Momentum have become the murky corner of British politics

The Momentum grassroots movement was set-up in the wake of Jeremy Corbyn’s successful leadership campaign and many of its members were those who infamously paid only £1 to join the Labour party mainly in order to vote for him. With Corbyn’s election their power and influence has increased and, together with the unions, they have have taken on the status of kingmakers within the party, except that Corbyn is their one true King. However, their actions over the past 10 months have shown them up to be a toxic and deeply sinister group which not only threatens the very existence of the Labour party but is a stain on British politics.

Following the announcement that she would challenge Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, a brick was thrown through the window of Angela Eagle’s constituency office, and an event at a Luton hotel also had to be cancelled due to threatening phone calls. Whilst Corbyn had no knowledge of these actions, they were undoubtedly done in his name. To draw a rather laboured comparison, it is like Henry II crying ‘will no rid me of this troublesome priest?!’, whilst a group of knights run off to Canterbury to kill Archbishop Thomas a Becket in order to get in the king’s good books. Corbyn being Henry and Angela Eagle Becket, obviously…

As well as allegations of homophobic abuse aimed at Eagle there also the well publicised, substantive claims of anti-Semitism against Labour party members, particularly amongst Corbyn supporters. Perhaps much of this behaviour can be dismissed as the errant behaviour of individuals but there seems to be little in the way of condemnation of these people from either within Momentum or from its leader. One senior member of Momentum was re-instated having initially been banned for a blatantly anti-Semitic comment, which she refused to acknowledge was offensive. There seems to be a sort of omerta within the group, that you can get away with almost anything if it’s done in the name of ‘social justice’. It is all symptomatic of a very worrying attitude. Momentum seem to have nothing but disdain the democratic process and institutions which govern the country or those who hold a different opinino from them. They are furious at the leadership challenge of Angela Eagle and have declaimed her and her supporters as ‘Tory’ and ‘traitor’, as well as employing that very 21st Century form of political protest, spamming her Facebook page. Furthermore, they continually threaten dissenting MPs with deselection, holding it over them like Damocles’ sword. Their fondness for bandying about the word ‘fascist’ against anyone even vaguely to the right of centre is unbecoming and does not contribute to a balanced debate. Ironically it is traditional Labour voters from poorer, industrial areas who are worried about things such as immigration who are likely to become disillusioned by this language, pushed away from the Labour party out by a mixture of old unionists re-energised by Corbyn’s rise and fresh-faced middle-class youngsters who think the whole thing is just like being back at University playing at politics at their Student’s Union General Meetings, who would not know a steel plant from their elbow.

It seems very likely now that whatever the outcome of Labour’s latest leadership election the party will split. The relationship between its hard-left Socialist side, all but assigned to the wilderness by Blairism before Corbyn’s return, and its ‘softer’ more amenable side has become seemingly irrevocable. If Momentum respresent the ‘new politics’ that Corbyn promised then I would quite like the old politics back please. Anyone with a passing interest in British politics ought to be worried about the rise of Momentum and anyone who considers themselves to be left-wing ought to question whether it is an organisation they really want to be involved in.