Left-wing activists dump plan to 'censure' Canterbury's first ever Labour MP after backlash
3 min read
Hard-left plans to discipline Labour's first ever MP for Canterbury have been ditched following a furious backlash.
Rosie Duffield - who won her seat with a majority of just 187 last year - was targeted by a group of party members in her constituency for attending a protest against anti-Semitism and for criticising Jeremy Corbyn's attempts to tackle the issue.
A "motion of censure" which had been due to be voted on by members of her Constituency Labour Party on Wednesday night said: "We have observed the words and conduct of our Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, and we are dissatisfied at her decision to involve herself with groups and organisations that are campaigning to damage our party, as well as impede its efforts to ensure the right to criticise crimes committed by the state of Israel.
"We are particularly concerned that Rosie chose to show her support for these parties at a demonstration organised to groundlessly accuse the party of systematic antisemitism. She compounded this conduct by carelessly appearing to threaten the leader at a meeting of an organisation which, though affiliated with the Labour Party, does not at all times share its priorities."
But that prompted angry protests from several Labour MPs on Twitter.
Jeremy Corbyn was also pressed on the matter at last night's meeting of the Parliamentaryy Labour Party, but speaking afterwards his spokesman said: "It's not his job to become involved in local internal party issues."
However, it emerged last night that a motion to withdraw the censure motion was "overwhelmingly passed" by members of Labour's Canterbury branch.
Ms Duffield welcomed the decision on Twitter.
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