UK Labour party cracks down on anti-war MPs
Amina Taylor
Press TV, London
The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party has instructed his MPs to tow the party line on the Russian-Ukraine conflict or face losing the party whip.
Anti-war protesters are urging deescalation of Ukraine crisis and an alternative solution but inside the Labour Party, those voices are being silenced. 11 Labour MPs were threatened with suspension for signing a letter critical of the NATO position in the crisis. Labour’s Chief Whip was quoted as saying ‘you can be an apologist for the Kremlin or a Labour MP, you can’t be both.’
Those threatened with suspension included: Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon and a crop of others. Jeremy Corbyn and Claudia Webb were not included as they have already had the whip withdrawn. Keir Starmer has been one of the more vocal anti-Russian voices since the outbreak of the crisis.
The move by Labour bosses made it clear the party had moved away from the one it was trying to be under Corbyn, a distinctly anti-war, pro peace party.
Sir Keir Starmer has clearly decided that in order to occupy Downing Street, just across the road from me, he needs to adopt a distinctly anti-Corbyn position. This includes moving the party to a war-friendly stance and ensuring Labour parliamentarians tow the line.
Whilst Stop the War would not speculate on the pressures the MPs were under to distance themselves from the public letter, there is now a question mark over whether labour can be a home for supporters of the anti-war movement.
For many observers, this shift by labour’s new guard is not a surprise but jury is out on whether this stance will provide the electoral victory that has eluded them for over a decade.
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