Vocal Voices

Rebecca Long-Bailey has been sacked after sharing an article that "contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory".

Good swift action from Starmer when compared to the previous leadership, but is it right?

R L-B shared, on Twitter, an interview with the actress Maxine Peake who claimed the US police linked to the killing of George Floyd, the kneeling on his neck, was a tactic learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services.

It is a shocking and pathetic conspiracy theory from someone who is not the brightest button in the box and should absolutely not have been passed on. R L-B could, quite rightly, have been censured for that alone. However, in reality it is anti-Israeli and there is nothing wrong with (correctly) challenging that state and its methods, politics and practices. Neither Peake nor R L-B mentioned Jews: the people or the religion.

We are in danger of using just causes, fighting anti-Semitism and BLM, to shut down any debate on issues only very loosely linked, if at all.

The other day a plane flew over Lancashire dragging a banner on which were the words 'White Lives Matter Burnley!". The man who paid for the banner was interviewed by the police and subsequently he and his girlfriend were sacked from their jobs. The airport, Blackpool, has now banned banner flights affecting the livelihoods of the people working for the banner company.

Was a dangerous con theory passed on? Yes. Was it anti-Semitic? Very, very, very debatable. With the banner were feelings hurt? Probably. Were any laws broken? Absolutely not.

We need to be careful with this bandwagon jumping.

All of which is fair comment, WM, but if I understand it correctly, Long-Bailey was given the opportunity to delete her tweet. She refused. So that's "insubordination" added to the charge sheet as well.

I don't think he had much choice.

Kaz wrote:I don't think he had much choice.

Nor do I, but I was disappointed at the use of anti-Semitism as the lever when she clearly, as Ossie says, was guilty of insubordination

Peake's conspiracy theory was a crass and dangerous political statement and re Tweeting that dangerous lie was all the excuse needed.

Like a number of other Ministers across all Parties, she showed poor judgement.

Everyone thought Boris was mad to sack MPs, lose his majority and go for an election.

Starmer has to show he is a leader. It won't harm him in the long term.

Personally I don't like excuses like anti semitism as spin to try and buy votes. Where it is anti semitism, punish it without pause, but if it is something else, stand up and be counted.

That may hurt Starmer more than anything.