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Sheffield Labour Left - For Socialism

A bulletin for Labour Party Members who supported the direction the party moved towards under Jeremy Corbyn & John McDonnell.
Opposing racism, antisemitism and political Zionism.
Opposing all expulsions/exclusions targeting the left.

SLL E-Bulletin #36 4 November 2020

Crookes & Crosspool Branch Resolution
- Carried overwhelmingly on 3/11/20

Reinstate Jeremy Corbyn without sanction

This branch notes:

the suspension from the Labour Party, and therefore also the withdrawal of the Labour Whip, of Jeremy Corbyn.
that the reasons so far given publicly for the suspension relate to comments he made subsequent to the EHRC report into antisemitism within the Labour Party.

These comments in their entirety were:
“Antisemitism is absolutely abhorrent, wrong and responsible for some of humanity’s greatest crimes. As Leader of the Labour Party I was always determined to eliminate all forms of racism and root out the cancer of antisemitism. I have campaigned in support of Jewish people and communities my entire life and I will continue to do so.
“The EHRC’s report shows that when I became Labour leader in 2015, the Party’s processes for handling complaints were not fit for purpose. Reform was then stalled by an obstructive party bureaucracy. But from 2018, Jennie Formby and a new NEC that supported my leadership made substantial improvements, making it much easier and swifter to remove antisemites. My team acted to speed up, not hinder the process.
“Anyone claiming there is no antisemitism in the Labour Party is wrong. Of course there is, as there is throughout society, and sometimes it is voiced by people who think of themselves as on the left.
“Jewish members of our party and the wider community were right to expect us to deal with it, and I regret that it took longer to deliver that change than it should.
“One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated.
“My sincere hope is that relations with Jewish communities can be rebuilt and those fears overcome. While I do not accept all of its findings, I trust its recommendations will be swiftly implemented to help move on from this period.”

This Branch believes:

that the comments from Jeremy Corbyn were within the bounds of the EHRC recommendations in terms of legitimate free speech within the Labour Party.
suspending Jeremy or any other Labour member for making similar such assertions is an unacceptable political attack. This is an attempt to sideline, expel, and destroy the left of the Party, and shows that Starmer’s claim of wanting to end factionalism was nothing but empty words. Already we are seeing many members leave the Party.

This Branch agrees:

to write to Jeremy Corbyn expressing our solidarity with him and our agreement that: ‘One antisemite is one too many, but the scale of the problem was also dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media. That combination hurt Jewish people and must never be repeated.’
to write to all NEC members of the Labour Party urging them to lift the unjust suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and to oppose the continuing action being taken against members on the left of the party.
to write to the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, urging them to give real support to Jeremy Corbyn, who is one of their members.
to submit this motion to the next meeting of Hallam CLP, replacing ‘Branch’ with ‘CLP’.

Solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn
- Carried unanimously by the LCF Executive on 3/11/20

The Executive Committee of the Sheffield Labour Local Campaign Forum (LCF) carried the following on 3rd November 2020:

'The Sheffield LCF Executive stands in solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn, fully supporting his statement in response to the EHRC report, and calls upon the Labour Party nationally to reinstate him to full membership and the Whip without sanction.’

Labour Party NEC Elections
- Vote Left

Ballot papers for the Labour Party National Executive Committee elections have been sent to the email address registered with the Labour Party.
The ballot closes at noon on Thursday 12 November, with the results announced the following day.
Ordinary members only get to vote for 9 CLP places on the 38 member NEC, which is obviously a shame in terms of the party representing the views of ordinary members.
That said, it is important that the left try to get elected as many of those 9 places for the left.
The voting system is a single transferable vote (STV) where comrades should list as many candidates as possible by preference.

Sheffield Labour Left are calling for a vote for the following in these NEC elections.
Two from the Labour Left Alliance (LLA)

Roger Silverman
Chaudhry Qamer Iqbal

Plus, despite our criticisms regarding the way the slate was chosen, the CLGA slate of six:
Gemma Bolton
Yasmine Dar
Laura Pidcock
Ann Henderson
Mish Rahman
Nadia Jama
It is unlikely that your vote will go beyond these 8, but if it does then please consider your 9th and 10th choices to be for the two other Labour Left Alliance candidates nominated in Sheffield:
Carol Taylor-Spedding
Ekua Bayunu

Sheffield Labour Left

Sheffield Labour Left (SLL) is a network to help co-ordinate the genuine Labour Party left across the six CLPs covered by Sheffield.
We have a page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SheffieldLabourLeft) and our own website (http://www.sheffieldlabourleft.org), where you can find an archive of our first 33 bulletins.
We are connected to no other group, but work alongside others whose aims we share to see elected a socialist-led government. In July 2019 we affiliated to the Labour Left Alliance: https://labourleft.org
Want to get involved with SLL or become a member? Contact us at the email address below.

Local labour movement meetings and events in November:

Thursday 5 November: Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough CLP monthly meeting. Zoom meeting.

Tuesday 10 November: Sheffield Labour Local Campaign Forum meeting. 7.00pm until 9.30pm. Zoom meeting.

Tuesday 17 November: South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG) fortnightly meeting. 7.00pm start. Zoom meeting.

Tuesday 24 November: Sheffield Trades Union Council Meeting. 7pm start. Zoom meeting.

Thursday 26 November: Sheffield Central CLP Annual General Meeting. 7.15pm start. Zoom meeting.

Thursday 26 November: Sheffield Hallam CLP meeting. 7.30pm start. Zoom meeting.

Our mailing address is:
info@sheffieldlabourleft.org
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Sheffield Campaigning · 38 Headland Road · Sheffield, South Yorkshie S10 · United Kingdom