennedy Report, and was supposedly going to clean up the union after the scandal. However, the union has been rocked by fresh allegations of abuse and deep resentment against the new general secretary for the treatment of staff, particularly women.
The staff, who are members of the GMB union – union employees are usually represented by a different union in case they need to enter a dispute with their employer – and recently voted overwhelmingly for strike action in response to the abuse they say they are experiencing, held the ‘all-staff meeting’ a week ago. The following motion was passed unanimously:
TSSA Staff Motion of No Confidence in the GS, AGS, and President
Following the recent all-staff meeting on Thursday 11 April, where the AGS announced that the Trainee Organiser’s contracts would not be extended without any prior notice to the Trainee Organisers themselves, the TSSA staff unreservedly condemn this as a further example of an unacceptable and grotesque management style that has no place in a respectful and civilised
workplace.The further revelation by the AGS [assistant general secretary] that a significant sum of HS2 compensation monies has not yet been invested, losing us around £25,000 per month in interest at a conservative estimate, gives the TSSA staff considerable concern that the union is not being managed effectively to ensure its long-term survival as an independent trade union.
The TSSA staff reconfirms our commitment to the policy of remaining an independent union, and believes that with the right management, sufficient resources, meaningful progress on culture change, and an environment in which staff feel valued and respected, this remains a realistic prospect.
However, the many contradictions between stated objectives and the decisions being taken, whether in respect of resourcing priorities, progressing culture change, or managing the union’s finances, only leads us to conclude this is far from being the case.
The TSSA staff therefore instructs the GMB staff reps to convey the decision of this meeting that the staff have no confidence in the GS [general secretary], AGS, and President of the union.
The TSSA executive member for Scotland also resigned last week, saying he could no longer work with Eslamdoust or the executive supporting her.
Ms Eslamdoust attacked Skwawkbox during the general secretary election for scrutinising her and her supporters’ campaign claims that she had ‘high level trade union experience’. She also recently wrote a bizarre article for the Guardian in which she accused the GMB union of attempting to bully her so it could take over the TSSA and distract from its own renewed sexual harassment scandal, and tried to blame others for her failure to take meaningful action to implement the Kennedy Report’s recommendations, outraging staff members who have pointed out that their dispute pre-dates the new GMB revelations.
However, when asked for comment the union doubled down on its blaming of the GMB, compounding the impression of a lack of understanding or recognition that the issues are with the unhappiness of people working for the union and not with the management of the union they are instructing to coordinate the strike on their behalf. A spokesperson told Skwawkbox:
We would encourage GMB to start talking with TSSA to focus on resolving the workplace issues they say they have. It is genuinely extraordinary that GMB are so blatantly seeking to interfere in (and misrepresent) the internal administration of a sister union. TSSA EC took the decision that the last tranche of HS2 compensation would be reserved for strategic objectives to grow and strengthen our union. That is what is happening.
TSSA staff have said that their approaches to the union’s management have been ignored or rebuffed and that Eslamdoust and her team even opened talks with ACAS without bothering to inform them. The union’s latest comment will do little or nothing to change the publicly-expressed view of staff, reps and members, including a former TSSA assistant general secretary, that Ms Eslamdoust has ‘lost the plot’.
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Unite 4 Gaza slams Graham’s ‘extraordinary’ attack on anti-genocide campaigners
Letter from ‘war monger’ attempting to justify her conduct and silence continues to backfire as anti-genocide group condemns betrayal of Palestinian civilians and of workers and movement
Unite members who have formed a group to campaign against Israel’s genocide in Gaza have written a response to the union’s general secretary Sharon Graham’s letter last week attempting to justify her lack of action to support Palestinians:
Response to the Statement by Sharon Graham on Palestine
On 26 March Sharon Graham, the General Secretary of Unite, and Andy Green, Chair of the Executive, issued an extraordinary statement attacking Palestine solidarity supporters. In particular it attempted to justify the leadership’s refusal to give any support to the Palestinians or Unite members campaigning to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
When Israel launched its attack on Gaza Unite issued a statement on 16 October which ‘unreservedly’ condemned and expressed its ‘revulsion’ over Israeli deaths on October 7 whilst merely ‘deploring’ the mass murder of women and children in Gaza.
