Defending the right to deselect warmongers

Socialist Party on TV

Defending the right to deselect warmongers on the Daily Politics

The Socialist Party’s Nancy Taaffe took on the Tory and Blairite warmongers on the BBC’s Daily Politics show on 3 December.

Nancy, a member of the Waltham Forest branch in east London, answered lies about the local community ‘intimidating’ their MP on a march against war.

There was huge sentiment in the borough against bombing, and right-wing Labour MP Stella Creasy ignored it. Nancy called for mandatory re-selection to take on pro-war, pro-austerity representatives.

And when right winger John Mann MP tried to attack Nancy with slurs, she responded by exposing his politics. “He’s a member of millionaire tendency!

“He represents the past, a rump that existed around Blair. But the new Corbynistas who came in their thousands to represent Corbyn’s anti-war message over the summer represent the future.”

Less than a week after Nancy, the Socialist Party’s James Ivens appeared on the Daily Politics on 8 December to defend deselection of Blairites who are attacking Corbyn.

James, a member of Lambeth branch in south London, rubbished claims the Socialist Party ‘hijacked’ a Momentum meeting in his borough. Big sections of Labour members, and millions of people outside Labour, see two Labour Parties in one. They want to see Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour fight back against the Labour of Tristram Hunt, Hilary Benn, Tom Watson and other Tories in red ties.

Like Nancy, James argued for the Socialist Party to be allowed to affiliate to Labour, just as the Co-operative Party is now. But the Socialist Party will fight for socialism: for a society owned and run democratically by and for the 99%, not the 1%.