Labour at war as far-Left ‘plots secret takeover’
LABOUR was in crisis last night after deputy leader Tom Watson warned of an attempt by the far-Left to take complete control of the party.
The revelation came as details emerged of a secret deal between the extreme Left wing group Momentum – which helped Jeremy Corbyn win the leadership – and Britain’s largest trade union, Unite.
Mr Watson said the alliance could “destroy” Labour, claims that put him at loggerheads with under-fire Mr Corbyn.
Furious Labour MPs last night challenged the leader about the plot in their weekly meeting. One said a row had kicked off “big time”.
Mr Watson shed light on the plot after a recording emerged of Jon Lansman, the founder of Momentum – the grassroots activists group which helped propel Mr Corbyn to the leadership – discussing the prospects of gaining Unite’s backing.
Warning
Mr Lansman was said to have told supporters he expected the union, together with the Communication Workers Union, to affiliate to Momentum if Len McCluskey wins his battle for re-election as Unite general secretary.
A tape of Mr Lansman’s remarks was said to have been secretly recorded at a meeting of a newlyformed Momentum branch in southwest London earlier this month.
He reportedly said: “Assuming that Len McCluskey wins the general secretaryship, which I think he will, Unite will affiliate to Momentum and will fully participate in Momentum, as will the CWU.”
The claims were denied last night by the union, whose own leadership contest will see moderate Gerard Coyne taking on Mr McCluskey.
But Mr Watson last night had a dire warning for Mr Corbyn over the plans of Momentum and Unite, the party’s biggest donor. He said: “They organised for him, but I’m not sure if Jeremy knows there’s a secret plan.
“I’m the deputy leader and I didn’t know about it until I heard this recording.
“I regard this as a battle for the future existence of the Labour Party. This is high stakes.
“Jon Lansman has outlined a plan with Len McCluskey, leader of Unite, to take control of the Labour Party.”
As Labour’s shadow cabinet gathered for an away day meeting, he added he wanted the Labour leader to “deal with” Mr Lansman.
It was reported that shadow chancellor John McDonnell and fellow hardliner Diane Abbott lead attacks on Mr Watson at the meeting which was packed with Mr Corbyn’s allies.
While the ongoing Labour civil war came out into the open again, Mr McDonnell, a key ally of Mr Corbyn, claimed Mr Watson’s attack was an attempt to influence the Unite leadership contest.
Mr McDonnell said: “He is trying to influence the election of the general secretary of Unite and has dragged the Labour Party into this, completely unnecessarily.
“It’s all about Tom and the internal battle he is trying to wage within Unite. Dragging the party into this is disappointing.”
Unite’s acting general secretary Gail Cartmail insisted there were “no plans” to affiliate to Momentum and said Mr Watson’s attack was “extraordinary”.
Responding to the initial claims from Mr Watson, Mr Lansman said: “For 20 years the Left was denied a voice.
“We will deny a voice to no one. We face big challenges and we need our mass membership to win again.”
Mr Watson and Mr Corbyn attempted to provide a united front by putting out a statement calling for unity across the party.