Dear fellow Colville Labour members and neighbours,
It's been an honour and privilege to serve as your Labour Colville Councillor since May 2014, when I and labour colleagues reclaimed Colville as a Labour ward - taken back from 2 Lib Dems and I independent. And I am proud that our work and record resulted in the doubling of my own vote in the 2018 election.
So it is with regret and disappointment that I am informing you I am not re-standing at the next election in May 2022. I feel unable to continue and stand as a Labour candidate as I am unable to support and represent the current CLP (Constituency Labour Party) leadership and the K&C Labour Group of Councillors leadership.
I am a left-wing socialist and I fully support Jeremy Corbyn's 2017 and 2019 Manifesto, but I am also a social-democrat and my life's career has been actively promoting and supporting democratic socialism, civil-society organisations and human rights movements in the Middle-East, Palestine, Iraq and Eastern Europe, and I am devastated that it is back here in this country, in the Labour Party, in Kensington, and since 2017 I have come up against such extreme authoritarianism, factionalism, bullying, intimidation and repression of alternative voices as is current in the Kensington CLP and Labour Group of councillors.
A very small number of Labour Councillors now control leadership of the Labour Group, the CLP Executive and CLP branches. The same few individuals dominating each branch of our local party. And since early 2020 they have made new members feel very unwelcome and publicly intimidated and attacked their views at CLP and Branch meetings and reduced active attendance to a handful. They have presented slates of uncontested and unknown names as nominees for CLP Exec elections resulting in a cabal of @26 CLP Exec members who control our local CLP: using the creation of job-shares to create a party within a party.
They have also ensured through bullying and intimidation, and disregarding Labour Party rules, that mainstream Labour councillors have been stripped of all positions on the Labour Group and Council's scrutiny committees - even if it means that there are Labour vacancies on some key committees - resulting in little or no scrutiny of the Council leadership by the Labour Group since 2019.
They do not represent the Labour Party and this Kensington CLP where we now have a majority of mainstream socially-democratic members.
Seven Labour councillors, the majority, have submitted complaints of bullying and intimidation to London Region but given other priorities these have yet to be looked into by headquarters.
I am therefore not re-standing as I feel my energies and experience are better used as a local activist and campaigner and outside the Kensington Labour Party.
I will continue to be a local Colville activist, especially as regards social housing and the local economy and markets, as I have been for the past 25 years, and look forward to working with you all as we continue to campaign together on relevant local issues.
I hope you will support my colleagues Ian Henderson and Nadia Nail as they stand to continue to represent Colville members and residents as your local Labour ward Councillors.
In solidarity
and warm wishes
Monica
Councillor Press
Starmer,
ReplyDeleteGet your nose in your books and suspend the
Kensington Labour Party and the Trots who are
intimidating Party Members.
Monica,
ReplyDeleteWhat will we do without you?
Five Labour Councillors out of a total of twelve on RBKC Council are being bullied.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy...EDC style!!
ReplyDeleteRubbing shoulders with Momentum types taught EDC the dirty tricks of the Trotskyism.
DeleteThank you Cllr Press for your service and for speaking honestly.
ReplyDeleteThe farewell letter that Cllr Press wrote is no doubt shocking to those who aren't familiar with Kensington Labour, but to those who are familiar with the way that Cllr Dent Coad and her minion Cllr Lari operate, this letter will come as no surprise.
It seems that the only hope of turning things around in Kensington is intervention by the London Regional Labour Party. The fact that they haven't intervened isn't particularly shocking. For one thing, dysfunctional local Labour Parties are far from an isolated occurrence, so they will have their hands full with other matters. For another thing, London Region has historically not treated RBKC as a priority area so it's not surprising that they are taking a hands off approach.
A sad sad indictment of Stalinist policies and methods being pursued by The Kensington Labour Party. Its no wonder they lost the election if this is how they treat one of their 'elected officials'. Thank you Kensington Labour Party, you make our task far easier. K and C Conservatives.
ReplyDeleteDear Monica,
ReplyDeleteWe need half a dozen more councillors like you.Never mind Labour HQ, they're useless. send your heartfelt letter to Keir.
How can Emma Dent Coad, the "cuddly" socialist and anti-marxist allow this to happen?
Hi Monica,
DeleteYou want people to vote Labour in Colville Ward when you have gone. I think Ian Henderson and Nadia Nail are excellent councillors.
How can I vote Labour when the Labour Party is being led a Trotskyite revisionist dance by Dent Coad and Lari?
Strange how Labour bang on about being 'comrades' but we ever see much sign of 'comradely' behaviour. They always seem to be at each others throats
ReplyDeleteDon't worry. If Coad goes for parliament again, she won't get in. I remember how intellectually inadequate she was in parliament compared to her Tory predecessors - Alan Clark, Michael Portillo and Malcolm Rifkind.
ReplyDeleteLari is the one to watch. A rich leftie. Dangerous types. Fragrant too......
DeleteNow don't forget that bourgeois Emma "Medici" Dent Coad has a strong sense of entitlement to be MP for Kensington. She was supposedly deprived of being there by Sam Gymiah who poisoned the electorate against her.
DeleteKensington Labour is full of toffee nosed types. They've all got library tickets.
DeleteNone of 'em are dustmen, road sweepers, sewer men or brickies.
None of'em joined Labour at factory or dock gate.
06.48 on again.
DeleteNone of 'em in Kensington Labour get Daily Mirror.
They all drink Sauvignon Blanc and Prosecco
Yet more damaging libel on Hornet ! As the Dame is my witness, I NEVER knowingly drink Prosecco & am not that keen on Sauvignon Blanc either. Atkinson
DeleteDear Atkinson,
DeleteThe imputation of which you complain is not actionable. You suffer no loss of reputation and no one is likely to shun you because you admit to not drinking Prosecco or Sauvignon Blanc. I suppose you prefer Milk Stout. You would not admit to being a Champagne Socialist.
Liar Lari is the worst. Banging on about Council homes when he lives in a Penthouse flat over looking Kensington Palace. Up the workers. Well, the staff !
ReplyDelete