Stockport MP Nav Mishra is behind a ‘hard left’ plot to take control of the council’s Labour group according to explosive new claims. The accusation - made by two Labour councillors blocked from standing for the party at next year's local elections - is fiercely denied by allies of Mr Mishra, who took the seat in 2019 despite the Tories enjoying unprecedented success in parts of the north and midlands.
It finally brings into the open long-simmering tensions between supporters of Mr Mishra - co-founder of Stockport Momentum, the left wing campaigning group inspired by Jeremy Corbyn - and ‘moderate’ party members and councillors. Until recently internal battles have largely been kept in-house despite the deep-seated antipathy - sometimes spilling into outright hostility - between the two factions.
But Coun Matt Wynne - together with colleague Coun Amanda Peers - has now gone public to deliver an uncompromising attack on the Stockport MP, alleging he is behind a ‘weaponised’ selection process to replace moderate councillors with leftist ‘yes men’. He also claims that his appeal - held by Labour North West - was akin to a ‘Soviet show trial’.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands the Labour Party remains satisfied that selections were followed in accordance with its rules and has no questions on how the process was run. Coun Wynne, however, takes a very different view of events.
“I'm shocked but not surprised about what has happened,” he told the LDRS. “There has been a gradual take over of the Stockport Labour Party machinery by far left elements led by Mishra was elected in 2019.”
According to Coun Wynne ‘moderates’ are being blocked from standing in safe Labour wards in order to ‘parachute in’ Momentum candidates - particularly those at risk of losing their seats due to boundary changes or dwindling support.
Elected to represent Edgeley and Cheadle Heath in 2019, he says party meetings are now often poorly attended due to ‘toxicity and hostile atmospheres’, branding them ‘hard left echo chambers’. “One of the reasons on the charge sheet was not attending enough Labour Party meetings,” he adds. “Don't make them hostile places to spend time, then complain when folk don't attend.”
A former member of Stockport Momentum, Coun Wynne now describes himself as a ‘cult survivor’ and believes he is being ‘purged at any cost’ as ‘retribution’. He also accuses Mr Mishra of being busy ‘setting up the conditions for a toytown revolution in Stockport, the next step being control of the Stockport Labour group of councillors’.
Mr Mishra has been approached by the LDRS but declined to comment on internal matters. Labour North West also declined to comment on internal party matters but says any complaints from party members are investigated in line with the party’s rules and procedures.
The structures of the Labour Party machine are so labyrinthine as to leave even card-carrying members baffled by their complexity. But those who wish to stand as Labour candidates at the local council elections must first pass a selection panel called the Local Government Committee (LGC).
This is made up, in nearly equal parts, of delegates from Stockport Constituency Labour Party (the ‘CLP’), Labour councillors and officials from affiliated trade unions. There is also a representative from the Co-operative Party. The political balance between the ‘moderates’ and the ‘hard left’ - to broadly categorise the warring factions - is finely balanced. However, both agree that ‘the left’ that has control of the executive
And it is this body which has deemed Coun Wynne ‘not fit’ to stand for the party next May - when every seat on the council will be up for grabs in an ‘all out’ election. They also reached the same decision in respect of Coun Peers, despite serving as a cabinet and shadow cabinet member, Coun John Taylor and Coun Kerry Waters - albeit the latter two won their appeals.
Sources close to Mr Mishra say the process exists to ensure high quality candidates, particularly given Labour’s six year administration of the council was ended by the Lib Dems at the last local elections. They also cite to the fact several other councillors from the moderate wing of the group did pass the selection panel.
And they say talk of a left-wing conspiracy does not square with the fact he has faced criticism for serving as a whip under Keir Starmer - who has taken the party in a rightwards direction since becoming leader. Meanwhile, ‘moderates’ cite leaked Whatsapp messages - seen by the LDRS - as evidence of factional plotting from the MP and his allies.
A message from Mr Mishra in the Edgeley BLP OPs Whatsapp group reads: ‘Congratulations to all of you for winning the Edgeley branch, well done. We need to be laser focused on all-out council elections and winning seats for left wing trade unionist candidates.”
And in the E&CH [Edgeley and Cheadle Heath] Momentum group there are messages celebrating Momentum’s takeover of ‘5 / 6 branches and the CLP’. Coun Leonard says this is a win for us [Momentum] overall. While another user named ‘Sm’ says ‘Not really…We needed to have shifted Katherine [Gibson, former CLP chair], and [councillors] Foster, Meller and Kerry W(aters).
There are also several messages about organising to ensure Louise Heywood was selected as the candidate for Edgeley and Cheadle Heath and Amanda Peers was kept off the ballot. Coun Wynne believes he has suffered an ‘injustice’ as a result of internal machinations.
In a statement provided to the LDRS he confirms that the LGC has prevented him from standing for the Labour in Edgeley next May. He recounts being called into a hearing by the LGC over two ‘negative’ reports received from Chris Gleeson - employed as a caseworker at Mr Mishra’s office - and Coun Rory Leonard, Labour councillor for Stepping Hill.
