The party within the Labour Party
Its members have been called a rabble, dogs and parasites. What is Momentum and where did it spring from?
Why is Momentum so controversial?
Since Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader, in 2015, the Labour Party has been riven by civil war, and Momentum – a grassroots left-wing campaign group – is at the forefront of it. Its members have been accused of trying to “purge” moderate MPS, and of abusing and intimidating Corbyn’s critics. Labour deputy Tom Watson sees it as a vehicle for Trotskyist “entryists” (people who infiltrate a party to subvert its policies) and dismisses its members as a “rabble”. Corbyn’s recent leadership rival Owen Smith says Momentum is “trying to use our movement as a host body, seeking to occupy it, hollow it out”. The Times says it’s “undermining British values and democracy”. It is often compared it to the 1980s hard-left group Militant (see box).
How did Momentum originate?
It grew out of the campaign to elect Corbyn in 2015 (the first leadership election to be decided on a “one member, one vote” basis rather than the old system, which gave more power to MPS and unions). Founded by Jon Lansman, a veteran left-wing activist and an old comrade of Corbyn and Tony Benn, its aims are to “organise in every town, city and village to secure the election of a progressive-left Labour Party at every level, and to create a mass movement for real transformative change”. On the first score, it has been very successful: it has 18,000 members, in more than 150 local groups around Britain, which organise regular meetings and rallies. It held a parallel conference at the same time as Labour’s, called The World Transformed. It even has a Momentum Kids wing, dubbed “Tiny Trots” (though Momentum says it merely provides childcare for campaigners).
And what is Momentum’s appeal?
The political climate has altered in the wake of the financial crisis. Disillusioned by mainstream politics, swathes of left-leaning voters have been energised by people with a more radical vision of the future: Bernie Sanders in the US, Podemos in Spain, Momentum (and Corbyn) in Britain. And the internet has made it far easier for them to organise, and register allegiance to, such movements. Labour itself now has more than half a million members, up from 200,000 before the last election, making it the biggest political party in Western Europe. Most seem to want a Labour movement free of the taint of Blairism, which they see as right-wing, heavily spun and contaminated by the Iraq war. “No one is trying to ‘take over’ Labour,” as one Momentum member puts it. “All the people I’ve met want to return Labour to what it was before Blair took it over.” And if many are then drawn to Momentum, that – as Paul Mason, a journalist aligned with the group, explains it – is because Labour’s official structures are “dire, dull and bureaucratic”.
Is it a Trotskyist group?
No. Momentum’s stated aims are traditional, idealistic left-wing ones: to redistribute wealth; to put people and the planet before corporate interests; to end discrimination. It is just one of several groups inside the party (the centre-left Progress is another) pushing its own agenda. Momentum supporters feel the mainstream media (the “MSM”, as they call it) has it in for them, dismissing them as naive, loony, and in thrall to the Trotskyist Alliance for Workers’ Liberty (AWL), which has called on its members to “flood” the Labour Party. And it’s true that in Liverpool Riverside, Brighton and Hove, and other constituencies, AWL activists linked to Momentum have been involved in efforts to unseat MPS who don’t back Corbyn. But as Momentum’s defenders point out, AWL members remain a tiny minority. Momentum is far bigger than any Trotskyist group in Britain has ever been, and its members are mostly young and unaffiliated to rival left-wing groups.
What about the charges of intimidating Corbyn’s critics?
Prominent critics have certainly been abused and threatened, on social media and at meetings, particularly after many of Labour’s front bench resigned in the summer. Angela Eagle’s constituency office in Wallasey was damaged after she stood against Corbyn for the leadership; the Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire was heckled at a meeting after resigning from the shadow cabinet. And Louise Ellman, the Liverpool Riverside MP, said Momentum activists had made abusive, anti-semitic remarks at a constituency meeting. Momentum, however, insists that it campaigns ethically, and that most criticisms of its members are “inaccurate” slurs. There is some truth in this: there is no evidence at all, for instance, that Eagle’s office was damaged by any Momentum members.
Why does Momentum feel so angry with Labour MPS?
Many on the party’s Left, not just Momentum members, think the Parliamentary Labour Party has attempted a “coup” against Labour’s elected leader (its MPS voted no confidence in Corbyn, by 172 to 40). They’re livid at how the party’s national executive tried to influence the latest leadership election by excluding newer, likely pro-corbyn, members, and how it has “purged” thousands of his supporters for alleged offences. Though Momentum insists it doesn’t campaign for the deselection of MPS, it’s clear many members, reasonably enough, would like to choose MPS who reflect their views. And the pending boundary review, which will oblige many MPS to reapply for their seats, will leave them in a vulnerable position. For instance, a recent report suggests Momentum “controls” every constituency party in Bristol.
How do Labour MPS counter this?
Most argue, also reasonably enough, that they have a democratic mandate from their constituents, which counts for far more than the views of a small number of self-selecting members. Momentum may regard Corbyn as a messiah, but polls suggest Labour is heading for its worst defeat since the 1930s. At root, it’s a battle between two forms of democratic accountability, which shows no sign of being settled any time soon. Labour, says The Guardian’s Owen Jones, a supporter of Momentum, is facing an “existential crisis”.