It was only after concerted protests by Unite activists that after 4 weeks Unite issued a second statement on 3 November calling for an ‘immediate unconditional ceasefire by all parties in Israel and Gaza.’ There was no mention of Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.
Since then there has been radio silence. There has been no publicity about the national demonstrations and no support for members wanting to take solidarity action. Despite repeated protests and petitions by members Sharon Graham has failed to attend or speak at the national demonstrations. Graham even tried to persuade Peter Kavanagh of London & Eastern Region not to speak.
Unite did absolutely nothing until a letter was sent on 25 March to the Palestinian trade union PGFTU, whose offices in Gaza had been bombed more than two weeks previously on 7 March. The timing of this letter was no coincidence. It was sent one day before her statement.
The letter offered nothing but empty words. Graham and Green are explicit in their opposition to an arms embargo on Israel or persuading workers to refuse to handle arms intended for genocide.
Graham’s letter referred to Unite’s ‘longstanding policy’ but fails to mention that Unite policy includes ‘full support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’. This policy does not even appear on Unite’s website. For that you have to go to the United Left site.
Graham boasts that ‘Unite was the first major union to publicly and unambiguously call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.’ This is not true. UNISON called for an immediate ceasefire on 26 October and on 18 October condemned Israel’s attack on the Al Ahli hospital killing nearly 500 people.
Graham has remained silent about the attacks on Gaza’s hospitals, ambulances and health care system and now its execution of children at Al Shifa Hospital.
The remainder of Sharon Graham’s letter represents a disgraceful defence of the arms industry and an attack on those who seek to ‘to undermine the defence industry or demand the disbandment of NATO and AUKUS.’ It is an industry whose purpose includes enabling genocide in Gaza and a possible nuclear war with China and Russia.
Sharon Graham has openly come out as a war monger who hides her aims behind the need to preserve jobs at any cost. We reject the argument that Unite must support war because our members’ jobs depend on it. A society where an increasing proportion of national wealth is geared to the manufacture of armaments is to the detriment of all our members.
When imperialism wages war it is workers who lose their lives. Yes there is a contradiction between representing members in the war industry and opposing imperialist wars. That is why we support the diversification of arms production into making useful goods that benefit humanity.
The idea that we must defend every job, even when it involves the murder of thousands of children is one we reject. Trade unions have historically fought for peace not war, against fascism, imperialism and racism.
Sharon Graham spits on the memory of the Rolls Royce workers in East Kilbride who, in 1973, refused to work on the engines of Chilean aircraft which had taken an active part in Pinochet’s fascist coup. A strong trade union organisation ensured that the Chilean airforce was all but grounded. Eventually it fell to Israel and South Africa to service these aircraft.
International solidarity is in the interests of all workers. Without solidarity the capitalist class can play divide and rule. Rather than building solidarity across national borders Sharon Graham prefers to play the role of a British nationalist wedded to Zionism.
Arms production is highly capital intensive. Britain’s ‘defence’ budget has steadily increased at the same time as cuts to the NHS and social services budgets. UNITE also has workers in the NHS, local government and social services. Unite members also use the NHS and are being forced to wait longer for treatment because of the cuts that enable increased military expenditure.
UNITE and its predecessor unions have a proud tradition of international solidarity. Former General Secretary of the TGWU, Jack Jones, fought in Spain against the fascists. At the time of Apartheid in South Africa we supported the struggle for liberation. An injury to one is an injury to all. We live in a society in which war is in the interests of capitalism not the working class.
Sharon Graham’s statement is an open declaration of war against those who support BDS and the liberation of the Palestinian people. The liberation of the Palestinians from Israeli Apartheid and an end to imperialist war is in the interests of all members of Unite.
