Party members had to vent after their leader fired one of his front benchers who joined workers on the picket line of a railway strike. Sam Tarry was relieved of his duties as shadow transport minister after standing shoulder-to-shoulder with those who staged union action outside Euston station.
His actions defied the leadership’s orders to stay away from the picket lines and he angered Sir Keir even more after giving a series of media interviews in which he appeared to be breaking the party line on the strike action.
Within hours of his resignation, a local constituency Labor party (CLP) had already passed a motion in protest, saying they were “shocked and angry” by Sir Keir’s decision.
Tottenham CLP warned the Labor leader that being part of his top team should “in no way exclude Labor MPs from their primary duty to show solidarity with working class people who take action in defense of their jobs, wages and conditions” .
The local group called for an urgent reshuffle of the shadow cabinet to fill Sir Keir’s top team with MPs who have shown support for the strikes.
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“We demand that a new shadow cabinet be formed made up of those MPs who have shown their active support to the workers in the struggle by joining picket lines in the current RMT dispute and other recent strikes,” the motion said.
Many of the Labor MPs seen on the picket lines have been those on the left of the party who are close allies with former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Richard Burgon, among others, were Labor MPs to join the strikers.
Express.co.uk has been told that other CLPs are considering filing their own motions to send Sir Keir a clear message about the anger of thousands of local members over his actions.
This website also shows that a petition is being shared among members to help build a volunteer army in support of Mr Tarry.
The Ilford South MP runs the risk of being deselected by his CLP, preventing him from running for the party in the next election.
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“Members of the front bench sign for collective responsibility.
“That also includes media appearances being approved and speaking to agreed frontbench positions.
“As a government waiting, any violation of collective responsibility is taken extremely seriously and for these reasons Sam Tarry has been removed from the front bench.”
But the decision has further exacerbated factionalism within the party.
Mr McDonell this morning described it as a “serious mistake” and a “misreading of the public’s vote”, while York Central MP Rachael Maskell called on the Labor leader to visit picket lines.
Meanwhile, former Labor Deputy Prime Minister Lord John Prescott appeared to show his support for Mr Tarry when he tweeted a photo of himself addressing striking miners when he was shadow transport secretary in 1984.
In a statement, Mr Tarry said it was a “privilege” to serve on the top Labor squad.
“I remain committed to supporting the striking railway workers and campaigning for a Labor victory in the next general election, which I will fight relentlessly from the back seat,” he added.
Rail travelers across the country suffered travel chaos as a result of the strikes as thousands of workers walked out, paralyzing services across the country.