Corbyn ally Chris Williamson blasts back after Labour grandee accuses him of risking party split
4 min read
Labour’s Chris Williamson has hit back after the party’s former deputy leader accused him of launching an “intolerable” campaign to oust MPs who are disloyal to Jeremy Corbyn.
The Derby North MP told PoliticsHome that Roy Hattersley's attacks on his nationwide ‘Democracy Roadshow’ were "the stuff of fantasy", and urged the veteran politician to attend his next meeting to witness the "energy and enthusiasm of ordinary members" pushing for an overhaul of Labour's rules.
Mr Williamson is partway through a tour of local Labour parties, and has repeatedly argued in favour of MPs facing mandatory reselection by party members in a bid to make them more accountable to activists.
But critics have accused the Derby North MP - a key ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn - of using the motorcycle tour to pile local pressure on MPs who have spoken out against the party leadership.
His tour today sparked the fury of Mr Hattersley, who served as Labour's second-in-command during a fractious period in the 1980s when the party expelled members of the far-left Militant group.
In a letter to Mr Corbyn, seen by the Guardian and copied to local members in South Yorkshire, the party grandee urged the Labour leader to speak out against Mr Williamson, warning that his tour could "split the party".
Mr Hattersley wrote: "Reselection and the prospect of reselection will undoubtedly split the party – led not just by sitting MPs who were deselected or feared deselection but also by MPs who think that the attempted cull of their colleagues demonstrated that Labour no longer represented their view of the good society.
"I lived through the split of the 1980s and failed in my attempts to prevent it. To avoid a repetition of that disaster you must speak out against the narrow sectarianism that Christopher Williamson and the campaign for re-selection represents."
Mr Hattersley, who said he had last week attended an event led by Mr Williamson in MP Angela Smith's South Yorkshire constituency of Penistone and Stocksbridge, called on the Labour leader to condemn the roadshow as "wrong in principle and deeply damaging to Labour’s prospects of election".
But Mr Williamson on Monday night pushed back at the "confused" intervention from Mr Hattersley, and denied that his tour had ever received the blessing of the Labour leadership.
The MP told PoliticsHome: "Some of the commentary on Labour Party democracy is the stuff of fantasy. The truth is, the Democracy Roadshow has never asked Jeremy Corbyn for his endorsement, nor has he given it.
"The Democracy Roadshow is a grassroots initiative discussing the ongoing Labour Party Democracy Review and campaigning for the Open Selection of MPs, which is common place in other democracies around the world. We’re visiting any group of party activists that invite us, and the response has been overwhelmingly popular.
He added: "Roy seems to be confused. Contrary to his assertion, I've never seen him at any of the meetings. But we'll be in South Yorkshire on the 8th of September, where he would be more than welcome to attend. If he does, he will see for himself the energy and enthusiasm of ordinary members for what we're really talking about."
'I WILL NOT BE BULLIED'
Mr Hattersley has been a frequent critic of Mr Corbyn since the Labour leader took the reins of the party in 2015, calling his election "a tragedy for the Labour Party".
Mr Williamson meanwhile triggered fresh anger from some Labour colleagues after telling the Morning Star that any MP "not prepared to work for a Labour victory should resign" or be replaced by "grassroots members".
He added: "That’s why I hope conference will back Labour International’s motion to introduce open selections to make it easier for members to hold their MPs to account."
But MP Mike Gapes, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Mr Corbyn and is said to be considering quitting the party, said he saw it as "a badge of honour to be denounced by the Communist Morning Star".
"I will not be bullied into silence by apologists for Putin, Assad and Maduro," he said.
Labour is currently carrying out its own 'democracy review' ahead of the party's annual conference which takes place next month.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
