Jo Bird for NEC - Keep the Nominations Coming
Councillor Jo Bird, who is running in the ongoing Labour National Executive Committee election with the support of Jewish Voice for Labour, Labour Representation Committee and Labour Left Alliance, has been suspended from party membership. This entails her exclusion from standing for office, thus disenfranchising the 80+ constituency labour parties that have already nominated her.
The Party keeps confidential what Jo, the only Jewish candidate standing for the NEC, has been suspended for. Given previous events, we have to assume that it is because of allegations of antisemitism. This is borne out by publication in the Jewish Chronicle at the weekend of an article linking her suspension to a short video she made in the JustJews series, explaining her support for the party in the face of multiple antisemitism charges. By no stretch of the imagination is there anything antisemitic in this video.
Jo is the leading left candidate running for the NEC so the timing of her suspension is deeply suspicious. It has the hallmarks of a deliberate attempt to undermine party democracy and the wishes of thousands of party members, in the 86 CLPs that have already nominated her, [listed below and shown in the map above], as well as many more who cast their votes in her favour in other constituencies and yet more who still wish to do so.
Jo’s suspension should be lifted and her candidacy must continue to be considered at CLP nominating meetings until nominations close on Friday February 14. We must continue to nominate the strongest left candidate! If this is prevented, we urge local party organisations to consider protesting at the misuse of our complaints processes to secure partisan advantage in internal elections.
Suspension before investigation is an extreme measure and the Party must show to all members why they have taken such a step in the middle of an election process.
Following the devastating defeat of December 12, we understand that many members are distraught at this latest attempt to silence committed left-wing campaigners. We urge members not to succumb to despair but to stand firm and join fellow activists in rebuilding our Labour Party.
Here is the full list of 88 CLPs that had nominated Cllr Jo Bird by 1500 on Tuesday February 11.
1. Ashfield
2. Bath
3. Bermondsey and Old Southwark
4. Berwick on Tweed
5. Birkenhead
6. Bolton West
7. Bootle
8. Bournemouth East
9. Bournemouth West
10. Brecon and Radnorshire
11. Brent Central
12. Brighton Kemptown
13. Brighton Pavillion
14. Bristol North West
15. Bromley and Chislehurst
16. Cambridge
17. Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
18. Chelmsford
19. Cheltenham
20. Chingford & Wood Green
21. Colne Valley
22. Croydon Central
23. Croydon South
24. Dartford
25. Daventry
26. Dulwich and West Norwood
27. Ealing Southall
28. East Ham
29. Erith and Thamesmead
30. Fylde
31. Gravesham
32. Hastings and Rye
33. Hemel Hemstead
34. Hexham
35. Heywood and Middleton
36. Hornsey and Wood Green
37. Huddersfield
38. Hyndburn
39. Isle of Wight
40. Kingswood
41. Leeds Central
42. Leeds East
43. Leeds North East
44. Leeds West
45. Liverpool Riverside
46. Liverpool West Derby
47. Macclesfield
48. Manchester Gorton
49. Mid Sussex
50. Montgomeryshire
51. Newark
52. Newcastle Central
53. North East Fife
54. North Herefordshire
55. North Thanet
56. Northern Ireland
57. Nuneaton
58. Oxford East
59. Oxford West and Abingdon
60. Pendle
61. Penrith and the Border
62. Peterborough
63. Reading East
64. Ribble Valley
65. Rochester and Strood
66. Rushcliffe
67. Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
68. Sleaford and North Hykeham
69. South East Cornwall
70. South Thanet
71. South Warwickshire
72. South West Hertfordshire
73. St Austell and Newquay
74. St Helen’s South
75. Stockton South
76. Stratford on Avon
77. Streatham
78. Streford and Urmston
79. Tewskesbury
80. Tunbridge Wells
81. Wallasey
82. Warwick and Leamington Spa
83. Wells
84. West Derby
85. West Ham
86. Wirral South
87. Wirral West
88. Ynys Mon
