Alpha 
Post by fretslider on Jul 7, 2019 6:20:30 GMT -5
Labour continues to spiral down. Now at a record low with 18% and in fourth place in the polls panic is breaking out.
Labour leader's two closest allies tell him to back second Brexit referendum and sack aides or he's FINISHED
Diane Abbott and John McDonnell told Jeremy Corbyn he must sack his closest aides as the shadow home secretary said they were keeping the Labour leader 'captive', it was claimed today. Ms Abbott and Mr McDonnell, two of Mr Corbyn's most loyal allies, reportedly warned him his leadership of the party would be finished if he failed to act.
Mr Corbyn has been repeatedly criticised in recent months over his Brexit stance and handling of anti-Semitism allegations amid fears among senior party figures that the two issues will haunt the party at the ballot box.
It came as Labour was locked in a fresh row over anti-Semitism as the party went to war with the BBC and reportedly instructed lawyers to warn ex-staffers against breaking confidentiality agreements to leak details of cases to the press or face potential legal action.
The BBC is set to broadcast a Panorama documentary on Wednesday believed to contain new claims about the way in which Labour has dealt with anti-Semitism allegations.
The documentary has prompted the party to write to the BBC to accuse it of interfering in the political process.
But Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, said this morning that 'using expensive media lawyers' to try to 'silence staff members is as futile as it is stupid'. 'It's not the Labour way and I deplore it,' he added.
The Sunday Times said Ms Abbott and Mr McDonnell had confronted Mr Corbyn and demanded that he shake up his top team. They reportedly told him to sack his communications chief, Seumas Milne, and his chief of staff, Katie Murphy, because of their alleged influence over the party's Brexit policy.
Ms Abbott apparently told friends about the meeting and said: 'They are keeping him captive.'
Labour was rocked last week by a poll which put the party in fourth place on just 18 per cent - it's joint worst-ever performance. Many in the party believe the only way for Mr Corbyn to reverse the fortunes of his party is to announce full and unequivocal backing for a second referendum.
At the moment he has only said he wants a 'public vote' - either a general election or a second referendum - to decide on whether to go ahead with a Tory-led Brexit. His preference remains a general election to break the Brexit impasse but senior figures in the shadow cabinet believe the time has come to formally back a second referendum and to go even further and commit to campaigning to Remain.
Despite the alleged push to get rid of Mr Milne and Ms Murphy, Mr Corbyn has also been warned that doing so may only postpone what one shadow minister called an 'ice-pick' coup by rivals
The Mail on Sunday understands that the BBC Panorama investigation will produce evidence alleging that Mr Corbyn's own office interfered in disciplinary cases involving anti-Jewish conduct.
Sources say the programme will include interviews with ex-party workers who are prepared to breach non-disclosure agreements to make on-the-record accusations against their former employer.
Up to eight ex-staffers – some of them formerly 'very senior' – are understood to have co-operated with Panorama, in some cases at the risk of legal reprisals.
Sources say their testimonies will focus on 'named individuals' within the office of the Opposition Leader. The office includes chief of staff Ms Murphy and strategy director Mr Milne, although both are now said to be centrally employed by the party.
One source said the programme would reveal 'the politicisation, stealthy and overt, of a process to shift the interpretation of what is anti-Semitic towards a Corbynite view of what constitutes anti-Semitism'.
he party launched an astonishing attack on the BBC last night and announced it was complaining to director-general Tony Hall.
A source said: 'Rather than investigate anti-Semitism in the Labour Party in a balanced and impartial way, Panorama appears to have pre-determined its outcome and created a programme to fit a one-sided narrative.'
The source added: 'With a possible Election around the corner, this smacks of bias and interference in the political process by the BBC and a clear breach of its own editorial guidelines.' It called the ex-Labour staffers 'disaffected former officials' who had always opposed Mr Corbyn's leadership and had 'personal and political axes to grind'.
But in a further blow to the party, Gordon Nardell QC – the lawyer advising the party on dealing with anti-Semitism cases – is to quit, although Labour insisted this had nothing to do with this week's Panorama programme.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7220371/Labour-leader-faces-having-ditch-two-closest-aides-new-anti-Semitism-allegations.html
All this and an official investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Word is Nardell jumped ship before his reputation was sunk.
Mr Nardell’s departure was confirmed by law firm Twenty Essex on Friday evening after days of speculation.
In a statement, they said: “Twenty Essex are delighted to welcome Gordon Nardell QC back to full-time practice from August 2019 following his term as Executive Director of Legal Affairs to the Labour Party, the Party’s inaugural General Counsel role.”
A Labour source said: “Gordon took the decision to return to his practice as a barrister.”
www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/news/105111/fresh-blow-labour-top-lawyer-charge-anti-semitism
I'll be surpised if they can find a replacement.
