Stormy Corbyn meeting leads to fresh calls for deselection of popular Hove MP
Peter Kyle
A stormy meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party this week has led to Corbyn-supporting local members making fresh calls for the deselection of Hove MP Peter Kyle.
Mr Kyle was quoted in several national newspapers pleading with the Labour leader to come up with a clear plan on Brexit in the wake of the party’s disastrous European election results during this week’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).
This prompted Damian Wylie, a former officer in the party’s Central Hove, Brunswick and Adelaide Branch, to call again for his deselection, and he claimed there are enough local members to force through a trigger ballot.
He tweeted yesterday: “Peter Kyle is a disloyal backstabber who has been closely involved in the coup against the twice-elected leader of the Labour party.
“A trigger ballot in Hove and Portslade will be called before the next election to replace this destructive, ill-disciplined individual.
“We only need one third of branches to vote Kyle out with a trigger ballot. We’ve got the numbers.”
Mr Wylie, who boasts that his Twitter account is “probably one of the most highly engaged 8k follower accounts on Twitter globally”, garnered almost 30 likes for the tweet from users as far afield as Los Angeles.
However, several local Labour members were less impressed. One, Ryan Bogle, said: “Please think twice. Young people I know at BHASVIC think he’s absolutely great, don’t betray them.
“If you want to steam ahead with ideological dogmatism then beware of the consequences in that you’ll likely end up with no Labour MP at all.”
Another, Joy Robinson, who stood as a candidate in Brunswick and Adelaide last month, said: “In a constituency with 70% Remain voters, one of our less cheerful members threatens our brilliant MP, co-author of the Kyle/Wilson amendment, with a trigger ballot. Unbelievable.”
However, the threat didn’t phase Mr Kyle, who tweeted: “Luckily he’s blocked me so I don’t have to see his yawn-inducing threats anymore.
“The community I work for know full well that keyboard-cowards won’t keep me from putting their interests first morning, noon and night and every second between.”
Meanwhile, Brighton Kemptown Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle had to delete a tweet he made about fellow MP Margaret Hodge following comments she made at the same PLP meeting.
Mr Russell-Moyle attacked Mrs Hodge for calling for newly elected Peterborough MP Lisa Forbes to apologise for signing a letter opposing the party’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-semitism, as well as liking anti-semitic posts on social media.
The letter, dated last August, was also signed by a number of local Labour members, including newly elected councillor Nikkie Brennan, who campaigned outside Hove Town Hall when Brighton and Hove City Council also adopted the IHRA definition of anti-semitism.
Yesterday, Mr Russell-Moyle said: “I’ve had vile anti-semites rightly kicked out locally. But to call someone an anti-semite on base of concern with IHRA or liking a photo/video with text and abuse them in public, after they say they sorry and want to learn, is wrong.”
However, he had to delete the tweet after it emerged he had quoted someone who had previously been kicked out of Labour for anti-semitism.
When this was drawn to his attention, he apologised and deleted the tweet. Mrs Hodge later invited him to discuss the issue over coffee, which he said he would be happy to do.
Mr Russell-Moyle told Brighton and Hove News: ““After Margaret aggressively attacked a new member for little justifiable reason and went on to publicly support austerity and say that anti austerity and the socialist message was a lie, I tweeted Margaret condemning some of her last actions.
“I reposted some tweets with spelling corrections and to remove any link to a person who was operating an anonymous Twitter account but has been chucked out of Labour.
“Margaret and I have agreed to have drinks on Monday to put to bed these issues and I hope she can return to supporting the party and leadership in the quest to form a government and I supporting all colleagues’ legitimate concerns and attempts to stamp our actual cases of anti-Semitism of which there are far too many ”
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Peter Kyle is an excellent Constituency MP and a good advertisement for the Labour Party. Sadly, JC is demonstrating a tendency to dither. Very bad move to reject an MP with initiative and vision.
Peter Kyle is the only reason Labour has a seat in Brighton and Hove! I am not a natural Labour voter and he has my vote. I would turn away and vote elsewhere were he to be deselected! I have no love for Jeremy Corbyn and consider him to be part of the BREXIT mess as he has provided no alternative.
Peter Kyle is a great MP. He is doing a fine job of representing his constituents and raising important national issues in Parliament. He is respected across the City not only in his own constituency.In the absence of any strong opposition to Brexit from the leadership of the Labour Party he has taken an admirable lead in putting the case to save the UK from Brexit. I don’t know who Mr Wylie is but he clearly does not have the best interests of the Labour Party or the residents of Brighton and Hove as a priority
There is a huge amount of support for Peter in the consituency, hence the massive increased majority in 2017. He well represents the views of the consituency, which may not be the same as that of a few members. I know who I would rather please.
The idea of trying to deselect Peter Kyle for criticising Labour’s Brexit fence sitting is mad. I spoke at length to one of the six Labour MEPs who lost their seats and he told me that he spent hours on the doorstep having to persuade Labour members – not just Labour voters – to vote Labour, all because the party wasn’t clearly for remain. And that was not in a pro-remain region.
Kyle is just being sensible.
Great mp,works tirelessl for his constituents.im honoured to have him as our mp.
I’m extremely distrustful of the political system of government – I have no confidence in any party as each is working to the agenda of an elite few at the top.
Imagine if we changed from a political system to a competency system, where we could elect people actually experienced and able to run our country, rather than their party allegiance, I would still vote for Peter Kyle. He represents his constituents the way an MP should – communicates, listens, takes action, fights for things that matter to us, with intelligence and courage.
Go ahead Labour, deselect him if you wish – he’ll win the seat as an independent, because in Hove we know a good thing when we see it!
I know Peter and have campaigned with him several times. I think he’s amazing and I know from direct experience how hard he works for his constituents. During the local elections, all I heard on the doorstep was criticism of Corbyn and his stance on Brexit. It lost Labour 2 seats in Preston Park. Damian Wylie – whoever he is – is totally out of step with most Labour members in Hove and Labour voters all over the country! Peter is here to stay!
The public know when they have a Cllr or MP worth keeping. Such people get votes that transcend Party allegiances. Cllr Robert Nemeth in Wish Ward (Tory) is one such,as is Cllr Dawn Barnet in Hangleton (Tory). MP Caroline Lucas is (Green) and MP Peter Kyle is too (Labour). He would definitely retain Hove as an Independent.
Peter is a fantastic MP. If these militants deselect him then Hove will go right back to the Tories as it was for decades. The once great Labour party currently has a death wish.
I fully agree with all that has been said regarding Peter Kyle, I have been in touch with him myself over a particular matter and he has been most helpful. Clearly a hard working man, very diligent and engaged-I too am looking for Peter to be here to stay, he is doing a great job
I totally agree with the high regard in which Peter is held-he has been helpful to me recently and is just the sort of MP Labour needs
If anyone is backstabbing, it’s Damian Wylie, whoever he is. He is backstabbing the voters and residents of Hove who support Peter Kyle. He is obviously a fanatical idealogue dismissive of the democratic process. Peter Kyle is an excellent and conscientous MP who works tirelessly for his constituents, and who is responsible for Labour’s win over the Conservatives. Were Peter Kyle to be deselected I would resign my membership of the Labour Party.
I’ve been a member for more than 30 years. If Peter Kyle is deselected I’ll resign.
Gosh what a balanced articles. Did you seek the views jof many Labour Party members in Brighton in those wards that want to hold their amp to account. Does Mr Kyle realise that his unsophisticated support for remain helped to damage Labour nationally in this recent election. The members have every right to challenge his disloyalty to the leadership chosen by over 500,000 members.