The hard left's problem with women

[KarlosKKrinkelbeim]

Looking at front page of the Times listing those labour MPs being targeted by momentum for deselection and idly wondering; why do most of them seem to be women - and in particular, women with string track records on feminist issues? I mean Stella Creasy for gods sake? I'm not a labour voter I admit but how could anyone vote for a party who deselected a woman of her calibre?
Is it me or do these people have a problem?

Should MPs have been kicked out for an inability to support Tony Blair?

Well we wouldn't have Corbyn if that had happened. The hypocrisy of Corbyn bigging up what a principled man he was as a back bencher in not toeing the party line is really quite impressive.

For full disclosure after 40 years I ceased being a Labour supporter this year. I don't like or trust Corbyn or his inner circle.

This last election result was ideal for him - he got more ammunition against them (by 'defying expectations') but avoided the actual hard work, responsibility and compromise of the top job

Exactly. All that posturing about Labour being ready to form a government. Never going to happen.

Stella Creasy played a blinder on the NI abortion issue. She is probably on the hit list because in order to pull it off she must have had to discuss things with Conservatives such Andrea Leadsom and Sir Peter Bottomley. There will be lunatics in Momentum who think even being polite to a Tory merits deselection. Getting Bottomley's signature on her motion will have marked her card.

Can't possibly see why Creasy isn't considered to be an ally of Corbyn

www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/07/stella-creasy-labour-party-running-empty

* "she will be made" to agree with what they want*? Please quote source for this.

Lass, I'd be with you in abandoning Labour were it not for the fact that my MP is really good.

Totally agree Stella Creasy played a blinder over the NI abortion issue. For that alone she should be bullet proof, and the mere fact that Momentum are gunning for her after she manages the one constructive thing to come out of the clusterfuck that is the Conservative-DUP far-right fest to my mind underlines how totally and utterly misogynistic the far left is.

Soon after winning his new role, Roy Bentham, the trade union liaison officer, told the Liverpool Echo: “Luciana needs to get on board quite quickly now.“She will now have to sit round the table with us the next time she wants to vote for bombing in Syria or to pass a no-confidence motion in the leader of the party – she will have to be answerable to us.”

Labour MPs critical of Corbyn fear deselection after 'get on board' warning

www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/06/labour-mps-critical-of-corbyn-fear-deselection-after-get-on-board-warning?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

"apparently some of the hard left are still very obsessed with class issues and see feminism as middle class, therefore not their problem."

The hard left don't have a problem with middle class men, though.

I'm from Liverpool and I'm sorry to say I recognise the mentality behind those statements -toe the line or you'll be made to know your place, girl. Not saying all scouse men are like that by any means but there's s strand of that in the culture and the labour party should be clamping down on it. Like it clamped down on the activists who harasses Angela eagle, smashed her windows etc ... oh wait ..,

Can we start a Stella for PM campaign? I love her. And I can't stand the hard brexiteer Mr Corbyn.

As others have said, this is not purely about misogyny, but about politics. There are men on that deselection list too, and not everything women do is good by virtue of their being women - or are you all Thatcher supporters? The trouble is that the labour party did lurch in some strange directions, too far right while giving out handouts to the middle classes, and Corbyn is the correction back to a more socialist viewpont.

There are arguments that the centre is the better place to be, that party politics is too dominant anyway, whips and the tribal philosophy shouldn't exist, and a complaint about the hypocrisy of being a dissenter while not tolerating dissent is imo worth making, but I'm glad he's bringing alternative views back in to politics.

What do you make of those labour MPs who are women, supporters of Corbyn and under no threat of deselection?

Of the men on that list, it's interesting that Bradshaw is gay & Umuna is BAME. Says something. And the hard left also has a problem with Jews. I thought Corbyn was extraordinary in the June election, but he has a real problem with anyone not a WASP.

Once again, there are other labour MPs who are black (or whatever the non-offensive term is nowadays, I may be out of touch) - Diane Abbott most obviously - or who are gay and not on that list. I'm not familiar with the number who are also jews. Or do you think that anyone from a currently trendy in-group needs to be given a free pass no matter what? Intersectionality isn't that simple.

