PRIVATE: The socialists trying to “take over” Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party — according to Warren Morgan (a member of Progress)

Below, I publish — without detailed comment, at this stage — a remarkable limited-circulation private email sent by Councillor Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour Group on Brighton and Hove City Council, to a tiny minority of our 5,200+ members.

Cllr Morgan is a member of the Progress Party, the party within our party funded by SDP-founder Lord Sainsbury.

He had been scheduled to speak at its local government conference tomorrow (along with Peter Kyle, the MP for Hove). He withdrew at the last minute when he realised the full scale of the groundswell of support for Corbyn-supporting candidates at the AGM of the City Party.

This is a key paragraph in Cllr Morgan’s email:

What I will say is that I have been a member of the Labour Party for 10 years and have never been a member of any other political party. The only party I have represented in elections is the Labour Party.

Any “take over” of the City Party will be by people who represent the mass of local members and not an out-of-date political elite associated with the attempted coup against the leader of the Labour Party, with no reference to its 500,000+ members.

I am proud to stand as a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, along with a full team of card-carrying party members standing for election tomorrow (Saturday) to provide the City Party with a new leadership team.

This is the email Cllr Morgan sent to unknown recipients in the early hours of Friday, July 1.

Statement by Matt Tully, written on Sunday, July 10, after he made himself known to Councillor Warren Morgan, the leader of the Labour Group on Brighton and Hove City Council who alleged there had been “spitting” and “abusive behaviour” at the annual meeting of Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party. These allegations partly contributed to the City Party being suspended and the results annulled;

Complaint submitted to Iain McNicol, Labour Party general secretary, by Matt Tully on July 15, alleging Councillor Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour Group on Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party has brought the party into disrepute by repeatedly alleging there had been “spitting” and “abusive behaviour” of Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party. These allegations partly contributed to the City Party being suspended and the results annulled;

Selection of tweets: Councillor Warren Morgan, who quickly became aware that the allegations he aired first on Twitter were denied by Matt Tully, the alleged culprit;

Councillor Warren Morgan’s initial press statement;

[A reminder of Cllr Morgan’s secret email to “friends”, sent a week before the annual meeting]

Selection of tweets: Matt Tully, the young man accused of “spitting” at the AGM at City College;

Statement by City College Brighton and Hove;

Selection of tweets: Councillor Emma Daniel, who claims she was the first to hear about the “spitting” at the AGM at City College;

Selection of tweets: Sue Teddern, who helped organise the AGM and says she was spoken to the staff member who was “spat on”

Selection of tweets: Nicky Easton, a member of the outgoing executive committee (vice-chair, campaigns) who was defeated at the AGM; she was subsequently re-instated after the results were annulled and the Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party suspended by the party’s NEC;

Selection of tweets: Councillor Caroline Penn responded to tweets by her friend Cllr Emma Daniel. Like other councillors who exchanged tweets within 24 hours of the AGM, Cllr Penn did not make a complaint to the newly-elected executive committee;

Selection of tweets: Many eyewitnesses took to Twitter on Sunday — and in the subsequent days — to give their view of the AGM and the “spitting” and “abusive behaviour”;

Selection of photographs: Taken either in the annual meeting in the main hall or outside City College in Pelham Street.