Graham Bash speaks out against the witch hunt of himself and others
Graham Bash, Political officer of the LRC and chair of South Thanet Labour Party has spoken out against the witch hunt which he argues “is endangering the very existence of the Party”
Commenting on the explusion of Ken Loach he said: “ The expulsion of Ken is a hugely destructive and foolish act which they will come to regret. Ken is a hugely talented and sincere socialist and we cannot afford to loose him.”
Responding to his own letter from the Legal and Governance unit, Graham has sent this reply:
Dear GLU,
I am in receipt of your email of 13th August and respond as follows.
1. The Open Letter from LAW was dated January 2020. The date of the proscription of LAW was July 2021. LAW was not a proscribed organisation at the time I signed the letter.
2. I am not a current member of LAW. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no such category as LAW ’supporter’. I therefore deny that I am a ‘supporter’ of LAW. There is no justification for this investigation.
3. I am in full agreement with LAW - and with several Labour Party socialist organisations, and with hundreds of thousands of Labour Party members - in their opposition to the witch-hunt of Labour Party members and to the bans and proscriptions of socialist organisations.
I oppose the factional attacks on Labour Party members carried out by the pro-establishment wing of the party. I oppose the shutting down of constituency parties, the imposition of candidates for national and local elections, the interference in the way constituency parties are allowed to run their meetings, the suppression of free speech and the suspension of party members for opposing the removal of the parliamentary whip from Jeremy Corbyn, and for holding views contrary to the faction which now controls the party.
Socialists are being removed from the party at the same time as the leader of the Labour Group in Ashford remains in post after calling for a Home Guard to repel asylum seekers!
The current leadership is endangering the very existence of our party and destroying the trust of hundreds of thousands of new members who joined us in and after 2015 in the belief that Labour could become a vehicle for socialist transformation in this country and a beacon of hope to all those fighting for justice throughout the world.
I have been a party member since December 1968 - for over 52 years - and have participated in every General Election campaign since 1970, fighting for a socialist Labour government. I am chair of my constituency party. I am political officer of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL). I am political secretary of the Labour Representation Committee. I have been a member of the Labour Briefing editorial board for over 40 years.
I fear I may become yet another Jewish victim of the witch-hunt - see JVL’s recent submission to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.
I will continue to fight for socialism in Britain and internationally - inside the party if I may, outside, if I must.
Graham Bash
