Political power and influence no longer relies on dazzling rhetoric or innovative policies, but the ability to control the disciplinary committee and other internal bodies. People with opposing political ideas can be sanctioned, expelled and denounced, producing a chilling effect on internal and external debate.

This post is not aimed at targetting any particular party or group, but to highlight the dangers of the misuse of organizational structures.

The Stalinist purges in Russia and Cultural Revolution in China show that this is nothing new. Although it would be difficult to make direct comparisons between these and the state of UK politics at present, there is one worrying similarity. Many people are being denounced and targetted, not only in their political parties but also in their workplace for ‘thought crime’. However, there are a growing number of cases where this has been challenged¹.

Purging The Left In Labour

The debate between the left and the right within the Labour Party has a long history, including the contest between the left wing Bevanites and right wing Gaitskellites in the 1950s. In the 1980s ‘moderates’ within the Labour Party left to form the Social Democratic Party.

The Labour Party also carried out a purge of the left wing Militant Tendency. Although I am in no way a supporter of Militant, I would question the way that the purge took place and how much it was the response to newspaper articles about “Trot conspirators inside Labour Party”. Are organized lobby groups allowed within the Labour Party? At the time Militant were pushing for rapid implementation of Clause IV which was still part of the party’s constitution.

Militant itself is not averse to denouncing its political opponent. After the Poll Tax riots in 1990 Tommy Sheridan called for people to ‘name names’ providing the identities of those they accused of organising violence – many of whom were politic opponents of Militant.

Purges have continued to this date^3,4. It is concerning that much of this has been done via the accusation of anti-Semitism⁵ which is not only undemocratic but also discredits any legitimate claims against real anti-Semitism. It is interesting to note that Jewish people were five times more likely to be purged due to ‘anti-Semitism’ and members of Jewish Voice for Labour (JVL) being twenty times more likely to be purged⁶.

‘For the first time in my life as a Jew living in the UK I feel persecuted, hated and shunned by the apparatus of the Labour Party and the loud voices of some sections of the Jewish community’

– Jenny Manson, JVL co-chair

Ahead of the 2016 leadership election, it is alleged that the Labour Party used Nationbuilder software to match members with their Twitter and Facebook profiles and this led to some members being suspended for tweets which included the letters ‘rat’, searched for in this system and returning tweets that included the words ‘democratic’ and ‘rational’⁴.

The Green Party

One of the areas where the apparatchiks have been at work within the Green Party is over women’s rights.

Although I am not, and never have been, a member or supporter of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW), I would like to note that this problem is not exclusive to the party. For example, Helen Mary Jones, from Plaid Cymru, had to apologize after sharing a tweet that criticized people who equated trans discrimination with the Holocaust⁷. The Liberal Democrats are being sued by Natalie Bird after she was banned from holding party office for 10 years after a complaint about her wearing a T-shirt titled “Woman: Adult, Human, Female”⁸. Joanna Cherry was removed as spokesperson for the SNP after accusations of ‘transphobia’⁹ and Helen Steel was ejected from the Anarchist Bookfair¹⁰. However, the dispute about women’s rights has been most public within the GPEW.

At present, there are three people taking the GPEW to court over their treatment by the party: Emma Bateman¹¹, Dawn Furness¹² and Shahrar Ali ¹³. Shahrar’s case is still awaiting judgement and the other two are still waiting for trial. However, I will not be going into details about these cases in this post.

Both Emma and Dawn were co-chairs of Green Party Women, and both won the majority of the votes despite their gender critical views. However, they received disciplinary procedures due to their views on women’s rights. Despite this, Green Party Women have remained a strong voice for women’s rights within the Green Party. However, it has now been disaffiliated from Green Party England¹⁴ and Wales and members targetted¹⁵.

Alison Teal, GPEW candidate for Sheffield Central, whose name “is synonymous with the Sheffield street tree campaign”¹⁶ has now been suspended for alleged ‘transphobic comments’ and stated “Using the disciplinary process to manage differences of opinion rather than engage in discussion is troubling and disappointing”¹⁷.

It would be reasonable, at this point, for the apparatchiks to think that the hole they have dug is deep enough, but they keep digging. Green Seniors have now been targetted, with three prominent members being put on a ‘No Fault Suspension’ just hours before their annual general meeting. All three are long term committed members of GPEW and include the oldest member, who is ninety-nine¹⁸.

For those who are interested, Green Party Women’s Declaration have produced a couple of videos about this issue^19,20.

