Important statement about bullying within Red Labour

Red Labour played a crucial part of Jeremy Corbyn's historic victory in the Labour leadership election in 2015. It is undoubtedly one of the big untold success stories of political social media campaigns in Britain.



Part of its success was down to the hard work and dedication of a core group named the "Red Labour organisers group", who organised in a secret Facebook group closed to its wider audience. Their coordinated efforts helped to articulate a coherent, clear message that aided Corbyn's campaign from the nascent stages of nomination to his eventual victory.



Unfortunately, the secrecy and anonymity surrounding this tight-knit group led to a culture of bullying and intimidation on the part of an self-selected and unaccountable elite.



In the aftermath of Corbyn's victory, the behaviour of the group changed drastically. At the time, there seemed to be no obvious explanation for this.



In one case, a young woman was bullied out of the group on trumped up charges. She was cruelly excluded from the group and denied the right to respond to these vile and bizarre accusations. In another, several documents were leaked to right-wing bloggers to smear a leading Labour left winger; the ensuing press coverage led to a campaign of bullying on his Twitter feed leading said individual to contemplate suicide. Indeed, they leaked this information in the firm knowledge of this person's mental health. Off the record statements were then continually leaked to the press attacking leading figures in the movement. The sources were eventually to out themselves in personal discussions; their vanity presumably made it hard for them to stay quiet.



The tone of discussions within the Red Labour organisers group also changed. Significant numbers of members of a tiny far-left cult called the Alliance for Workers' Liberty were invited into the fold. The intention here is transparently obvious. From a pro-Corbyn, pro-Momentum stance, the group then began openly attacking Jeremy Corbyn's policies and Momentum. Members of this group explicitly expressed that they wanted to replace Momentum as the "voice of the Corbynites" and sought to work subversively in this broad movement to orchestrate a split to bolster their own ranks.



Much has been written about bullying within Momentum. Little has been said about its perpetrators.



While it is impossible to know the motives of individuals who conduct bullying campaigns against innocent, hard-working activists, there may be some truth in the theory that Red Labour was a victim of its own success.



After Corbyn's victory Red Labour's success had become recognised by the wider labour movement as an effective, independent voice for the left. Such recognition came to imply financial recognition and access to high-paid employment in the party and the labour movement. Certain individuals wasted no time in exploiting these lucrative opportunities - even going so far as to demand an annual salary of £50, 000 from trade unions to continue Red Labour's work, as well as their other salary working within a Labour-related organisation. A nice little earner, you say?



As other group members were not privy to these financial requests, it may be assumed that these funds were being siphoned off to line the pockets of an unaccountable individual. One can only speculate. It is impossible to fathom the motives of self-described socialists acting in such a self-serving, venal manner.



For certain individuals, the role of Red Labour was to become another shadowy sect that lines the pockets of its full timers. They seemingly did not care that its actions would divide the organisations that represent those thousands of enthusiastic new members who wanted a new policy direction. For them, personal ego and self-aggrandisement is raised above the interests of the movement.



The Labour Party needs unity now more than ever. In order to win, we need to put aside sectarian differences and make the best possible offer to the British public in 2020. Red Labour will continue to play a part in that fight, albeit with a new team that puts socialism before sectarian temptations.



On behalf of Red Labour, we apologise profusely to those who read our posts for this situation. We believe that socialism is not simply an economic policy, but a better way of treating one another. In this regard we have fallen short and will pull out all the stops to regain trust.



Welcome to Red Labour v 2.0.

Reply · Report Post