WITH the shock suspension of four Labour welfare cut rebels swiftly followed by the dramatic re-suspension of the Mother of the House, Diane Abbott MP, many members are asking how the Labour leadership can act with such impunity. Is this the end of Labour Party democracy? 

After 14 years of brutal austerity under successive Conservative governments, Labour’s sweeping election victory last year was a moment of celebration for our movement. Yet, despite the advances of the past year  —  from the nationalisation of South Western Railway to the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds —  there is growing disquiet within the party, in Scotland and across Britain, at the leadership’s refusal to listen to members’ concerns. 

The results of numerous rule changes designed to stymie debate and quash dissent are now playing out publicly as the Labour leadership tests the boundaries of its new powers. Last week, following a successful back-bench rebellion against the government’s cruel and politically inept welfare cuts, the leadership lashed out with the shock suspension of four Labour MPs, including my Scottish Labour comrade and committed socialist, Brian Leishman MP. 

This move was unprecedented. As others have pointed out, between 1968 and 2024, not a single Labour MP had the whip withdrawn for voting against their own party. While members began to organise for the whip to be reinstated, the leadership cracked down once again. Abbott was re-suspended for her comments about her experience of racism as a woman of colour and Britain’s first black woman MP. 

Meanwhile, in Scotland, where the selection of candidates for next year’s Holyrood elections rumble on, a similarly select few appear to wield power. In my own selection contest for one of the two constituencies in my home city of Dundee, the process was changed partway through. I faced the choice between withdrawing my candidacy or going head-to-head with a fellow MSP, a contest one of us was bound to lose, rather than being allowed to contest the other Dundee seat. Needless to say, this manoeuvre has only served to further alienate local members. 

Understandably, such unreasonable decisions north and south of the border have left many members deeply perturbed. They feel unable to influence a party which was founded to give voice to the grievances of working-class communities. 

In the face of this deliberate disempowerment, it is easy to succumb to fatalism. But that is not in our nature. We are trade unionists, human rights campaigners, Waspi women, Orgreave survivors, former miners and tenants’ rights activists. When we’re stonewalled, we don’t go quiet, we speak out, regroup and when necessary, change tactics. 

We know that it is people, not rules or even laws, that bring about change and resist abuses of power in government, in workplaces and, yes, in political parties. So, it stands to reason that as long as there are fair-minded people in the Labour Party, there is hope for democracy therein. 

So when I’m asked if Labour Party democracy is over, I say no. 

In the battle for the soul of the Labour Party, there will inevitably be defeats. Those losses will be painful, but we must not let pride prevent us from choosing our next step forward with clarity. Asking ourselves, what is in the best interest of our class? 

The leadership of any organisation within capitalism is susceptible to the same weaknesses as the system in which they operate. Struggle in the system is to be expected. It is why it will never be enough to appoint good leaders, and why we will always need an engaged mass movement. 

Fostering that movement happens wherever people gather, and that includes within the Labour Party. I remind readers that it is our second duty to advance, our first to persevere. 

Solidarity. 

Mercedes Villalba is a Scottish Labour MSP for the North East of Scotland.