
*This is an exclusive interview by ThreeCommas at the Telegraph. Any comments, leaks or other news can be sent to ThreeCommasClub on Discord.*
In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph, former senior Labour member and party Chairman ThePootisPower has dived into the issues that have seen the Labour Party fall behind to the 3rd largest party and the internal workings of the Labour leadership under Akko that oversaw such a monumental loss. They minced no words calling out the Party on what they saw as poor leadership. Revealing the lack of coordination and planning in Labour ranks brings serious questions about how much trust the backbenchers can have in their leadership and what ordinary members knew even as the party limped into an election they knew they were ill-prepared for. This interview also casts doubt into how much faith members can have on the current candidates for leadership who were in leadership as this breakdown was happening.
As Labour gears up for another election perhaps this interview will serve as a testament to what went wrong in the previous leadership from someone who was in the thick of it. A measure by which to judge the truths which perhaps even Labour leadership doesn’t want to reveal to its backbenchers and also as a measure to help judge future candidates for leadership. That’s why I joined ThePootisPower in a sit down interview.
To start off, we began asking the former Chairman about the elephant in the room. Why he choose to defect from Labour and what he saw in wrong inside Millbank Tower. He held nothing back. He highlighted the main reasons for his departure like this “The failure of leadership (including myself as chairman) to create a coherent policy agenda and plan ahead for the election, plus a total failure to engage the backbench in debates, the party as a whole in policy discussion and generally mobilizing the party has trapped the Labour Party in a downwards spiral.” Asked to comment on why so many other members from Labour were defecting he pointed on how many Labour members were getting burned out and how backbenchers were not properly consulted or involved in the discussion over crafting policy. He contrasted this with his new home at the Liberal Democrats where he was easily able to “ access press and policy labs” and “engage with the party in all aspects.” Such concern also brings up the question of how current candidates for Labour’s top job will seek to address this issue and give backbenchers more of a voice in the party going forward.
“The failure of leadership (including myself as chairman) to create a coherent policy agenda and plan ahead for the election, plus a total failure to engage the backbench in debates, the party as a whole in policy discussion and generally mobilizing the party has trapped the Labour Party in a downwards spiral.”
ThePootisPower
ThePootisPower then said they believed that instead of centralizing power and jobs the Party needed to “make [sure] everyone either have something to do or give them a break.” Asked to comment on the failure of top Labour Leadership regarding election prep, he again held nothing back. He openly criticized now ex-leader Akko who has resigned after the dismal results for Labour on election night, saying “The direction Akko took Labour was disorder, the next leader has to retool the party drastically and re-engage the rank and file in the organisation.” When questioned on Akko’s involvement in the election prep he honestly answered “Akko hasn’t got the leadership to do much of anything. They didn’t give us a “here’s what we’re doing today” agenda. They didn’t ask us.” It seems obvious to any observer that Labour’s leadership completely failed at any type of proper election prep. Even as the election loomed, Labour HQ was disorganized and fumbling around with no solid plan in mind.
“The direction Akko took Labour was disorder, the next leader has to retool the party drastically and re-engage the rank and file in the organisation. Akko hasn’t got the leadership to do much of anything. They didn’t give us a “here’s what we’re doing today” agenda. They didn’t ask us.”
ThePootisPower
Commenting on the type of leadership he saw by Akko and others he described it as such: “Labour leadership was reactive and panicky rather than contemplative and meticulous.” On the matter of Labour’s manifesto for this election was panned by their opponents and political pundits alike for its many typos, illogical policies and more he had this to say “But I have it in good authority that Frosty had to write two whole sections himself and without oversight, and he was one of the only people who actually had it in on time.” With such poor oversight and lack of planning on their manifesto, it will come as no surprise their manifesto turned out the way they did. Why he recalled that when he defected which was a few weeks before the election, work on the manifesto had barely begin and it not begun even being written.
