Labour purges left-wing MPs right before general election

The ruling right-wing of the Labour party has begun deselecting left-of-centre MPs and candidates en masse as the general elections looms.

Earlier in the year the party blocked Jeremy Corbyn from standing in Islington North, even though he remained a Labour member and had the support of his local Labour Party. After the general election was called, Corbyn revealed he would stand as an independent candidate and was fully expelled from his party.

Finally rid of Corbyn, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Labour Party leadership would stop there and try to maintain the illusion that the party is a “broad church”. But in the last few days it appears that Starmer’s team have taken the decision to purge left-wing candidates from the general election entirely.

Diane Abbott, long time Corbyn ally and MP for Hackney, was given the Labour whip back earlier this week before rumours immediately started to fly that she would be blocked from standing for the party in the next election.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the left-leaning MP for Brighton Kemptown, was suspended from the Labour Party today after a “complaint” was made right before the dissolution of parliament, meaning he won’t be Labour’s candidate at the upcoming election.

Rumours (read: leaks to the press from Labour insiders) are circulating that other left wing candidates – like Faiza Shaheen, Apsana Begum and Zarah Sultana – are also about to face deselection by the leader’s office.

On the other hand, the party has been parachuting extremely right-wing, small-c conservative candidates into safe seats – like Luke Akehurst who has been announced as Labour’s candidate for North Durham.

It’s become very clear, if it wasn’t already, that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has no intention of delivering change after the general election. They intend to impose a right-wing government on a British public who are desperate to vote for change.

The question now is, what will deselected Labour candidates, left-wing Labour activists and their outriders in the media do about this? Are they going to lie down and take it, and campaign for a right-wing Labour landslide government? Or will they finally say “enough is enough” and throw their weight behind a genuinely left-wing party with a chance of causing an upset, like the Greens?

As the nomination deadline approaches, all eyes are on disgruntled Labour activists to see whether they’re willing to instigate the biggest political earthquake this country has ever known (and desperately needs).