THE (EX) LABOUR 15

15 former Labour MPs have put their names to an advert today urging voters to "think again" about backing Labour.  This is not simply a collection of pro-Brexit, Tory-backing ex-members, far from it.  This is a diverse group coming at from a variety of political angles.  There are the ardent Brexiteers Tom Harris and Gisela Stuart, but there are also ardent Remainers such as Mike Gapes, Ann Coffey, Louise Ellman and Chris Leslie.  The latter group are certainly not advocating a vote for the Tories, just anyone but Corbyn.  However, as there are only two scenarios on Friday - either Brexit with Boris or the death of Brexit with Corbyn, they will clearly be relieved to see a Boris victory.  That says a lot about how emotive feelings are towards Corbyn and safeguarding the security of our nation - in that individuals so vociferously opposed to Brexit would rather see Brexit happen than have their former leader running the country.

Click on the images below for a better look at the full text.

IN FOCUS: LIVERPOOL

A supposed bastion of the hard left, Liverpool contains four Parliamentary constituencies inside its city boundaries.  A fifth seat - Garston and Halewood - overlaps with neighbouring Knowsley and consists of five Liverpool council wards and three Knowsley wards.  At the 2017 general election all five seats returned Labour MPs, but two of whom have since resigned from the party (Luciana Berger and Louise Ellman).

Population (2018 est):  494,814
City Council:  Labour, since 2010
Composition:  Labour (72 cllrs), Lib Dem (10), Green (4), Liberal (3), Ind (1)
Ethnic make-up (2011):  white 88.8%, Asian 4.1%, black 2.6%, mixed 2.5%, Arab 1.2%, other 0.8%
EU referendum:  58% Remain
Largest Parliamentary majority:  Liverpool Riverside (Louise Ellman, Ind*) majority 35,947
Smallest Parliamentary majority:  Liverpool Wavertree (Luciana Berger, Lib Dem*) majority 29,466

* Elected as Labour MPs

Liverpool has returned a solid slate of Labour MPs since the Labour landslide of 1997.  The last non-Labour MP elected here was the Liberal Democrat David Alton who held the seat of Liverpool Mossley Hill until its abolition in 1997.  All five MPs elected in 2017 had huge majorities and Liverpool Walton is regarded as the safest Labour seat in Britain.  However, of the five members elected in 2017 only two are defending their seats at the forthcoming election.  Two Jewish MPs (Berger and Ellman) were driven out of the party and Stephen Twigg has opted not to stand again.

The recent selection process to replace these MPs was marred by controversy.  Accusations of a stitch-up swirled as outsiders were installed on the ballot paper in favour of local candidates.  One of those in the running was a councillor all the way from Islington no less.  It wouldn't be the first time outsiders were chosen for the ultra safe seats of Liverpool, but this time the stitch-up was largely defeated.  It should be noted that only one of the five incumbents is a Scouser.  In a month's time this is highly likely to have risen to four out of five.

Although the Parliamentary return has been a solid red for more than two decades, contrary to popular opinion the city council has been less so.  The famed hard left have frequently lost control in Liverpool over the years.  Following the last Tory-led council of 1972 the council has actually spent more time out of Labour's control.  Intermittent periods of no overall control was followed by a stable period of Lib Dem control between 1998 and 2010.  Following the electoral backlash against Lib Dem involvement in the coalition government, Labour has asserted itself with an overwhelming majority.  This is currently the longest ever period of Labour control in Liverpool.

A secondary layer of local government here is the Liverpool City Region.  This combined authority also takes in the neighbouring local authorities of Halton, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton and the Wirral.  The elected mayor is Labour's Joe Anderson, also the leader of Liverpool City Council.

Liverpool voted to Remain in 2016 and all its MPs are Remainers, including three hard Remainers who in 2017 voted against triggering Article 50 (Ellman, Berger and Eagle).  Despite the city's reputation, Jeremy Corbyn found little support among its MPs during the 2016 leadership challenge, four out of five of whom backed Owen Smith.

