News / Politics
Suspended council candidate accuses Labour of ‘crackdown on democracy’
A council candidate has slammed Labour’s track record on representation and accused the party of a “wider crackdown” on democracy.
Darran McLaughlin got into politics after the 2017 General Election, believing there was a strong appetite for “transformative socialist policies”, and was one of the first to complete the Bernie Grant Leadership Programme, developed to address the lack of black members, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME).
He was due to stand in the upcoming Bristol City Council elections in May as the Labour candidate for Bishopston & Ashley Down ward but is unable to stand after receiving an administrative suspension.
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The disciplinary action came after members of the Bristol West Constituency Labour Party considered a motion on the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn at a meeting in November. The general secretary of the Labour Party, David Evans, had issued instructions stating local parties could not question the findings of the Equality & Human Rights Commission report on antisemitism in the Labour Party or pass any motions disagreeing with it.
Momentum Bristol members are now balloting members to support a campaign strike over the deselection of candidates with outstanding disciplinary cases, accusing the party of dragging out the process and undermining party values.
The group is instructing members not to campaign for any candidate who has not signed a letter in support of those who have lost their candidacies.
McLaughlin lives in the Bishopston & Ashley Down ward he was hoping to represent and was elected as part of Momentum’s national political leadership last year.
He is one of the founders of the Bristol Transformed festival, held in 2019, and also featured in Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership election campaign video.
https://www.facebook.com/KeirStarmerLabour/videos/2780332582028669
McLaughlin says he waited nearly two months to receive the evidence for his suspension and has still not been given a date for a hearing.
He told Bristol24/7 he joined the party at a time when they were “crying out for more young, BAME and working class candidates” and argues his suspension is playing into a wider pattern of underrepresentation for black men.
“Labour has a shameful record on representation,” said McLaughlin. “From the parliamentary Labour Party to the National Executive Committee, black men are systematically underrepresented.
“The party established the Bernie Grant leadership programme specifically to rectify this imbalance. I was part of that programme, but now I’ve been arbitrarily deprived of my right to represent my community in local government. If Labour is serious about being an anti-racist party, we need to select candidates who reflect the communities they want to represent.”
Darran McLaughlin has slammed Labour’s track record on representation and accused the party of a “wider crackdown” on democracy – photo courtesy of Darran McLaughlin
Momentum Bristol members claim the decision to remove McLaughlin as a candidate is just the latest in a series of manoeuvres designed to “marginalise socialists in Labour”.
They are demanding “the timely resolution of all outstanding disciplinary cases, particularly so that candidates are not deselected without their cases even being considered”.
Bristol24/7 has approached Labour’s regional office for comment.
Main photo courtesy of Darran McLaughlin
Read more: Labour suspends pro-Corbyn party members in Bristol
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