Labour 'Purge' Furore Really Just Democracy

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Labour’s “moderates” are being forced out. “An atmosphere of intimidation” has been created. “Bullying campaigns” are being organised. These are just a few examples of the capitalist media’s recent ‘reporting’ on the activities of the Corbyn-supporting organisation Momentum. The pretence which followed June’s general election - that there is ‘one united Labour party’, as columnist Owen Jones put it in a tweet - has been utterly exposed.

The backdrop to this is the lead-up to the 2018 local elections and the selection process for the candidates who will wear a red rosette. Local government remains a bastion of Labour’s right. Labour councillors have dutifully administered brutal Tory austerity. They have closed libraries, sacked staff, cut pay, and privatised services. This has often been in the face of organised opposition from community campaigns and trade unions. The so called moderates are those who have viciously and remorselessly attacked working class people.

‘Moderates’ in Birmingham council have recently been defeated by the courageous action of bin workers, fighting off the council’s threat of over 100 redundancies and attempts to blackmail workers into accepting £5,000 a year pay cuts. This victory came after a lengthy battle in which the council spent over £6 million trying to break the Unite union - including through the courts. It is difficult to think of a better example of “bullying” than threatening people with the sack unless they are prepared to accept a staggeringly large pay cut.