Different vote, same old myths

As the last day to sign up to vote in the Labour leadership election quickly approaches next week (August 12), the anti-union media frenzy is now in full swing.

 
It’s set to be the most democratic Labour leadership contest in history, but Telegraph columnist Toby Young, among others, have already trundled out the tired trope of “sinister” unions pulling the strings.

 
Young, who has sought to undermine the election with his campaign ToriesforCorbyn, vilified union members taking part in the election in a column on Friday (July 28), essentially labelling all members as extremists.

 
“[Acting Labour leader] Harman says she also wants to weed out members of hard left groups like Militant – and gave Derek Hatton as an example – but it’s hard to see how Labour can do that while, at the same time, allowing members of Unite the Union to sign up,” Young said.

 
But Unite member Rosa Greenwood*, who has signed up to take part in the election, can hardly be seen as an extremist – she’s a professional child-minder who works hard to support her family.

 
Responding to Young’s article, she condemned the way in which trade union members – ordinary working people like her – are portrayed in the media.

 
Common good

 
“I am a lifelong trade union member because I believe in something bigger – the common good,” Greenwood said. “Please stop insinuating that my membership of my union and the fact that I have chosen to exercise my right to vote in the upcoming Labour leadership, because my union is affiliated to this party, is somehow sinister.”

 
One widely circulated myth, propagated by the corporate media this week is that the Labour leadership contest is being “infiltrated” by those on the hard left – a claim that Left Foot Forward has found to be arithmetically impossible.

 
“To claim a significant number of the projected 140,000 people registering to vote for a new Labour leader are members of ‘hard-left’ parties is not supported by the evidence. Not least because you could fit the members of Britain’s hard-left parties on a single train platform,” Left Foot Forward noted.

 
This accusation from the media that leftist extremists were signing up to vote in an election that’s open to anyone who is supportive of Labour’s aims and values, drew jeers from many Labour supporters on Twitter, who jokingly used the hashtag #IamHardLeft.

 
The tag was used to broadcast support for policies that polls show most people across the political spectrum support, such as keeping the NHS out of private hands and ending corporate tax avoidance.

 
Greenwood explained why she supports Labour and will be participating in the upcoming election.

 
“Labour to me offers the best hope of creating a fairer nation for us all, so I am proud that I can cast my vote for the leadership team I think will best serve all our communities,” she said.

 
Greenwood highlighted that whoever she does end up voting for will be a personal decision, and not, as the media so often claims, a decision made by unions.

 
‘My decision’
“To be absolutely clear – when the time comes to put my cross in a box I will do it in the privacy of my own home, having thought long and hard about who to back,” she said. “It will be my decision – nobody else’s.”

 
“I am a child-minder, working hard, helping to create a good foundation for our children,” Greenwood added. “There are hundreds of thousands of people like me – trade union members, decent people, just wanting to make the world a better place.”

 
Unite political director Jennie Formby hailed the upcoming leadership election as an example of democracy in action.

 
“The Labour Party was founded by and for working people and originated within the trade union movement,” she said. “That ordinary working people just like Lisa, thousands of whom are trade union members, have an unprecedented opportunity to actually shape the future direction of the party is enormously exciting and a true win for democracy, no matter who wins the contest in the end.

 
“Many people have over the years grown apathetic and hopeless. But this leadership election has energised many who have previously felt that the Labour party no longer speaks for them. As the corporate media seeks to tear down this incredible mobilisation of thousands inspired to participate in politics once again, let’s not forget that a democracy only works if as many people as possible take part.

 
“ I urge all Unite members who are supporters of the Labour party to have their say and sign up to vote.”

 
Find out more about how to sign up to vote in the contest here. The last day to sign up is August 12.

 
*Name changed to protect member