Sharon Graham asserts that we are a trade union not a political party. Trade unions have historically recognised that strikes alone are not enough. We cannot achieve our economic aims without a political struggle for socialism. The NHS would never have been created if Graham’s miserable, short-sighted, dog eat dog vision had been adopted.
Today the Labour Party has abandoned the working class and embraced the neo-liberal advocates of free market capitalism. About this Graham has nothing to say.
Implicit in Graham’s statement is a threat to the affiliation to Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Already the affiliation to StWC has been suspended.
We call on Unite to break from Keir Starmer’s support for genocide, his embrace of NATO and neo-liberal economics and to fight for a socialist society which is free from the fear of war. We salute those who have campaigned to close Israel’s arms factories in Britain and we particularly welcome the closure of Elbit’s factory in Tamworth as a result of Palestine Action’s campaign.
See also Labour CND statement: why Unite the Union is wrong to attack groups picketing weapons manufacturing companies.
Unite 4 Palestine
1st April 2024
Unite was contacted for comment and given a copy of the statement, but did not respond.
In addition to the issues raised by Unite 4 Gaza, Sharon Graham has been alleged by insiders to have:
- banned Unite officials and national banners from pro-Gaza protests
- banned and smeared films and books exposing the ‘Labour antisemitism’ scam
- placed an official under investigation who refused to cancel a Palestine solidarity fringe event at Labour’s 2023 annual conference
- told her chief of staff to threaten a soon-to-retire official with the loss of a pension bonus if he did not soften his support for Palestinians
Her supporters also prevented debate and votes on Gaza at a meeting of the union’s elected executive earlier this month.
According to human rights group Euro Med Monitor, since 7 October last year Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than double that number, overwhelmingly women and children and many of them with life-changing injuries, while Gaza’s health and school systems have been bombed into collapse, often using US- and UK-made weapons and systems. More than a million people have been forcibly displaced and Gaza is in famine because of Israel’s blockade of food and vital supplies. Israel is formally on trial for genocide before the International Court of Justice and ordered to stop its slaughter – and has been found by UN human rights investigators to be committing genocide.
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Exclusive: Graham claims financials ‘fake’ – but they were ‘on Unite Sharepoint’
‘Unhinged’ claim challenged by screenshots – no response from Unite to request to confirm whether union management stands by bizarre comment from general secretary in letter to all staff, officers and organisers
As Skwawkbox covered earlier today, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham sent a bizarre email to all the union’s organisers, staff and officers that was described as ‘unhinged’, ‘flailing’ and ‘a rant’ by union insiders – and called ‘disgusting’ for its prioritisation of weapons-making jobs over opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Britain’s complicity in it.
As well as its section on Palestine, Graham’s letter also attempted to defuse criticism of the union’s financial management – by claiming that the ‘preliminary’ financial report circulating among astonished officers, members and activists is a forgery in which ‘those with much to lose’ even copied the font and layout of a real Unite finance report:
Fake Finance Document
Those with much to lose from the new way forward, including curtailing money given to outside organisations and the new industrial focus, have escalated actions by producing a fake Unite Finance Document for release on Social Media. Most recently appearing on social media. The document was headed “Unite Finance Report” and mirrored (down to the same font and layout) Unite’s usual finance report style. This had the sole aim of discrediting the leadership but most importantly it undermined the Union. It stated that the Union’s financial position was in difficulty since the General Secretary election. This is untrue and is now being dealt with legally.
Ms Graham did not name ‘those with much to lose’ – but those challenging her claim have pointed out that the screenshots of the ‘fake finance document’ appear to show that it was screengrabbed directly from Unite’s ‘Sharepoint’ system:
Sharepoint, a Microsoft platform, is a “web-based collaborative platform that integrates natively with Microsoft 365 … primarily sold as a document management and storage system, although it is also used for sharing information through an intranet, implementing internal applications, and for implementing business processes.” The Unite address shown on the screengrabs appears to indicate that the document was at least stored, and potentially created, on the union’s own dedicated server. It is unclear against whom the issue “is now being dealt with legally”, since no supposed culprits are identified.