Liverpool Riverside

Incumbent:  Louise Ellman (Ind), majority 35,947

Born:  Manchester, 1945

First elected:  1997, as a Labour MP

Leave/Remain:  Remain, voted against triggering Article 50

Notes:  Ellman is Jewish and quit Labour in October 2019 in protest at Labour anti-Semitism and Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.  This followed multiple attempts to have her deselected.  She became Dame Louise Ellman in 2018.  In the 2016 leadership challenge she endorsed Owen Smith.  Ellman is not standing in the forthcoming election.

Riverside was held by Labour since its creation in 1983

EU referendum:  73% Remain, strongest Remain seat in Liverpool

General election 2017

Louise Ellman (Lab) 40,599 (84.5%) +17.1%
Pamela Hall (Con) 4,652 (9.7%) +0.1%
Stephanie Pitchers (Green) 1,582 (3.3%) -8.8%
Tom Sebire (Lib Dem) 1,187 (2.5%) -1.4%

General election candidates 2019

Kim Johnson (Lab)

Sean Malkeson (Con)
Tom Crone (Green)

Robert McAllister-Bell (Lib Dem)
David Leach (Brexit)

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Liverpool Walton

Incumbent:  Dan Carden (Lab), majority 32,551
Born:  Liverpool, 1986
First elected:  2017
Leave/Remain:  Remain
Notes:  Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.
Scandals:  Hey Jews

Walton has been held by Labour since 1964.  After the last general election it is the safest Labour seat in Britain.

EU referendum:  52% Leave, only Leave seat in Liverpool

General election 2017

Dan Carden (Lab) 36,175 (85.7%) +4.4%
Laura Evans (Con) 3,624 (8.6%) +3.9%
Terry May (Ind) 1,237 (2.9%) New
Kris Brown (Lib Dem) 638 (1.5%) -0.8%
Colm Feeley (Green) 523 (1.2%) -1.2%

General election candidates 2019

Dan Carden (Lab)
Alex Phillips (Con)
David Newman (Lib Dem)
Ted Grant (Green)
Billy Lake (Liberal)

Note:  UKIP came second here with 9% of the vote in 2015, so the absence of a Brexit Party candidate is rather inexplicable.

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Liverpool Wavertree

Incumbent:  Luciana Berger (Lib Dem), majority 29,466
Born:  London, 1981
First elected:  2010, as a Labour MP
Leave/Remain:  Remain, voted against triggering Article 50
Notes:  Berger is Jewish and quit Labour in February 2019 alongside six other MPs to form Change UK.  She later switched to the Liberal Democrats, but will not defend her seat at the next election.  Instead, she will be contesting the London seat of Finchley & Golders Green.  Berger was privately educated.  In the 2016 leadership challenge she endorsed Owen Smith.

Wavertree was held by Labour since its creation in 1997

EU referendum:  65% Remain

General election 2017

Luciana Berger (Lab) 34,717 (79.5%) +10.2%
Denise Haddad (Con) 5,251 (12.0%) +2.0%
Richard Kemp (Lib Dem) 2,858 (6.5%) +0.5%

Ted Grant (Green) 598 (1.4%) -3.8%
Adam Heatherington (Ind) 216 (0.5%) New

General election candidates 2019

Paula Barker (Lab)

Catherine Mulhern (Con)

Richard Kemp (Lib Dem)

Kay Inckle (Green)

Adam Heatherington (Brexit)
Mick Coyne (Liberal)

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Liverpool West Derby

Incumbent:  Stephen Twigg (Lab), majority 32,908
Born:  London, 1966
First elected:  1997, for Enfield Southgate
Leave/Remain:  Remain, but voted to trigger Article 50
Notes:  Twigg rose to fame when he unseated cabinet minister Michael Portillo in 1997.  The Tories retook the seat in 2005 and Twigg was out of Parliament until 2010 when he was selected for the safe Labour seat of Liverpool West Derby.  Served on the front benches in both government and opposition, but is not standing this time.  Endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.
Scandals:  Drunk and incapable

