Would
anyone reading this post who has contact with, or access to any of
those 172 members of the Parliamentary Labour Party, who voted in
favour of the motion of "No Confidence" in Jeremy Corbyn,
please pass this open letter to them for consideration:
An
open letter to those former Shadow Cabinet ministers who resigned
their posts last week, and those 172 Parliamentary Labour Party
members who voted in favour of the motion of "No Confidence,"
in Jeremy Corbyn.
The
BBC News are reporting that, this morning (3rd July 2016), one of
their reporters received an "unsolicited telephone call"
from a former "Shadow Cabinet Minister" stating that the
party was disintegrating and consequently pleading that Jeremy Corbyn
should stand down as party leader. This added to the
similar plea from Heidi
Alexander also calling for Corbyn
to resign. Over the past few days, since the mass resignations and
confidence vote in fact, there has been a constant clamour from
former shadow ministers for Jeremy Corbyn to stand aside and resign,
all widely reported and even encouraged by sections of the media. It
seems that this encouragement from the press and television, has only
exacerbated an already alarming situation. Tom Watson has stated that
he is not prepared to accept the role of challenger in a leadership
contest and Angela Eagle is, as of today (Sunday 3rd July 2016), yet
to declare if she will stand, but giving Jeremy Corbyn more time to
"consider his position", while Owen Smith presumably waits
for the situation to "clarify". I am sure that you would
agree, that the present position is unsatisfactory for all those
concerned, for our party and for the country.
You
are all aware of the Labour Party Constitution and its rules for the
selection and election of Party Leader. You clearly have sufficient
numbers amongst your ranks to be able to meet the threshold for
nominations supporting a particular candidate. Clearly, this impasse
is causing untold damage to our party and to the country. The people
of this nation will not quickly forget how, when the Conservative
government is in complete disarray, but yet still able to force
through measures which cause hardship and difficulties for our
people, while the conservative party is fragmented but still able to
propose even more austerity, cuts and tax increases, the Labour party
was embarked on an exercise of self examination and acrimonious
exchanges in pursuit of the position of its own leadership.
However,
this predicament can be resolved in hours and we can then unite to
oppose the conservatives in the House of Commons, in Council Chambers
around the country and on the streets of towns and cities across the
country. It is abundantly clear that the present leader has no
intention of standing down and has stated that fact on numerous
occasions over the past days. Indeed, there is no valid reason why he
should take that course. On the other hand, you have indicated on
numerous occasions over the past week, in the press and on
television, that you are in the position of representing public
opinion and large sections of the party membership. Under these
circumstances, you are duty bound to launch a leadership challenge
within 24 hours and bring this unacceptable situation to a speedy
conclusion. There is no time for continued delay and uncertainty
which is causing severe damage to our country and the economy. It is
therefore your duty to declare your intentions and to bring this
unhappy deadlock to an end.
Sincerely
John
Yates
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