The claim was perceived as so outlandish that union activists have been contacting Skwawkbox all day about it. One said:
This is unhinged, she just looks like she’s flailing all over the place.
Another commented:
This is a rant and she’s sent it to everyone, what is she thinking?
Skwawkbox wrote to Unite’s press office:
Ms Graham’s letter referred to in my previous email today also claims Unite financials were a forgery and even that someone has copied the layout and font of genuine reports to fool people. The claim has been described by Unite recipients as ‘unhinged’. Screenshots of the report show that it came from the Unite Sharepoint – is the union really claiming this was faked and stored on the official network??
No response, apart from a confirmation of receipt, was received by the reply deadline of 5pm or since. It would be extraordinarily thorough for someone to go to the lengths of adding Sharepoint details to a fake, but Unite was given the opportunity to say that it believes this was done and has not done so.
Graham also told recipients that Unite’s finances were “pushing up towards half a billion pounds”. Skwawkbox understands that they were around half a billion pounds when she took over as general secretary.
As Skwawkbox showed earlier, Graham’s letter had disgusted many who read it because it said that the union will always prioritise weapons-making jobs over the need to fight Israel’s genocide in Gaza – and appeared to imply that those working in that sector didn’t care about them being used in the slaughter of Palestinian women and children.
Sharon Graham has been alleged by insiders to have:
- banned Unite officials and national banners from pro-Gaza protests
- banned and smeared films and books exposing the ‘Labour antisemitism’ scam
- placed an official under investigation who refused to cancel a Palestine solidarity fringe event at Labour’s 2023 annual conference
- told her chief of staff to threaten a soon-to-retire official with the loss of a pension bonus if he did not soften his support for Palestinians
Her supporters also prevented debate and votes on Gaza at a meeting of the union’s elected executive earlier this month.
Apart from the issue of Gaza, her tenure as Unite boss has also been marked by a string of other allegations – which neither she nor the union has denied – including destruction of evidence against her husband in threat, misogyny and bullying complaints brought by union employees. She is also embroiled in both an employment tribunal for discrimination and a defamation lawsuit brought by Irish union legend Brendan Ogle for the union’s treatment of him and comments made about him by Graham and her close ally Tony Woodhouse.
According to human rights group Euro Med Monitor, since 7 October last year Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than double that number, overwhelmingly women and children and many of them with life-changing injuries, while Gaza’s health and school systems have been bombed into collapse, often using US- and UK-made weapons and systems. More than a million people have been forcibly displaced and Gaza is in famine because of Israel’s blockade of food and vital supplies. Israel is formally on trial for genocide before the International Court of Justice and ordered to stop its slaughter – and has been found by UN human rights investigators to be committing genocide.
The finance and Gaza comments are not the end of the issues with Graham’s email. Skwawkbox will cover further aspects shortly.
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Doctors’ Association survey finds ‘deeply disturbing’ misuse of govt’s non-doctor roles
Danger to patients and conflicts of interest as government continues to push for expanded use of ‘associate’ roles – with help from the Royal College of Physicians
A survey by the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has revealed ‘deeply disturbing’ ‘scope creep’ in which – as warned by the British Medical Association (BMA) and others – ‘physician associates’ (PAs), who are not qualified as physicians, are being used and acting as doctors.
A statement by the group warns that PA are not only overstepping the boundaries in which they are meant to operate, but also being used by NHS trusts and health companies to fill positions that require fully-qualified doctors:
PAs are overstepping boundaries, putting patient safety at risk, and impacting doctors’ training. This is shocking in itself, but made far worse by recent events at the Royal College of Physicians… Doctors at Torbay report PAs being used as “middle grades” – clear scope creep.
According to a doctor recruitment agency:
Doctors in speciality training programmes are known as Middle Grade doctors. Junior Middle Grade doctors are trainees who have completed their foundation training and are now in the early years of their speciality training. They are: ST1/ST2: ST stands for Specialty Training.
