“Words of condemnation are meaningless unless backed up by action” – Labour HQ prepares to kick out abusers

Labour’s most senior official has admitted there is “simply too much” abuse in the Labour Party and revealed plans to suspend yobbish members and ban them from voting in the leadership election.

Iain McNicol, Labour’s general secretary, warned that members had been shouted down, intimidated and abused as he announced a clampdown on bad behaviour in the “coming days”.

In an almost unprecedented statement, McNicol reported increased levels of abuse in constituency Labour Party (CLP) meetings as well as online, saying: “there is simply too much of it taking place and it needs to stop.”

McNicol acted after another weekend of turmoil for Labour in which 40 female MPs demanded Jeremy Corbyn take tougher action over rape threats, death threats and smashed cars, and two weeks after a yob threw a brick threw the window of Angela Eagle’s constituency office in Wallasey.

Today McNicol demanded Labour supporters debated one another with “respect”, set up an email address to report incidents and warned the party would issue suspensions to people found to have engaged in abuse.

“For a fair debate to take place, people must be able to air their views in an atmosphere of respect. They shouldn’t be shouted down, they shouldn’t be intimidated and they shouldn’t be abused, either in meetings or online.

“Put plainly, there is simply too much of it taking place and it needs to stop.

“The two candidates Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith, our deputy leader Tom Watson and our NEC have been very clear –  there is no place for abuse of any kind in the party.

“However words of condemnation are meaningless unless they are backed up by action.”

Last week Labour suspended Wallasey CLP and opened an investigation into claims of homophobia directed at Eagle, who was briefly a leadership challenger to Corbyn.

Party officials have suspended most CLP meetings for the length of the leadership contest, which concludes on September 24, but members can still hold meetings in order to nominate a leadership candidate, carry out essential conference preparation or organise by-election or mayoral campaigning.

“The NEC has already taken the difficult decision to suspend most Party meetings while the Leadership election is ongoing. And over the coming days and weeks the Party will be taking further action to protect our members and to identify those responsible for this appalling behaviour,” McNicol said. 

“I want to be clear, if you are a member and you engage in abusive behaviour towards other members it will be investigated and you could be suspended while that investigation is carried out.”

Corbyn has repeatedly condemned any form of abuse and Smith has pledged to campaign with “decency”.

The email address to report abuse is [email protected]