Corbyn activists axe youth wing over vile web slurs
LABOUR’S hard- Left Momentum group has disowned its own youth wing after members posted a slew of vile and controversial messages online.
Chairman Jon Lansman said its group for activists under 30 had brought the movement into ‘disrepute’.
In a series of posts on Twitter and Facebook, Momentum Youth and Students (MYS) supported the lynching of Tories, mocked the death of Princess Diana and celebrated the Russian revolution.
At the group’s annual conference, supporters demanded Labour and the trade unions organise illegal strikes to bring down the government.
Members of the youth wing also called for the UK to withdraw from Nato, defended antisemitism, praised Marxism – and argued that bakery chain Greggs should be nationalised.
Momentum, which grew as Jeremy Corbyn ran for Labour’s leadership, yesterday severed its ties with its own youth wing.
In an email headed ‘Dear Comrades’, Mr Lansman accused the group of acting without authorisation from Momentum leaders.
He said: ‘MYS has no validity within the structures of Momentum, and therefore no legitimacy to use Momentum’s name or logo. MYS social media accounts have been used in ways which have brought Momentum into disrepute and which are inconsistent with Momentum’s code of ethics.’
He added: ‘Given that Momentum Youth and Students has no formal recognition, whilst bringing the organisation into disrepute on social media, for the time being I respectfully ask those involved to cease to use Momentum’s name and to close down the social media accounts.’
The London branch of MYS has repeatedly posted controversial messages online, including retweeting a picture of a banner daubed with ‘Hang the Tories’.
In a blog post last night, former members of the MYS committee said the group had descended into ‘sectarian chicanery and personal vindictiveness’.
They wrote: ‘We have seen an increasingly hostile political culture characterised by a thuggish
‘Increasingly hostile culture’
hostility to “Trotskyists” and indeed to any critically minded Leftists, denunciation of even the most mildly put critical analysis or attempts to debate issues, putting sectarian vendettas above practical co-operation and campaigning, making bad- spirited jokes out of serious issues, and general uncomradeliness.’
Last month, the official ethics watchdog for holders of public office said party leaders needed to do more to rein in fringe groups such as Momentum, after it heard how the influx of new members into the Labour Party had contributed to the vitriolic nature of last year’s general election campaign. The Committee on Standards in Public Life said Tories were nearly twice as likely as their Labour opponents to face intimidation, which included threats of violence and sex attacks.
Momentum was set up four weeks after Mr Corbyn’s victory in the Labour leadership contest in 2015. It is run independently of Labour and Mr Corbyn – but since July all members have been required to also be members of the party, and it is seeking to become an official affiliate.
According to its website, it has 23,000 members, 200,000 supporters and 150 local groups.
THE Left has been quick to present Jeremy Hunt’s unwillingness to move from the Health department as an embarrassment to Mrs May. In fact, it is a rare example of a minister’s determination to see a hugely difficult and often unpopular job through.
Mr Hunt deserves credit both for continuing to brave the flak over the NHS and for shouldering the added responsibility for social care. With the problems of the two sectors inextricably intertwined, Mrs May was wise to accept they can only be solved together. With his proven dedication to the work, Mr Hunt is well qualified to achieve it. SO vile are social media postings by Momentum’s youth and student wing that even Jon Lansman, founder of Mr Corbyn’s stormtroopers, says they bring the organisation into disrepute. Will he now curb the offensive conduct of Momentum’s adult members as they bully Tory women and seek to drive Labour moderates from the party?