According to survey responses from doctors at Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, as well as being used as ‘middle grade’ doctors and putting patients at risk by acting outside their competencies, PAs:
- work without adequate supervision
- consent inappropriately
- participate in unsafe clinical activity
- treated severe infective colitis with antibiotics and steroids simultaneously
According to NHS Scotland, steroids “shouldn’t be used if you have an ongoing widespread infection. This is because they could make it more severe.”
The DAUK also linked the survey results to this week’s fiasco at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), where attendees of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) regarding concerns about PAs linked the behaviour of the RCP’s panel, which was accused of ‘contempt’, shutting down discussion and even filibustering, to the RCP’s financial conflict of interest in the millions of pounds it reportedly makes from administering PA examinations.
The RCP is hiding their full survey data from FRCP and Council until after the EGM vote. This lack of transparency is unacceptable…
The RCP Registrar, who sets RCP professional standards, works at this Trust. (Important note: there is no indication she was involved in this case [of steroid/antibiotic administration].)
Doctors at Torbay report PAs being used as “middle grades” – clear scope creep. Yet the Registrar, whose job is to “create consensus” & uphold standards, has been involved in withholding critical data that potentially sways the EGM vote. This is not leadership.
The Registrar’s own job description emphasises “accountability for clinical and professional affairs” and “…setting and maintaining professional standards.” How can the Registrar fulfil these duties, ensuring patient safety and upholding standards, when those very standards are being violated in their own Trust? This is an untenable conflict of interest.
In our view, the Registrar has failed in their core responsibility for transparency and integrity of RCP decision-making. We call for their resignation to restore trust in the RCP. The RCP’s position on PAs is currently compromised.
The statement concludes with a call on all voting members of the RCP to vote to support all the motions tabled at the EGM calling for a rethink on the issue of PAs:
Lastly, we are asking that Fellows vote in favour of all five motions as presented, to ensure that a safe revaluation of the PA role can be conducted to ensure patient safety and to ensure continued viable training of the medical profession moving forward.
The use of PAs, which is considered by nine out of ten doctors to be dangerous to patients and confuses many patients, who do not realise that they have not been seen and treated by a fully-qualified medic, is being pushed by the government as a way of ‘downskilling’ the NHS, reducing costs and allowing increased profits for private providers, under the guise of the so-called ‘NHS Workforce Plan’ as part of the ‘Integrated Care Systems’ (ICS) project.
ICS, formerly called ‘Accountable Care Organisations’ (ACOs) after the US system it copied, were renamed after awareness began to spread that ACOs were a system for withholding care from patients and that care providers were incentivised to cut care because they receive a share of the ‘savings’. The system remained the same, but the rebranding disguised the reality.
The government used a ‘statutory instrument’ (SI) to pass these changes, avoiding proper parliamentary scrutiny, but both the Tories and Keir Starmer’s Labour support these and other measures to cheapen the NHS for private involvement and only independent MP Claudia Webbe spoke against them during the brief SI debate. Green peer Natalie Bennett’s motion in the House of Lords to attempt to kill the instrument was defeated by the Tories with the help of Labour peers.
At least two people have already died avoidably because of misdiagnosis by PAs. Emily Chesterton, 30, who didn’t realise she wasn’t seeing a doctor, was treated for a calf strain when she had a deep vein thrombosis that led to a lethal embolism. Ben Peters, 25, was sent home from A&E with a ‘panic attack’ that was really a serious heart condition. A doctor’s Twitter/X thread includes details of others said to have died because of issues around PAs.
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Commons chaos as SNP, Tories walk out over Hoyle’s help for Starmer over Gaza
Hoyle selected Labour’s weak Gaza amendment for debate , against Commons protocol
MPs swarm.out of the Commons chamber
Tonight’s Commons vote on the SNP’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza has collapsed into chaos, with both the SNP and the Tories walking out of the Commons chamber in protest at Speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s decision to allow Labour’s amendment to go onto the agenda.
