Tom Watson hits out at 'spiteful' decision to expel Alastair Campbell from Labour party
3 min read
Tom Watson has waded into the row over Alastair Campbell's expulsion from Labour as he blasted the "spiteful" decision to kick him out of the party.
Tony Blair's former spin doctor was ousted after admitting he had voted Liberal Democrat at last week's European elections in frustration at Labour's refusal to unequivocally back a second referendum.
But deputy leader Mr Watson - who also supports a so-called People's Vote on the final Brexit deal - condemned the decision and demanded an "amnesty" for the Labour members who have admitted voting against the party.
Hundreds of furious Labour members - including party grandees Charles Clarke and Bob Ainsworth - took to Twitter using the hashtag #expelmetoo to admit they voted Lib Dem or Green as they challenged the leadership to boot them out.
According to Labour party rules, any member "who joins and/ or supports a political organisation other than an official Labour group or other unit of the Party" will "automatically be ineligible to be or remain a Party member".
But Mr Watson said the party's ruling National Executive Council should be listening to members’ concerns rather than pushing for expulsions.
"It is very clear that many thouands of Labour Party members voted for other parties last week," he said.
"They were disappointed with the position on Brexit that a small number of people on the NEC inserted into our manifesto. They were sending the NEC a message that our position lacked clarity and they were right.
"It is spiteful to resort to expulsions when the NEC should be listening to members.
He added: "The politics of intolerance holds no future for the Labour Party. A broad church party requires pluralism and tolerance to survive.
"There should be an amnesty for members who voted a different way last week."
Mr Campbell said he was "sad and disappointed" after the party claimed his comments were "incompatible" with membership, but Labour sources have so-far refused to confirm whether other members will also face disciplinary measures for publicly defying the party.
Mr Watson's comments came moments after former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Falconer told the BBC that it was "inconveivable" that the decision to expel Mr Campbell wasn't taken "high up the chain" of the party leadership.
The Labour peer questioned whether the comments amounted to a breach of party rules given that his admission came after polls had closed and therefore would not have influenced other voters.
"If it was an offence under the rules, then I suspect thousands, maybe tens of thousands of members of the Labour Party at the European elections broke the rules, and that's not a tenable position," he said.
Meanwhile, former Home Secretary Mr Clarke and ex-Defence Secretary Mr Ainsworth revealed that they had respectively backed the Lib Dems and the Greens during last week's election as they dared Jeremy Corbyn to expel them.
In a statement, Mr Clarke blasted the Labour leadership for the "disgraceful" decision as he called for the Mr Campbell's expulsion to be overturned.
He said: “I also voted Liberal Democrat. This was a one-off decision because of the hopeless incoherence of Labour’s position, particularly that of Jeremy Corbyn, on Brexit."
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