Brendan Chilton: In defence of Kate Hoey

The general public holds the political class as a whole in pretty low regard. But as individuals, the elite tend – on the whole – to be respected by their constituents. Kate Hoey is one of those politicians. She has held many different and controversial positions, some of which have differed from general Labour policy, but at every election she has been returned by the good people of Vauxhall. That is a credit to her dedicated work as a constituency MP, and the fact that she is unquestionably a woman of principle and conviction.

I have known Kate now for around five years as we worked together building the case for a referendum with the Labour for a Referendum campaign and then, ultimately, campaigning to leave the European Union with Labour Leave.

Kate is a feisty, no-nonsense politician who will tell you exactly what she thinks in no uncertain terms. There are many things on which Kate and I disagree, not least that of grammar schools and fox hunting. But she is unique in that she is completely the polar opposite to the ‘political type’ that has come to dominate our politics – namely robotic and scripted. I personally think that is to be lauded in these days of focus-group politics.

During the various challenges to Jeremy’s leadership, Kate Hoey was one of the few Labour MPs to remain loyal and to vote for Jeremy in that leadership challenge. Momentum was established with the aim of maintaining and supporting Jeremy as leader of the Labour Party and it is therefore curious to see senior media figures calling for her to be suspended and deselected.

Kate Hoey and the other Labour Brexiteers did not vote to keep the Tories in power, they voted in line with their conscience and with their own long-standing commitments to leave the European Union. They voted to honour the referendum result and we should not attack politicians for holding principles and conviction. When those calling for her deselection are themselves on record advocating leaving the EU, the situation is all the more strange.

While the question of who should be the Labour candidate in Vauxhall is entirely and rightly a matter for Labour members within the consistency, I would urge them to act softly. Millions of Labour voters up and down the country supported Leave. Kate was an integral part of the Leave campaign and while in remain-dominated London her work may be seen as that of the devil, in the Midlands and the North she is highly respected. Many Labour Leave voters tell us they admire her hugely.

I recall countless occasions when at rallies, public meetings and even Labour Party meetings when individuals would tell her they wish the Labour Party would return to its democratic roots of being opposed to our membership of the EU.

The question of our membership of the EU has split the Labour Party for over 50 years. During the referendum the huge divisions between the Labour viewpoint and that of the country came to light. 70% of Labour constituencies votes to leave and around five million Labour voters detracted from Labour’s recommendation to support remain. In the 2017 general election, Labour lost Leave constituencies to the Conservatives.

Surely, the worst thing Labour could do right now is expel Brexiteers like Kate Hoey. Such a move would delight UKIP and the Conservatives as Labour would be saying to its very significant leave vote: ‘we don’t want you’. When the majority of seats we need to win to form a government are majority Leave, particularly so many of our marginal Midlands seats, it would be a strategic error so to do.

Whatever the path members in Vauxhall choose to take, I hope they will recognise that while Kate has taken controversial stances on a host of issues for 50 years or more she has campaigned for Labour, and for nearly 30 years has served the good people of Vauxhall well as their Member of Parliament. She and the other Labour Brexiteers are the thin red thread between Labour and its millions of Brexiteers and we cut that thread at our own peril.

Brendan Chilton was general secretary of Labour Leave during the 2016 referendum campaign.