Parliamentary protocol dictated that the Tories’ amendment should have ruled out Labour’s weadel-worded attempt to dress up a motion calling for a pause when it suits Israel as an amendment to the SNP’s clear condemnation of Israel’s genocide.
But Hoyle selected Labour’s amendment, allegedly after threats from Starmer and his team that they would try to remove him as Speaker if he didn’t accede. The announcement led to chants from some MPs for the return of John Bercow, the previous Speaker.
The Tories said they would ‘play no further part’ in the vote. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he would ‘take significant convincing’ that Hoyle’s position was not now untenable.
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Parliament to reconvene to approve UK airstrikes on Yemen
As world unites in horror at Israel’s genocide, UK Establishment reaction is to protect Israel and billionaires by attacking country taking action for Palestinians
UDPATE: The UK is bombing Yemen tonight, without bothering to have Parliament approve it – and will recall MPs tomorrow to rubber stamp it. The UK is not at war with Yemen but is acting as a rogue state to protect Israel from the economic impact of the shipping interceptions.
The government is reconvening Parliament to push through a vote to approve airstrikes against Yemen, because of Yemen’s success in intercepting Israel-bound shipping to put pressure on Israel to end its genocide. The disruption to seaborne trade is said to be having a significant impact on the Israeli economy.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has been taken to a Whitehall briefing tonight and is expected to recall MPs from their usual Friday activities away from Westminster to vote through the attacks – of course, ‘opposition’ leader and ‘Zionist without qualification’ Keir Starmer is fully expected to vote with the Tories.
With most of the world united in horror at the ICJ evidence of Israel’s genocide and war crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the UK Establishment reaction, always ready to side with the oppressor against the oppressed, is to protect Israel and billionaires by attacking a country to help Palestinians, regardless of the likely consequences of igniting a regional war.
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Trickett tables motion demanding disclosure of government legal advice on Gaza genocide
Left-wing Labour MP Jon Trickett has tabled a parliamentary ‘Early Day Motion’ (EDM) demanding that the government reveal the advice its legal experts have given it over Israel’s war crimes and South Africa’s powerful and thorough genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The motion reads:
That this House understands that questions have been raised internationally about the legality of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza; recognises that in November 2023 UN experts raised the alarm about the risk of genocide in Gaza; highlights the UN General Secretary’s reasons for invoking Article 99 that there is a high risk of total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza, which would have devastating consequences; further highlights his comments to the Security Council that international humanitarian law includes the duty to protect civilians and to comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution and that the laws of war also demand that civilians’ essential needs must be met, including by facilitating the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian relief; notes the Spanish Prime Minister’s comments that he has serious doubts that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law; further notes the letter signed by prominent Israeli public figures to the Attorney General in December 2023 which said there have been explicit calls to commit atrocious crimes against millions of civilians, providing evidence of the discourse of annihilation, expulsion and revenge; acknowledges the case South Africa has brought to the International Court of Justice claiming Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is tantamount to genocidal actions; and calls on the Government to publish in full the legal advice it has received from its law officers regarding the situation in Gaza, particularly in the run up to UN votes, and the legality of the UK export licensing of arms to the Israel.
Tory MPs have spoken in the Commons to try to dismiss South Africa’s case as having ‘no legal merit’ – farcical when the ICJ, by accepting the case, has already decided that Israel has a case to answer. The disclosure of the government’s legal advice would be expected to reveal that the Tories have been told the same by their own lawyers – which means the government will fight to avoid it and broad support among MPs for the motion is vital to increase pressure.
Since it was tabled yesterday, only eighteen MPs have signed. Use theyworkforyou.com to contact your MP and tell them to support the motion.
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Liverpool Independents launch fundraiser to fight Eagle in next general election
Group that took both council seats in Garston is preparing to fight for parliamentary seat
The Liverpool Community Independents (LCI) group announced last week that it will stand a candidate to challenge Labour incumbent MP Maria Eagle in the Liverpool Garston constituency at the next general election, because – as a last straw – her decision to abstain on a Commons vote earlier this month calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s slaughter of civilians in Gaza.