These are said to have included ‘not attending an arbitrary number of Labour meetings, lack of campaigning in other areas of the borough, not holding Labour values and their issues with my social media posts’. No negative reports were submitted by the Labour council group leader or whip.
Coun Wynne says that upon attending he found it was being chaired by Karen Dow, whose daughter Coun Laura Clingan is the partner of Coun Leonard.
Coun Wynne complained of a perceived conflict of interest as Coun Leonard, who submitted a negative report about him, had a personal connection to Ms Dow. The MEN approached Ms Dow about this allegation but has received no response.
“I then found out several days later that I had been rejected from the panel for failing to complete the interview amongst the other reasons alleged without any evidence being provided.”
Coun Wynne claims he later received a text from someone on the LGC ‘telling me not to bother wasting my time appealing’.“The matter went to appeal heard by the North West Labour Party, which was run like a Soviet style show trial with charges read out against me,” he continues.
“My appeal was rejected without any written or oral reasons, after the first hearing was called off with two hours notice and rearranged for two days after the funeral of my ward colleague Sheila Bailey.” Coun Wynne believes the ‘purging’ of himself and Coun Peers - who both won their seats comfortably - is ‘not a coincidence’.
“It's clear the job has been to get rid of hardworking councillors to install their own yes men, regardless of competency or desire to represent people and community,” he adds. “I want to make clear this is not sour grapes or a vendetta. There has been an injustice. My principles are intact. I'm a proud working class socialist who believes in the common good, respect, dignity and a strong sense of duty and public service ethos.”
Coun Wynne believes his commitment and work ethic has been demonstrated by his work in Edgeley and Cheadle Heath since being elected - including pushing for a crackdown on anti-social behaviour and crime. “I will not stand by and let my good character and reputation be damaged,” he says.
“If I go without making a sound, I know that confidence in politicians and public standards is that low at the moment ,thanks to national politics, [and] people will think ‘he's been on the take’ or worse.” He adds: “The people I represent have a right to know this. The Edgeley Labour Party members who have had their right to choose whether they still want me as a Labour candidate have had that taken off them as they couldn't be trusted to make the correct choice.”
Coun Wynne says the pressure of the appeal process, coupled with the loss of Coun Sheila Bailey - his late ward colleague and mentor - has put a strain on his family life. “ My main focus now is looking after my partner and the people that sent me to the town hall,” he says.
His colleague, Coun Peers - a former cabinet member who currently chairs the council’s housing scrutiny committee - has also spoken out about her ‘disappointment’ and being deemed unsuitable to stand as a candidate. She said: “I’m mainly disappointed because I feel I have been a good councillor, I have great relationship with the community, not just because I’m a councillor but because I was a community worker for Stockport council prior to that.
“There’s a small group of people within Stockport Labour who seem hellbent on getting their colleagues or their associates into fairly safe Labour seats. I had a similar experience last year in Manor ward and it’s happened again this year in Brinnington and Central.”
Despite ‘stepping up’ to take nearly 65pc of the vote in Brinnington and Central at this year’s local elections, Coun Peers says that now ‘doesn’t seem to count for anything’. “The politics before people approach that this group has is very much about door knocking and ticking boxes for the Labour Party, rather than working for the community,” she adds.
“It’s no secret that the LGC and others are members of the so-called ‘left strategy group’ who, along with our MP are working to get their members into seats within the council. It seems taking control of the LGC and the selection process has enabled them to do that and use the system that’s in place to replace people.”
Coun Peers had major surgery to a foot in 2015, which did not go as planned and has had Covid three times over the last two years. “I’m very disappointed they have not taken into account that I have had some very serious health conditions,” she adds.
“I have a disability and the main reason they say I’m not suitable is because I have not been out door knocking and campaigning. The serious health issues I have had over the last couple of years have prevented me from doing this and I have had to choose really carefully what I can do.”
She also believes that Labour, as a whole, has failed to take notice of a recent article by Disability Labour which says the party is institutionally ableist, claiming it has done nothing to support her with duties she struggles with. Labour ran the council from 2016 until May this year and has the chance to take the reins again in 2023 elections, where boundary changes mean all 63 seats will be up for grabs.
Whether one takes the view that Stockport Labour is being taken over by left wing plotters, or that Momentum’s success is merely evidence of internal democracy in action, the party does appear to be imploding under the weight of its factional splits. Last week Coun Elise Wilson - leader of the Labour council group and council leader between 2019 and 2022 - announced she would not be standing for re-election next year.
While she did not explicitly reference factional battles in her statement, the LDRS understands these were a factor in her decision. Her comments regarding ‘a great deal of change’ and senior members retiring or leaving the council also hint in this direction.
It is also understood that her remarks alluding to how we conduct ourselves in politics, particularly how we find a safe space for working age women and people with disabilities’ is a reference to internal splits - including an offensive Whatsapp message that recently came to light.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The party does not comment on internal party matters and any complaints from party members are investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”
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