Activist suspended; LRC statement

Details

Tuesday, 07 August 2012

Written by Essex LRC

The following press release has been issued by the LRC:

LRC supporter Keith Henderson, the secretary of Clacton Labour party and parliamentary spokesperson has been suspended from holding office following undisclosed allegations made against him by persons unknown.
 
More significantly this debars him for standing for public office as a Labour party candidate. It is no coincidence that Keith was on the approved list of prospective candidates for the Essex County council elections in 2013, much to the annoyance of right wing elements in the party closely connected with the Progress organisation.
 
The policies that Keith told the interviewing panel of lay Labour party members included his beliefs that there is a need for a council house building programme to supply affordable and secure rented accommodation, linking up with the co-operative and other progressive organisations to organise the funding of such a project. Putting building workers back to work and providing proper apprentiships would set an example.
 
He also advocated linking up with the co-op to promote their new energy project which aims to provide electricity at a much cheaper cost to who would also receive a stake in the dividend. The more money left in consumers pockets the better for the economy of Essex he argued.
 
On transport he argued that anyone anywhere in Essex should have access to public transport with no longer than a half an hour wait maximum, single fares should be capped at £2 and returns at £3. Free transport for under sixteens and pensioners.
 
It is no surprise then that a young man with such progressive ideas and such an enthusiastic approach should be suspended from office and suspended from standing for public office as a labour candidate following undisclosed allegations.
 
The General secretaries office has suspended him under rule 6.1A which stops him from holding office internally or standing for office externally until the investigation has taken place.
 
A cynic might also point to the fact that no time limit has been put on the length of the investigation or the fact that the previous secretary of the party has been allowed onto the list of approved candidates for the Essex County Council elections in 2013. This despite getting his application in well over a month after the interviewing panels had finished the interviewing process and even longer after the deadline for applications had closed.
 
It is also purely coincidental that this individual is a progress supporter and a personal friend of progress supporter and Eastern Regional Director of the Labour party Alan Olive.
 
Alan Olive is the party official carrying out the investigation despite the fact that Keith has made a formal complaint to the General Secretaries office in relation to the biased and unprofessional way the investigation is being undertaken.
 
Having been denied the fundamental right to natural justice Keith is seeking to secure an high court injunction but as his own union has refused to help him he will have to fund this himself.

This is why we are putting out an appeal for financial help to every individual genuinely on the left who is disgusted by the undemocratic centralisation that has increasingly stifled the development of the Labour movement over the last generation.

Keith Henderson can be contacted on  07501495332 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.