In full: Enfield North Labour chair’s letter to Joan Ryan

Below is the full text of the letter sent by Siddo Dwyer, chair of Enfield North Labour, to Joan Ryan, who has quit the Labour Party to join “The Independent Group”.

Dear Joan,

I joined the Labour Party because of the values and principles that it stands for. For fairness, for equal opportunity, for social justice and human rights, for respect and dignity for all. A true sense of community, people working together, the strong helping the weak. I do believe that we achieve more by our common endeavour than we can achieve alone.

These words are not mine, but yours.

It is those values and principles which you cited in your 2017 re-election speech that drove so many of us to join the party and remain members to this day. They were also the basis of your service to Enfield North over the last two decades.

I am disappointed that you have resigned your membership and the Labour whip to join The Independent Group of MPs. As the main progressive force in British politics, it is only the Labour Party that is able to implement the changes that we want to see in our country.

The anti-semitism and abuse on the fringes of our party has shamed us all. However, the language used by Angela Smith of The Independent Group on Politics Live does nothing to build trust with often discriminated groups.

We must stand in solidarity with all groups faced with racism and I believe Labour remains a fighting force against all forms of discrimination.

Like you, I believe the only way to break the Brexit deadlock is to hand the choice back to the people and give them a chance to vote on an informed set of options, given the change in circumstances.

However, I also believe this applies on a constituency level and that Enfield North residents who voted for a Labour MP expected them to see out their term and work on a Labour platform.

I’d therefore ask that you resign your seat, trigger a by-election, and let the people decide who represents them.

Yours sincerely,

Siddo Dwyer
Chair of Enfield North CLP