We also asked Poot on how he thought the utter lack of leadership and should reflect on other members of leadership some of who are now vying to be Labour leader. He said on “Lily and Captain only just got into the roles in the last few weeks.” He expanded saying “Captainographer is partially responsible for not engaging deputy press officers and press contributors, holding a very very defeatist “why bother pinging them, I’ve tried it before and can’t get them to be active” attitude.” However, he said that he still trusted Captain as Chairman and that they deserved credit for the Weekly- “the only good thing about Akko’s reign.”
To summarize for the readers: Akko and leadership did nothing. A complete failure on all fronts to prepare for the election and what can be called to put it lightly a rushed and fumbled manifesto.
Next on the agenda were questions regarding Labour’s ongoing feud with the press which has received coverage across the UK and caused the Westminster Correspondents Association to publish an open letter decrying Labour’s actions as anti-press. Poot was sympathetic to Press Officer’s Geordie’s blight but said “But to be brutally honest, the press office hasn’t done fuck all since Geordie was brought in He seems to think he’s a dead man walking, that his career is over before it began. He needs to get a rocket up his rectal cavity and start cranking out content. ” He blasted the Press Office for their treatment of reporters and said that as a whole that Labour’s press office needs to be revamped. “at the end of the day the press officer needs to step up and lead from the front, stop treating journalists like they’re idiots and actually put forward a positive vision for the Labour Party, rather than ignoring very valid press criticisms.”
“But to be brutally honest, the press office hasn’t done fuck all since Geordie was brought in. He seems to think he’s a dead man walking, that his career is over before it began.”
ThePootisPower
On the question of leaks, he quoted the show “In the Thick of It” – “There’s literally nothing you can do to stop leaks
“To quote The Thick of It, labour operates under Tucker’s Law: “If some cunt can fuck something up, that cunt will pick the worst possible time to fucking fuck up because that cunt’s a cunt.”
ThePootisPower
This seems to be another question for Labour’s next leader to consider: a total reshuffle of their press office.
Finally, we asked his opinion on the current leadership race. He said that he believed “Lily is the best short term option but I believe they need to also pick out their successor and train them in preparation.” An opinion voiced by other political commentators as well. He also suggested that labor needed internal reforms calling for more members to be involved and advisory councils. “They should also look into finding popular notable members who are not grandees and giving them an advisory board access role. And perhaps also seeking to add a quasi-leadership body or role whereby new blood can be injected into leadership for 1-month terms to continually reengage and revitalize the Labour Party leadership.” Asked to comment on if the Party should move left or back to the center he dismissed that notion saying “It’s not a matter of “how far left should we be”, it’s “how effective and logical we can get.” There’s no point in picking a specific ideology. Labour is a broad tent, and the new leader must work towards this.”
“It’s not a matter of “how far left should we be”, it’s “how effective and logical we can get.” There’s no point in picking a specific ideology. Labour is a broad tent, and the new leader must work towards this.”
ThePootisPower
All these revelations shine a new light on the inner-working of Labour. An incomepent leadership that led the party to what was assured to be a defeat in the election. A lack of of drive and motivation by senior party members, a lack of involvement, or representation of backbenchers. A Press Office that is bent on avoiding questions and dismissing reporters. With all these factors one cannot be surprised that the Labour party has seen such bad results and a breakdown in function with many members choosing to defect. The only question now left is who members will choose to lead the party and next and what that person will do to bring the party back on track.
To leave Poot had this message for his former party: “This election result is an absolute catastrophe, a result of lackadaisical leadership and a disengaged membership. Right now, the only way to save Labour is for every single member of Labour to wake the fuck up and decide whether they are willing to work or need to rest. The Labour Party must fundamentally rebuild itself as a united fighting force that will not “react”, but proactively work to design a true alternative to the Right-Wing Duopoly.”
*ThreeCommas is a senior writer at the Telegraph.*
*See the full unedited interview transcript here:* https://pastebin.com/hNL6sFTY