Labour has cause to worry – in May, the working-class south Liverpool community threw out Labour, which heavily lost both its council seats heavily to LCI’s Lucy Williams and Sam Gorst, despite a disgusting Labour smear campaign in the election. But the group will need an even greater influx of resources and volunteers to win the parliamentary seat.
LCI leader Alan Gibbons – who trounced Labour in May in Orrell Park in the north of the city – has said that the decision to fight Eagle for the seat is a ‘historical necessity’ after the abstention.
As a first step, the group has launched a crowdfunder with a target of £15,000 to create a campaign fund for the seat. Readers who would like to contribute toward the effort can do so here.
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These 56 Labour MPs voted to end the slaughter of Gazan civilians
Barely a quarter, but some surprising names stood up for humanity and against genocide
On a night of shame for Westminster, fifty-six Labour MPs voted for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza:
Tahir Ali
Rosena Allin-Khan
Paula Barker
Apsana Begum
Clive Betts
Paul Blomfield
Karen Buck
Richard Burgon
Dawn Butler
Ian Byrne
Liam Byrne
Dan Carden
Sarah Champion
Stella Creasey
Jon Cruddas
Judith Cummins
Marsha de Cordova
Peter Dowd
Julie Elliott
Mary Kelly Foy
Barry Gardiner
Margaret Greenwood
Fabian Hamilton
Kate Hollern
Rachel Hopkins
Rupa Huq
Imran Hussain
Afzal Khan
Ian Lavery
Emma Lewell-Buck
Clive Lewis
Rebecca Long Bailey
Khalid Mahmood
Rachael Maskell
John McDonnell
Ian Mearns
Grahame Morris
Kate Osamor
Kate Osborne
Sarah Owen
Jess Phillips
Yasmin Qureshi
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
Naz Shah*
Andy Slaughter
Cat Smith
Alex Sobel
Zarah Sultana
Sam Tarry
Stephen Timms
Jon Trickett
Valerie Vaz
Nadia Whittome
Beth Winter
Mohammad Yasin
Ten of these MPs were on the front bench prior to the vote. Some have already formally resigned:
Paula Barker
Naz Shah
Afzal Khan
Yasmin Qureshi
Mary Kelly Foy
Rachel Hopkins
Sarah Owen
Dan Carden
Andy Slaughter
Jess Phillips
Helen Hayes did not vote for the amendment, despite earlier indicating her support for a ceasefire. Liverpool MP Kim Johnson tweeted before the vote that she was out of the country on a previously-arranged parliamentary visit and so not able to attend the ceasefire vote, but would have supported it. Mick Whitley and Olivia Blake were reportedly in a similar position. All three had signed CAABU’s letter demanding a ceasefire.
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Breaking: SNP ceasefire amendment falls
Friend of genocide Keir Starmer
The SNP amendment to demand a ceasefire in Israel’s Gaza genocide has fallen by 125 votes to 293. The debate saw right-wing Labour MPs shamefully claim a ceasefire would be wrong because it would mean only Israel stops shooting. No definition of a ceasefire is one-sided – and Palestinians’ record of keeping to ceasefire agreements is far superior to that of Israel.
According to insiders, Keir Starmer had attempted to prevent the SNP amendment even coming to a vote, by doing a deal with the Tories to support his weasel-worded amendment asking for longer pauses in Israel’s relentless bombing.
Several current front-benchers are likely to be sacked or to resign for rebelling against Starmer’s order to vote against the SNP amendment, but the rebellion was not enough to overcome the votes of those careless of the suffering and death of Gazan civilians.
Skwawkbox understands that Wavertree MP Paula Barker has resigned, as well as Imran Hussain, Naz Shah, Afzal Khan and Yasmin Qureshi.
Fifty-six Labour MPs voted for the SNP amendment in total. Helen Hayes reportedly did not vote for the amendment, despite earlier saying she supported a ceasefire.
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