Alice Mahon Leaves the Labour Party.

I count Alice Mahon as one of the finest socialists I have known. She is a good friend and comrade. In the light of Alice announcing that she has left the Labour Party I put out the following statement as Chair of the LRC.

Alice Mahon was one of the hardest working, most dedicated and principled members of Parliament in the Labour Partys entire history. The Labour leadership clique should sit-up and recognise the Labour Party has a serious problem on its hands. When someone as Labour to the core as Alice Mahon is forced to leave the Labour Party, the Labour leadership must appreciate the political catastrophe that is emerging.

Alice is a member of the LRC's National Executive Committee and will continue to campaign for socialism in this role.

Smear Campaign: This is not the Labour Way.;

I have posted this article on the Guradian's Comment is Free Webpage on the issue of the smear campaign.

This is not the Labour way

Smear tactics like those suggested by Damian McBride drag the party into the gutter, which is why I have called for an inquiry.

In the light of press reports of the attempted smear campaign against the Tories I have called upon the prime minister to establish an independent inquiry into how this smear campaign was set up, who was involved and who knew what and when in the Labour hierarchy.

Smear tactics like this are not the Labour way. They drag the Labour party into the gutter. Coming on top of the revelations about some Labour MPs' expenses they just add further to the undermining of the belief that Labour party supporters have placed in our party. Labour members and supporters have not worked and sacrificed over generations to create a party that resorts to this type of gutter politics.

The prime minister needs to act decisively to restore the standing of the Labour party by launching immediately an independent inquiry into how this smear campaign was planned. If we are to restore the reputation and standing of the party, key questions have to be answered. Who in the party was in any way aware of the campaign? Which party officials, advisers or politicians were consulted? Under whose authority were the perpetrators working? When did senior members of the party become aware of this campaign and what action did they take?

We need to root out these practices and elements within the party so that in future Labour can be seen to be above reproach.

There was a collective sigh of relief in 2007 when in his first speech after taking over the Labour leadership from Blair, Gordon Brown promised a new politics. His personal ratings collapsed when that summer of promise turned into an autumn of spin over a potential election. His return of the master of spin, Peter Mandelson, to cabinet did little to reassure the electorate that the era of spin was over.

If there isn't a drastic rooting out from within the Labour party of the unhealthy style of politics that the smear campaign revealed in the last few days how can we seriously ask the electorate to trust us ever again.

Political rivalry is one thing but personal smear campaigns scrape the barrel of political infighting. If bitter party name-calling turns people off then smear politics just destroys all credibility in the aims of politicians, the role of political parties and the political process itself.

This smear story can only be killed off by decisive action and that action needs to come from the top, very publicly and very firmly. The Labour party needs to look at itself very closely and ask the question, how can we have allowed the party to degenerate to this.

One of the reasons is that the undermining of democracy within the Labour party by New Labour over the last 15 years has resulted in a small arrogant clique now controlling this party to such an extent that they believe that they can act with impunity.

If we can admit that, there is a chance of change and a possibility of reviving the Labour party that once was trusted.

Debate on Inquiry into Iraq War

The Government promised that there would be an inquiry into the Iraq war at the appropriate time. Now that the Prime Minister has announced that British troops are to be withdrawn later this year MPs are debating today whether the inquiry should now be timetabled. This inquiry is aimed at revealing what exactly happened in the run up to the decision to take this country to war and to discover at long last the truth behind the decision making in Government. As someone who opposed the war and was sceptical about the Government’s motives I welcome an early inquiry. I believe that this inquiry is long overdue. I interviewed Jeremy Corbyn MP who has been an ardent opponent of the war and has called consistently for an independent inquiry.

Bank Bonus Debate Exposes Political Bankruptcy

The Government's weak-kneed response over bank bonuses and nationalising the banks is pushing the Brown administration to the edge of crisis. People are demanding action and yet by prevaricating Gordon Brown is allowing the Tories opportunistically to take the high ground. The bank bonus debate has exposed the political bankruptcy of the leaderships of all the major parties.

Brown needs to stop faffing around and act fast to end the bonuses to the fat cats, and to take control by nationalising the banks. His credibility is draining fast and swift action is needed if this administration is to survive.

The bonus scandal has also exposed that whilst the fat cats on the Bank Boards have been lapping up the bonuses, many of their staff have been on low pay, dependent on the annual bonus shareout to top up their low salaries.

Each year for five years I have tabled motions in Parliament codemning the big city bonuses as obscene and calling for action with no response from the Government. People's patience with the Government is fast runing out. Decisive action now could turn this around.

Brown needs to realise that for the general public the Governments treatment of Bankers Bonuses is the key test of Who will Pay for the Crisis

I have called upon the Prime Minister today to get a grip and take decisive action over the issue of Bankers bonuses.

Gordon Brown has completely failed to appreciate that the way in which the Government deals with Bankers bonuses is seen as a key test of who will pay for the economic crisis they have caused. Allowing bonuses to be paid to the higher paid bankers who caused this crisis by their greed and recklessness will be seen as fundamentally unfair. Fumbling around with nothing more than ineffective warnings of inquiries is pointless. The Prime Minister needs to get a grip and take the decisive action needed to end the bonus culture and send a clear message that the binge banking party is over.