LPBP v PLP v #LP

It wouldn't be a political farce without some involvement from Lewisham People Before Profit.

The Telegraph has found a connection between our own mischief-making political troupe, LPBP, and the entryist row that has panicked the Parliamentary Labour Party and triggered the ridiculous #LabourPurge of leadership election voters. The Telegraph reports:

The Telegraph can disclose that Unite, the biggest trade union, has been encouraging its members to sign up to vote for Mr Corbyn in order to “wrest control of the Labour party” out of the hands of the “Blairite elite”.

A local Unite branch secretary in south London, also urged backers of the Lewisham People Before Profit Party – a rival political party - to join Labour and vote for Mr Corbyn...

Nick Long, an official from the Lewisham branch of Unite, said his branch has called for members to take part in Labour’s leadership election and vote for Mr Corbyn “as his politics are the most closely in line with Unite’s anti-austerity and socialist views”.

“If Corbyn wins the leadership race and other progressive MPs join him, a battle royal will ensue to wrest control of the Labour party out of the hands of the Blarite and Progress [a centre-Left think-tank] elite and the adoption of an anti-austerity agenda.

“My local political party, Lewisham People Before Profit, which gained 15 per cent in council elections in 2014, have also made a call for our supporters to take part in Labour’s election.”

However, in a letter to his local newspaper, Mr Long warned that “years of fractional battles will be needed” to win the “fight” for Labour’s soul [And if any party knows about years of internal squabbling, it's LPBP - Ed]...

John Hamilton, campaigns coordinator for Lewisham People Before Profit party, said a representative from the Corbyn campaign came to a meeting to urge his party’s supporters to join Labour and vote for Mr Corbyn.

Shifting allegiances and schisms are very much a way of life for LPBP, so if their members do sign-up to the Labour Party, this is less a fresh twist in the Corbyn saga than it is the latest chapter in LPBP's glorious history. It's good to see Lewisham exporting political theatre to the national scene.

With thanks to Monkeyboy for the heads-up.