West Derby has been held by Labour since 1964

EU referendum:  50.2% Remain

General election 2017

Stephen Twigg (Lab) 37,371 (82.8%) +7.6%
Paul Richardson (Con) 4,463 (9.9%) +3.3%
Steve Radford (Liberal) 2,150 (4.8%) -0.2%
Paul Parr (Lib Dem) 545 (1.2%) -1.1%
Will Ward (Green) 329 (0.7%) -1.7%
Graham Hughes (Ind) 305 (0.7) New

General election candidates 2019

Ian Byrne (Lab)

Tom Bradley (Con)
Steve Radford (Liberal)
Paul Parr (Lib Dem)
Will Ward (Green)
Ray Pearson (Brexit)

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

Garston & Halewood

Incumbent:  Maria Eagle (Lab), majority 32,149
Born:  East Yorkshire, 1961
First elected:  1997
Leave/Remain:  Remain, voted against triggering Article 50
Notes:  Elected to Parliament at the second attempt (she unsuccessfully contested Crosby in 1992).  Twin sister of fellow Labour MP Angela Eagle.  Served on the front benches in both government and opposition.  Endorsed Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership challenge.
Scandals:  Expenses scandal

Garston & Halewood has been held by Labour since its creation in 2010.  It largely follows the boundaries of the previous seat of Liverpool Halewood which was held by Labour between 1983-2010.  The new seat absorbed three council wards from neighbouring Knowsley.

EU referendum:  52% Remain

General election 2017

Maria Eagle (Lab) 41,599 (77.7%) +8.6%
Adam Marsden (Con) 9,450 (17.7%) +4.0%
Anna Martin (Lib Dem) 1,723 (3.2%) -1.5%
Lawrence Brown (Green) 750 (1.4%) -2.1%

General election candidates 2019

Maria Eagle (Lab)

Neva Novaky (Con)

Kris Brown (Lib Dem)
Jean-Paul Roberts (Green)
Jake Fraser (Brexit)
Hazel Williams (Liberal)

BTLP general election prediction:  Lab HOLD

NEXT WEEK:  Bristol

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SMEETH TO CLING ON

Labour MP Ruth Smeeth has given an emotional response to Louise Ellman's resignation.  Smeeth, who is also Jewish, spoke out in an interview published on her social media accounts.  She says she is not ready to give up on Labour (yet) and could well be the last remaining female Jewish MP for Labour after the next election - Corbyn's footsoldiers are currently trying to dislodge Margaret Hodge in Barking.  Smeeth has not been targeted for deselection (yet), but her suggestion that she may vote for Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Saturday may well be the trigger.

ELLMAN SLAMS CORBYN

Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman has been doing the media rounds this morning to discuss her decision to bin the Labour Party.  She denounces Jeremy Corbyn and the anti-Semitism scandal, in particular the prospect of Corbyn walking into Number Ten.  Why Ellman feels that this is more likely now than it was in 2017 is unclear, but with Brexit hanging in the balance of course anything is possible.

These are the interviews she conducted this morning with ITV, Sky and Radio 4's Today programme.

ELLMAN BINS THE LABOUR PARTY

Ellman becomes not only the second Jewish MP to be driven out of Labour, but the second Jewish female MP to be driven out of the party in Liverpool.  Luciana Berger was subjected to immense pressure and abuse to the extent that she attended the 2018 party conference under a police escort.  She will stand for the Liberal Democrats at the next election, but in London.

Anti-Semitism asides, there does appear to be a pattern emerging on Merseyside.  Ellman was facing a so-called 'trigger ballot' in which she was being forced to fight for her seat in a reselection process.  She had previously made complaints about an influx of hard left Momentum activists into her local CLP (Constituency Labour Party) and was clearly not guaranteed to win the ballot.  Berger would undoubtedly be facing the same process now, if she had stayed in the party.  Another who would have been facing the process was Frank Field, MP for Birkenhead.  He quit Labour last year after being targeted by activists over his support for Brexit.  A vote of no confidence was held by his CLP a month prior to his resignation, albeit this was non-binding.  A fourth MP on Merseyside, Blairite Stephen Twigg, has announced he is standing down at the next election.

