Oh no Rosie

[InandOutlander]

I'm so sad to see her go, she was the shining light within the Labour camp.

BTW I did have a quick look to see if @noblegiraffe had raised similar concerns about the moral failing of not immediately triggeing a by-election when other MPs lost the whip or chose to resign.

I didn't find anything but it was a very basic skim so happy to be proved wrong.

Consultant, for what?

She's known for

1. Having an affair with a married father
2. Breaking lockdown rules
3. Being gender critical

Unless Sexmatters has another cushy, well paid slot spare that move would be quite the gamble.

Thank you for a genuine laugh out loud.

Made me laugh too

The second line was 👌

Yeah exactly.
Jonathan Gullis reportedly finding it hard to get a job now, and he was in government.
£93k is A LOT. She's not just going to walk in to that salary.

I hope we're not going to get into that game. What would be the worth of, let's say, Bridget Phillipson in a competitive job market?

Would she be able to find another job where Lord Alli gives her a generous donation to pay for a lavish birthday party?

We're entering the same realm where people insist that Ukrainian oligarchs put Hunter Biden on their payroll because he's just such a great expert in corporate governance.

Have you ever been a member of a political party and gone canvassing for a candidate? I have. You can't stop any random member of the public handing out leaflets and saying whatever they want about a candidate unless it's clearly defamatory. Even when canvassing officially, with other members of the CLP, everyone canvassing will have their own take on things. In my own canvassing group we had people who were centrists and people who thought Corbyn didn't go far enough. And if your new MP is photogenic or has an interesting hinterland or is well-known in another sphere, you get random people turning up in the constituency to 'help' *. These can include people like Owen Jones, who have their own agenda and routinely use others to forward it, or activists who hope that by volunteering they'll somehow be able to influence the candidate.

*as these volunteers often require locals to accommodate, transport and look after them, they aren't always as helpful as one would hope.

It's been a while since I've been active in a party or canvassing for a candidate, but there's a huge gap between the well oiled machine that national leaders like to believe exists, and the often chaotic reality in a constituency.

One reason the Lib Dems do well in by-elections is that they flood the constituency with hundreds of volunteers. It doesn't always work as well as it should, because these are Lib Dem activists, and there's no telling what weirdos you will have turning up.

🤣🤣🤣 ⭐️

top post on a (for unexpected reasons) fascinating thread: it seems that we should not expect morals from the Labour Party (or even a basic understanding of the optics) because the Conservatives are wronguns & Rosie should be expected to work against herself & her constituents by calling a election even though others aren't expected to...

I thought Rosie's letter was cracking.
Our political system would be damaged if MPs had to call a re-election if they resigned from a party - you need those kind of checks & balances & we vote for the candidate NOT the party anyway.

Rosie is far from being the only one who has an issue with Starmer's Labour.

Thee are many backbench Labour MPs who hate Starmer and take every opportunity to either vote against his proposals or else abstain on votes. That includes the Labour MP who represents my constituency. She's a wild card as far as Starmer is concerned and opposes everything he stands for.

Do you think she should stay in the party and represent the section of the population she thinks she represents - even against her own party's manifesto - or do you think she, and the others, should step down rather than continuing to take the salary?

Who has the most/least integrity? One who stays in the job in spite of having fundamental issues with the party's position and who continually votes against/abstains on key issues, or one who steps aside yet continues to serve the people who voted for them?

Let's be honest here.....

Those who are most having a go at Rosie are doing so because of her position on women's sex based rights; or else they are the people who maintained everyone should vote Labour because the Tories were so bad and so corrupted and that Labour would inevitably be better. That anyone who spoiled their ballot or who voted for another party for whatever reason was just a right wing fascist or else fascist adjacent.

For those who doubled down on voting Labour - there is a lot at stake - in terms of both dashed, unrealistic expectation and personal credibility.

