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Claims a “hard-left clique” has emerged in Labour have been strongly rejected - with members hitting back to say the left actually now make up the party’s majority.

Members from across Wirral have said recent allegations of “bullying, intimidation and vilification” are unfounded, and that there is merely a difference of opinion between Cllr Phil Davies’ ruling cabinet and the ‘grassroots’ membership.

Now, prominent Labour voices such as Cllr Tony Norbury, chair of the local campaign forum, Kathryn Runswick, and ex-party leader Yvonne Nolan have had their say.

They’re adamant the membership’s policies are “directly aligned” with that of leader Jeremy Corbyn, and say “two-thirds” of Wirral-based party members are in agreement.

‘Hard left’ bullying

Our special report follows a host of allegations against the “hard left” of bullying over the past months in Wirral, which include:

Speaking about the “hard left” tag, Cllr Norbury, who said he would like to stand against Mr Field in a by-election, said: “I just don’t recognise it at all. In fact, I utterly reject it as it’s being used by disgruntled councillors, who have been deselected.

“The Labour Party was set up to be member-led, and is now the most democratic organisation in Western Europe. It’s supposed to be a grassroots party.

“People choose who they want to represent them and the membership have an influence. The Labour Party is a left-wing party anyway, set up by the trade unions to be the voice of the workers.

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“As it’s transformed, it’s become a mainstream political party, but since Jeremy Corbyn became leader, I think there has been some tension, particularly in parliament.”

In terms of links to left-wing organisation Momentum, Cllr Norbury said he was a “supporter, but not a member”.

He said the situation described by Cllr McLaughlin was not one he recognised, adding: “Labour has transformed into a massive party with thousands of new members who have got views. They want them to be democratically heard, and they have got the right to choose which councillors represent them.”

(Image: Copyright Unknown)

Ms Runswick said she found the “hard-left clique” tag “amusing”, adding: “We are actually the mainstream now. We have done analysis of the figures which show two thirds of those voting in Wirral for the NEC elections voted for the left.”

She said she hadn’t heard of any bullying or vilification, but explained: “I think that’s been said by those who feel threatened by the majority, who have different views to them.

“It's fair to say we have challenged some of their positions. For example issues around the Hoylake Golf Resort - four constituency Labour parties are opposed to that, but the cabinet are pushing ahead with it.

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“They haven't had the same level of activity from membership for a long time. But they must remember that they weren’t councillors at birth. They had to stand, and whoever they replaced - was it bullying then, too?”

Links to Militant?

A certain point of interest for the election in May will be the return to politics of former Labour leader Yvonne Nolan - who was selected to run in the Rock Ferry seat in place of long-standing member and ex-mayor Cllr Chris Meaden.

Ms Nolan said returning to politics was “always her plan”, but denied her party’s links with the left-wing Militant group in the 1980s, which was alleged by the borough’s Conservatives earlier this year.

Her spell as leader - which she described as a “fairly momentous time”, saw her district party suspended by the party NEC.

She said: “It’s very, very different circumstances now and the change in leadership [to Jeremy Corbyn] has seen such a phenomenal rise in party membership. That’s the huge change.

“People have been motivated by that and the party leadership. They like the fact the party is committed to nationalising the railways, building council homes, filling empty properties and fighting privatisation of the NHS.”

Ms Nolan’s view on the “hard-left” tag is that it’s “manufactured”. She said: “I honestly don't know where it came from. It seems to be an attempt to go back to the 80s and 90s - calling us all Militants.

“Nationally, the leadership is clear. Jeremy has stood twice - and won twice. He’s overwhelmingly endorsed by the majority of the party. I fail to understand why people are trying to harp back and say this is the equivalent of something that happened 30 years ago.”

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She also had strong words about the responsibility of elected councillors.

“What is very unfortunate is when existing councillors being held to account by the local branch or constituency is interpreted as bullying. You must be held to account, and no one is given a job of councillor for life.

“I’m not sure whether they have been challenged enough in recent years. They have to listen to their membership more. Everybody should be able to learn and listen. They are there as a choice that's made by party and electorate.”

The Labour manifesto

All three identified a split between the ruling cabinet’s views and that of the so-called ‘grassroots’, which they said reflected Mr Corbyn’s policies.

Cllr Norbury said: “We wouldn’t mind Wirral council aligning with the policies in Jeremy’s manifesto. The cabinet are more used to a top-down approach, whereas the grassroots want something member-led. It’s a different approach to politics.

“Some policies have attracted hundreds of thousands of people to join the party. On the Wirral, we have got 5,000 members - many are new members who have joined since Jeremy was appointed.”

He said recently, a Wirral Labour policy conference had been held and attended by members from across the party. He said it was “very positive”, with various suggestions based on the national manifesto.

No split, but ‘losing touch’

Despite the “different approach”, Ms Runswick was adamant it didn’t constitute a split in the party.

She said: “The cabinet takes decisions before conveying them to the next layer of council.

(Image: PA)

“They take a lot of store from information given by officers of the council. But if they actually asked the group about it, they would get different views. It’s a different outlook rather than a split.

“They truly believe they are acting in the best interest of the council, and no [decisions] are taken out of malice. But they must be losing touch.

“I don't know how that connection has been lost, or whether it's simply a response to funding being so drastically cut, or taking advice from non-elected council officers, but something has changed.”

(Image: PA)

May’s local elections

In terms of how they see May’s election, all three were cautiously optimistic, with target seats identified as Lib Dem-held Oxton and Eastham, and Tory ward Wallasey Village.

Ms Runswick said: “We will do ok. There will be some areas where we will have problems, like Pensby and Thingwall, but as long as we are about to explain to people that current problems are the fault of the Tories, we should be fine.”

Widely expected to be the next leader of the group is currently deputy Cllr Bernie Mooney. But many throughout the membership reportedly want a ‘hustings’-type event immediately after the election to identify potential candidates, with a subsequent non-binding ballot.

A ‘misguided agenda’

A “mainstream” Labour source maintained the “hard-left” tag alleged in recent months, adding that “Ordinary Labour members across Wirral have no time for the hard left's tactics and grandstanding and are behind their Labour MPs and councillors who are doing a great job of fighting Tory austerity to protect jobs and improve our services.

"Labour on Wirral stands for these traditional values and as it showed in the 80s, it won't be hijacked or held hostage by a few hard-left committee members playing politics in pursuit of their own misguided agenda."