It is the selection process for Twigg's seat that is currently creating lots of fuss in Liverpool Labour.  A popular local councillor has been snubbed, while at the same time various potential candidates from around the country have made it onto the shortlist, including a councillor all the way from Islington no less.  A coincidence or the hand of Corbyn and his enforcers?

Merseyside has clearly been singled out for Momentum's purge and it's no surprise as to why.  The region includes some of the safest Labour seats in the country, four of which are in the top ten safest seats of any party - including Ellman and Twigg's.  Therefore, it's prime territory to install your most loyal comrades.  It's a despotic shame that four rebels have fallen to make way for the Soviets, but that's the nature of the beast unleashed by the rise of Corbyn.

Louise Ellman's resignation letter can be seen below (click to enlarge).

JEW HATE COMING TO BRIGHTON

The Labour conference begins tomorrow and ends on Wednesday.  We can expect five days of lunacy and not a Union flag in sight.  Infighting has already kicked off before a single delegate has even set foot in Brighton, with rows over Brexit, the student wing and Clause IV.  Having said all that, a conference characterised by lunacy certainly hasn't done the Lib Dems much harm.  They appear to be enjoying a bounce following their insane anti-Brexit conference and have overtaken Labour according to the latest YouGov poll.

Labour's conference is taking place at the Brighton Centre, facing the seafront.  The venue just happens to be right next door to the Grand Hotel that was bombed by the IRA in 1984, killing five and injuring dozens.  Corbyn was famously arrested outside the Old Bailey protesting in support of the Brighton bomber.  Could they not have chosen somewhere a little less offensive?

Speaking of offence, Labour MP Louise Ellman is worried about another phenomenon, that which has dogged Corbyn's hard left Labour since he won the leadership.  The following video appeared on Twitter yesterday.  We considered sharing it on Facebook, but given recent censorship from the humour-devoid moderators in Dublin, we decided against it.

GALLERY OF SHAME

Most of the 161 MPs who signed the Church House Declaration yesterday appeared to be quite proud of themselves.  A handful tweeted a picture of themselves...

Heidi Allen (Ind) and Stephen Doughty (Lab)

Kevin Brennan (Lab)

Luciana Berger (Ind), Bambos Charalambous (Lab) and Stephen Doughty (Lab)

Janet Daby (Lab)

Louise Ellman (Lab)

Luciana Berger (Ind) and Rupa Huq (Lab)

Rachael Maskell (Lab)

Chris Matheson (Lab)

Madeleine Moon (Lab)

For a full list of who signed please click here.

THE LABOUR 90

If Jeremy Corbyn thought Chris Williamson's return to the party was going to escape unnoticed, he was sorely mistaken.  What began as angry tweets on Wednesday escalated to media interviews and a 90-strong letter of protest yesterday.  Rather unsurprisingly the first name on the letter is one Tom Watson, followed by 89 Labour MPs and peers.

Click to enlarge

Labour MPs were queuing up for media interviews to condemn Williamson's re-admittance in the strongest terms possible.  Louise Ellman told Channel 4 that "A party that does not deal with hatred and prejudices towards Jewish people is not fit to govern".  Neil Coyle lashed out at one of the members of the disciplinary panel that overturned Williamson's submission, namely Keith Vaz.  Speaking to Sky, Coyle referred to Vaz as 'Jim', referencing the rent-boy scandal in which Vaz called himself 'Jim - the washing machine salesman'.  Meanwhile, Vaz cried foul and said he was set up, having to attend the disciplinary hearing whilst in the middle of 'medical treatment'.  Of course, Jim.

Williamson himself has so far maintained a silence on the furore, except to thank the "avalanche of goodwill messages from grassroots members".  He'll need warm thoughts of the proletariat when he is next greeted by the cold shoulder by the Parliamentary Labour Party.