Hard-Left faction claims first scalp in war on the moderates
MOMENTUM has claimed its first scalp as it launches a purge of moderate Labour parliamentary candidates in marginal seats.
The hard-Left group ousted Kevin McKeever in Northampton South and replaced him with a trade union official and Corbyn loyalist. Mr McKeever was removed despite reducing the majority in the Toryheld seat from 6,004 to 3,793 at the 2015 election, and then to 1,159 last year.
His ousting, the first as Labour begins to pick candidates for the next general election, comes as Momentum tightens its grip on the party.
Mr McKeever received a chilling death threat in 2016 when he was accused of involvement in a ‘coup’ attempt against Jeremy Corbyn. The public relations executive was told his ‘blood is the price of your treachery’ and warned he would be ‘coxed’ – an apparent reference to the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.
The letter, sent to his workplace, read: ‘Hello comrade, we’ve watched you leave this building.’ Mr McKeever lost out in his re-selection after trades unions mounted an operation to make postal worker Gareth Eales the candidate. Local councillor Mr Eales received the backing of ten unions, including the Communication Workers Union (CWU), where he has been an official for the past 18 years.
Mr McKeever yesterday wrote on Facebook of his disappointment, while the CWU posted: ‘Brilliant effort from all involved.’ Momentum leader Jon Lansman gleefully welcomed Mr Eales’s selection, writing on Twitter that it was ‘fantastic news’. Later today, he is expected to be elected to the party’s ruling national executive committee, along with two other hard-Left activists.
Mr Lansman admitted that his Momentum activists have unsettled many Labour MPs and candidates, who fear they could be deselected.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘I think what has happened with the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader ... and the trebling of the membership... is that the Labour Party has changed – and yes, that is unsettling for people – I understand that and I sympathise with that. But that is what has happened and it has been greatly to the benefit of the Labour Party before those 600,000 people knocked on millions of doors, had millions of conversations with people, their friends at work, next door neighbours and they achieved the best result that Labour has had for ages.
‘There’s no reason for any hard-working MP who campaigns hard with their constituents and the members of their local party to feel nervous about anything.’
Mr Lansman suggested Labour rules could be changed so MPs have less power when the party picks its next leader.
Last month, the Government’s Committee on Standards in Public Life said party leaders needed to rein in fringe groups such as Momentum following the vitriolic nature of last year’s election campaign. Momentum, which claims to have 23,000 members and 200,000 supporters, is also facing investigation by the Electoral Commission into claims it broke the law ahead of the vote.
‘Millions of conversations’