An Open Letter from Labour Party BAME Members and Allies to Keir Starmer.
Labour Party Racism towards its BAME members.
Dear Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party 5 May 2020
We BAME Members and Allies reject the doctrine that you have publicly committed to implement in the Labour Party that suggests – Any member of the Labour Party who attends an event where others present are members or former members who have been suspended or expelled should themselves be suspended and expelled from the Labour Party.
As Labour Members, we have not agreed that policy which while it may be well meaning undermines political debate and the freedom to campaign for needed change. We are not aware of when that doctrine was included in the Labour Party Rule Book which is updated every year after Conference.
In practice the above doctrine means that a member who talks about Racism against themselves or against others in the Labour Party at any event public or otherwise where unbeknown to them a person suspended or expelled from the Labour Party is present can themselves be suspended and expelled. This doctrine victimises people for complaining and speaking out about Racism.
That is what has happened to Black MPs Diane Abbott and Bell Ribeiro-Addy because the Labour Party has reprimanded them for being at an online Zoom meeting of nearly 600 people where unbeknown to them two people expelled from the Labour Party were also present. It should be noted that all participants at this event were sitting in their own houses.
The background to the racism against these Black MPs is as follows – in April 2020 a Leaked Labour Party Governance and Legal Unit (GLU) report alleged appalling racism towards Black Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Dawn Butler and Clive Lewis. On 29 April 2020 Diane Abbott attended an online Zoom event with her former chief of staff, new Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, to speak about the racist behaviour of Labour Party officials indicated in the leaked report. Instead of suspending the alleged racists, the Labour Party is reported to have issued warnings to the Black MPs – effectively reprimanding them in public for bringing attention to the specific and endemic racism directed against them from within the Labour Party.
Application of such drastic policy is racist because we BAME Labour Party members are deterred from speaking at events about racism against ourselves or against others for fear that the Labour Party will suspend and expel us.
We call on you Keir Starmer and the Labour Party to publicly announce that the Labour Party will not apply such doctrine and to apologise to the Black MPs for any warnings you may have given as to their conduct – which would be entirely unwarranted – and for the public announcements made by your officers to the effect that the Black MPs had been reprimanded.
In Solidarity
Labour Party BAME members and Allies.
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