There's a massive problem. But that list is just the list of people who voted for Umunna's EU amendment, so the list in itself doesn't demonstrate the problem. I'm a Labour member and I have definitely noticed that the arsey hard left feel free to be a lot more arsey when it's a woman speaking. What's driving me mad at the minute is the bloody women who back them up. 'Oh, Luciana's issues have nothing to do with being a woman'. Ok.

It's not purely about misogyny, but it's massively influenced by it. The whole tone taken towards women is harsher. Look at the way left men talk about Jess Philips.

I'm just not convinced that there is a particular realproblem with what people persist in calling 'the hard left' in Britain, aka normal and everyday social democracy on parts of the continent. The way men talk about Jess Philips, yes. The way the media zooms in on Theresa May's clothing, yes. The minute focus on image and behaviour for every woman, yes. But I think that so-called 'hard left' is held up to higher standards than the rest of British culture.

I haven't read Harriet Harman's new book but I'm sure it's very revealing on this issue. Also planning to read Jess's when I get the chance. (Currently in Servants of the People by Andrew Rawnsley, fascinating)

On radio 4 yesterday they stated that corbyn voted against the labour government over 600 x.
I am starting to regret voting for him as he is bolstered now.
He is clearly pro brexit, not particularly interested in women's rights and the treatment of Luciana smells bad at least.
He needs to clamp down on anti semitism anyway.

let's put this in perspective.

According to the Times one activists group in South Tyneside compiled a list. One group of obviously misogynistic, marginal idiots.

In any organisation you get twats. The Times just decided to publish what the twats have been doing.

I joined my local labour party and we've got a traditional Labour MP. The only things I've heard about women is how great it is that there are so many women MP's! Stella Creasy is great and no-one with a brain cell would seek to get her de selected. I think this story is just the Times trying to damage the Labour party, business as usual.

Sorry but I am laughing at the thought that corbyn has introduced alternative views into the labour party. There are no alternative views. There is a mantra and that must be followed. Those who dont follow rhe mantra are sacked. Even when they have acted heroically in a way that changes the social order in favour of a minority group ( abortion) . I think people have no idea how momentum operate

Sorry that reads like Creasy has been sacked , I know she hasnt! but my point is in the current labour party you can do things that are socialist in my view but if you dont follow the script you are in a lot of troubke. I am sorry but those twats are now very important people in the Labour party. All over my constituency.

Walking that doesn't surprise me.

But I think that so-called 'hard left' is held up to higher standards than the rest of British culture

Yes it's scrutinised more as the left are seen as "right on" so it comes across as more hypocritical. I think misogyny is a problem in all areas of politics tbh, and these mps did openly criticise their leader during a time when the party should've been pulling together. And I say this as a fan of stella creasy.

I've been wondering whether part of the issue is women's instinct to co-operate and compromise at a time when the Labour Party is feeling confident and aggressive and doesn't want to compromise. I think men are keen to exploit weaknesses (of the government) and frankly are letting Opposition at all costs blind them to even the merits of some of the issues. I think women are more pragmatic and more inclined to seek out compromise and consensus.

It's crazy. How can he and his followers expect loyalty given his track record. I also think female Labour MPs get a lot more abuse than their male counterparts.

This is, I believe, a thing on the hard left.

Nick Cohen wrote about this very subject back in October:

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/01/good-and-brave-labour-mps-should-be-defended

"The Daily Mail might have compiled the far left’s hitlist of Labour MPs. Seven of its apparent deselection targets are women...Most are young by the standards of politicians and nasty old men have always enjoyed humiliating young women with ideas of their own."

Actually Nick's been written about this for ages September 2015 If you are a woman, you face misogyny. Kate Godfrey, the centrist Labour candidate in Stafford, told the Times she had received death threats and pornographic hate mail after challenging her local left. If you are a man, you are condemned in language not heard since the fall of Marxist Leninism.

Also more in his book What's Left. (I am not Nick's agent )

I don't have much insight into why this is, but I guess domestic matters would be a distraction from the serious business of creating a new revolution. Also fascinated/horrified with use of word "Zionist" among the hard left, used with incredible frequency as term of abuse with meaning "Jew", particularly on Twitter.