Anti-Corbyn group’s secretary fails to recognise issue with comment when asked

Right-wing Labour group ‘Labour First’ has described a Momentum call for more MPs from black, Asian and ethnic groups, young or working-class people as “ridiculous”.

The organisation was responding to a tweet by campaign group Momentum, which said:

We will support our members to push for open selections across the country and open the door to a new generation of young, BAME and working class leaders.

The tweet also contained a statement by Momentum that identified an issue with wealthy white people predominating in politics and the need to bring in people from diverse communities and backgrounds:

As two privately educated millionaires battle for the votes of an overwhelmingly white, wealthy Tory membership to become the next prime minister – the rising stars of the Labour Party must look and sound very different. People feel deeply alienated by our broken political system, and campaigning for open selections across the country will help surface a new generation of young, BAME, working class leaders who will take on the political establishment and provide a genuine alternative. We must remember that our strength lies in knowledge and talent of Labour’s half a million members who live and work in every community.

Labour First’s response was to say it will do everything it can to prevent this “ridiculous process”:

When asked if he had any comment on the Labour First response, the group’s secretary Luke Akehurst appeared not to recognise the issue, responding to the initial request with “In what sense?”

Responding to a follow-up question, “You don’t see the obvious?”, he answered simply, “No”.

After the SKWAWKBOX pointed out the problem with describing a push for more equal representation for people from black, Asian and other ethnic or working class backgrounds as ridiculous, Akehurst denied that Momentum is interested in improving representation.

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