News / Politics
All but one Labour suspension lifted
Two out of three of the Labour councillors banned by their party ahead of the leadership election have had their suspensions lifted.
Three Labour councillors were censured by the National Executive Committee for comments made on social media and in public ahead of a bitter contest between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith which divided the party.
The suspensions meant the Labour Party temporarily lost its overall majority on Bristol City Council.
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Following interviews last week, Harriett Bradley and Mike Langley, who both made comments on Facebook which were deemed inappropriate, have now had their bans lifted and will rejoin their colleagues at City Hall.
But Hibaq Jama is still awaiting a review of her suspension. The Lawrence Hill councillor is believed to have been suspended over criticism of her MP Thangam Debbonaire at a rally for Corbyn on College Green.
Jama, the city’s first Somali-born councillor, poured scorn on Debbonaire’s comments that male refugees coming to the UK need to be formally taught how to treat women. Jama told a crowd of more than a thousand people: “Her words are appalling. Her language was irresponsible and it was downright dangerous.”
Jama could not be reached for comment.
Bradley, who said she was suspended for calling the NEC “tyrants” on Facebook, told Bristol24/7 her suspension was lifted last week. She called for a review of the suspension process.
“The process of being suspended is deeply painful psychologically,” she said. “I pointed this out to the investigators. I hope they took it in. I think the whole system of handling complaints needs reviewing.
“We in Bristol have a robust internal mechanism for dealing with these issues through the whip and the Constituency Labour Party chairs. National officers do not need to be involved. I would also question whether appointed officers should be sitting in judgement on elected members with long records of activism and service to the party.”
The party’s south west office said it could not comment on the specifics of individual suspensions.