Fighting The Apparatchiks

The problems of this misuse of power is not new, and neither are the various steps needed to mitigate it. In the ‘Western’ world separation of power has been discussed since Aristotle and has been covered by thinker such as Locke and Montesquieu and many countries have such ‘checks and balances’ in their constitution so that their legislative and executive branch is separate from the judicial branch.

It is worrying that some political parties have ignored these concerns and are unable to uphold basic democratic principles within their own organisations and political debate has been replaced with ‘administrative methods’: a bureaucratic and proceduralist way of disciplining thought.’²¹.

One of the issues that face organisations is that while there are many who take in interest in campaigns and leadership issues, few take an interest in internal structures and processes with many people being elected to powerful internal positions with few votes and little accountability.

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¹ Employment Tribunal rulings on gender-critical beliefs in the workplace; House of Commons Library; 7 December 2022 (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/employment-tribunal-rulings-on-gender-critical-beliefs-in-the-workplace/)

² British win repeal of Poll Tax (flat tax), 1989-1990; Global Nonviolent Action Database (https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/british-rebel-against-poll-tax-1987-1990)

³ The Labour Party is seeing yet another exodus of left-wing members; Canary; 16 March 2022 (https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2022/03/16/the-labour-party-is-seeing-yet-another-exodus-of-left-wing-members/)

⁴ Denunciation – key to understanding the purge of the Labour Left; Labour Outlook; 21 September 2021 (https://labouroutlook.org/2021/09/21/denunciation-key-to-understanding-the-purge-of-the-labour-left-by-maia-kirby-save-our-socialists/)

⁵ The Labour Files, Al Jazeera Investigations; 2022 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elp18OvnNV0&list=PLFehkBwHTPZEiUkFTWciUofeBD93sLaBE)

⁶ UK’s Labour accused of ‘purging Jews’ from party over antisemitism claims; Middle East Eye; 2021 (https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-labour-antisemitism-accused-purging-jews-over-claims)

⁷ Plaid Cymru rocked by transphobia row after genderqueer election candidate quits; Daily Post; 5 March 2021 (https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/plaid-cymru-rocked-transphobia-row-19966351)

⁸ Lib Dems sued over 10-year ban on mother who said ‘trans women aren’t women’; The Telegraph; 11 June 2021 (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/11/abuse-victim-sues-lib-dems-ten-year-ban-trans-women-arent-women/)

⁹ Joanna Cherry sacking brings SNP trans rights row off Twitter and into the light; The Guardian; 5 February 2021 (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/05/joanna-cherry-sacking-brings-snp-trans-rights-row-off-twitter-and-into-the-light)

¹⁰ My Statement on events at London Anarchist Bookfair 2017; Helen Steel; 22 November 2017 (https://helensteel12.wordpress.com/2017/11/22/my-statement-on-events-at-london-anarchist-bookfair-2017/)

¹¹ The Green Party must respect our sex!; Emma Bateman (https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/equality-act-investigation-aga/)

¹² Institutional Sexism in the Green Party; Dawn Furness (https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/dawn-furness/)

¹³ Sex-Based Rights vs Cancel Culture; Shahrar Ali (https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/sex-based-rights-vs-cancel-culture/)

¹⁴ Green Party Women under attack; Zoe Hatch (Co-Chair GPW); 13th October 2023 (https://gcgreens.uk/green-party-women-under-attack/)

¹⁵ Message from Zoe Hatch to Green Party Members; Zoe Hatch; 22 October 2022 (https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/message-from-zoe-hatch-to-green-party)

¹⁶ Green councillor Alison Teal bids farewell to Sheffield Council just months after the coalition; The Star; 11th February 2022 (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/why-green-councillor-alison-teal-is-bidding-farewell-to-sheffield-council-3564344)

¹⁷ Alison Teal: Sheffield Green election candidate in same constituency as Eddie Izzard suspended from party in trans rights row; The Star; 23rd November 2022 (https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/alison-teal-sheffield-green-election-candidate-in-same-constituency-as-eddie-izzard-suspended-from-party-in-trans-rights-row-3928986)

¹⁸ Open Letter to GPEW Leaders and those in leadership positions; Gender Critical Greens; 16 January 2024 (https://gcgreens.uk/open-letter-to-gpew-leaders-and-those-in-leadership-positions/)

¹⁹ Green Womens Declaration The Process is the Punishment; Green Women’s Declaration; 4 December 2023 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuEGp-9qC8)

²⁰ GWD Speak Out Webinar 22 01 24; Green Women’s Declaration; 22 Janusary 2024 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkpmUp_Az-Q)

²¹ The Green party’s gender intolerance problem; The Spectator; 22 March 2021 (https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-green-party-s-gender-intolerance-problem/)