Labour suspends its Leicester East party and a councillor resigns

Yesterday I blogged about the emergence of a new political party in Leicester. So what's been happening today?

Here's the Leicester Mercury (or Leicestershire Live, as it calls itself online):

The Labour Party has suspended its entire Leicester East branch. The national executive (NEC) is investigating the troubled constituency Labour party (CLP) over concerns around its operation, according to an email seen by Leicestershire Live.

All branch and constituency Labour party meetings will be stopped 'until further notice' and all CLP and branch officers have been 'relieved of their positions and duties' while an internal investigation takes place, the email says. It has not been confirmed specifically what prompted the suspension.

A Labour Party source said in reaction: "The NEC has a duty to safeguard the integrity of CLPs, to ensure that they are properly run in line with the party’s rules and procedures and can operate fully, inclusively and democratically."

Leicester East is the seat Keith Vaz represented for many years, and it's fair to say it became something of a personal fiefdom. Who knows what the national party has found there?

Its current MP is Claudia Webbe, who was elected in 2019 after being parachuted in by Labour's then Corbynite leadership. She has sat as an Independent since November 2021, when she was suspended by and then expelled from the Labour Party after being convicted of harassment.

Also today came news, again in the Mercury, that the Leicester Labour councillor Diane Cank has left the party and will sit as an Independent. 

In what the paper describes as a letter 'to Labour', she wrote:

This is the second time that the Regional Office has unilaterally trampled on the democratic rights of party members in just four months. The last time Labour suffered its most catastrophic loss of seats ever.

From having just one seat, the Tories now have 17, thanks to Mr Oliver and the Regional Party. There was never any inquiry into what actually happened, what is the point of paying for your membership when you have no rights of decision-making and accountability? ....

Mr Oliver should resign. As with the decision in April to remove 19 Labour councillors and impose others, this will have severe consequences across the city.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of these affairs, it's clear Leicester Labour is not a happy ship.