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Thing is, Faiza,although a brilliant candidate, was hardly a household name outside of the local east london party and a few left wing groups. Surely deliberately kicking her out just to seem tough to Tory voters both creates a stink, alienates your base, upsets activists and any labour branch that's had candidates imposed on them, and possibly looses you a seat. As well as that, it publicises to those you want to look tough to that there are still a core of left wingers within your party that they may not have known about and that vehemently disagree with the direction you're heading in and makes you look like you are just a careerist politician who'll say and do and old shit to get power, but has no real principles. Then on top of that letting Diane Abbot stand as well after all the noise around that, when she is really quite high profile and for whatever reasons rather unpopular for some and seen as crazy left wing by others, and very close to Corbyn etc just makes you look weak and like you're scared of her profile. The messaging just seems confused, chaotic and makes Labour look mean.
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a moral vacuum at the head of the party
Yes
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jeff80
Eejit
@Jung
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2024/05/faiza-shaheen-row-helps-keir-starmer
Interesting article. Brutal if so. Goes beyond realpolitik, given the forecast, easy win for Labour.
Creates uncomfortable questions in either case. By design, it suggests something of a moral vacuum at the head of the party (to borrow from Sir Humphrey.) Trying to quell factional infighting with capricious and publicly, vindictive purges of members / candidates that don't wholeheartedly align with the leadership only sows the seeds of deeper grievance. I'd also consider that the type of personalities that would endorse such strategy, are exactly the type that will end up turning on each other, as soon as it's to their advantage in the future.
If by accident, then what a bloody facepalm. Deeply unedifying stuff.