Leyton and Wanstead Labour backs Corbyn three-to-one

Owen Smith supporter Serena Balachandra complains about Socialists showing support for Jeremy Corbyn outside a Labour meeting (Click to enlarge)

A Leyton and Wanstead Labour Party member

Jeremy Corbyn picked up his hat-trick of Constituency Labour Party (CLP) supporting nominations in Waltham Forest, east London on 12 August, when Leyton and Wanstead voted to back him by 94 to 33.

Both Walthamstow CLP and Chingford CLP have already voted for Jeremy over right winger Owen Smith by margins of about two-to-one each.

The Leyton and Wanstead CLP meeting was so big we had to have an overspill meeting down the road. There weren't even enough Owen Smith supporters to fill their allotted time in the overspill venue. Socialist Party members showed support for Corbyn outside the meeting.

Addressing the room, one Owen Smith supporter asked "why were the Socialist Party allowed to leaflet our meeting?" The photo she tweeted is shown right. Another Labour member answered, "it's a democratic right to give out leaflets on the pavement!"

All new Labour Party members that joined up to 12 July were allowed to participate and vote. This was a welcome step towards inclusiveness, despite the right-wing Labour bureaucracy winning a court case earlier that day to exclude members who had joined later than 12 January from voting. It's up to Labour's ruling National Executive Committee now to make the right decision and give all new members the right to vote for Corbyn.

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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
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