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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

What's going on?

37 replies

MoobaaMoobaa · 08/09/2019 09:36

The first Labour MP to be deselected is Diana Johnson.

She's just won back bencher of the year, and from what can gather is strong campaigner for women's issue's aswell as campaigning for for her constituents. Constituents who voted her back in.

www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/breaking-diana-johnson-labour-deselection-3295016

www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/106362/diana-johnson-becomes-first-labour-mp-face

So momentum want her out, but why her? why right now?

In the Hull daily mail link, they hint at that she may now be allowed to put herself forward for reseletion. Yet other new links say it's automatic that she would be put forward.

OP posts:
Inebriati · 08/09/2019 09:38

My prediction; we are in the middle of a right wing coup. Both left and right have been captured.

OP posts:
BadgertheBodger · 08/09/2019 09:41

What’s going on?

I can confidently say I haven’t got a bloody clue. Wtf is happening Labour?

Ereshkigal · 08/09/2019 09:44

It's baffling. Why her? She sounds like an MP popular with both colleagues and constituents. Surely it will just piss people in the area off?

Inebriati · 08/09/2019 09:45

Does this look like democracy, or does it look like top down politics?

DontForgetToDeadhead · 08/09/2019 09:45

I think calling it "deselection" is a bit disingenuous. She hasn't been ousted, the process has just been opened up to allow other people to apply. Tbh I wish it would happen more often as it might make MPs in "safe seats" work harder. Apparently she's quite hardworking and popular though so hopefully she'll be voted back in and stay.

www.google.com/amp/s/labourlist.org/2019/08/how-labours-trigger-ballot-system-works/%3famp

PotholePalace · 08/09/2019 09:49

Going to vote for my mp next week. He should be safe as he's very nice to local university students.

EmpressLesbianInChair · 08/09/2019 09:50

Has she pissed Madigan off by being able to define women?

Original poster
MoobaaMoobaa · 08/09/2019 09:57

DontForgetToDeadhead why not wait for the next local election?
and why start with a hard working MP? especially when all attention should be focused on the shit storm the country is in at the moment.

from reading this board I understand that momentum don't like women who don't nod and smile to their every thought.

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ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 08/09/2019 10:10

DontForgetToDeadhead, that looks like an absolute guddle of a system, easily gamed by relatively small factions.

Surely it would be better to either have (as they used to) or not have mandatory reselection? Under this system I can imagine the Madigan's of this world, or unions with particular grievances, having a field day.

dolorsit · 08/09/2019 10:25

Tbh I wish it would happen more often as it might make MPs in "safe seats" work harder. Apparently she's quite hardworking and popular though so hopefully she'll be voted back in and stay.

Unfortunately it has the opposite effect. Up and down the country labour MPs and their teams/resources have been focusing on getting enough votes to pass the trigger.

The fact that this MP has failed the trigger shows how counterproductive the process is.

Original poster
MoobaaMoobaa · 08/09/2019 10:30

ArnoldWhatshisknickers exactly.

When I was reading links and tweets, I'm sure it was mentioned that this was brought out by 2 people? if that's true, it's insane that power is given over to such minorities, and like said it's been hinted she may not be able to be put forward for reseletion.

Could someone clarify if i've understood this correctly. That if she is allowed to be part of the reselection, that although it may have been 2 people who triggered this, their allies across the country would be able to then vote on who gets selected for that area.

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ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 08/09/2019 10:50

I don't know about 2 people but from what the links in your OP say it certainly seems to have been triggered by a minority of ward branches.

It is a very long time since I was a Labour Party member, but back then (mid/late 90s) the ward branch meetings in my CLP were usually only attended by maybe a dozen people.

Tyrotoxicity · 08/09/2019 11:04

She sounds like an MP popular with both colleagues and constituents. Surely it will just piss people in the area off?

Okay. I do head-in-the-sand over politics a lot of the time so I don't quite know what deselection means.

Could someone please explain it to me, because this is my MP and I am indeed pissed off. She's been quietly getting on and doing her job for bloody years. What's she meant to have done?

ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 08/09/2019 11:14

Deselection in general means a sitting MP, councillor, whatever being removed as a party's candidate for the next relevant election.

In this case it is a bit more complex as Diana Johnson can put herself forward, alongside anyone else who chooses to, as a potential candidate and the local party members will vote on whether to reselect her or not. This is not deselection per se.

Some parties, the SNP for example, have mandatory reselection for every candidate at every election (unless there isn't time in the case of a snap election). Labour used to do this but have replaced it with a system where reselection can be 'triggered' if a sufficient number(one third) of eligible branches and affiliates (usually meaning unions) call for it. The number of actual people in those ward branches or unions voting for a reselection ballot can be tiny so the system is easy to 'game' by small, noisy factions.

Original poster
MoobaaMoobaa · 08/09/2019 11:16

What's she meant to have done?

my question too.

Although, here are somethings I've learnt about her, that may have pissed momentum off.

She's a member of Labour's friends of Israel.

She's involved in women centred issues sometimes like WASPI.

She is/was a blairite.

and I guess she may have disagreed with momentum on something.

I really hope she gets enough backing.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/outcry-from-labour-s-yorkshire-mps-as-hull-s-diana-johnson-faces-deselection-battle-1-9982332

I just can't get over, why her why now?

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Tyrotoxicity · 08/09/2019 11:52

Hmm. I've already been faced with a bit of a struggle in elections - can't vote Tory, haven't forgiven Lib Dems, not over the AWS thing, and they all want to roll back women's rights - but I can cope with voting for Diana Johnson.

I'm unlikely to be able to say the same about whoever else ends up as the Labour option on my ballot paper. Which means I'm going to feel even more disenfranchised and Labour will be losing a vote.

Was that the aim, I wonder?

LangCleg · 08/09/2019 11:53

The thing is - which makes Labour shenanigans even more ridiculous - is that the Tories benefit from low turnouts. It's Labour who needs everyone to vote.

ArnoldWhatshisknickers · 08/09/2019 12:00

Tyrotoxicity, Diana Johnson may yet be reselected as the Labour candidate.

I don't know the area at all so cannot comment on specifics but in general the number of members of a political party or its affiliates who actually involve themselves in meetings and votes is a small fraction of the whole, which is what makes it easy for small factions to cause trouble.

If Ms Johnson is popular in her constituency however the larger, less involved group of members may be galvanised into action and return her as candidate.

Not saying that will happen but you may yet be pleasantly surprised.

MrsWednesdayteatime · 08/09/2019 13:15

Is her position more precarious because Hull University is in her constituency? If activism is quiet in other wards, but the Uni group is more active/radical, would it make it easy for a few Uni students to push for her deselection? Is that how it works?

I used to live in her constituency, would always see her out in the community, holding surgeries, visiting schools, working hard. Since moving house I have NEVER seen my local Tory MP "out & about".

Tyrotoxicity · 08/09/2019 13:30

Cursory glance at the comments on Hull Live fb have me despairing.

So many arsey men basically saying "She has to go because she hasn't given us our Brexit." A few people saying "Brexit aside, she does a good job." They are lost amongst the torrent of whingeing arseholes.

There are many things I love about my city, but the strength of anti-EU, anti-immigrant, pro-Brexit sentiment from poorly educated people who've only had two decades to get their heads round the existence of other ethnicities and nationalities is definitely not one of them.

Ereshkigal · 08/09/2019 13:48

How is she meant to singlehandedly facilitate Brexit as a little known backbench MP in the opposition party? Whoever else they get will likely be in the same position.

hullfair · 08/09/2019 13:50

Sadly, no.

hullfair · 08/09/2019 13:53

University Labourites eg Aylett are supportive of her. Brexiters feel betrayed by her stance. She's too Centrist for Maomentum.

Ereshkigal · 08/09/2019 13:57

Do you know of anyone Momentum might wish to stand there? Apparently it's an all woman shortlist, I read. Apologies, I still don't really understand how this works.