Why Warren Morgan’s appeal to rejoin the Labour Party should be rejected (Labour Party Ref: A712050)
Below is an email I sent today (Tuesday, June 30) to David Evans, general secretary of the Labour Party, following Warren Morgan’s attempts to rejoin our party.
Dear Mr Evans,
I am a member in good standing of Brighton Pavilion Constituency Labour Party (L0091688).
I am pleased to understand that an application by Warren Morgan to join our party — Ref A712050 — has been rejected “without appeal”, following representations by the chair of Brighton Kemptown CLP and by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown.
I see, however, that Mr Morgan is trying to garner support from party members to support an attempted appeal due to “exceptional circumstances”. Indeed, he is urging them to copy-in Sir Keir Starmer’s office and David Evans, the party’s general secretary.
I do not see in the Labour Party Rule Book 2020 any reference to such circumstances being grounds for an appeal — neither in Chapter 2.1.4, nor in Chapter 6.1.2.
Many Labour Party members in Brighton and Hove believe no application by Mr Morgan should be considered for at least five years, as specified in Chapter 6.1.2:
In case you are not aware, Mr Morgan — a former leader of the Labour Group on Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) — did immense damage to party unity in the months before resigning from the party in February 2019 — while facing a formal complaint of bringing the party into disrepute after falsely accusing a young party colleague of “spitting” (see left) at a party meeting. Many members — including the complainant — believe Mr Morgan cannot be admitted until the outstanding complaint is dealt with by the Labour Party National Executive Committee and/or the National Constitutional Committee.
Almost immediately upon resigning from the party, Mr Morgan — while still a ward councillor in East Brighton — supported David Trangmar, an “independent” candidate standing against Labour Party candidates in the BHCC elections due in May 2019. I include a photograph of one of the leaflets used by Mr Trangmar that features Mr Morgan:
Meanwhile, Mr Morgan — a self-proclaimed councillor representing the now-defunct “The Independent Group” — stood as a Change UK candidate against Labour Party candidates in the European Union elections in May 2019 (appended below).
Both these examples of Mr Morgan’s hostility to Labour Party candidates are, of course, in contradiction to Chapter 2.1.4.A and B of the party rulebook:
In conclusion, with a successful new Labour Party administration in place on BHCC, and with a re-invigorated party membership across Brighton and Hove, any return by Mr Morgan will only damage our chances at future elections and re-open the unnecessary factionalism that blighted the city before his resignation.
Yours sincerely,
Greg Hadfield
Brighton Pavilion
L0091688
