The centrist faction in the Labour Party has been pretty quiet since the snap election, with most MPs who opposed Jeremy Corbyn trying to focus either on Brexit or local issues and avoiding confrontations with the leadership at all costs. But today’s news from Haringey suggests that this isn’t likely to hold. The council’s leader Claire Kober has quit after almost a decade in charge, blaming ‘sexism’ and ‘bullying’ from Momentum members who have been campaigning against a regeneration plan that they are ideologically opposed to.
Kober is also furious with the Labour’s National Executive Committee for trying to interfere in local democracy too, after it instructed Haringey Council to abandon the regeneration plan, known as the Haringey Development Vehicle. Jeremy Corbyn has opposed this plan, and is also opposed to public private partnerships more generally.
She has now announced she will step down at the local elections in May, which raises questions afresh for centrist politicians in other branches of the Labour Party, including MPs.
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