Thee are many backbench Labour MPs who hate Starmer and take every opportunity to either vote against his proposals or else abstain on votes
He expelled the 7 who voted against

Do you think she should stay in the party and represent the section of the population she thinks she represents - even against her own party's manifesto - or do you think she, and the others, should step down rather than continuing to take the salary?
I think this soon after a GE they should step down as the party is enacting its manifesto and Starmer was leader when they were elected. Or they should stay and influence from within/abstain on key votes. Independents are pretty pointless and it leaves their constituents with 5 years of something they didn't vote for.

Those who are most having a go at Rosie are doing so because of her position on women's sex based rights; or else they are the people who maintained everyone should vote Labour because the Tories were so bad and so corrupted and that Labour would inevitably be better

I'm here because I agree with noble.
I was baffled that Duffield stayed in the last parliament given her stance on women's sex based rights, I would have thought the GE was exactly the time to make it clear she didn't support Labour's policies and to leave. She didn't. At the time I assumed that was because she agreed that their position wasn't that harmful to women.

Now it appears to me she wanted the £93k a year job and held her tongue long enough to get it.

Meh though, really. She's going to be pretty obscure now.

Ooh, a useful X thread:

https://x.com/bethanyusher/status/1840398007038038398?s=46

I think this soon after a GE they should step down as the party is enacting its manifesto...

I note with interest that axing the WFA for those not receiving pension credit was not in the manifesto.

Parties cannot put every single thing in the manifesto.
The manifesto was clear about needing to make tough choices and balance spending with available money. And that's what they've done.

Meh. If Duffield was that bothered she would have voted against. She didn't.

She is bothered and left the party

With a scathing letter.

She's going to be pretty obscure now.

That's what you hope, anyway, isn't it? Of course she won't ever be obscure. She was the first woman MP to speak out loud and clearly about a misogynistic cult sweeping the western world. Without her daring to call it, we could have ended up like Germany or Australia. From everything she's said in recent days, she has no intention of stopping calling out the lies and lack of integrity she sees.

Fuck me. 'Can't put everything in the manifesto'...they really should have put the WFP in there, even though they didn't. To not do so no doubt conned loads of votes from people who wouldn't have voted for them if they'd known.

The Labour fans really are scraping the barrel now!

Rosie Duffield didn't vote, no.

Neither did Diane Abbott. Nor 50 other Labour MPs, including 7 ministers.

OK 👍
I don't think the Tories put tanking the economy with an uncosted "mini budget" or illegally proroguing parliament to "get Brexit done" in theirs. Or Rwanda. But y'know, I'm sure you are right and I'm just saying this because I'm a labour supporter 🙄.

Or maybe, it's because it's true that parties do not put the details in their manifestos.

At the Labour conference in Liverpool the other week Labour members voted against the WFP cut. Don't assume that Labour members are lining up to defend Starmer or the government on this issue or others. Many other Labour MPs are as appalled as Rosie is about all the recent expenses revelations as well as the WFP.

Oh look. They deliberately refused to commit to WFA in their manifesto. That's what's commonly known as "a clue"

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-manifesto-missing-pensioners-winter-fuel-bus-pass-pledges-3133902?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmOm3BhC8ARIsAOSbapXzsYMK8kYwsKUhEc1Qyt4B9359qyLRsI3UoRYOw-oNQBxTtpRlJrMaApFMEALw_wcB

they should stay and influence from within/abstain on key votes. Independents are pretty pointles

Why do you think abstaining on key votes as a Labour MP would have more influence than voting against as an independent?

Yep an MP vote is a vote

It’s still counted

She supported Labour and hence herself leading into and during the GE campaign, got elected which she probably wouldn't of as an indie, assuring herself of 5 more years of an MPs salary and expenses/gifts.

Didn't vote against the WFA cut, then resigned over gifts that have been on the register of members interests for years, plus took gifts herself.....

Principled????

Nor was raising university fees which will deter those from less privileged backgrounds. In fact Angie was very vocal about the fact that university education should be free for all in one speech I’ve seen circulating.

Also, RD’s position on women’s rights shouldn’t have meant she ought to have left labour already. It’s a cross party issue with many MPs on both sides of the house lobbying over. This may be the main reason it was NOT mentioned in her letter.